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[/media-credit]No. 14 Team Faces Myriad of Issues to Finish in the 32nd Position
Start- 18th
Finish- 32nd
Laps Lead- 0
Driver Points-20th (McClure)
Owner Points-29th
Jeff Green and the No. 14 Hefty®/Reynolds Wrap® Racing™ team finished a disappointing 32nd in Saturday’s History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Despite starting the 200-lap event from the 18th position, the Owensboro, KY native battled an ill-handling car throughout the first half of the race before a broken drive shaft ultimately forced the team’s second DNF in as many weeks.
During the early stages of the event, Green informed the Wes Ward-led crew that the No. 14 patriotic-themed Camry had developed a loose-handling condition. A visit to pit road during a lap 13 caution allowed the team to make a major chassis adjustment to improve the car’s handling. A caution period on lap 52 allowed the Hefty®/Reynolds Wrap® Racing™ team to again make additional chassis adjustments, change four tires, and add fuel . As the green flag racing continued, the adjustments made seemed to have slightly improved the car’s handling as Green, running one lap down to the race leader, had advanced to the 24th position at the halfway point of the race. However, bad luck again found the No.14 team as Green radioed the crew on lap 102 that the drive shaft had broken on the car. After visiting the garage area on two separate occasions to attempt to repair the issue, the team was finally forced to retire from the event with just 15 laps remaining. In the end, the TriStar Motorsports team was credited with a 32nd-place finish.
Despite the finish, TriStar Motorsports owner Mark Smith advanced one position (29th) in NASCAR Owner Standings, while the team’s primary driver, Eric McClure, remained in the top 20 in driver points despite missing his third consecutive event due to injury.
