Sunday marks the 22nd Daytona 500 on Fox — and the 22nd for Larry McReynolds.
A two-time Daytona 500-winning crew chief, McReynolds has been a fixture of NASCAR on Fox since the network began covering the Cup Series 25 seasons ago. This year, he’ll once again provide analysis alongside Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick, with coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET.
But McReynolds himself never anticipated ending up in a full-time broadcast role. He spoke to host Brandon Contes on the Awful Announcing Podcast (which has its full episode coming out Friday) this week. His path into television started in 1995 with a phone call from longtime producer Pam Miller, who remains involved with Fox’s racing coverage.
“She called me out of the clear blue in 1995 and asked me if I would entertain, maybe on a Saturday doing an Xfinity Series race, or a truck race, or an off weekend, doing some broadcast work,” McReynolds said. “She said they really always enjoyed my interviews and they felt like I’d do a good job. So from 1995 through 2000, I would do maybe five, six, seven, eight a year, whatever my schedule would allow.”
For McReynolds, it was just a fun side job. He never saw himself leaving the pit box.
“I enjoyed it. I still never even remotely saw myself doing that for a living.”
That changed due to a fateful call from Fox legend David Hill.
“But when the new TV package was put in place for 2001, it actually was all signed, sealed and delivered in November of 1999, about the time the ’99 season ended, and I remember getting a call from an Australian-speaking gentleman by the name of David Hill who was the chairman of Fox Sports then.
“And he said, ‘As you know, Fox has got TV rights for the first half of the season starting in ’01. We’ve already hired Darrell Waltrip as our driver analyst, and we’ve watched some tapes of some stuff you’ve done. We’d at least like to have a conversation with you about being our crew chief analyst.'”
The offer stunned McReynolds, who had never considered stepping away from being a crew chief.
“I didn’t even know how to respond because I felt like I’d be a crew chief to the day I died. But it was a very hard decision. I involved my wife and my children in this decision. And it took me a good five or six months to really make my mind up.”
Ultimately, he decided to take the leap — on a trial basis.
“The good thing is, from a monetary standpoint, it was almost a lateral move, which I liked because I could slide that aside, and I could truly process the two situations I was faced with. But I felt like if I didn’t do it, the opportunity would never come back to me, and I would probably always look back and go, ‘Wonder if I’d have taken that deal with Fox.’
“The other reason is they were offering me a two-year deal. And I felt like if I did it for two years and they didn’t like me or I didn’t like them; I could always go back to being a crew chief. But I’ve got to say it’s a decision that me and my family made, and I’ve never looked back over my shoulder at it.”
Listen to the full episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast featuring Larry McReynolds beginning Friday, Feb. 14. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. For more content, subscribe to AA’s YouTube page.
