Lawrence Joseph "Larry" McReynolds III is a former NASCARcrew chief and current racing analyst on Fox Sports as well as a columnist on Foxsports.com. In the past, he has served as an advisor to Petty Enterprises, and as a minority owner in Bang! Racing.
Career
NASCAR crew chief
McReynolds was born in Birmingham, Alabama as the eldest of six children. His NASCAR career began in 1975. He worked his way up the ladder and took his first crew chief job in 1985. He served as a Winston Cup crew chief from 1985 to 2000, amassing 23 Cup wins, 21 poles, 122 top-five and 209 top-ten finishes. In 1988, McReynolds earned his first Cup win at Watkins Glen International with driver Ricky Rudd. McReynolds began 1991 with King Racing and driver Brett Bodine, but after the spring Atlanta race, left to become the crew chief for Robert Yates Racing and its famed #28, with driver Davey Allison. McReynolds and Allison combined to win 11 races and three pole positions between 1991 and mid-1993, establishing himself as one of the sport’s elite crew chiefs. He led Allison to a win in the 1992 Daytona 500, and the two swept the NASCAR All-Star Race in 1991–92. He nearly won the series points championship with Allison in 1992, with the title chase going down to the final race. After Allison died in 1993 following a helicopter crash, McReynolds began working with driver Ernie Irvan, who left his ride at Morgan-McClure Motorsports under controversial circumstances to take over for his fallen friend. Immediately the partnership paid dividends, as Irvan won two of the nine races he drove the #28 and recorded six top five finishes. McReynolds helped drive the success of the #28 the next year as Irvan won three times and was a strong contender to unseat Dale Earnhardt as champion. However, once again, tragedy struck as Irvan was nearly killed in a practice crash at Michigan. After running the rest of the season with substitute drivers, McReynolds convinced team owner Robert Yates to sign Dale Jarrett to drive for him in 1995; although Jarrett finished outside of the top ten in points McReynolds did lead him to victory at Pocono. After one more season as crew chief for the returning Irvan, who missed most of 1995 recovering from his injuries, McReynolds took over as Earnhardt’s crew chief for 1997 after his former crew chief Andy Petree left to form his own racing team. Despite not winning a race, McReynolds brought the team a top ten points finish and he was on the pit box for what was Earnhardt’s biggest win as a driver, his victory in the 1998 Daytona 500. He was then moved over to the #31 car driven by Mike Skinner, but did not record a victory in two seasons. McReynolds’ success and thorough approach to his profession earned him selection to the Copenhagen/Skoal All-Pro Team, an all-star “who’s who” of crew members, for five straight years, and the 1998 UAW GM Teamwork of Excellence award. McReynolds was the winning crew chief for the 1992 Daytona 500, with driver Davey Allison in the No. 28 Robert Yates Racing Ford Thunderbird.
Fox Sports Broadcaster
At the end of the 2000 season, McReynolds left the Richard Childress-owned No. 31 Chevrolet and ventured into the Fox Sports broadcast booth with Mike Joy and 3-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip. The three called the NASCAR Cup Series races for Fox NASCAR from 2001 through 2015 and also Busch Series races from 2001 and 2006. In 2015, he served as an analyst for Fox Sports 1's live race coverage of the Xfinity Series, in addition to serving as an analyst on FS1’s NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR RaceDay-Xfinity, the network’s pre-race shows for the Monster Energy Cup Series and Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Race Hub, its daily NASCAR news and highlight show. McReynolds, who was inducted into the Alabama Auto Racing Pioneers Hall of Fame in December 2013, was a longtime panelist on NASCAR Trackside and NASCAR Performance on Speed. In 2016, McReynolds served as an in-race analyst for Fox NASCAR's 16th season broadcasting the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
McReynolds is co-host with Danielle Trotta of the daily radio program, On Track on SiriusXM Satellite Radio's NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The program runs 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time Monday-Friday. During the first half of the racing season when FOX Sports carries the broadcast, he sometimes misses broadcasts due to conflicts with his television schedule. He was a roving reporter for the six Sprint Cup races on TNT during the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Cup seasons. From 2012 to 2014, he worked as a co-host for the pre-race segments on TNT.
Personal
McReynolds was inducted into The Oceanside Rotary Club Hall of Fame in Daytona Beach, Florida in 2008. In 2009, McReynolds received the Living Legends of Auto Racing Russ Moyer Media Award. He played himself in the 2006 Will Ferrell comedy hit, Talladega Nights. McReynolds also co-hosted NASCAR Performance Show with Steve Post on Motor Racing Network between 2004 and 2013, and co-authored the books “The Big Picture: My Life from Pit Road to the Broadcast Booth” and “How to Become a Winning Crew Chief.” He also has a son who is a race car driver, Brandon McReynolds.
