So watcha saying?

I'm saying that I'm wiping the slate clean for Erin. She's starting over from the very bottom (figuratively, not literally this time). If she can make it as a driver - without using her sexuality to catapult her up the ranks - then I will happily cheer for her. Then she will have made it on her own.

she's on a good team, but she will have to get better in order to get into nascar. a lot of times sponser are scared to sponser women because every time you see a women in nascar they have no sponser or they are on underfunded team. what i'am trying to is is aaron crocker has to get better in order to drive in nascar top division.

I'd like to vote for her driving the truck with no pants on. Now that's something I can support.

I feel the same ... They (woman) shouldn't get a ride because of who they slept with or how good looking they are. Danica Patrick has yet to win a race (Ferrell?) yet is on one of the top teams ... it's embarrassing ...

I only thought that their professional relationship ended. Are Crocker and Evernham still together as a couple?

I'm sorry, but I'm a little vague on the details here. Wasn't she an up-and-coming red-hot driver in late model stocks and in the Busch series before she started being "Ray's girlfriend"? I don't think the first time I heard her name mentioned was when the "affair" news broke. It's a shame that everyone thinks she got where she was just because of the "affair". I kinda thought she was already on the rise when she and Ray fell for each other. I guess the media has changed the history that I remember. Won't be the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last.

I'm pretty sure she had her pants on when she won the ARCA Superspeedway Challenge last year.

It was all the guys she beat that didn't.

I think Racer 187 has the correct story here. That is why on the podcast I said I really did not know about her ability because like Racer 187 I had heard that she was the "one," the one girl who really had the racing goods. I am surprised that she has not prospered. And you have to believe that Ray put her in some pretty good equipment to test her driving out. But, she did win the Speedway Challenge so .... maybe she does have the goods after all. Either way I can't wait till we interview her. Bass will look like a turnip.

Racer's comment about how the media has re-written history is exactly the point I tried to make on the podcast yesterday. I said "she didn't do herself any favors with that relationship." In other words whether she has the goods has been eclipsed by the fact that she was shtupping the owner. The perception has become that she slept her way to the top regardless of the validity of that perception.

I guess time will tell. If she actually has any real talent, then she will prosper in Trucks without all the *ahem* support this time around.

I'm eager for the day when a woman driver or a minority driver racing in Cup is commonplace and no longer a big deal. NASCAR is getting there slowly but surely but they are way behind some of the other big sports.

I had followed her quite a bit 2 seasons ago when Nascar did a weekly interview with her and followed her entire season, she spent a lot of time racing in sprint car/World of Outlaws, and lower level series with great success, she graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in industrial and management engineering. I think her "affair" was an afterthought once she was brought on as a developmental driver in that organization, not the reason she got there. Probably not a good decision, don't we all know it's bad to date people you work with? I am wondering if the relationship was part of why she has NOT progressed like many thought she would.

It is bad to date people you work with. I wish Rusty and Cutler would knock it off. All this hush, hush in the office is bad form.

I agree with Becky and Cutler. I know EC was kicking butt in ARCA (and all over the place) pre-Evernham, and she wouldn't be the first driver to need some more time in Cup to show what she's capable of. I don't doubt that she can drive, she earned a place in the Knoxville Nationals! However, I think we can all agree that gettting involved with your married owner is not a good choice. I'm not saying that RE is without fault in this at all, but whether she likes it or not, Erin was given a huge opportunity when she started racing in NASCAR and I think she wasted it. I sincerely hope she succeeds with this new start- I'd really love to have a female driver to root for. Right now, I just can't.

Sadie, I'll send you a bill for a new keyboard and monitor.

When I read it, you had me cracking up, and spit my coffee all over the place. Thanks!!!!

You nailed exactly how I feel about the whole situation.

Great post!

I had a chance to talk to EC briefly a couple of years back and I really liked her. Yeah she probably broke the cardinal rule of "Don't getcha honey where you getcha money" but lets also take a look at RE. She's not the first driver who's career he's ruined by pushing them too quick to be "the next Jeff Gordon".

And before we crown her queen of the Speedways keep in mind that she had the advantage of running all the ARCA speedway races in Cup equipment against guys in lesser cars who were also running Salem, Toledo, and Springfield, driving their own rigs and then working on their own cars all week. So while it was a big deal on one hand, a lot of drivers could have pulled it off with the advantage she had. JMO

I still have to reiterate that she had made a name for herself way before she got a ride with Ray, and then was a developmental driver for Ray for a little while before she became romantically involved with him. Before we put the blame on Ray, though, let's recall that his marriage had been over for several years before Erin ever set foot in Ray's shop. They just never bothered to fill out the paperwork. I didn't, and still don't, see anything wrong with them being together, except for the well made point of Jeff, "Don't getcha honey where you getcha money". Unfortunately, workplace affairs can't ever end well and these two found out first hand why. Compound that with the fact that their workplace is in front of the media and you've got a recipe for a major career setback.

Buzz, you hit the nail on the head with what I was trying to say earlier. Kudos to you for spittin it out better than I.

One thing I notice about Erin Crocker is that I always hear people say they'd love to have a good female driver to root for in Nascar, while I understand where they're coming from I also take a bit of issue with this sentiment. Yeah I get that a woman driver would be good for the sport in many ways, it would help modernize it and increase the fan base while creating a possible role model for young girls, but I just can't justify liking a driver specifically for their sex. I think you should chose a driver based on skill or personality or a number of other relevant traits, but it really rubs me the wrong way when a person's gender is the deciding factor. Let her skills speak for themself! (if they're there) and until then she should be treated like any other driver.

Not all office romances end badly. Today my wife and I celebrate our 15th anniversary and we met at work. Of course we don't work together now, but you know what I mean.

If Erin Crocker was hired to be a driver and then fell for a guy that happened to be the owner, that's not her fault (or even his). She's still trying to make it to the cup series, so dating the owner didn't get her a free pass. She appears to be trying to earn her stripes like the rest of the drivers out there. I say give her a chance to prove herself.

Yes, yes, I totally agree. Racer and I survived and we dated while we worked at McDonald's together (I lasted there a whole 6 weeks!). Of course, we did have a relationship before that. I guess I've lost the point...
Okay, here it goes: Erin is a good driver, Ray is awesome at all the hats he wears, they tried to be together (they had a lot in common the way I see it), and for reasons we will never know, it didn't work. Why does anything having to do with women in sports (auto racing especially) have to revolve around their sex life? The double standard is being perpetuated by us, ladies. Let's cut the crap, root for the best driver, and not concern ourselves about what is simply NOT OUR BUSINESS!