Eric McClure

Daytona Beach, FL (July 4, 2008)—Hefty® Racing™ driver Eric McClure headed to the Daytona Int’l Speedway on Independence Day to participate in the final superspeedway event of the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series. After struggling with the characteristics of the car during Friday’s practice session, the Front Row Motorsports team made significant and necessary changes to the Hefty® brand Chevrolet. As a result, McClure was able to qualify in the 30th position.

Once the race began, it was evident that McClure was fighting an ill-handling car as he slid back to the 40th position by the completion of lap five. “I am tight behind a car and am ‘snappy’ loose off. I have no grip”, stated McClure. The team took advantage of the first caution on lap 13 to add tape to the grill and raise the track bar in hopes that the handling issue would pacify. McClure restarted the event in the 26th position.

However, on lap 30, the radiator on the No. 24 Chevrolet came apart in turn three, sending the car for a spin. Following a quick stop in the pits to assess the damage, the team took the car to the garage area for repairs.

The Hefty® Racing™ team worked diligently to replace the radiator and front valence of the car, allowing McClure to return to competition on lap 78, numerous laps down to the race leader. After completing the remainder of the 100 laps, the Virginia native was able to gain one position in the finishing order, coming home in the 38th position.

Catch the Hefty® brand Chevrolet on Friday, July 11 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Eric McClure quotes:
“It was a disappointing night for the Hefty® Racing™ team for sure. We had a radiator bust at the seam and the car just snapped around when we ran over the water. According to the team, I made a good save, but I’m just glad we didn’t tear the car up. The guys worked hard to get us back out there and we rode around and tried to use the race for a test session. We had some serious problems in practice, not related to the setup, and Carl (Long) and the boys did a great job finding them. We had a decent qualifying run and were optimistic about a good showing for Hefty® brand and Waverly Property Group. It just didn’t work out the way we hoped.”