Nascar on Fox analyst Larry McReynolds talks with Clint Bowyer during a testing session for the ... [+]
Larry McReynolds, known as America’s crew chief, didn’t know what to expect while attending a test session for the Next Gen racecar at Bowman Gray Stadium last month.
With former drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer behind the wheel, McReynolds knew he’d have a pretty solid idea of how Nascar’s new car — delayed a year because of the coronavirus pandemic — would handle.
“It looks like they’re going to end up going in the direction of where we went with the old package at the smaller tracks,” McReynolds, a Nascar on FOX analyst, said. “From the first time I saw this car in person, they have checked a lot of boxes. It looks good, it looks like a racecar and it sounds like a racecar.”
Nascar is putting the final touches on its Next Gen racecar, as it’s had recent tests at Daytona, the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL and Charlotte oval.
With only 36 charters, the Nascar field will look different thanks to the arrival of the Next Gen. The new business model surrounding the Next Gen car has created a plethora of changes, including car numbers being moved toward the front of the car to allow sponsors to have more inventory on the racecar. The cars themselves are almost ready, as NASCAR has scheduled three more tests during the offseason.
“The good thing — at least from my observation while watching this whole product develop for well over two years now — is that the pandemic prolonged the Next Gen car for a year,” McReynolds, who won the 1998 Daytona 500 with Dale Earnhardt Sr., said. “It was not ready one year ago in many aspects. The pandemic did it a favor.”
Several drivers have expressed safety concerns about the Next Gen car, including Ryan Newman, who notably doesn’t have a job for the 2022 season. Newman, who was seriously injured in a crash during the 2020 Daytona 500, feels the car is simply not ready to race from a safety aspect.
“The car was crash tested; never saw the first thing about it,” Newman said before the 2021 season finale at Phoenix Raceway. “If it's good, you show people, right? It's like a report card. You get A's? You go show people. You get C's, D's or F's? You just hope the dog ate it or it never came in the mailbox, right? That's where we're at.”
But with a composite body and easily replaceable parts like what the Xfinity Series uses, the Cup Series cars will be much more efficient. Until now, McReynolds said the sport’s premier season was using parts and pieces that hadn’t changed in the 41 years he’s been involved in the industry.
“With so many things changing about our sport, going to all of these new venues and trying to entertain other manufacturers entering our sport, I think the timing was right,” McReynolds said. “It’s time we catch up with the times.”
Larry McReynolds has been an analyst for FOX Sports since 2001.
McReynolds was specifically impressed with the speedy recovery for Richard Childress Racing after Austin Dillon wrecked his car in the opening 10 minutes of the most recent test at Charlotte Motor Speedway in mid-November. The front end of the No. 3 Chevrolet was completely destroyed, and the team brought the car back to their shop 50 miles away from the track. Within eight hours, Dillon was making laps on the 1.5-mile speedway.
“If that would’ve happened with our older car, you would’ve been lucky to have it back on the track in two weeks,” McReynolds said.
As Nascar prepares for its next chapter, McReynolds believes the leadership for the sport is the best it has ever been. Additionally, he said that major changes to the schedule, including an exhibition race at the Los Angeles Coliseum, give teams a chance to test themselves.
“You have to go back to the era when Bill France Jr. was guiding the ship with Les Richter and Mike Helton,” McReynolds said. “If you would’ve asked me 10 years ago where we were with our leadership, I was concerned. It was almost like the inmates were running the asylum.
“With Steve Phelps, Ben Kennedy, Jim France, Mike Helton and Steve O’Donnell to name a few, we have the best leadership that we’ve had. They’ve almost taken a step back in time and they’re doing what Bill France Jr. did for years.”
As McReynolds prepares for the 2022 Nascar season with FOX Sports, he believes it will be much better than when the Cup Series switched over to the Car of Tomorrow in 2007.
“In 2007, they didn’t listen to the competitors,” he said. “They created a car and said, ‘Here, go race it. Good luck.’ It just about put us out of business. They learned from that. Over two years of development, they utilized manufacturers and teams. I think they’re going to add some tests. They’re listening to drivers and the engineers.”
Besides McReynolds’ work for FOX Sports, he is quite the well sought-out man. The veteran crew chief won 23 races from 1982 to 2000 before stepping off the pit box. McReynolds was known for his tenacity with Robert Yates Racing and later Richard Childress Racing.
While McReynolds has been retired for more than two decades, he’s stayed active in the sport. Not only does he continue to serve as in the analyst role for Nascar on FOX, but he is also constantly seen in the garage, chatting with drivers and crews to understand the latest technology being utilized.
That’s why Ray Evernham, co-founder of the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), approached McReynolds about being one of the series’ crew chiefs during its inaugural season. While McReynolds couldn’t be a crew chief in the series in 2021 because of scheduling conflicts, 2022 may still be on the table.
McReynolds said, “Those races for the most part were in the middle of nowhere, so there was no way I could get back. I hated it, but I was very flattered to be asked.”
The Nascar Cup Series will debut the Next Gen car on Feb. 6 with the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum, with McReynolds as one of Nascar on FOX’s lead voices.
