Larry McReynolds Reveals Donnie Allison’s Bitterly Honest Reality Check About Winning in NASCAR Years Ago

It’s no secret that Larry McReynolds has etched his name into the NASCAR history books after nearly two decades of managing top drivers. Whether it was his time as Dale Earnhardt‘s crew chief or when he led Davey Allison and Co. to victory at the Daytona 500, McReynolds is one of the most decorated personalities in the sport despite never getting behind the wheel in NASCAR himself.

Often called “America’s Crew Chief,” McReynolds is credited with 23 Cup wins, 122 top-five finishes, and 2 Daytona 500s under his belt! However, it wasn’t always a fairytale story for him. Back when Larry Mac was finding his groove in the sport, he received the harshest of reality checks from none other than Davey Allison’s uncle, Donnie.

Victory never came easy for Larry McReynolds

Speaking to Kenny Wallace on the Kenny Conversation show, the former RCR crew chief reflected on his relationships with the Allisons, pointing out the Hueytown, Alabama, connection that they all shared with each other. Larry Mac took a moment to fanboy over the Allisons, although he never got the time to truly get to know Davey Allison.

He shared, “Obviously, I was a huge Allison fan, Alabama game, Red Farm, Neil, Bonnet, Bobby, and Donnie Allison. But the only connection I had with Donnie Allison was when I got the opportunity to move to the Carolinas in the mid-1980s to pursue a NASCAR career, I guess I was wanting somebody to give me the thumbs up that ‘it’s okay to do this.’”

Just like McReynolds had visited Mark Martin’s mother at their shop before he got his big break, the Alabama native revisited the state to pay a visit to the Allisons. McReynolds chased Donnie Allison around in his late-model stock car. “So I went out to Donnie’s late model shop out there in Hueytown, and I chased him around in his late model car for about an hour, before he finally stopped and said, ‘What can I do for you?’ And I told him what my plan was,” Larry told Wallace.

He shed light on Donnie Allison’s up-front attitude, pointing out that the Alabama Gang member would get hysterically up close and personal whilst sharing his opinion on what McReynolds should do to better his prospects. “[Donnie] said, ‘You know what, I’ll tell something Larry Mac, you need to go up there and you need to do that, you need to pursue that.’”

Allison was quick to advise McReynolds to hold on to his performance with Mike Alexander in the #37 Rogers Leasing car during the early 80s because winning is a challenge many underestimate: “He said ‘I’ll tell you one damn thing, that checkered flag that y’all won the other night, you’ll need to find that checkered flag y’all won a couple of weeks ago because it’s going to be a long damn time, maybe ever, before you ever see another one.'”

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The harsh reality check meted out to him by Donnie Allison would stay with McReynolds for nearly a decade, as he finally got a win at Talladega with Ricky Rudd behind the wheel. In his first win as a crew chief at Watkins Glen, McReynolds could only think of one man when Rudd crossed the checkered flag. He reminisced, “The first person I thought about when Ricky took the checkered flag was Donnie Allison, what he had told me about eight or nine years prior to that.”

It’s safe to say Larry Mac’s decorated career got to the place it did owing to his ability to absorb his peers’ advice and learn from the best.

How did Larry McReynolds’s youth mold him into “America’s Crew Chief”?

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Whilst Larry McReynolds got his big break during the 1981 weekend at Watkins Glen, Kenny Wallace couldn’t help but point out that when most NASCAR entities are asked about influential moments in their careers, they all seem to go back to their youth.

McReynolds spoke about the time he spent in his youth as a car fanatic, getting his own little team put up with the help of his uncle and aunt. He believes it was that spark in his youth that ultimately enabled him to get to the big leagues, a journey filled with uncertainty and excitement: “It’s what inspired me, it’s what gave me aspirations to grow in the sport, and eventually be a part of NASCAR and not have to work a job and then work on racecars as a volunteer to enjoy the thrill of racing, and you know I talked about my mom and dad not being race fans.”

“To know I sat in those grandstands in the early 70s and then spin it ahead to 1992 with the #28 car and Davey Allison, and to be able to win at Talladega with Davey, that was pretty darn cool! It wasn’t the biggest win of my career, but because of it being at Talladega, it goes pretty high up the sheet,” he added.

READ MORE: “Those Four Knuckleheads”- Larry McReynolds Throws Shade at Bill Elliott and Other NASCAR Icons for Almost Jeopardizing Davey Allison

There are only a few people in the world who have had the privilege of working with legends such as Dale Earnhardt and Davey Allison, but the key to McReynolds’s success has always been his ability to listen intently.