Raybestos Rookie Contender Eric McClure plans a full NEXTEL Cup season for Raabe Racing. The team is owned by Ed Raabe and is based in Daytona Beach, FL.
ERIC MCCLURE, No. 73 ARC DEHOOKER CHEVROLET: “The cars that we’re using now we purchased from Morgan McClure Motorsports while we’re getting our new cars and everything ready. It’s exciting. We tested very well preseason and we feel like we can get in these shows and do well. Now, conventional wisdom says we’re not going to come out and be successful and success to a lot of people is defined as winning races and top-fives. Now granted, we’re not going to come out of the box running top-five right off the bat but like anything we firmly believe if we’re dedicated and focused and we do this the correct way, over time we’re going to get a lot better and I’m going to get a lot better. I’m a new driver and they’re a new team so there’s nowhere to go but up. We’re real excited about that and we feel like we’re going to make some noise and we have goals that we’ve set. We feel like Raabe Racing is going to be a force to be reckoned with over the coming months. Granted that might be top-20s, that might be top-15s, but if we do that we can get in races and we can run mid-pack or better, then we’ve accomplished a whole lot. It’s definitely an uphill battle but we feel like we can overcome it.”
HOW DIFFICULT IS IT GOING TO BE TO QUALIFY FOR THE DAYTONA 500? “It will be difficult. The rule package is definitely interesting but then again the teams that make it are going to say that it’s a great package. The teams that don’t will say that it’s not. The way that we tested, we should not have any problem making it under the old rules, but at the same time I feel like we’re good enough to make it under the new rules. You definitely come into the race knowing what you have to do to get in and that makes it a little easier so we feel pretty good about it. It’s definitely going to be difficult but any race at the top level is difficult to make. We found that out last year in the Busch Series. These guys put their pants on the same way we do. We’ll go out and give it 100 percent and see where we stack up.”
WHAT IS YOUR SPONSORSHIP SITUATION? “Sponsorship situation is good right now. We’re running for Raabe Racing Enterprises and we have sponsorship from Arc Dehooker and the Recreational Fishing Alliance. We’re really excited about that. Arc Dehooker is a mandated device in all the fisheries in the world. We’re set there. We could always use extra sponsorship if it ever presents itself, anybody can. We’re excited that we’re going to be able to run the entire season. It’s going to be a first for me and a first for them so we’re really excited about it. We’re going to go full blown at it and see where we stack up and progress from there.”
TIM BREWER IS WORKING WITH YOUR TEAM. “We have Tim Brewer working with us right now and he brings a wealth of knowledge and it’ s exciting for me to work with somebody that has a lot of knowledge. He’s from the old school but he’s also kept up to date on what you need to do to be successful and he has a history of working well with drivers. I couldn’t be more excited about this. This is a great opportunity.”(Camp and Assoc/Raybestos PR)(2-13-2005)
