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Morgan-McClure team hopes to make Sharpie 500 field, run full 2010 slate

Published August 17th, 2009 | 0 Comments

ABINGDON — Sunshine illuminates a dimmed trophy case inside the Morgan-McClure Motorsports complex on Monday. There is some serious hardware in the building with wins from Daytona, Talladega and Bristol.

This weekend, team owners hope the light will once again shine on what was once a thriving NASCAR franchise, and they hope to do it at their favorite track, Bristol Motor Speedway.

“Bristol means a great deal to us. That was our first win, and there are no words to describe what that felt like,” co-owner Tim Morgan said.

For Morgan and driver Scott Wimmer, qualifying on Friday for the Sharpie 500 will mean more than just making the race. It could signal a return to racing fulltime in 2010.

“We really want to make a good showing in qualifying and in Saturday’s race,” said Wimmer, who last drove for Richard Childress Racing in the Nationwide Series and had driven for Morgan-McClure in 2006. “That can attract some attention and hopefully get some sponsors involved. I tell you, this is a team that deserves to come back.”

The team that won three Daytona 500s in the 1990s, notched multiple wins at Talladega Superspeedway, and won at Martinsville in 1998 with the late Bobby Hamilton driving had major scale-backs in sponsorship that forced an abbreviated schedule in 2007 and sidelined the team for the entirety of 2008.

Alpha Natural Resources, a leading U.S. coal producer with 74 facilities in five states including Virginia, is financially backing the team’s second attempt at racing in 2009.

Nationwide Series driver Eric McClure failed to qualify a Morgan-McClure car for the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega in April.

“I think it is really special to have Alpha on board with us,” said Morgan, whose father was a coal miner. “There wouldn’t be a Morgan-McClure Motorsports or dealership if not for coal miners or the coal industry.”

Wimmer said the deal for Bristol came together within the last two to three months, with Morgan calling him just weeks ago to let him know to prepare to race.

“I’m excited and this is a great track for them to come back on. They have a lot of history here,” Wimmer said. “This has always been a good racetrack for me, so with the support of Alpha, we can go out there and have a strong run and hopefully get this team back in the sport.

“This is a team with a lot of history, won a lot of races, and they deserve to be out there each week.”

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