After earning a career-best finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Eric McClure and the TriStar Motorsports team set their sights on the weekend ahead at Nashville Superspeedway looking to improve on the 32nd-place finish earned there earlier in the season. Despite a car that fought a tight in the center and loose off condition throughout the majority of the event, the team was able to advance from a 32nd starting position to finish the Federated Auto Parts 300 in the 23rd position.
“After last weekend we thought we would run a little better here, but it was definitely an improvement from the way we ran here in April. This track has always been tough for me. The guys are working extremely hard and we are continuing to improve each week. We’ve had a lot of misfortune this year and we just need to keep battling for top 20s and get back up in the points where we should be.”
With temperatures in the mid to upper 90s, Eric McClure took the green flag from the 32nd position and was able to advance three positions by the completion of lap one, despite already reporting a tight condition in the center of the turns. Maintaining the position as the race continued under green conditions, the leaders began making their first pit stop of the night on lap 53. Seven laps later McClure was forced to give up the 23rd position and bring his Hefty® BlackOut™/Reynolds™ car to pit road for four tires with a large air-pressure adjustment and fuel. Following the stop, the Hefty Racing® team was scored in the 29th position.
The adjustments made didn’t seem to pacify the car’s handling as the No. 14 Chevrolet was still showing signs of a tight handling condition through the center of the turns. When the event’s first caution flag waved on lap 81, the team took this opportunity to bring the car to pit road for four scuffed tires with an air-pressure adjustment, a track-bar adjustment and fuel. After a quick stop by the Hefty Racing® team, McClure was scored in the 28th position for the lap 86 restart.
Just as the “wave around” cars from the previous caution were starting to visit pit road for their second stop of the night, the event’s second caution flag waved on lap 127. Needing the car to turn more in the center, McClure gave up the 27th position and brought his car to pit road once again for tires with an air-pressure adjustment, a track-bar adjustment, and fuel. Following the stop, the TriStar Motorsports team was scored in the 25th position for the lap 134 restart.
Over the next ten laps, the handling on the Hefty® BlackOut™/Reynolds™ seemed to show improvement, which allowed the Virginia driver to run his fastest lap of the race on lap 144. However, as the race continued under green flag conditions the car began to suffer from the previous handling characteristics. As a result, McClure lost one position before the event’s third caution flag waved on lap 176. After receiving tires with another air-pressure adjustment, a track-bar adjustment, and fuel, McClure returned to the track where he was scored in the 25th position. When the race resumed on lap 183, the Virginia driver was able to advance two positions in the running order and maintain it until the completion of the event, scoring his second-best finish at the speedway.
TriStar Motorsports PR
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