Midwest Thoughts & Ramblings
by Eric McClure - Staff Writer
NASCAR Nationwide Series Driver
06/17/2008

The last two weeks have been a busy time as the Nationwide Series kicks off the summer season. After the Dover race I headed out to Fayetteville, Arkansas to participate with the Hefty® brand at the annual Wal-mart suppliers fair and shareholder meetings. There was a huge crowd each day I was there and we met Wal-mart associates from all over the world. It was a great time. On the final night, we headed out to the ballpark to see the Arkansas Naturals play. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. There's nothing like a day at the ballpark to really start feeling like it's summer.

From Arkansas, we headed to Nashville for the second time this season as the Nationwide Series began a string of three consecutive stand-alone events. It was our first week with Carl Long as crew chief. We found an issue after practice and, with no time to go back on the track, had to guess on the setup for the start of the race and we had a rough go of it for about 80 laps. Fortunately, a few cautions allowed us to make major adjustments to the car and the guys really got the Hefty® brand Chevy running pretty decent. Unfortunately, by that time we had lost a few laps due to the struggles at the beginning, but we held our own after that point. We had to make a pair of green flag stops, one inside the last ten laps, that cost us four laps or so and a couple of positions, but those are the breaks. Finish aside, the progress we made during the race was night and day, and Carl, Andy and all the guys did a fantastic job.

After Nashville, for the first time in nearly a week, I headed home to spend a few days with Miranda, Mabreigh and Annabelle. We took Mabreigh to the pool a couple of times and we all had our first sunburn of the season. Of course, my whiteness is legendary so it didn't take long for me to turn red. Mabreigh had a great time and we were able to refresh her survival skills she learned while at ISR (infantswim.com). But, having the opportunity to be at home with them and get back to CBC was worth everything. Mabreigh was really happy to see "Daddy," and stuck to me like glue all week.

On Thursday, we headed up to Kentucky a day early to participate with Brad Keselowski at Nationwide's Driving While Distracted campaign. Nationwide does a great job promoting safe driving, as well as our series, and the turnout at the event was fantastic. The best exhibit of the event was racing simulators while trying to text message. People would be amazed at how distracted you can get while driving, so make sure you drive defensively and pay attention at all times.

On Friday we headed to the track but activities were washed out due to storms. As such, it made for a busy day of track activity on Saturday. We had a few appearances for Nationwide at the track, which was great, and we were able to catch up with some old friends. Other than that, it was a bit of a different story than Nashville as we just had a bad day on the track. The No. 24 machine was a handful. After practice, we probably should have leaned on our team car a bit more, but we made the decision to continue on in the same path from practice. Unfortunately, we didn't get much better. Late in the race we did pick up some time, but we were still way off. At one time in the race, we got split on the backstretch by two guys and I think they went out of their way not to wreck us, but I can't think of who they are. Nevertheless, thanks to them. To sum it up, I would think it is safe to say the car was evil, and I am sure it was as painful for my guys as it was for me. Somewhere along the lines this car has developed a gremlin that has nothing to do with setup or adjustments.

It has acted unlike anything I've ever driven in the two races we've used it. The guys made major changes at every stop, but the car responded minimally at best. We did find some suspension pieces bound up, which could have been part of the problem. But, to quote Jimmy Means, this is big time auto racing and we are all better than that. I expressed some frustration in my comments during and after the race, and in hindsight, I probably should have chosen my words a bit more carefully. Make no mistake about it, my team and I believe in each other and we all want to achieve our goals. Carl is great and has a lot of knowledge, and we'll keep digging and try to get it turned around.

Finally, I hope all the fathers had a great Father's Day. I know I did. I really miss my little girl, Mabreigh, when I'm gone. It breaks my heart to hear her say "Da-Da" and hear of how she looks for me at home when I'm gone. I thank God every day for her and for my own father, who's such a special guy and very supportive of Emily and me. I know others feel the same way about their kids and parents, and I know that for as much as I care for my own family, there's someone greater that cares for all of us.

Next up for us is Milwaukee, where we will have a lot of the great folks from Hefty® brand in attendance. It's just a short drive up from the Chicago area, so we're looking forward to spending some time with them and trying to get the No. 24 Chevy a solid run. And, of course, we have New Hampshire the following week. I'm a bit anxious to get back there. If you remember, we had a couple of accidents there last year, one which was backwards on the wall. Hopefully, this time is better.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Random Thoughts for this week: