Eddie MacDonald's twelfth place finish in the NASCAR Camping World East
Series race at Tri-County Motor Speedway was a letdown after posting the
fastest times in both practices. The Grimm Racing Chevy qualified a
disappointing eighth for the race as MacDonald and the team struggled the
rest of the way.
"We missed the set-up just by a little bit," said MacDonald after the
race. "The car was really good for the first five laps or so on the restarts
but then we started sliding back after that. Our qualifying run was a sign
of things to come because the car would not handle in the corners. Tires
were a big issue during the race and really hurt us at the end."
When the green flag waved, the # 71 Chevy was able to maintain the
position for most of the early segment of the race. By lap 50, MacDonald was
running in the third spot but was unable to stay there and slid back to
seventh. With the laps winding down, the team was hoping for a top ten
finish but a spin on lap 95 put the Grimm Construction Chevy out of
contention.
"We definitely had some help getting spun out. The only good thing
about it was, we stayed off the wall," said MacDonald. "After that, we came
into the pits a number of times to make adjustments but the tires were gone.
The car just did not have any grip in the turns so we had to hang on to
finish where we did. I think we could have had a top five finish if we
could have changed tires, but we couldn't. It is really tough to run out
there that way knowing there is nothing you can do. The crew worked hard the
last couple of months to get this car ready but it just didn't work out
today. It stinks, but it is just one of those things."
The team is preparing for the combination race with the West Series at
Iowa Speedway on Sunday, May 17th. The event attracts the top drivers from
both series as well as some of the top names from NASCAR'S top three
divisions.