Gillett Evernham Motorsports/Erin Crocker Win 2007 Hoosier Tire Superspeedway Challenge

By Don Radebaugh, ARCA

TALLADEGA AL (10-6-07) - Erin Crocker clinched the Hoosier Tire Superspeedway Challenge Championship for her Gillett Evernham Motorsports team Friday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway, becoming the first female driver in the 55-year history of the ARCA RE/MAX Series to earn the prestigious award.

“It’s a really big deal for me,” said Crocker. “It’s a really prestigious award and it’s a huge honor to win it. When you look back at some of the drivers who have won ARCA’s superspeedway title, from Davey Allison to Frank Kimmel, it makes it even more special.

“I also think it could really help my career. It means something to be the ARCA RE/MAX Series Superspeedway champion. I’m truly honored to hold the title.”

Crocker made her ARCA RE/MAX Series debut at Nashville Superspeedway in 2005, earning the pole award in her No. 98 Dodge Charger and posting a 12th place finish. Since then, the Gillett Evernham Motorsports driver has become a seasoned veteran in ARCA competition, earning 12 top-5 and 16 top-10 finishes in 25 career starts. She finished second in an ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Kentucky Speedway in 2005 and 2007 and at Kansas Speedway in 2006, joining Shawna Robinson as the highest-finishing females in series’ history. She is a 2003 graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Management Engineering.

Crocker joins prestigious company as a winner of the Hoosier Tire Superspeedway Challenge Title. Frank Kimmel is a five-time Superspeedway Challenge Champion (1998, ’01, ’03, ’05, ’06). Other winners include Davey Allison (’84, ’85), Lee Raymond (’86), Bill Venturini (’87, ’91), Tracy Leslie (’88), Ben Hess (’89), Bob Brevak (’90), Bob Keselowski (’92), Jeff Purvis (’93, ’94), Mike Wallace (’95), Tim Steele (’96), Mark Gibson (’97), Chad Blount (’02), Bobby Gerhart (’04), Blake Feese (’04) and Kyle Krisiloff (’04).

The Superspeedway Challenge is a $62,500 total point fund within the 23-race ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule and includes race events at Daytona, Nashville, Kentucky, Pocono, Michigan, Kansas, Gateway, Chicagoland and Talladega. The ARCA RE/MAX Series has recognized a superspeedway challenge champion each consecutive year since 1984.

Crocker and the Gillett Evernham Motorsports Team will formally accept the 2007 Hoosier Tire Superspeedway Challenge Championship at the ARCA RE/MAX Series National Championship Awards Banquet on Saturday, December 8th at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Kentucky. The event is open to the public and tickets are available by calling the ARCA Home Office at (734) 847-6726.