Coming off two disappointing weekends that ended with damaged race cars, Eric McClure and the TriStar Motorsports team hoped to find an improved result at Chicagoland Speedway where, earlier in the season, they scored a season-best finish (18th). Despite qualifying in the 41st position and obtaining damage to the right side of the car early in the event after being squeezed into the wall by another competitor, McClure was able to rebound and salvage a 25th-place finish.
“We didn’t wreck at least, but we’re certainly a bit disappointed with our finish. We had a decent car compared to the guys we normally race, but had a poor qualifying effort. For some reason the 39 ran us into the wall on a restart early in the race and knocked the front end over and gave us a bit of right side damage. We came back to the top 20, but during the second part of the race we had a lug nut hang up on the left rear during a green flag stop, which hurt our finish. It’s always something when we’re running fairly decent, but we just need to regroup during our off weekend and be ready to go in Dover.”
After rolling off the grid 41st in the Hefty® BlackOut™/Reynolds™ Chevrolet, McClure made quick work of the cars ahead of him and was scored in the 33rd position at the completion of lap two. Reporting that the car was loose on entry, the team utilized the first caution period on lap six to receive fuel and a chassis adjustment. Just after the race resumed on lap 10, spotter Billy O’Dea informed the crew that the car slid into the wall after being hit in the left rear by another competitor, but the damage was minimal. Slipping four positions as a result, McClure regained his momentum and was able to advance to the 30th-position when the event’s second caution flag waved on lap 45. Despite needing another chassis adjustment to help the car’s drivability, the team decided to take a gamble and stay on track to receive the wave around. Hoping for a quick caution as the car would need to visit pit road for fuel in less than 15 laps, the race resumed on lap 50 with McClure being scored in the 23rd position.
Just as it appeared the gamble was not going to pay dividends, the event’s third caution flag was displayed on lap 64, keeping the team on the lead lap. McClure visited pit road for four scuffed tires and fuel. Following the stop, the No. 14 Hefty® BlackOut™/Reynolds™ Chevrolet was scored in the 22nd position.
As the race continued under green conditions, the Virginia driver was able to maintain his position in the running order, despite the car not being able to run the preferred line around the speedway. Green flag pit stops began on lap 113, with the orange and black machine coming to pit road on lap 125 for four scuffed tires with an adjustment to the air pressure and fuel. Losing valuable time as a result of a jammed lug nut on the left rear tire, the team was scored in the 27th position when all green flag pit stops were complete.
Over the next 50 laps McClure steadily worked his way through the field once again and was shown in the 21st position with 28 laps remaining in the event. Needing fuel to make it to the end, the Hefty Racing® team made one last pit stop for fuel and two right side scuffed tires on lap 185. Once the stop was complete, McClure returned to the track to finish the Dollar General 300 in the 25th position.
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