Eric McClure and the No. 14 Hefty®/Reynolds Wrap® race team finished 27th in Saturday’s Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, after starting the race from the 35th position. With this finish, the team slipped two positions to 27th in the owners’ point standings and sit 26 markers out of the 20th spot heading into next weekend’s event at Auto Club Speedway.
Taking the green from the 35th position, McClure quickly began advancing his position; he was scored 31st when the first caution flag waved on lap four. Although McClure was battling a car that was loose on entry and tight on the exit of the turns, he remained on track and maintained his position for the restart.
Over the next eighty laps, the handling on the No. 14 Camry became worse and as a result, McClure lost three laps to the race leader. Scored in the 32nd position, McClure brought his car to the attention of his crew, under yellow conditions, on lap 97 for four tires, fuel, and air-pressure and track-bar adjustments. Once the stop was complete, McClure returned to the track in the 32nd position.
As the race progressed, the team continued to work on improving the car’s overall balance. McClure visited pit road three additional times in the remaining 200 laps. Each stop saw the pit crew change four tires, add fuel, and make chassis adjustments to help the car’s handling. Although the team couldn’t quite get the balance to the liking of McClure, they were still able to salvage a 27th-place finish at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile”.
Eric McClure Quotes:
“It was just a disappointing weekend all around. We are capable of much better and will dig deep to accomplish what we set out to do.”
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