As the Nationwide Series headed north of the border for the final road course race of the 2011 season, Eric McClure hoped that the phrase “third time’s a charm” would hold true for the Hefty Racing® team at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Unfortunately, trouble found the Hefty® BlackOut™/Reynolds™ Chevrolet on a pair of occasions and ultimately relegated the team to a 36th-place finish.
“The luck we’ve had the past three races is beyond belief. We were wrecked on the first lap this week, which was completely uncalled for, and any chance for a good run was gone. We came back out and had a fairly fast car considering the damage, and took care of a little business, but we ultimately had to go back to the garage for a leak from the gear. The guys worked hard and we were able to finish, but this stuff happening to our team is getting ridiculous.”
As McClure took the green flag from the 33rd position, trouble immediately found him when the No. 81 car clipped the left rear quarter panel of his No. 14 Chevrolet sending it backwards into the wall. Unable to make the necessary repairs on pit road, McClure took his car to the garage area on lap one where the team worked vigorously to repair the rear of the car. Once repaired, the Hefty® BlackOut™/Reynolds™ Chevrolet returned to the track on lap seven in the 43rd position, six laps down to the race leader.
When the event’s first caution flag waved on lap 14, McClure brought his car to pit road to continue to make additional repairs to the rear of the car and to also receive four tires and fuel. Once the service was complete, the TriStar Motorsports team was scored in the 41st position on the lap 18 restart.
As the field worked lap 21, McClure and the No. 81 car made contact once again. This time, however, the damage was to the left front of the No. 14 Chevrolet. After repairing the additional damage on pit road, McClure returned to the track and maintained the 41st position. By the halfway point of the race the TriStar Motorsports team was able to advance to the 39th position.
Unfortunately, this was not the end of the Hefty Racing® team’s problems as three laps later, under yellow flag conditions, the team realized that a puddle of gear oil was left in the pit stall once the car drove away following the pit service. Rather than returning to the track, McClure found himself once again in the garage area while the team replaced a leaking rear end gasket. Once repaired, McClure returned to the track on lap 52 in the 39th position.
By returning to the track and finishing the event, the Hefty Racing® team was able to salvage a 36th-place finish in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 and maintain the 28th-place position in the NASCAR Owner Standings.
TriStar Motorsports PR
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