Eric McClure

American stock car racing driver (1978–2021)

Eric Wayne McClure (December 11, 1978 – May 2, 2021) was an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He last competed part time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 0 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports.

McClure made three career starts in NASCAR's Cup Series. His debut came at Talladega, driving the No. 04 I Can Learn Chevy in 2004. He made the field in 35th position, and went on to finish 26th. McClure then attempted to make the July race at Daytona, but did not qualify. McClure then landed a ride with the No. 73 Raabe Racing Enterprises Chevy for 2005. McClure did not qualify for the first two races, but did make the race at Las Vegas, starting 41st. His engine blew midway through the race and relegated McClure to 32nd. McClure left the team that week and did not run until August, when he attempted three races with Front Row Motorsports. However, McClure did not make any of those races. In 2006 he attempted and made the UAW Ford 500, where handling issues relegated him to a 32nd place finish in the No. 04 Morgan McClure Motorsports Chevy, with a sponsorship from Hefty. In 2008, McClure attempted the Daytona 500 in the No. 37 Front Row Motorsports Chevy sponsored by Hefty, but failed to qualify. On April 11, 2009, Morgan McClure Motorsports announced they would be attempting the Talladega race in April, after a year and a half absence from the sport. Eric McClure attempted to qualify the Hefty sponsored No. 4 Chevrolet but did not make the field. In January 2014, McClure announced that he would attempt to compete in the 2014 Daytona 500 driving the No. 35 Ford for Front Row Motorsports; he failed to qualify for the race. In May 2014, McClure returned to the No. 35 car for Front Row Motorsports at Talladega, but failed to make the race.

McClure made his Busch Series debut in 2003, running at Rockingham Speedway. He qualified the No. 05 I Can Learn Chevy in 22nd and finished 26th despite an accident. McClure made four starts in 2004, running two races for his family team (MMM) and two more for Mac Hill Motorsports. His best run was at Memphis, where he finished 22nd. He also finished three of his four starts. McClure added eight starts in 2005, seven for Means Racing, but only managed a best finish of 30th at Texas. McClure did attract the eye of James Finch and ran one race for that team at Daytona. However, he finished 32nd with a blown engine and did not follow that run up with any starts, returning to Means. McClure did not qualify for two races. At Bristol, McClure was sent home because of a rainout of qualifying, and at Memphis, McClure missed the field by one spot. For the 2007 season, McClure teamed up with Davis Motorsports for a 32 race schedule. McClure brought sponsor Hefty to the team with him. He drove for Front Row Motorsports in the Busch Series in 2008, with Hefty sponsoring the car for all the races in the No. 24 Chevrolet. He scored his best career finish of 15th in the Aaron's 312 at Talladega

In 2009, he and sponsor Hefty moved to Rensi/Hamilton Racing, where he drove the No. 24 Ford Fusion. This proved to be a good move; he qualified for every race and finished a career best 17th in the final points standings. McClure stuck with the team, now Team Rensi Motorsports, for 2010. However, performance slipped and the economic downturn forced McClure to be cautious with the team's equipment, with Rensi bringing a second team over for COT races that was raced by Kelly Bires. Despite this, McClure finished 24th in points but announced his departure from Rensi on November 30. According to McClure, Rensi's budget was so low to the point that they would rarely have full tire allotments for the races after Las Vegas, with most of the allotments going to the races run with Bires. McClure announced on December 1, 2010, that he and Hefty would move to TriStar Motorsports for 2011 alongside series veterans Mike Bliss and Jeff Green. It was further announced in January that TriStar Motorsports will change their car numbers, with McClure piloting the No. 14 Hefty Blackout Toyota. McClure would suffer his second career concussion after a hard crash at the Subway Jalapeño 250 at Daytona in July. He would finish the season 19th in points. During the 2012 Aaron's 312, McClure was involved in a 16 car pile up on lap 117, when cars spun in front of him and he slammed the inside wall head on. McClure was extracted from his car. He was airlifted to the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, for further evaluation. NASCAR stated that McClure was talking to the rescue crew while he was being extracted from his car. After staying two nights in the hospital, TriStar Motorsports team spokesperson Emily Brandt announced on May 6, 2012, that McClure had suffered another concussion, the third of his career, and internal bruises from the accident. On May 9, TriStar announced that McClure would sit out the Nationwide race at Darlington due to his concussion, and that start and park driver Jeff Green would drive the No. 14 while Tony Raines and Kevin Lepage would start and park the No. 10. McClure would sit out the next 4 races before being cleared by NASCAR to drive in time for the race at Road America. In spite of starting only 28 races, McClure finished the 2012 season with a career best points finish of 16th. On January 9, 2013, TriStar announced that McClure would return to their team for the 2013 season. McClure started his season on a high note by taking his best career finish of eighth at Daytona. In August, however, he was hospitalized with what was determined to be acute renal failure; he was forced to step out of the No. 14 car for four races while he recovered, being substituted for again by Jeff Green. McClure returned to competition in September at Chicagoland Speedway. He missed a race later in the year at Texas Motor Speedway due to medical issues, before being hospitalized again prior to the season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway. Before the 2014 season McClure announced that he would only be running a partial schedule in the Nationwide Series. After 9 races however, both he and JGL parted ways and McClure returned to TriStar Motorsports for the rest of the season, with JGL allowing him to continue to run the 24 car for that team. At the fall race at Kentucky, McClure would suffer his fourth concussion, in a single car crash in turn 3. In 2016, McClure joined JD Motorsports for the season opener at Daytona, driving the No. 0 Chevrolet Camaro.

On July 28, 2015, McClure and former Nationwide driver Hal Martin formed Martin McClure Racing, a K&N Pro Series East team. Among the team's drivers were Chad Finchum and Austin Cindric. McClure stepped away from the team in 2018 after his domestic violence arrest.

McClure was born in Chilhowie, Virginia, and was a graduate of Emory and Henry College. He was married to Miranda from 2004 until their divorce in 2018, and had seven daughters. McClure's home in Abingdon, Virginia, suffered major damage in an April 27, 2011 tornado. However, McClure and his family sat out the storm in their basement and were uninjured. On February 11, 2018, McClure was arrested for domestic violence. McClure plead no contest to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge and sentenced to 12 months probation, substance abuse counseling, and was ordered to undergo a mental health assessment. McClure's ex wife said that McClure choked her and hit her in front of their children.

NASCAR Xfinity Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Pts Ref 2003 Morgan McClure Motorsports 05 Chevy DAY CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX TAL NSH CAL RCH GTY NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL PHO CAR26 HOM 130th 85 2004 04 DAY CAR LVS30 DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL CAL GTY RCH NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA PPR IRP RCHDNQ DOV KAN CLTDNQ MEM22 ATL PHO DAR HOMDNQ 82nd 268 Mac Hill Motorsports 56 Chevy MCH33 BRI43 CAL 2005 Jimmy Means Racing 52 Ford DAY CAL MXC LVS ATL NSH41 TEX30 PHO38 TAL DARDNQ RCHDNQ CLTDNQ DOV NSH31 KEN MLW34 CHIDNQ NHADNQ PPR40 GTYDNQ IRP GLN MCHDNQ CAL39 RCH DOV KAN CLT 72nd 440 Morgan McClure Motorsports 04 Chevy BRIDNQ BRIDNQ MEMDNQ PHODNQ HOM Phoenix Racing 09 Dodge DAY32 Davis Motorsports 0 Chevy TEXDNQ 2006 Morgan McClure Motorsports 04 Chevy DAY CAL MXC LVS ATL BRI TEX NSH PHO TAL RCH DAR CLTDNQ DOV NSH MLW DAY CHI NHA MAR GTY IRP GLN MCH BRI41 CAL RCH DOV KAN CLTDNQ MEM TEX PHO HOM 125th 74 MacDonald Motorsports 72 Chevy KEN43 2007 D. D. L. Motorsports 0 Chevy DAY35 CAL40 MXC LVS26 ATL37 BRI24 NSH26 TEX29 PHO30 TAL18 RCHDNQ DAR40 CLTDNQ DOV28 NSH35 KEN32 MLW31 NHA37 DAY36 CHI41 GTY37 IRP29 CGV GLN MCHDNQ BRI42 CAL37 RCH42 DOV26 KAN42 CLTDNQ MEM28 TEX40 PHODNQ HOMDNQ 38th 1639 2008 Front Row Motorsports24 Chevy DAY34 CAL28 LVS22 ATL33 BRI30 NSH31 TEX36 PHO29 MXC TAL15 RCH32 DAR33 CLT29 DOV26 NSH28 KEN28 MLW29 NHA27 DAY38 CHI32 GTY21 IRP27 CGV GLN MCH27 BRI31 CAL32 RCH29 DOV24 KAN33 CLT22 MEM27 TEX32 PHO32 HOM32 21st 2429 2009 Rensi Hamilton Racing Ford DAY26 CAL30 LVS16 BRI26 TEX34 NSH26 PHO22 TAL25 RCH39 DAR28 CLT19 DOV23 NSH22 KEN30 NHA33 DAY28 CHI31 GTY23 IRP23 IOW20 GLN30 MCH28 BRI25 CGV22 ATL26 RCH29 DOV24 KAN25 CAL28 CLT18 MEM30 TEX19 PHO28 HOM28 17th 2962 Chevy MLW32 2010 Ford DAY17 CAL35 LVS21 BRI24 NSH29 PHO27 TEX28 TAL22 RCH31 DAR27 DOV24 CLT29 NSH26 KEN29 ROA27 NHA29 DAY36 CHI29 GTY26 IRP26 IOWDNQ GLN31 MCH30 BRIDNQ CGV ATL30 RCH30 DOV29 KAN33 CALDNQ CLT23 GTYDNQ TEX26 PHODNQ HOM37 24th 2304 2011 TriStar Motorsports 14 Chevy DAY33 PHO25 LVS20 BRI25 CAL21 TEX31 TAL26 NSH32 RCH32 DAR36 IOW23 CLT28 CHI18 MCH29 ROA27 DAY37 KEN27 NHA20 NSH23 IRP21 IOW26 GLN35 CGV36 BRI27 ATL28 RCH30 CHI25 DOV24 KAN31 CLT31 TEX24 PHO19 HOM29 19th 572 19 DOV25 2012 14 Toyota DAY22 PHO28 LVS25 BRI27 CAL26 TEX24 RCH31 TAL27 DAR IOW CLT DOV MCH ROA21 KEN26 DAY18 NHA22 CHI24 IND24 IOW31 GLN26 CGV19 BRI27 ATL21 RCH26 CHI25 KEN22 DOV26 CLT22 KAN15 TEX21 PHO20 HOM27 16th 559 2013 DAY8 PHO29 LVS40 BRI21 CAL27 TEX30 RCH26 TAL23 DAR26 CLT30 DOV24 IOW18 MCH28 ROA27 KEN23 DAY24 NHA31 CHI28 IND31 IOW23 GLN28 MOH BRI ATL RCH CHI25 KEN24 DOV26 KAN27 CLT33 TEX PHO27 HOM 20th 482 2014 DAY35 PHO23 LVS27 BRI27 CAL25 TEX24 DAR21 RCH29 TAL17 IOW24 CLT29 DOV MCH ROA20 KEN24 DAY22 NHA26 CHI25 IND36 IOW23 GLN24 MOH BRI20 ATL24 RCH CHI26 KEN31 DOV KAN19 CLT32 TEX26 PHO26 HOM26 19th 521 2015 JGL Racing 24 Toyota DAY17 ATL28 LVS23 PHO29 CAL34 TEX29 BRI26 RCH36 TAL21 19th 565 TriStar Motorsports IOW33 CLT30 DOV24 MCH23 CHI26 DAY24 KEN27 NHA18 IND29 IOW26 GLN24 MOH35 BRI33 ROA23 DAR28 RCH26 CHI27 KEN29 DOV22 CLT28 KAN26 TEX28 PHO26 HOM29 2016 JD Motorsports 0 Chevy DAY30 ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV CLT POC MCH IOW DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 73rd 11

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Pts Ref 2004 RAW Racing 27 Chevy DAY ATL MAR MFD CLT DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN GTW MCH IRPDNQ NSH NA 72 BRIDNQ RCH NHA LVS CAL TEX MAR PHO DAR HOM

Season still in progress. Ineligible for series championship points.