Catchfence

Kansas City, KS. (October 9, 2011)— Sporting a new Sam’s Club® paint scheme on the No. 14 Hefty®/Reynolds® Impala at Kansas Speedway, the TriStar Motorsports team was optimistic that, based off solid runs at Chicagoland Speedway earlier in the season, a successful weekend was on tap for its sister track. Unfortunately, the year-long string of bad luck would continue for Eric McClure as he was swept into an accident on lap four. Although the No. 14 Sam’s Club®/Hefty® Reynolds® Chevrolet suffered such significant damage that immediately changed the car’s drivability, the team was able to make laps and salvage a 31st-place finish in the Kansas Lottery 300. With this finish, the Virginia driver slipped one position (20th) in NASCAR Nationwide Series Driver Standings.

“There are no words to describe what happens to us. If it wasn’t so expensive and frustrating it would be funny at this point. We had a poor qualifying effort today, which got us in that position. We came out of the gate fairly quick and were making passes when another competitor went four-wide on lap four and we got the worst end of it. I think the wreck bent everything inside the front and rear. We lost a lot of laps on pit road trying to beat the fenders out and tape it up enough so they would let us make laps. I’m proud of my guys for not quitting.”

Despite starting the Kansas Lottery 300 from the 36th position, McClure advanced seven positions by the completion of lap two and was in the process of advancing two additional positions on lap four when another competitor dove to the apron inside of the already three-wide pack of cars heading in to turn one. Not able to hold the position or pass the pack of cars, the chain of events that followed resulted in the No. 14 Sam’s Club®/Hefty® Reynolds® Chevrolet hitting the wall. After visiting pit road to survey and try to repair some of the damage, McClure was sent back on track as the field received the signal from NASCAR that the green flag would be displayed on the following lap. However, after discussing the likelihood of cutting a tire and damaging the car further, the call was made to bring the car to pit road for right side tires, fuel, and to make additional repairs to the car. Once McClure returned to the track under green flag conditions, he was scored three laps down to the race leader in the 37th position.

When the event’s second caution flag waved, the team had advanced to the 34th position and took this opportunity to again come to pit road to make additional repairs. Not wanting to lose an additional lap to the race leader, McClure was sent back on track with one lap to go before the race resumed. However, just as the field was coming to the green flag on lap 44, crew chief Gary Cogswell called the driver back to pit road so the team could make certain the fenders were still clearing all tires. McClure returned to the track in the 34th position, six laps down to the race leader.

As the race continued, McClure continued to work the top lane around the speedway as this was where his damaged car had the most grip and could maintain a faster speed. When the third caution flag waved on lap 60, McClure came to pit road for tires, fuel and additional repairs. When the race resumed on lap 65, the team still occupied the 34th position in the running order where they remained until the event’s fourth caution flag waved on lap 87. Staying on track to receive the wave around, the team advanced one position for the lap 95 restart.

When the track conditions remained green over the next thirty laps, McClure was forced to pit road for fuel, tires and to remove tape from the front grille as the water temperature had risen to 240 degrees. Just ten laps after returning to the track the event’s fifth caution flag waved. As the team had just visited pit road just a few laps prior, the call was made to stay on track to receive the wave around in hopes it would pay dividends in the closing laps of the race. McClure was scored in the 32nd position when the race resumed and remained in that position until another competitor’s engine expired with 27 laps remaining. Coming to pit road for fuel only, McClure returned to the track to finish the Kansas Lottery 300 in the 31st position.

The next event for the Hefty Racing® team is the Dollar General Miles of Courage 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, October 14, 2011. Catch all of the action live on ESPN 2 beginning at 7:30pm (ET).

- Team McClure Inc. Press Release