Ft. Worth, TX (April 12, 2013)—With a combined effort from drivers Eric McClure and teammate Jeff Green, the No. 14 Hefty®/Reynolds® Racing team posted a 30th-place finish in Friday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. Consequently, the TriStar Motorsports team slipped one position to 24th in the NASCAR Owner Standings.
McClure, whose children had the stomach flu just days leading up to his departure for the race, came down with the bug himself at the most inopportune time-just an hour prior to Thursday’s practice session. This not only sidelined the Virginia driver from practicing the car, it also sent him to the Emergency Room late that night to receive fluids and medication in hopes of helping his symptoms subside. Although McClure was able to practice and qualify the No. 14 Camry Friday afternoon, he thought it would be best to have teammate Green on standby in the event he had to exit the cockpit prior to the event’s completion.
When the event’s first caution flag waved on lap 25, McClure, who was running in the 37th position, one lap down to the race leader, informed the team that he did in fact need to exit the car. While Green was getting settled into the Hefty®/Reynolds® Camry, the team changed four tires, added fuel, and made several adjustments to help the car’s loose-handling condition. When the race resumed on lap 30, Green was scored in the 37th position, two laps down to the race leader.
Over the next 70 laps, Green visited pit road on three occasions. All were under caution for tires, fuel, and extensive chassis adjustments in hopes of landing a combination that pacified the loose-handling condition on the No. 14 Camry. Although the changes made didn’t seem to help the car’s drivability, Green was still able to work his way up to the 32nd position by the halfway marker of the race.
During the final 100 laps, Green continued to battle an ill-handling car. The team made various adjustments to the car during the ensuing four caution periods, but with every change, the handling became worse. In the end, Green crossed the finish line in the 30th-position.
Driver, Jeff Green Quotes: “First off I hope that Eric feels better; he was really sick on Thursday and wasn’t much better today. I’m just glad I was here to help him out. Something was wrong with the car tonight. No matter what the guys did to try to fix it, it just became worse. I drove as hard as I could and am disappointed to find out it was only for 30th.”
