Evernham Motorsports, General Mills Ready to Get Cooking

Crocker to Make Fulltime NASCAR Truck Series Debut with General Mills’ Championship Brands

Erin Crocker

Statesville, NC (November 11, 2005) – Evernham Motorsports and General Mills have announced a well-balanced 2006 schedule for up-and-coming driver Erin Crocker, including a healthy mix of NASCAR Truck Series, Busch Series and ARCA RE/MAX Series races in which she will carry the Cheerios® and Betty Crocker® banners.

The key ingredient to the partnership includes General Mills and its Cheerios and Betty Crocker brands as the fulltime primary sponsor of Crocker in her 25-race Truck Series Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year campaign.

“I’m proud to represent a company like General Mills with good, wholesome brands like Cheerios and Betty Crocker,” Crocker said. “Their plan is to build a long-term team relationship, and if next year goes well to continue building on it. As a driver, that’s the type of sponsor you want – someone who wants to stick by you long-term and go all the way. So I really appreciate that.”

“And, I’m really excited to run a full NASCAR Truck Series schedule in 2006. It’s going to be a great place to learn, and I’m really excited to run for Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year honors. I know there is going to be a pretty stout rookie class next year, and it would be an honor to win that.”

Crocker will make her NASCAR Truck Series debut at Phoenix International Raceway this weekend in the No. 4 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Ram fielded by a partnership between Evernham Motorsports and Bobby Hamilton Racing. She will be the eighth female driver ever to compete in the NASCAR Truck Series.

In addition to her full diet of NASCAR Truck Series events, Crocker also will run a Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Charger in six NASCAR Busch Series races in 2006. The 24-year-old Wilbraham, Mass.-native is scheduled to compete at Nashville Superspeedway, The Milwaukee Mile, Gateway International Raceway, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Crocker also is scheduled to race in seven 2006 ARCA RE/MAX Series races. She earned two poles, three top fives and four top 10s in just five ARCA races this season for Evernham Motorsports.

”I think that Erin and General Mills are a great fit,” said Ray Evernham, President and CEO of Evernham Motorsports. “General Mills does an outstanding job marketing and advertising brands like Wheaties, Cheerios and Betty Crocker. They are household names, and to be partnered with them will hopefully make Erin and Evernham Motorsports household names. I think this partnership can be a great brand-builder for both parties. We’re honored to have General Mills as a partner.”

Before joining Evernham Motorsports’ driver development program, Crocker started her racing career running a Quarter Midget at the early age of seven. While she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Management Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. in 2003, she continued to gain experience in the sprint cars of the USAC Silver Crown and World of Outlaws (WoO) Series. In October of 2004, Crocker became the first and only female driver to win a WoO race, when she took the checkered flag in the Thunderbowl Preliminary in Tulare, Calif.