Ready to tackle the historic 14-turn road course that consisted of eight non-traditional right-handed turns, Eric McClure and his Hefty Racing® team headed to Road America for the running of the Bucyrus 200. Starting the race from the 29th position, McClure, who had only made two laps on the course prior to the weekend, steadily worked his way through the field and was on track to have a career- best finish when the No. 66 car spun in turn six with two laps remaining and made hard contact with the Hefty® Blackout™/Reynolds™ Chevrolet. Unable to finish the event, the TriStar Motorsports team was credited with a 27th-place finish and as a result slipped two positions in the NASCAR Owner Standings.
“I am very disappointed; just heartbroken. We’ve put ourselves in position to get good results on several occasions, but something always seems to happen to us. It seems like people just lose their minds at the end of the road races, usually the same guys, and this time we were collected. I did have a lot of fun and enjoyed racing the course and got better as the race went on. The whole team did a great job, our strategy was good, and we ran some solid times. Everything was good but the finish.”
When the 50-lap event began, the No. 14 Hefty® BlackOut™/Reynolds™ Chevrolet began advancing from its 29th-place starting position. Running in the 23rd position when the event’s first caution flag was displayed on lap six, the call was made to bring the car to pit road for four tires with an air-pressure adjustment and fuel. Once the service was complete, the 32-year-old driver returned to the track and maintained his position for the lap nine restart.
The event’s second caution flag was displayed on lap 20 which allowed McClure, who had climbed to the 15th position, to visit pit road for four tires, fuel, and a small chassis adjustment. Once the service was complete, the No. 14 returned to the track in the 22nd position. Unfortunately, as the driver was making his way around the 14-turn course, a small vibration became noticeable in the car. Rather than risking the possibility of further issues, McClure visited pit road once again to make sure all of the wheels were tight and to top off the fuel cell. When the race resumed on lap 24 the TriStar Motorsports team was scored in the 25th position.
When the event’s third caution flag was displayed on lap 26, crew chief Gary Cogswell took this opportunity to bring the Hefty® BlackOut™/Reynolds™ Chevrolet to pit road for fuel only on both lap 27 and 28. Cogswell then instructed his driver to conserve fuel when possible as the team was going to take a gamble and not visit pit road again if the race remained under green conditions.
As the race resumed on lap 29 McClure steadily worked his way around the 14-turn course and was running in the 22nd position when the leaders began making their final pit stops on lap 33. By remaining on track McClure was able to advance as high as the fourth position.
With a career-high finish within grasp, McClure was holding steady in the 14th position when the event’s fourth caution flag waved on lap 47 setting up an overtime situation. With the No. 14 machine not having enough fuel for the extra laps, McClure was forced to bring the car to pit road on lap 48 for four tires and fuel. Restarting in the 21st position when the race resumed, McClure quickly advanced to the 17th position before the caution flag waved once again for a multi-car accident. Remaining on track, the No. 14 Chevrolet lined up in the 16th position on lap 52 for the second attempt at a green, white, checkered flag finish. As the field entered turn six, the No. 66 car ran off course and spun across the track, making hard contact with the Hefty® BlackOut™/Reynolds™ Impala. Unable to drive the car away from the accident site, the Hefty Racing® team was credited with a 27th-place finish.
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