Rush McCloud

Jeffery Daniel McCloud (born May 9, 1982 in San Francisco, California), better known as Rush McCloud, is an American stock car driver, crew chief, and businessman, who partnered with TM Master Cup Series driver Packer Carroll in 2002 to form Gravity Racing, Inc. He is currently driving the #3 Super Lightning Fuel Cleaner JLC Hailstorm machine in Formula Overdrive. He is married to competitor Regina McCloud. His ability to perform extremely well in one-off events has earned him the nickname "the Moonlighter".

Beginning of a Partnership
In 2001, Rush met future TM Master Cup Series competitor Packer Carroll while Packer was competiting in the California Extreme Street Racing Championship Series, from which McCloud established his name in the racing world, literally. The two became fast friends, and formed Gravity Racing, Inc., or GRI, the next racing season. They racked up 128 race wins, 171 podiums, and 8 championships in the CESRCS series.

2009 Season: Rough Beginnings
In 2009, Rush and Packer moved their team up to the ARLA Elite Series, acquiring sponsorship from Shiny Wax, and manufacturer backing from Gasnier. At the same time, McCloud was hired to drive the #189 Volpi in the TM Junior Series for Bjorn Green Racing. It was a rough season for both Packer and Rush, although Packer managed a victory at Boston. McCloud's highlight was a Q-Race victory at Twin Ring Motegi. He qualified for just 9 of the 16 events, and scored just 2 top 10 finishes, with a best of 3rd at VIR, his first career TM podium. He finished 35th in the final standings.

2010 Season: Triumph at Rockford
"I... I can't believe I'm here right now. I... I don't know what to say, honestly. I've never experienced anything like this before. It's incredible."

- Rush McCloud after his victory in the 2010 Rockford 200

In 2010, McCloud moved over to the new CRL Modified Division team for GRI, and began to show some promise. He qualified for his debut race at Irwindale Speedway, and scored his first top 10 finish. At New Hampshire Motor Speedway, he scored his first career CRL podium with a third place finish, vaulting him up to 7th in the points standings. However, he struggled for much of the rest of the season. He eventually finished 23rd in the final standings.

However, all those shortcomings were vastly overshadowed by McCloud's greatest racing triumph. He was entered as a one-off driver in the 2010 Rockford 200, driving the #171 Sub-Zero Energy Drink Gasnier for GRI. He finished 5th in his heat race, and then qualified for the A-Main by finishing 2nd in his qualifying race. With 7 laps to go in the Rockford 200, Rush passed Amy Harrison for the lead and led his first lap in ARLA competition. The race's final caution occurred on Lap 195, when Jim Hayes spun Scott Wuelen in turn 3. Rush would win the race under caution, earning his first career ARLA Elite Series victory in his debut race.

After he took a well-deserved victory lap, Rush stopped his car at the start/finish line, where the victory lane celebrations took place at Rockford. He climbed from the car, checkered flag in hand and climbed on top of the car, arms raised in victory as the crowd roared it's approval. Rush was joined on top of the car by Packer, who enveloped him in a bear hug, obviously proud of his friend's accomplishment.

2011 Season: Not Much To Talk About
After his monumental victory at Rockford, McCloud's 2011 season was not very active. The CRL combined the end of 2010 and beginning of 2011 together for one season, but then took the rest of 2011 off for restructuring. This left Rush with just his crew chief duties for the #71 team in ARLA. He subbed for Packer at Alaska while Packer was in Germany for the TM Master Cup Series race there. Rush finished 15th. His other start came in the 2011 Rockford 200 when he came back in the #171 car to defend his title, now sponsored by Uncle Chunky's Milk. He finished 3rd in his qualifying race and 11th in his B-Main.

2012 Season: Ready For A World Tour
When Packer was moved to drive for the Volpi Racing Team full-time in TMMC in 2012, Rush was moved up to be his crew chief.

Rush qualified for the 2012 Mini Indy 500, but relinquished his spot to Eric Jackson, due to Jackson being in the hunt for the championship at the time.

Midway through the 2012 TM Master Cup season, Rush was replaced by David Stoyanoff as crew chief of the #2 Volpi Racing Team machine driven by Packer, and Rush was not very happy with the decision. "If Volpi had even bothered to check what's happened this year, he'd know that we've actually been running really good this year, but we've just had horrible luck. The last two weeks are certainly indicative of that. But I think he was just mad because I spoke my mind about the Volpi engine's reliability problems. Well, it's the truth, because Divina's had her fair share of mechanical problems as well. You know, I once thought that this deal with Volpi was a big deal for the both of our teams, but now, I'm not so sure anymore. Not after this decision."

In hindsight, Rush's release from VRT meant that he could now completely focus on his CRL campaign.

He finished 15th at Irwindale, then stumbled to a 28th place finish at Portland. He bounced back with his first career pole at Twin Ring Motegi, the first of the Global Cup races, but could only manage a 13th place finish. He had another poor showing on the road course at Watkins Glen, finishing 29th, but he bounced back with his second career pole and a 5th place finish at New Hampshire. But he finished out of the points in 36th at the second Global Cup event in Australia.

Rush bounced back with a 5th place finish in the 2012 British Columbia Grand Prix, then finished 23rd at West Virginia, 22nd in Italy, and 16th at Mosport. Due to him scoring two poles earlier in the season, he was qualified to race in the Converse All-Star 200 at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Rush is currently 27th in the points standings.

After GRI announced that they would be moving their modified program over to the FARCE series after the 2012 season was complete, Rush was confirmed to be moving to the Formula Overdrive team, which will be renamed Hailstorm-McCloud Racing in FO, as they will be using their own engine package, the JLC Hailstorm. He will be teaming with wife Regina in 2013. In preparation for his transition to FO, Rush replaced Packer in the Hanmore World Championships, as Packer was focusing on his Rookie of the Year campaign in the TM Master Cup Series. Rush was involved in the massive wreck on the backstretch that resulted in the deaths of Tiffany Matthews, Tyson Lautenschlager, and Cody Keaton, and significantly injured Chaud Roddick, Alessandro Rossini, and Garry Carter. But Rush was lucky, as he escaped the wreck with just a bruised leg.

2013 Season: Formula Overdrive
Despite his near miss at Texas, Rush would go ahead with his rookie campaign in Formula Overdrive for 2013. Since the results at Texas were scrapped, the 2013 California Grand Prix at Sonoma Raceway would mark his "official" series debut. He finished a disappointing 15th at his home race. He suffered an engine failure at Nashville and finished 24th. He was crashed out of Milwaukee.

Rush is currently 20th in the 2013 points standings.

Career Statistics
TM Junior Series

CRL Modified Series

ARLA Elite Series

Hanmore Formula Overdrive Series