Crocker fails at becoming first woman to win an ARCA event
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – History will have to wait. Pole-winner Erin Crocker’s bid to become the first woman to win an ARCA event and a race at Daytona International Speedway came up far short Saturday while Bobby Gerhart drove off with his fifth victory in the season-opening race.
Crocker, who drives for NASCAR Nextel Cup team owner Ray Evernham, stayed with the leaders until about 25 laps remained in the 80-lap event. She first slipped to the rear of the lead lap cars with what her team said was a deflating tire and then got knocked into the infield grass when she faltered on a restart.
Crocker, driving a limited ARCA and NASCAR Busch Series schedule this season due to lack of sponsorship, started with great promise but wound up 20th, a lap behind the winner.
“Yeah, I wanted to come away here with a win, but it is what it is,” she said. “It happened. We had a good car. It wasn’t for a lack of effort on anyone’s part. I still feel really positive about this year.”
As for falling a lap down, Crocker said, “It was my fault. We got a little free, I lost my momentum and we never should have been in the restart back in the riffraff.
“But I take away a pole from Daytona, which is an accomplishment. I knew I had a great car, a great effort behind me, so we’ll go on to Nashville (for the next race). I still think we can win some ARCA races.”
Meanwhile, the 48-year-old Gerhart was the class of the field – again.
His Chevrolet started alongside Crocker’s Dodge on the front row and, after a brief duel, Gerhart took control and wound up racing away to his third straight Daytona victory.
Gerhart said it wasn’t as easy as it looked.
“The car’s got a miscue somewhere in the brakes and I battled that all day,” he said. “The brakes would get hung up and it just challenged me most of the day.”
Still, he led a race-high 54 laps, taking the lead for good by passing Mario Gosselin on lap 57.
“I just was very patient and calculated there for about three laps and it just worked out,” Gerhart said. “I used the whole
Gerhard and Crocker tangled last year in St. Louis and, on Friday, he warned her, although smiling, to “Buckle up.” Her reply: “Bring it on.”
But nothing happened on track Saturday to upset either driver.
“When he took off on the restart (early in the race) and went around the outside of me I knew he had a good car, and obviously it was handling well,” Crocker said. “All the controversy or whatever, he brought a great car and won the race. I congratulate him.”
Gerhart said there was nothing personal in his comments.
“I wasn’t talking about her or anybody specifically,” he said. “I was just saying that nobody should use the front of their car to move somebody. We raced clean.”
There were seven cautions for 46 laps in the race, with the last yellow flag waving on lap 76 for a three-car crash that included Damon Lusk, running fourth at the time. ARCA officials red-flagged the field to clean off the track and the final green flag fell with one lap to go on the 2.5-mile oval.
Second-place Marc Mitchell and third-place Jeremy Clements lost any chance of catching the leader when they bumped moments after the restart and both wiggled. That allowed Gerhart to pull away to a three-length victory.
“On the last lap, I just did what I had to do,” the winner said.
“His car was strong all day,” said Mitchell, whose runner-up finish was his career best. “There wasn’t any catching him. Going down the backstretch on the last lap was the best run we had at him all day and it wasn’t enough.”
David Ragan, who will replace longtime Cup star Mark Martin in Roush Racing’s No. 6 Ford this season, finished fourth in his first ARCA start at Daytona, followed by eight-time and defending series champion Frank Kimmel.