Erin Crocker-Evernham

Erin Crocker-Evernham is the first and only woman to win a World of Outlaws sprint car race, cementing her place as one of the most significant pioneers in American open-wheel racing.

EARLY YEARS

Born March 23, 1981, Erin Mary Crocker started racing quarter midgets in Connecticut at age seven in 1988. Most kids that age are focused on mastering multiplication tables; she was learning how to read a track and master throttle control in machines that could hit 35 mph. She won numerous events right out of the gate and earned the title of Most Improved Novice in her first year—a hint of what was to come. Quarter midget racing is often dismissed as kiddie stuff, but it’s actually a brutal proving ground where future pros learn racecraft before they hit double digits. Erin took to it like she’d been born in a cockpit.

From 1993 to 1996, she became a three-time Northeast Regional Quarter Midgets of America Champion, dominating a region known for producing serious talent. She also took home the Quarter Midgets of America Female Driver of the Year award three consecutive years from 1993 to 1995. By the time she was a teenager, she’d already carved out a reputation as someone who didn’t just race against boys—she beat them. Regularly.

OTHER INTERESTS

Details about Crocker-Evernham’s life outside the cockpit are scarce in the public record. She attended college, though specifics about her major or institution haven’t been widely documented. What’s clear is that racing wasn’t a side hobby—it was the main event. Everything else took a backseat.

EARLY SUCCESS

In 1998, at just 17 years old, Erin became the youngest driver and the first female to win a mini sprint feature at Whipp City Speedway in Massachusetts. It was a statement win, the kind that makes people in the pits stop and take notice. A year later, she moved up to the Eastern Limited Sprint Series and promptly won Rookie of the Year in 1999. She wasn’t padding stats or squeaking by—she was competitive from day one.

By 2002, Crocker was piloting the #16 360 winged sprint car for Woodring Racing, and that’s when things got serious. She racked up five feature wins, twelve heat wins, and set a new track record. The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame named her Outstanding Newcomer, and her team took home the 360 Team of the Year award. She also won the ESS Outstanding Newcomer and the 360 Wild Card award. It was the kind of season that changes a career trajectory.

In 2003, she made history again by becoming the first woman to qualify for the 410 winged sprint class at the Knoxville Nationals—a race that’s basically the sprint car world’s Super Bowl. She earned Knoxville Nationals Rookie of the Year honors and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame 410 Rookie of the Year award, plus both the 360 and 410 Wild Card awards. Qualifying at Knoxville isn’t a participation trophy moment; it’s a validation that you belong among the best.

Then came 2004, the year Erin Crocker became a legend. In October, at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California, she became the first—and still only—woman to win a World of Outlaws feature race. The World of Outlaws is the premier sprint car series in the world, a traveling circus of the fastest, most fearless drivers on dirt. Winning one of those races is hard enough for anyone. Doing it as the only woman in the field? That’s the kind of achievement that gets etched into history books. She also won the USAC Kara Hendrick Spirit Award that year and took a victory at the Tulsa Shootout, because apparently one historic win wasn’t enough.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 1988: Named Most Improved Novice in her first year of quarter midget racing[1].
• 1993-1996: Three-time Northeast Regional Quarter Midgets of America Champion[1][2][4].
• 1993-1995: Quarter Midgets of America Female Driver of the Year[1][2][4].
• 1998: Youngest driver and first female to win a mini sprint feature at Whipp City Speedway, Massachusetts[1][4].
• 1999: Eastern Limited Sprint Series Rookie of the Year[3][4].
• 2002: Five feature wins and twelve heat wins driving the #16 360 winged sprint car for Woodring Racing; set one new track record; National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Outstanding Newcomer Award; ESS Outstanding Newcomer; 360 Wild Card award; team named 360 Team of the Year by National Sprint Car Hall of Fame[1][2][4].
• 2003: First woman to qualify for the 410 winged sprint class at the Knoxville Nationals; Knoxville Nationals Rookie of the Year; National Sprint Car Hall of Fame 410 Rookie of the Year; 360 and 410 Wild Card awards[1][2][3][4].
• 2004: First woman to win a World of Outlaws feature race (October, Thunderbowl Raceway, Tulare, California); USAC Kara Hendrick Spirit Award; Tulsa Shootout victory[1][2][3][4].
• 2005: First woman in Evernham Motorsports driver development program; competed in ARCA/RE/MAX Series with six starts, five top-10 finishes, two pole positions; won ARCA Superspeedway Championship, becoming the first woman to do so[1][2][3][4].
• 2006: First woman to run a full season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the #98 Dodge Ram for Evernham Motorsports; finished 25th in points[2][3].
• 2007: Earned ARCA pole awards at Daytona and Kentucky; three runner-up finishes in ARCA (Kentucky 2007 and 2005, Kansas 2006), becoming the only female in ARCA history with multiple runner-up results; five SIM Factory Pole Awards[4].

INSPIRATIONS

No documented information is available regarding who influenced or inspired Erin Crocker-Evernham’s racing career, whether family members, coaches, other drivers, or personal heroes. What’s clear is that she didn’t wait for permission or a role model who looked like her—she became the role model.

REPUTATION

Erin Crocker-Evernham is widely regarded as a trailblazer and pioneer for women in motorsports, particularly in sprint car racing and NASCAR developmental series. Her 2004 World of Outlaws win remains unmatched by any other woman and is considered one of the most significant achievements in the history of female participation in American motorsports. She broke barriers across multiple series, becoming the first woman to achieve major milestones in disciplines that had been exclusively male-dominated for decades.

Media coverage of her career has consistently focused on her historic wins and her role as a boundary-breaker. In 2025, she appeared at the PRI Motorsports Show to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her World of Outlaws victory, participating in seminars and autograph sessions alongside a display of her 2004 race car[3]. The fact that her win is still being commemorated two decades later speaks volumes about its lasting impact.

She’s respected not just for being “the first woman” to do something, but for being legitimately fast and competitive in some of the toughest racing environments in the world. Sprint car racing doesn’t hand out participation trophies, and the World of Outlaws certainly doesn’t care about your gender when you’re sideways at 140 mph on a dirt track. Crocker-Evernham earned her place, and the sport knows it.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

As of 2025, Erin Crocker-Evernham works as a race car driver and broadcaster for Motor Racing Network, married to racing icon Ray Evernham. Her appearance at the 2025 PRI Motorsports Show marked two decades since her groundbreaking World of Outlaws win, an occasion she commemorated with seminars, autograph sessions, and a display of her historic race car[3]. Specific plans for future racing endeavors or broadcasting projects beyond 2025 have not been publicly documented.

References:

The Henry Ford Blog – Erin Crocker Career Highlights
SDSU/Henry Ford Exhibit Biography – Erin Crocker
Motorsports Trade Show – 2025 PRI Show Announcement
Women In Racing Archives – Erin Crocker Career Summary
Kiddle Encyclopedia – Erin Crocker Basic Biography
Skirts and Scuffs – 2011 Interview with Erin Crocker