Evernham signs female driver

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - In the race to find NASCAR's next star, two top organizations signed rising sprint car stars to developmental contracts.

Bobby East, the 19-year-old USAC champion, signed a long-term deal with Ford Racing Technology, and Evernham Motorsports hired female sprint car standout Erin Crocker to drive in several different series.

"We believe that NASCAR and all forms of racing should be open to everyone, whether you want to drive the car or work on the team," team owner Ray Evernham said Wednesday. "This is part of our ongoing growth initiative... we want to provide opportunities and help people succeed at all levels."

Crocker, 23, will compete for Evernham in stock cars in three ARCA races and three NASCAR Busch Series races. She also will drive for Kasey Kahne Motorsports in a sprint car in the Silver Crown Series.

She caught Evernham's eye last season when she became the first woman to win a World of Outlaws Race.

"I'm a big fan of open wheel racing and the talented drivers who come out of those series," Evernham said. "I'm always watching the sprint car and Silver Crown series because it's exciting racing, but it's also a great place to find talented, young drivers."

Crocker, who grew up in Wilbraham, Mass., ran her first event at age 7 and has a bachelor's degree in industrial and management engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She raced the World of Outlaws series last season, and won a race at Tulare, Calif.

"This is like a dream come true," said Crocker. "When Ray Evernham called, I was considering several options. But once that phone rang, my mind was made up.

"This is a chance for me to learn as much as I can, in several different types of cars, from the best in the business."

East, who is from Brownsburg, Ind., became the youngest USAC champion in the series' 49-year history when he earned the title this year by winning seven feature races and had 21 top-10s.

Ford plans to have East run at least one more season in the USAC National Midget Car Series and the USAC Silver Crown series. He'll test in several different NASCAR vehicles with a goal of eventually moving into the Nextel Cup series.

"I think it is all pretty cool," East said. "Going forward, I really want to succeed in stock car racing starting with the Busch Series and then going to Nextel Cup."

Ford has a history of locking up young drivers and helping them move into the top levels of racing. They had a young Jeff Gordon under contract in the early 1990s, but lost him to Chevrolet, and they recently had a bitter fight over Kahne's contract rights.

Ford plucked Kahne out of the sprint car ranks and helped him decide between pursuing a career in NASCAR or an open wheel series. But Kahne found a way out of the contract last winter, and signed with Evernham Motorsports, where he had five runner-up finishes in 2004 and was the Rookie of the Year.

Ford sued Kahne and the case is pending.

That hasn't deterred the automaker from pursuing other young talent, most notably Matt Martin, the 12-year-old son of NASCAR star Mark Martin.

Now they'll try to groom East, the son of longtime USAC team owner and car builder Bob East.

"He's a very impressive driver who has shown a tremendous amount of talent, ability and success at a very young age," said Dan Davis, director of Ford Racing Technology. "We look forward to working together with Bobby to provide him opportunities to help him realize that same success long-term in NASCAR."