Disappointing Darlington Finish Leaves McClure 32nd in NASCAR Owner Standings

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In: Xfinity Series News

Following a four-week string of disappointing finishes that has taken the team from the 23rd position in NASCAR Owner Standings to the 30th position, Eric McClure and his Hefty® Racing® team headed to Darlington Raceway hoping for a turnaround in their luck.  Despite starting the event from the 22nd position, an engine failure on lap 12 relegated them to a 36th-place finish.  As a result, the team fell two positions in NASCAR Owner Standings (32nd) and will be required to qualify on time for the series’ next event at Dover International Speedway.

Eric McClure started Friday night’s Royal Purple 200 from the 22nd position, which was based on speeds from the practice session earlier in the day, as inclement weather forced the cancellation of the qualifying.  By lap eight of the 147-lap event, the Hefty® BlackOut™/Reynolds™ impala had become tight on exit, but spotter Stevie Reeves reminded the driver that the car would “come to him” over the course of the fuel run.  However, McClure wouldn’t remain on track long enough to reap the benefits as on lap 11 the car’s engine began “missing,” and shut completely down on lap 12, which forced the team behind the wall to determine the issue.  What was originally thought to be a bad fuel pump turned out to be a faulty oil filter that ultimately caused both the oil pump and engine to expire.  As a result, the team’s night ended early with a 36th-place finish.

“I am at a loss for words.  We had a good car, could’ve had a top 15 finish, and we lost the engine.  It’s a shame; that’s the fourth part failure we’ve had this year and it seems to happen to our car every time.  This is definitely something we didn’t need right now.  We are now outside of the top 30 in points and several points out so it will take a lot to get us back to a guaranteed starting spot.   We will keep fighting, but something has got to go right soon.  At least we’ve been relatively fast for all but two of the races, so that’s somewhat comforting.”

Tri Star Motorsports PR

Speedway Digest Staff
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