NNS: McClure To Drive For TriStar Motorsports in 2011

Nationwide

NNS: McClure To Drive For TriStar Motorsports in 2011

Eric McClure will race the full NASCAR Nationwide Series season for TriStar Motorsports in 2011...

Bob Pockrass | http://www.scenedaily.com | Posted December 10, 2010 Charlotte, NC

Eric McClure has missed the last six races after he sustained a concussion and internal bruising in an accident at Talladega Superspeedway on May 5. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Eric McClure will drive for TriStar Motorsports in 2011 and he will bring the Hefty sponsorship to the Nationwide Series team.

Hefty has sponsored McClure the last five years with stops at Johnny Davis Motorsports, Front Row Motorsports and Team Rensi Motorsports.

The 31-year-old McClure finished 24th in the standings in 2010 with a best finish of 17th in the season-opening race at Daytona. He failed to qualify for five events, a year after a 17th-place finish in the standings in 2009.

TriStar Motorsports, a former Cup team owned by engine builder Mark Smith, fielded two full-time cars and one part-time car in 2010 with Jason Keller and Tony Raines as the primary drivers. The organization’s plan as far as drivers for 2011 is still to be determined, but McClure will definitely run the full season.

“I’m looking forward to joining TriStar Motorsports in 2011,” McClure said. “They have a great nucleus in place and as a multicar team this past year was able to accomplish quite a bit of success and grow their race team. I think that’s a testament to the quality drivers and personnel they had, and certainly Mark Smith, who is a racer in every sense of the word.

“He reminds me a lot of my father and his brothers when they built their team up over the years. … I’m just so privileged that they [at Hefty] continue to support our efforts in the NNS. When we started our partnership, I never dreamed it would grow to be one of the longest partnerships in our series.”

McClure’s car number for next season has not been determined.

“I believe we have been able to assemble a dynamic group of individuals that will result in a competitive upcoming year of racing,” Smith said. “Eric has proven to be a solid competitor and is focused on the same goals that we have here at TriStar.

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