Eric McClure

Loudon, NH (June 28, 2008)—Eric McClure and the Hefty® Racing™ team returned to the site of McClure’s spectacular 2007 crash, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, to compete in the Camping World 200. After struggling with the handling of the car early in practice, the team went back to the drawing board and made several changes to the No. 24 Hefty® brand Chevrolet, greatly improving the speed. After more adjustments Saturday morning, McClure picked up nearly half of a second during time trials, crediting him with the 31st starting position.

When the Camping World 200 commenced, the Virginia native didn’t have time to get a good feel on the handling of his Chevrolet when the first caution occurred on lap two. Therefore, the team decided to stay out under the caution and when the race resumed, McClure remained in the 31st position.

The young driver began struggling with the car’s handling in the center of the corners shortly after lap 20. “I have no grip in the center; I have to wait too long to set the front end of the car”, stated McClure. As a result, the team brought the car to pit road during the second caution on lap 46 to receive tires, fuel, and a chassis adjustment. McClure exited pit road in the 26th position.

As the race progressed, McClure continued to battle the tightness in the center of the corners. The Hefty® Racing™ team made several chassis adjustments during the final two cautions (lap 100 and lap 127) that warranted a some improvement in the car’s handling near the conclusion of the event. As a result, McClure was able to run consistent lap times, while posting his fastest during the event’s final 20 laps. In the end, McClure was able to leave New Hampshire Motor Speedway unscathed and was credited with a 27th place finish.

The next stop for the Hefty® Racing™ team will be Friday, July 4 in the running of the Winn-Dixie 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

Eric McClure quotes:
It wasn’t the finish we wanted, but little by little we keep getting our race performance a bit better, especially the last two races. Carl (Long, crew chief) and Tim (Weiss, consultant) did a great job running the ship this weekend. We unloaded poorly, but the guys really made some good adjustments and we got the Hefty® brand Chevrolet much better during practice. The middle of the long runs hurt us the most. We fought ‘loose in’ and tight in the center’ all day and the adjustments kept helping the exit and somewhat in the center and we were able to get pretty fair at the end, especially late in a run. What we found the car needed to give us what we needed was something we couldn’t change during the race so we’ll make good notes and keep going from here. I’m just happy we were able to run all day and get some much-needed laps, not ride the wall, and get some points.”