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.
Where do all the drivers stand after the first official points race in the standings table?
After winning the opening points race of the season at Daytona by leading one lap, Tyler Reddick made it to the top of the standings. Under the new rules, he managed to pull up 58 points. He pocketed 55 for the win and added three more by finishing Stage 2 in P8. He may have squeezed out at least one more had he landed inside the top 10 in Stage 1, but after getting swept into a Lap 5 crash, Reddick limped the Stage 1 in P20, giving him no extra points.
Rounding out the top 10 are Brad Keselowski with 39 points in sixth despite a P5 finish, followed by his driver, Chris Buescher, in seventh with 39, Bubba Wallace in eighth with 37, Carson Hocevar in ninth with 36, and Ryan Blaney in 10th with 36.
Atlanta could be a springboard for Elliott, who owns an average finish of 11.4 across 14 starts there, with two wins, including one in last year’s fall race, plus three top fives and nine top 10s. The track could also pull Kyle Busch back into contention. Having already shown his speed at Daytona by winning the pole, he may potentially pull it off at the 1.54-mile track. The RCR driver sits P14 in the standings, but with an average finish of 8.8 at Atlanta since 2023 across six starts, the place might finally snap his 94-race drought.
Then again, Connor Zilisch has only one start at the track and came home P11 last year when he made his third Cup start there, making Atlanta a stage where he could stamp his mark.
Ryan Blaney will also have a better chance than anyone else to climb through a win or even points alone at Atlanta. The No. 12 Team Penske driver has one win there from 2021, but consistency has been his strong suit, with seven top fives and nine top 10s in 15 starts. And that puts him in a position to move the needle when the field rumbles into Atlanta.
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The Daytona 500 and Speedweeks may be over, but that doesn’t mean the chaos will cool off for the stars of NASCAR’s three National Series, as they roll into Hampton, Georgia, to the high banks of EchoPark Speedway for one of the schedule’s most unique race weekends.
Note: This article will be updated as more information about the weekend comes out.
One race weekend is in the books, and a 36-week march back to Florida is underway for the three NASCAR National Series. Whether you are going to be at the track or home, what does the forecast look like for the race weekend in Hampton, Georgia?
Before the Races (10:00 AM – 2:00 PM)
During the Truck Race (2:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
During the OAP Series Race (5:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
After the Race (8:00 PM – 11:00 PM)
Before the Race (11:00 AM – 3:00 PM)
During the Race (3:00 PM – 7:00 PM)
After the Race (7:00 PM – 10:00 PM)
NASCAR got lucky at EchoPark in 2025, and, as a matter of fact, everywhere else, but that doesn’t mean weather hasn’t affected the track’s races in the past with spot showers and major showers taking on race weekends. Take the summer of 2023, when the race took on a large rain shower that resulted in the race ending after just 185 laps, with race winner William Byron the leader at the time of caution.
Note: This article will be updated with a more accurate and detailed forecast as the race weekend nears.
