{"id":1241,"date":"2011-10-06T08:00:14","date_gmt":"2011-10-06T12:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/?p=1241"},"modified":"2012-05-05T19:02:04","modified_gmt":"2012-05-05T23:02:04","slug":"a-conversation-with-nascar-nationwide-series-driver-eric-mcclure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/10\/a-conversation-with-nascar-nationwide-series-driver-eric-mcclure.html","title":{"rendered":"A conversation with NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Eric McClure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click “Like” to share this with your friends!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Eric McClure (Photo by John Harrelson\/Getty Images for NASCAR)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eric McClure may not be a household name within the NASCAR fanbase, but his consistently joyful demeanor and blue-collar mentality has made him a popular weekly presence in the Nationwide Series garage.<\/p>\n

In this Inspiring Athletes interview, McClure talks about how he became a Christian, how his faith helps him deal with NASCAR\u2019s daily grind and why McDonald\u2019s may be his next employer:<\/p>\n

Bonham: How did your family\u2019s past involvement in racing influence your decision to follow suit?<\/p>\n

McClure: I didn\u2019t hang around the shop. I went to school and played ball. But when I was about 12 years old, that\u2019s when I started to get into it. My parents wanted me to go to college. My grandfather told me that if I finished college, he\u2019d help me get into racing. He passed away before I finished college, but I worked at a radio station and saved up enough to buy an old car. My parents also helped me out.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How did your grandfather\u2019s passing impact you?<\/p>\n

McClure: He was a strong Christian, but I wasn\u2019t at the time. I had grown up going to church on Sunday mornings, but that was it. When he passed, I wasn\u2019t at a good place. I was in college and was involved in all the things that the world had to offer. I was also very resentful. If God was a loving God, how could He let something like this happen to a man like my grandfather? I became a very angry and bitter person. For the next few years, even after I started racing, I thought I was okay, but I didn\u2019t want to go to church. I thought that Christians were all hypocrites. I also didn\u2019t understand how people could have a relationship with God yet bad things could happen to them<\/p>\n

So I wanted to date my wife for a long time. She was the beauty queen. She was the head cheerleader. I had this huge desire to date her. I finally got a huge wave of confidence and I asked her out. So we went out and sure enough, the day after we went out, she invited me to church. It was awful. For about two years, I attended a little Baptist church with her three times a week. They really taught the Bible there. But I would sit there and I would be miserable. I would sweat. I knew what they were talking about and I understood that I wasn\u2019t where I needed to be. I understood that I didn\u2019t know the Lord. I hadn\u2019t received the Lord. But I fought it. I would do anything I could to convince myself that I was fine. But I never missed a service.<\/p>\n

Bonham: So what finally convinced you to make the commitment to Christ?<\/p>\n

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Eric McClure driving the #14 Hefty Chevrolet (Photo courtesy of NASCAR)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

McClure: A couple weeks after we got married, we were at church. I was coaching a little league baseball team at the time and the players had just got back from a teen camp. A lot of them had accepted the Lord and some of the others who had strayed had come back to the Lord. They were giving testimonies that night and the Lord really started working on me. I started to get very uncomfortable. I knew this was the opportunity. I had already admitted to my wife before that night that I didn\u2019t think I was right with God. The Lord really convicted me and I knew I had to make things right. But I didn\u2019t. I got in the car and five minutes later I found myself struggling to breathe. I told my wife we needed to go back and talk to the youth pastor. He was about my age and he taught our Sunday School class. I spent a lot of time asking him questions. Before I left that night, I\u2019d finally decided to give my heart to Christ.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How has your faith helped you deal with the struggles that come with racing for an underfunded team?<\/p>\n

McClure: I asked the Lord often what His purpose is for racing in my life. What is His plan? I love doing what the Lord has for me and He\u2019s begun to reveal that purpose. There\u2019s not a week that doesn\u2019t go by when someone comes up to me and they\u2019ve seen my testimony on the website and they encouraged by it. Other times I\u2019ve had the chance to share what God\u2019s done in my life. We\u2019ve been invited to speak at churches and help with outreach events. That\u2019s where we\u2019ve seen people come to know the Lord. I know that\u2019s my purpose and fortunately I\u2019m in an environment that allows me to do that.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How important is the presence of ministry in your life, whether that\u2019s Motor Racing Outreach at the track or your church back home?<\/p>\n

McClure: It\u2019s so important to me. I don\u2019t feel right racing if I haven\u2019t been in prayer. It\u2019s such an important part of my life. But I love being a part of my home church. We have a good home church. But I love the MRO services. Those guys are encouragers for me. I can pick up the phone and call them if I have a problem. Other places may shove (spiritual things) out, but it\u2019s been nice to be in a sport where there a lot of people who believe the same way and (spiritual things) are embraced.<\/p>\n

Bonham: Where does racing rank on your priority list?<\/p>\n

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Eric McClure signs autographs at Bristol Motor Speedway's Fanfest (Photo courtesy of NASCAR)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

McClure: I don\u2019t obsess over NASCAR. I\u2019ve been there. And I\u2019m still very serious about this. I make a living off of this. I want to succeed. I love to race. I\u2019m a competitive guy. I love sports. But I don\u2019t worry about it too much. For some of these guys, it\u2019s life or death. If they don\u2019t win races, it\u2019s a failure. If they don\u2019t make the Chase, it\u2019s failure. But my situation is different. I do want to win races. I do want to finish in the Top 10. I set goals for myself and for my team. But if the worst thing people can say about me is that I\u2019m a bad race car driver, then I think I\u2019ve done okay. I\u2019m still daddy at home. I get to work with my family on the race team. Outside of a win, I\u2019ve got everything I\u2019ve ever wanted here. This will end for me one day. It will end for Jimmie Johnson. It will end for Kyle Busch. When that happens, I\u2019ll be happy to go back home and provide for my wife and my two little girls. If that means I have to work at McDonald\u2019s, so be it, because there\u2019s nothing wrong with that.<\/p>\n

Keep track of Eric McClure\u2019s career by visiting his official website HERE<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click “Like” to share this with your friends! Eric McClure may not be a household name within the NASCAR fanbase, but his consistently joyful demeanor and blue-collar mentality has made him a popular weekly presence in the Nationwide Series garage. 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