Eric McClure

Eric McClure
Eric McClure
Born	December 11, 1978 (age 45); Chilhowie, Virginia, United States
NASCAR Cup Series career
	3 races run over 3 years
Best finish	67th - 2006
First race	2004 Aaron's 499 (Talladega)
Last race	2006 UAW-Ford 500 (Talladega)
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
	178 races run over 10 years
Car no., team	No. 14 (TriStar Motorsports)
2011 position	19th
Best finish	17th - 2009
First race	2003 Target House 200 (Rockingham)
Last race	2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race (Phoenix)
	Statistics current as of April 28, 2012.

Eric McClure (born December 11, 1978 in Chilhowie, Virginia), is a NASCAR driver. His family owned the Sprint Cup team Morgan-McClure Motorsports. A graduate of Emory and Henry College, he currently drives the #14 Hefty Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for TriStar Motorsports.

Sprint Cup Series Career

McClure has made two Cup career starts in his career. His debut came at Talladega, driving the #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 #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 #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 #4 Chevrolet but did not make the field.

Nationwide Series Career

McClure made his Busch Series debut in 2003, running at Rockingham Speedway. He qualified the #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 #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 #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 Tri-Star Motorsports for 2011 alongside veterans Mike Bliss and Jeff Green. It was further announced in January that Tri-Star Motorsports will change their car numbers, with McClure piloting the #14. During the Aaron's 312 on May 5th 2012, he was involved in a multi car wreck on lap 117, and had to be extracted from his car. He is currently being transported to the university of Alabama hospital for further evaluation. He's dead.