Darlington, SC (May 8, 2009)—Eric McClure and the No. 24 Rensi-Hamilton Racing (RHR) team started the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 in the 27th position after qualifying was rained out and the NASCAR rulebook set the field. Having never completed an event at the “Lady in Black” McClure used caution throughout the event and was reminded by spotter and team President, Ronnie Russell, to “race the racetrack”. Fighting a “loose in” and “tight on exit” handling condition throughout the event and “spongy” brakes from before the halfway point, McClure was able to avoid trouble and finish the Diamond Hill Plywood in the 28th position.
“Our Hefty® Odor Block™ Ford was much better than I was today. I have never completed a full race here at Darlington so I knew I might have some problems, which is why the last couple of weeks really hurt. Given our point situation we needed to be very cautious and come out of the event unscathed. Unfortunately, I abused the brakes in practice and early on in the race they became a problem, so I never was able to drive the car as hard into the corner as I needed. I had to back up my entry in-order to stay off the brakes, which hurt us in some speed, but over the long run some guys would back up to us but the caution would catch us at bad times. We lost a couple of extra laps due to the problem but over all we are happy to have completed the event and stay in the top-30 in NASCAR Owner Points and be guaranteed a starting position in Charlotte.”
Starting Friday’s Diamond Hill Plywood 200 in the 27th position, McClure advanced to the 22nd position by the time the first caution occurred on lap one. The No. 24 Hefty® Odor Block™ Ford was able to maintain this position over the next few laps, but began losing ground as his car was loose on entry. Crew Chief Chris Wright brought the Hefty® Ford to pit-road under the third caution on lap 42 to receive four tires with an air-pressure adjustment, track-bar and wedge adjustments, and fuel. After a quick pit-stop by the team, McClure was able to advance three positions and restart the 200-mile event in the 28th position.
Shortly after the re-start, McClure fell to the 33rd position as a result of losing brake pressure, although the handling on the Hefty® Ford had improved. Wright reminded the driver to stay off of the brakes as much as possible and to ease off the throttle sooner on entry to allow the car to roll in the center without using the brakes. As a result, McClure was able to run his fastest lap of the night on lap 105.
During the remainder of the event, there was an additional four cautions, including a green, white, checker finish, allowing No. 24 Rensi-Hamilton Racing team to finish the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 in the 28th position.
