Eric McClure
McClure atBristol Motor Speedway in 2015
Born	Eric Wayne McClure (1978-12-11)December 11, 1978 Chilhowie, Virginia, U.S.
Died	May 2, 2021(2021-05-02) (aged 42) Abingdon, Virginia, U.S.[1]
NASCARCup Series career
3 races run over 3 years
2014 position	74th
Best finish	67th (2006)
First race	2004Aaron's 499 (Talladega)
Last race	2006UAW-Ford 500 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCARO'Reilly Auto Parts Series career
288 races run over 14 years
2016 position	73rd
Best finish	16th (2012)
First race	2003Target House 200 (Rockingham)
Last race	2016PowerShares QQQ 300 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0
Statistics up to date as of February 20, 2016.

Eric Wayne McClure^[2] (December 11, 1978 – May 2, 2021) was an American professionalstock car racing driver and team owner. He last competed part-time in theNASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 0Chevrolet Camaro forJD Motorsports.

McClure made three career starts in NASCAR's Cup Series. His debut came atTalladega, 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 atDaytona, but did not qualify.

McClure then landed a ride with the No. 73Raabe Racing Enterprises Chevy for 2005. McClure did not qualify for the first two races, but did make the race atLas 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 withFront Row Motorsports. However, McClure did not make any of those races. In 2006, he attempted and made theUAW-Ford 500, where handling issues relegated him to a 32nd-place finish in the No. 04Morgan-McClure MotorsportsChevy, with a sponsorship fromHefty. 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. 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 the2014 Daytona 500 driving the No. 35 Ford forFront Row Motorsports;^[3] 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 atRockingham 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 forMac Hill Motorsports. His best run was atMemphis, where he finished 22nd. He also finished three of his four starts.

McClure added eight starts in 2005, seven forMeans Racing, but only managed a best finish of 30th atTexas. McClure did attract the eye ofJames 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. AtBristol, 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 withDavis Motorsports for a 32 race schedule. McClure brought sponsorHefty to the team with him.

He drove forFront Row Motorsports in the Busch Series in 2008, withHefty sponsoring the car for all the races in the No. 24 Chevrolet. He scored his best career finish of 15th in theAaron's 312 atTalladega.

In 2009, he and sponsor Hefty moved toRensi/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 toTriStar Motorsports for 2011 alongside series veteransMike Bliss andJeff Green. It was further announced in January that TriStar Motorsports will change their car numbers, with McClure piloting the No. 14 Hefty BlackoutToyota. McClure would suffer his second career concussion after a hard crash at theSubway Jalapeño 250 atDaytona in July. He would finish the season nineteenth in points.

During the2012 Aaron's 312, McClure was involved in a16-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 theUniversity of Alabama Hospital inBirmingham, Alabama, for further evaluation. NASCAR stated that McClure was talking to the rescue crew while he was being extracted from his car.^[4][5][6][7] 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.^[8][9] On May 9, TriStar announced that McClure would sit out the Nationwide race at Darlington due to his concussion, and thatstart and park driverJeff Green would drive the No. 14 whileTony Raines and Kevin Lepage would start and park the No. 10.^[10] McClure would sit out the next four races before being cleared by NASCAR to drive in time for the race atRoad America.^[11] In spite of starting only 28 races, McClure finished the 2012 season with a career best points finish of sixteenth.

On January 9, 2013, TriStar announced that McClure would return to their team for the 2013 season.^[12] 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 beacute renal failure; he was forced to step out of the No. 14 car for four races while he recovered, being substituted for again byJeff Green.^[13] McClure returned to competition in September atChicagoland Speedway.^[14] He missed a race later in the year atTexas Motor Speedway due to medical issues, before being hospitalized again prior to the season finale atHomestead-Miami Speedway.^[15]

Before the 2014 season, McClure announced that he would only be running a partial schedule in the Nationwide Series.^[3]

In 2015, McClure and his sponsors moved toJGL Racing, where he drove the No. 24 Toyota Camry at all 33 races.^[16] After nine races however, both he and JGL parted ways and McClure returned toTriStar 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 atKentucky, McClure would suffer his fourth concussion, in a single car crash in turn three.

In 2016, McClure joinedJD Motorsports for the season opener at Daytona, driving the No. 0 Chevrolet Camaro.^[17]

On July 28, 2015, McClure and former Nationwide driverHal Martin formed Martin-McClure Racing, aK&N Pro Series East team. Among the team's drivers wereChad Finchum andAustin Cindric.^[18][19]

McClure stepped away from the team in 2018 after his domestic violence arrest.^[20]

McClure was born inChilhowie, Virginia, and was a graduate ofEmory and Henry College. He was married to Miranda from 2004 until their divorce in 2018, and had seven daughters.^[21]

McClure's home inAbingdon, Virginia, suffered major damage in anApril 27, 2011 tornado. However, McClure and his family sat out the storm in their basement and were uninjured.^[22]

On February 11, 2018, McClure was arrested fordomestic violence.^[23] McClure pleadno 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.^[24]

McClure died on May 2, 2021, at the age of 42 after suffering from serious health issues, including diagnosis of a severe musculoskeletal disorder in the summer of 2019.^[2] He was engaged to Keira Brinegar Tibbs at the time of his death.

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toEric McClure.

• Eric McClure driver statistics at Racing-Reference

• 1978 births
• 2021 deaths
• People from Chilhowie, Virginia
• Racing drivers from Virginia
• NASCAR drivers
• ISCARS Dash Touring Series drivers
• NASCAR team owners
• Emory and Henry University alumni
• People from Abingdon, Virginia
• Deaths from musculoskeletal disorders

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Commons category link is on Wikidata