On Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, Jordan Anderson officially asked Larry McReynolds, America’s crew chief, to be the crew chief on his entry in the Xfinity Series race at Daytona. Some may look at this as a cute story of Anderson racing with his father-in-law, and Larry McReynolds getting another chance to be a crew chief. However, this is a pairing that can compete for the win, and we are here to tell you why.
Larry McReynolds may have one of the best track records of any crew chief at Daytona International Speedway. In 30 career races at the race track, McReynolds has 12 top-5s, tied for the most he has had at a race track, and 16 top-10s. This includes two Daytona 500 wins.
Most people know about the 1998 Daytona 500, the only Daytona 500 win in the career of Dale Earnhardt. Larry McReynolds was the crew chief that day, and it was the only win that McReynolds and Earnhardt won while working together,
Less people may know about the 1992 Daytona 500. Davey Allison started in sixth, and he took the lead for the first time on lap 56. He would lead 127 of the final 146 laps, and hold off Morgan Shepherd for the win. Larry McReynolds has succeeded at Daytona, and he has success in recent times in the Xfinity Series at Daytona’s sister track, Talladega.
In 2022, McReynolds came back to be the crew chief for Jeffrey Earnhardt at Talladega Superspeedway in the Xfinity Series. McReynolds set up a car that qualified on the pole and led 10 laps. Earnhardt would go on to finish second that day.
Larry McReynolds still has what it takes. He can set up a car to run well at a race track like Daytona and Talladega. He also has a driver that can compete at Daytona as well.
As a driver, Jordan Anderson saw the current highs of his career come at Daytona. For two consecutive Craftsman Truck Series seasons, 2020 and 2021, he began the year with a second-place finish at Daytona. He lost those races by a combined 0.046 seconds.
In the Xfinity Series, his best finish came in the fall of 2021 at Talladega. He finished fifth that day after starting in 29th. As an owner, his crowning moment came on a superspeedway.
Earlier this year, Jeb Burton, who started eighth led 17 laps in the AG-Pro 300 at Talladega. He took the lead for good on lap 115 in overtime, and he never relinquished it. It was Burton’s second career Xfinity Series win, and Anderson’s first career win as a car owner.
The best success that Anderson’s race team has had during his time as an owner has come at Daytona and tracks similar to it. The crowning achievement of Larry McReynolds’ career came at Daytona. This is a team that can compete for a win at Daytona later this month, and they will be fun to watch.
