Confidence is high as Talladega looms

Erin Crocker is stepping up a program that she hopes will land her in a full-time Nextel Cup ride by driving in the Busch, Truck and ARCA Series for Evernham Motorsports. The youngest of five children, Crocker has been sharing weekly with NASCAR.COM readers the ups and downs of her life on and off the track through staff writer David Newton.

	Erin Crocker drives the No. 98 Dodge in the Truck Series. Credit: Autostock
	Erin Crocker Year-to-date statistics Race Start Finish Daytona 24 27 California 33 27 Atlanta 30 26 Martinsville 34 25 Gateway 30 22 Charlotte 2 18 Mansfield 25 28 Dover 25 24 Texas 12 33 Michigan 11 24 Milwaukee 33 25 Kansas 12 16 Kentucky 34 27 Memphis 34 30 IRP 33 27 Nashville 27 29 Bristol 31 35 New Hampshire 28 32 Las Vegas 12 24 Average 24.7 26.2

After a week in New York City with seven high school girlfriends, I'm ready to get back on the track at Talladega Superspeedway.

I ran an ARCA race there last year and finished fourth, so that gives me some confidence. The Trucks have never been to Talladega, so it's going to be a new experience for everyone in the series.

I hear the new surface is extremely smooth. I'm sure that will make for some four- and five-wide racing that should be very interesting.

Q: What's your dream vehicle that you don't already own?

Crocker: Can I say a Dodge? Driving for Dodge, of course, I'd like to have a Viper one day. But I really like the new Corvette. My mom inherited a '57 Corvette, so it's kind of like a family thing.

I'm not someone that wants a lot of fancy, smancy cars. My dream car would be to buy that '57 Corvette from my mom and redo it.

Q: What's your biggest pet peeve while driving on the road?

Crocker: When a slow car is driving in the left lane that drives me nuts. When people don't use their blinkers that drives me crazy. Or when somebody pulls out right in front of you like they're in a big hurry and then they go 10 mph slower than you that drives me crazy as well.

Q: If you had to choose, would it be being honest, or being nice?

Crocker: Being honest. I don't do things because I should have or because it looks good in the media. I am who I am. Accept me for who I am.

Q: What was your "Welcome to NASCAR" moment?

Crocker: The biggest moment happened last year. I went to the Charlotte Cup test just to walk around and watch. When I was walking through the garage one of Jeff Gordon's crew guys said, "Hey, Jeff wants to meet you.'' I looked back and Jeff was in the back of his 24 hauler. I was all sort of star struck. I chatted with him and he's actually helped me a little. It was a big moment. I walked out of there all sorts of excited and called my entire family.

Q: What is the most embarrassing moment you'll own up to, either in or out of racing?

Crocker: I had a pretty embarrassing moment [Sunday night] on the plane back home from Kansas. I had to use the bathroom on the jet. I wasn't feeling really well. I spent Friday and Saturday in New York City and flew to Kansas on Sunday and didn't get much sleep and my system was all off. I was flying home with five guys, including Kasey Kahne. I don't want to go into any more detail, but I was pretty embarrassed.

Q: Which show is "must see TV" for you?

	Erin Crocker Credit: Autostock
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Crocker: I don't watch much TV, honestly. I watch NASCAR races, The SPEED Report. I've kind of gotten into Rescue Me. It's about New York firefighters and it's pretty interesting. But for the most part I don't watch a lot of TV.

Q: If possible, who would you trade places with and why?

Crocker: I wouldn't trade places with anyone. Maybe for a day or two, to see what somebody else's life is like, maybe I would. But I'm pretty happy with who I am.

Q: Which athlete outside of racing do you most admire?

Crocker: Hmmmm. Honestly, I would say [LPGA golfers] Annika Sorenstam or Michelle Wie, someone who is trying to do something similar to what I am racing in a male league. I admire them for taking on that challenge in the golf world.

Q: Is there a movie you can watch over and over?

Crocker: When I raced Sprint cars and living in a truck and trailer we would watch a lot of movies over and over. Van Wilder I've seen a gazillion times. Old School I've seen a bunch, as I have Days of Thunder and Top Gun. And Pretty Woman. I really like that a lot.

Q: What is your biggest guilty pleasure?

Crocker: Probably my lattes in the mornings from Starbucks. I spend way too much money at Starbucks. I could save a lot of money if I didn't go there. The two lattes I get every day are like $3.50. I'm addicted. A major addiction.