Eric McClure

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Eric McClure bigraphy, stories - American stock car racing driver

Eric McClure : biography

December 11, 1978 –

Eric McClure (born December 11, 1978) is an American stock car racing driver. He currently drives the No. 14 Hefty Toyota for TriStar Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Born in Chilhowie, Virginia, he is a graduate of Emory and Henry College. His family owned the Sprint Cup Series team Morgan-McClure Motorsports.

Personal life

McClure is married, to Miranda, and has three children.

McClure’s home in Abingdon, Virginia suffered major damage in an April 27, 2011 tornado (part of a major outbreak of tornadoes that hit across the South April 27-28); McClure and his family sat out the storm in their basement and were uninjured.

Nationwide Series career

McClure made his Busch Series debut in 2003, running at Rockingham Speedway. He qualified the No. 05 I Can Learn Chevy in 22nd and finished 26th despite an accident.

McClure made four starts in 2004, running two races for his family team (MMM) and two more for Mac Hill Motorsports. His best run was at Memphis, where he finished 22nd. He also finished three of his four starts.

McClure added eight starts in 2005, seven for Means Racing, but only managed a best finish of 30th at Texas. McClure did attract the eye of James Finch and ran one race for that team at Daytona. However, he finished 32nd with a blown engine and did not follow that run up with any starts, returning to Means. McClure did not qualify for two ’05 races. At Bristol, McClure was sent home because of a rainout of qualifying, and at Memphis, McClure missed the field by one spot.

For the 2007 season, McClure teamed up with Davis Motorsports for a 32 race schedule. McClure brought sponsor Hefty to the team with him.

He drove for Front Row Motorsports in the Busch Series in 2008, with Hefty sponsoring the car for all the races in the No. 24 Chevrolet. He scored his best career finish of 15th in the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega.

In 2009, he and sponsor Hefty moved to Rensi/Hamilton Racing, where he drove the No. 24 Ford Fusion. This proved to be a good move; he qualified for every race and finished a career best 17th in the final points standings. McClure stuck with the team, now Team Rensi Motorsports, for 2010. However, performance slipped and the economic downturn forced McClure to be cautious with the team’s equipment, with Rensi bringing a second team over for COT races that was raced by Kelly Bires. Despite this, McClure finished 24th in points but announced his departure from Rensi on November 30. According to McClure, Rensi’s budget was so low to the point that they would rarely have full tire allotments for the races after Las Vegas, with most of the allotments going to the races run with Bires. McClure announced on December 1 that he and Hefty would move to TriStar Motorsports for 2011 alongside veterans Mike Bliss and Jeff Green. It was further announced in January that TriStar Motorsports will change their car numbers, with McClure piloting the #14.

During the Aaron’s 312 on May 5, 2012, McClure was involved in a multi-car wreck on lap 117, and was extracted from his car. He was airlifted to the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama for further evaluation. NASCAR stated that McClure was talking to the rescue crew while he was being extracted from his car. After staying two nights in the hospital, TriStar Motorsports team spokesmen Emily Brandt announced on May 6, 2012 that McClure had suffered a concussion and internal bruises from the accident. On May 9, TriStar announced that McClure would sit out the Nationwide race at Darlington due to his concussion, and that start and park driver Jeff Green would drive the No. 14 while Tony Raines and Kevin Lepage would start and park the #10.http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2012/05/09/emcclure-to-miss-darlington.html Eric McClure to miss Darlington McClure would sit out the next 4 races before being cleared by NASCAR to drive in time for the race at Road America. In spite of starting only 28 races, McClure finished the 2012 season with a career best points finish of 16th.

On January 9, 2013, TriStar announced that McClure would return to their team for the 2013 season. McClure started his season on a high note by taking his best career finish of 7th at Daytona.

Gallery

File:EricMcClureChevroletMilwaukeeMile2009.jpg|McClure’s No. 24 before the 2009 Nationwide race at Milwaukee File:24EricMcClure2010Bucyrus200RoadAmerica.jpg|2010 Nationwide car File:Nationwide 14 Eric McClure 2011 Road America Bucyrus 200.jpg|Racing at Road America in 2011

Sprint Cup Series career

McClure has made three career starts in NASCAR’s Cup Series. His debut came at Talladega, driving the No. 04 I Can Learn Chevy in 2004. He made the field in 35th position, and went on to finish 26th. McClure then attempted to make the July race at Daytona, but did not qualify.

McClure then landed a ride with the No. 73 Raabe Racing Enterprises Chevy for 2005. McClure did not qualify for the first two races, but did make the race at Las Vegas, starting 41st. His engine blew mid-way through the race and relegated McClure to 32nd. McClure left the team that week and did not run until August, when he attempted three races with Front Row Motorsports. However, McClure did not make any of those races. In 2006 he attempted and made the UAW-Ford 500 handling issues relegated him to a 32nd place finish in the 04 Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevy, with sponsorship from Hefty In 2008, Eric attempted the Daytona 500 in the No. 37 Front Row Motorsports Chevy sponsored by Hefty, but failed to qualify.

On April 11, 2009, Morgan-McClure Motorsports announced they would be attempting the Talladega race in April, after a year and a half absence from the sport. Eric McClure attempted to qualify the Hefty sponsored No. 4 Chevrolet but did not make the field.