Page 18 - The EDGE Fall 2022

ANNUAL CONFERENCE & EXPO WRAP-UP

BY DON HARRIS
Larry McReynolds
Ex-NASCAR Crew Chief Larry McReynolds Tells How to Win

Teamwork leads to success – that’s the sage advice that was difficult to get my arms around – hire
Larry McReynolds gave AASBO members. people to do a job and then let ’em do it. At first
I was the biggest micromanager on the face of the
Who better to deliver a keynote address at the Earth. No matter what, I figured if I wasn’t a part
AASBO Summer Conference and Expo, with a of it, it wasn’t going to be successful.”
theme of Racing to Excellence, than McReynolds,
a successful former NASCAR crew chief and When he got into TV in 2001, he encountered
current race car TV analyst? McReynolds, who a difference between a crew chief and being a
sprinkled NASCAR anecdotes throughout his broadcaster. “As a crew chief, I never needed
presentation, was the crew chief who guided Dale anybody to tell me you’re doing good or bad,”
Earnhardt St. to his only Daytona 500 victory, McReynolds said. “I had all kinds of measuring
among other successes. sticks. A stop watch to see how fast the car is
running, I had qualifying results, and race results
His topic – Tools for a Winning Program – touched where we finished. I didn’t need anybody. But
on three key elements: patience, perseverance and as a broadcast analyst, you don’t have those
determination. In his 18 years as a crew chief and measures.”
22 years as a broadcaster, McReynolds said he
feels blessed to have worked with great owners After a broadcast he would wonder whether it was
and drivers, many of whom are in the NASCAR good or bad. Then came the ratings. “I never met
Hall of Fame. a soul in my life who has a Nielsen box on top
of their TV,” he joked. “Even 22 years later, the
A crew chief is somewhat like a head coach in hardest thing is not having that measuring stick to
other sports. “Always have a good game plan and see how I stack up. Looking back as a crew chief
adjust along the way,” he said. A key difference – and it’s not coincidental – the drivers I had the
is that a crew chief works with a 3,500-pound best relationship with just happened to be ones I
vehicle with several hundred working parts. had the most success with. We were best friends.
Another difference is that NASCAR has the Our families were close.”
longest season of any sport, running from before
Valentine’s Day to a week before Thanksgiving. A lot of people don’t acknowledge that NASCAR is a
team sport, he said, but two or more people working
“I worked hardest to surround myself with smart together toward a goal – that’s teamwork. “There’s
people – people that were smarter than I was, no more team-oriented sport than NASCAR,”
on that team,” McReynolds said. “I never asked McReynolds said. “Everyone has a special talent,
anyone to do what I would not do. Another thing but it takes a full team to make it happen.”

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18 THE EDGE FALL 2022