Concord, NC (May 23, 2009)—Eric McClure and his No. 24 Hefty® Odor Block™ team started the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 in the 29th position and was running on seven cylinders by lap 60. By maintaining momentum on the high-side of the speedway, coupled with timely cautions, the Rensi-Hamilton Racing driver was able to finish the 200-lap event in the 19th position.
“I couldn’t be happier with our finish today. We lost a cylinder or something happened to the engine early on in the race, so I had to change the line I was running to keep momentum. It was fun to try some things out there. We were still running decent speeds considering the circumstances, and a couple of timely cautions occurred during green-flag pit stops that helped us advance our position and get our laps back. Chris (Wright, crew chief) and the guys made a couple of great calls to get us in that position. Ultimately, we needed to come out of Charlotte with a solid finish and we did just that.”
Starting the race from the 29th position after picking up nearly nine tenths of a second during time trials, McClure slid to the 36th position and immediately reported a car that was “too loose on entry and through the middle of the corners.” Wright brought the car to pit-road twice under the first caution on lap 23 to receive tires, fuel, track-bar and wedge adjustments, and to remove tape from the front grille as the water temperature had climbed considerably. After the pit service, the Hefty® Odor Block™ Ford restarted the event in the 35th position.
Over the next twenty-five laps, McClure was able to advance two positions and was gaining on additional cars when the engine in his No. 24 Ford Fusion appeared to lose a cylinder. Rather than bringing the car to pit-road and losing more ground, spotter Ronnie Russell instructed the driver to move to the high-lane to keep as much momentum as possible. After losing a lap to the race leader a timely caution on lap 89, during a round of green-flag pit stops, allowed McClure to return to the lead lap. During the caution, the car was brought to pit-road where the team’s engine specialist discovered an inner valve spring in one of the cylinders had broken, but noted that it should remain intact for the remainder of the event. When the race resumed shortly before the half-way mark, the RHR team was shown in the 19th position.
As the race progressed, the driver continued to run the high-line around the 1.5-mile speedway. When the third caution occurred on lap 151, McClure had advanced to the 17th position, although the car’s handling was now tight. The team brought the car to pit-road for tires, fuel, and a slight adjustment. When the race resumed, the No. 24 Hefty® Odor Block™ Ford was shown in the 19th position and remained there until lap 170, when the remainder of the race was called due to inclement weather. As a result, the RHR team was able to advance to the 27th position in NASCAR Owner Points.
