McClure Ready to Get Back to Track and in Hefty® Odor Block® Ford:

• After sitting out last weekend’s event in Montreal because of a concussion suffered during a pair of accidents at BMS, Eric McClure is ready to get back in the car at AMS.

• The Great Clips 300 will mark the Virginia driver’s 131st career NNS start if he can earn one of the 43 starting positions.

• Historically, AMS hasn’t been one of McClure’s favorite tracks on the circuit as he has suffered two DNFs in three starts. His 2007 debut resulted in a 37th-place finish because of a gear failure and an accident in 2008 relegated the team to a 33rd-place finish.

• TRM will utilize chassis number 35 this weekend at AMS. It was last used at Nashville Superspeedway in June where it recorded a 26th-place finish.


Eric McClure quotes:
“I am really looking forward to getting back in the car this weekend at AMS. The team had a great finish last weekend and I believe if we can get the car qualified we can improve on my finish here last year and that would be another great weekend for the team.”

Quick Notes
September 4, 2010
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Race: Great Clips 300
Length: 195 laps | 300.3 miles

TV: ESPN 2 │7:00 pm /ET

Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN) │ 7:00 pm/ET

Sirius Satellite Radio | 7:00 pm/ET

No. 24 Ford Specs
Chassis: No. 35
Engine: Roush Yates Engines

Eric McClure AMS Stats
Year No. Team Start Finish
2009 24 TRM 34 26
2008 24 FRM 30 33
2007 0 JDM 42 37

*TRM- Team Rensi Motorsports
*FRM- Front Row Motorsports
*JDM-Johnny Davis Motorsports

Follow McClure and Team

Facebook: Fans of Eric McClure

Twitter: @heftyracing24

www.ericmcclure.com (driver)

Montreal, Quebec (August 29, 2010)—Team Rensi Motorsports (TRM) headed to Montreal (Canada) for the NAPA Auto Parts 200 without its regular driver, Eric McClure, who was recovering from a concussion suffered during a pair of accidents at Bristol Motor Speedway. Disappointed he couldn’t participate in one of his favorite races on the circuit, he called upon good friend and St. Thomas, Ontario (Canada) native, DJ Kennington, to drive the No. 24 Del Monte® entry for the event.

Kennington, who has had much success on the 2.708-mile road course in three different series’, qualified the TRM entry in the 30th position, overcame a pit road mishap shortly before halfway, and stayed out of trouble to post not only his career best NNS finish but a season high 11th for the team.

“What a fantastic race! The whole team did such a great job”, stated Kennington. “Chris Wright, the crew chief, kept me focused on the strategy and it really worked out for us. We had a little mishap on the first pit stop but everybody shook it off and we had a great stop the second time around. To have my best career Nationwide Series finish and give the team their best finish of the year is such a thrill. I can’t thank Eric (McClure) enough for this opportunity and I hope his recovery is going well. I also have to thank all my sponsors, Castrol Edge and Hitachi Power Tools who helped make this possible and for Del Monte for allowing me to drive in place of Eric.”

Prior to the start of the NAPA Auto Parts 200, the team, led by Crew Chief Chris Wright, discussed a game plan which consisted of pit strategy and fuel and brake conservation.

While running in the 19th position a multi-car accident occurred on lap 11. With several of the leaders visiting pit road for a routine service Kennington didn’t deviate from the plan and stayed on track allowing him to restart the race on lap 17 from the 13th position. Losing three positions in three laps, the event’s fourth caution flag waved on lap 20. Rather than pitting under caution the No. 24 Del Monte® Ford decided to take a chance and visit pit road for four tires and fuel when the race resumed on lap 24. After losing valuable time on pit road to replace a lug nut that had fallen off during the stop, Kennington returned to the track in the 34th position.

Advancing to the 26th position by the halfway point of the race Wright continued to remind Kennington to save his equipment to the end. Green flag pit stops for the leaders began on lap 44 allowing the Del Monte® car to make up some of the ground lost and advance to the 16th position by lap 50. Continuing to stick to the game plan Kennington brought his car to pit road on lap 51 for tires and fuel. Returning to the track in the 22nd position he once again began working his way through the field and was scored in the 17th position with only ten laps remaining in the event.

In the closing laps, the event saw three additional cautions, one, a multi-car accident that the driver narrowly avoided, which forced a 19-minute red flag condition and a green- white-checkered finish. Despite the car’s brakes fading Wright instructed Kennington to not worry about saving the equipment. In the end the St. Thomas, Ontario native was able to finish a NNS career best 11th in the NAPA Auto Parts 200. This finish was also the team’s best finish of the season. TRM’s regular driver, Eric McClure, plans to return to the driver’s seat next weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway pending medical clearance.

TMI announced today that due to effects following two hard crashes during last weekend’s event at Bristol Motor Speedway, Eric McClure will be sidelined for this weekend’s NASCAR Nationwide Series event in Montreal. DJ Kennington, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series driver, and friend of McClure, will pilot the No. 24 Team Rensi Motorsports entry during the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Kennington, a St. Thomas, Ontario native, has seven starts in three different series (CASCAR Super Series, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, and NASCAR Nationwide Series) at the 2.708-mile road course and has recorded four top-5 and four top-10 finishes. This weekend’s event will mark the 33-year-old driver’s 46th career Nationwide Series start and fourth at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve if he can earn one of the 43-starting positions.
TMI also announced that Del Monte© Foods will continue its relationship with TMI/Team Rensi Motorsports during the 2010 season by serving as primary sponsor for the event. This partnership began in 2009 with the event at Watkins Glen International Raceway and the familiar green colors of the Del Monte® brand will once again be on the No. 24 car this weekend. Additional sponsorship will be provided from two of Kennington’s NASCAR Canadian Tire Series sponsors, Castrol EDGE and Hitachi Power Tools.
DJ Kennington quotes:
“While I’m sorry that Eric isn’t able to drive the car this week I’m really happy to be working with him and the No. 24 team. This opportunity came pretty late but we’ve had great support from our longtime sponsor Castrol and Hitachi Power Tools came on board this year and have been great to work with. I’m glad to have them on board with us for this race. I’ve run quite a bit at this track and I believe we can have a very strong finish.”
Eric McClure quotes:
“After the accidents at Bristol it was strongly suggested by the medical team present that I take a week off and heal and have some tests run. As a result, as much as I like road racing and feel I’ve improved, with the expected number of entries for Montreal, we are able to have someone with a lot more experience, like DJ, in the car. This gives the car a greater opportunity qualifying, and the additional sponsorship he has will certainly be a help to the team. So, I guess the timing of this turned out pretty well and it’s a positive for everyone involved.”

• Saturday’s event will mark Eric McClure’s 131st career start and his tenth at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” if he can earn one of the 43 starting positions.

• In nine events, the Virginia driver has a best start of 28th (2008/2009) and a best finish of 24th in March.

• This weekend TRM will utilize chassis No. 28 which was used last at ORP en route to a 26th-place finish. This is the third time this chassis has been used at BMS by the Virginia driver.

• For a second consecutive year Food City will adorn the quarter- panels on McClure’s No. 24 Hefty® Odor Block® Ford Fusion, serving as a co-primary sponsor during the Food City 250. Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Store operates 105 food outlets throughout the tri-state regions of Southwest Virginia, Southeast Kentucky and Northeast Tennessee.

• Leading up to Friday night’s race the 31-year-old driver will be making special appearances at both Food City Family Race Nights. One is held on Wednesday, August 18 (6pm – 8pm) at the Expo Center in Knoxville, TN and the other on Thursday, August 19 (5pm – 7pm) on State Street in Bristol, Virginia/Tennessee.

Eric McClure quotes:
“I am excited to get back to my home track for no other reason than my home is just 20 minutes north of the speedway. Bristol isn’t a track I favor on the circuit, but hopefully that will change this weekend and we can get our Hefty® Odor Block®/Food City® Ford in the show and have a decent race. We have a lot of family and friends coming so we want to have a good weekend.”

Quick Notes
August 20, 2010
Bristol Motor Speedway
Race: Food City 250
Length: 250 laps | 133.24 miles

TV: Live on ESPN │8:00 pm /ET

Radio: Live on Performance Racing Network (PRN) │ 8:00 pm/ET

No. 24 Ford Specs
Chassis: No. 28
Engine: Roush Yates Engines

Eric McClure BMS Stats
Year No. Team Start Finish
2010 24 TRM 42 24
2009 24 TRM 28 26
2009 24 TRM 39 25
2008 24 FRM 28 30
2008 24 FRM 36 31
2007 0 JDM 41 24
2007 0 JDM 32 42
2006 04 MMM 39 41
2004 56 MHill 36 43

*TRM- Team Rensi Motorsports
*FRM- Front Row Motorsports
*MMM- Morgan-McClure
*MHill- Mac Hill Motorsports

Follow McClure and Team
Facebook: Fans of Eric McClure

Twitter: @heftyracing24

www.ericmcclure.com (driver)

Brooklyn, MI (August 14, 2010)—Eric McClure and the Hefty® Racing™ Team headed to the Michigan Int’l Speedway for the second “New Car” race of the Nationwide Series season. Never pacifying the same loose handling characteristic that occurred during last month’s “New Car” debut, the Virginia driver was still able to overcome his 39th-place qualifying effort to finish the CARFAX 250 in the 30th position.

“We didn’t get the finish we wanted today. I have no experience in these cars and as a small team, despite how hard the guys work, there’s not a lot of time to devote a great deal of extra attention to this deal. We slowed down in qualifying from our practice session because the car was extremely loose and unfortunately there were long green flag runs today and we just couldn’t overcome it. We took the wave around once which hurt us. We did make the race though which is a plus; we just can’t experience.”

Starting the race from the 39th position the Hefty® Odor Block®/Kroger® Mustang began working its way through the field despite being loose on entry. When green flag pit stops began on lap 30 McClure was scored in the 30th position, but was able to advance to the 25th position before making his way to pit road on lap 45 for four “scuffed” tires with a large air-pressure adjustment, a track-bar adjustment and fuel. Upon returning to the race, the Team Rensi Motorsports team was scored in the 32nd position.

As the race progressed the Hefty® Odor Block®/Kroger® Mustang became more secure on entry but had become “loose through the center of the turns.” Rather than visiting pit road for adjustments when the first caution flag waved on lap 61 the call was made to stay on track and receive the “Wave Around.” On the lap 67 restart the driver was scored in the 30th position where he remained until green flag pit stops began on lap 101.

Having not visited pit road since early in the event, the call was made to visit pit road on lap 102 for fuel and right side “scuffed” tires only. Slipping to the 31st position McClure was able to advance one position in the closing laps to finish the CARFAX 250 in the 30th position.

Up next for the Hefty® Racing™ team is the Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, August 20, 2010.