“Accusing Me of Sabotaging”: Larry McReynolds Uncovers the Dangerous Aspect of Being Dale Earnhardt’s Crew Chief

Not a seagull, not a cut tire, or a lack of fuel, nothing came in the way of Dale Earnhardt finally conquering the Daytona 500 in 1998. But until then, the Great American Race was a thorn in the Intimidator’s side that refused to budge. Prior to the win, the burden of Earnhardt’s winless 1997 season was borne by crew chief Larry McReynolds.

In the Kenny Wallace show, the man responsible for taking the NASCAR legend to Daytona’s victory lane revealed the scale of his fear around the Intimidators’ enormous fanbase, which was fuming after a 59-race winless streak. The situation was to transform entirely in 1998.

Dale Earnhardt went winless the year before his last remaining triumph

Dale Earnhardt had won seven Cup championships and 70 races by the time veteran crew chief Larry McReynolds teamed up with him in 1997. “My first year with him was ’97 and so the first race was the 1997 Daytona 500 and we had had a very very up and down day,” McReynolds recalled in his conversation with Kenny Wallace. For the driver who had won every other race on the track, that one race had started seeming like an insurmountable climb.

The former #3 crew chief continued, “The car was not driving that good. We had some really bad pit stops. But with Dale Earnhardt somehow, someway, with about 20 to go, we’re leading the race.” He then turned toward team owner Richard Childress, full of hope. Childress, who had been through 8 Top-5 Daytona 500 finishes with Earnhardt, 4 of them in the runner-up place, was far less optimistic. The RCR team owner replied, “Been here way too many times.” And soon enough, Earnhardt barrel rolled out of contention with 12 laps to go.

McReynolds was aware of the extent of his uphill battle. He admitted to Wallace, “Honestly, Kenny, something I never thought would ever happen. Because trust me when I went to Richard Childress Racing and I’m paired up with probably one of the greatest race car drivers to ever grip a steering wheel and I had taken everything that I had learned at Robert Yates racing, it wasn’t a matter of if we could get him another championship. It’s how many more can we get him.” 

Instead of an 8th championship, the #3 Good Wrench crew chief was faced with the aftermath of Dale Earnhardt’s first winless season in 16 years. He confessed, “I thought I was going to have to hire a bodyguard. I could not even wear a Good Wrench uniform in or out of that racetrack because people were accusing me of sabotaging Dale Earnhardt’s career. It got really bad near the end of ’97.” 

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As soon as the 1998 season began, Larry McReynolds became the most lauded person on that racetrack.

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Twenty-five years on, the Daytona 500-winning crew chief of Dale Earnhardt is still hailed for that unparalleled achievement. But Larry McReynolds was convinced it could have happened any of those previous years and was simply a matter of time. Acknowledging the same to Kenny Wallace, the former crew chief said, “I still have fans today that come up to me and go, ‘You’re the man.’

“Okay that sounds good, but I just happened to be the fortunate guy that was his crew chief and was in place when he didn’t blow up, he didn’t run out of fuel, he didn’t have a flat tire going off in the turn three on the final lap, he didn’t hit a seagull on the back straightaway.”

Despite McReynolds’s attempt to downplay that moment, it remains one of the most iconic in racing history. The usually gruff Dale Earnhardt spared a grin at the sheer relief and joy of celebrating in the Daytona 500’s victory lane. Crew members of rival drivers lined up to congratulate the racing legend. And as for McReynolds?

In his own words to Kenny Wallace, “H*ll, I could have run for president and probably got votes after winning that 500.” Unfortunately, the Intimidator could never relish that moment again and passed away three years later at that very track. But he remains alive in the aspirations of every young driver wanting to emulate his incomparable legacy.

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