Larry McReynolds has spent 26 years in broadcasting studios and booths. In that time, he’s analyzed strategy, broken down pit calls, and walked FOX viewers through the mechanics of wins that once belonged to him. But on July 12 at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta), he’ll be on the track behind the wheel of the pace car for the Quaker State 400, a sponsor whose name he knows better than almost anyone in the sport.

 EchoPark Speedway General Manager Brandon Hutchison was being interviewed by McReynolds on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio when he turned the tables mid-answer.

“Want a dude to drive the pace car too, you know… Want somebody that’s best at what he does both on and off the track… And got me thinking, you know what, Larry? That person might be you. How would you like to be our honorary pace car driver, Larry?” Brandon asked Larry while answering one of his questions during the interview.

McReynolds initially assumed he was being asked to ride along. The moment it registered that he’d be the one behind the wheel, the emotions were immediate.

“I am very flattered, very honored. Atlanta Motorsports Speedway is very special to me. I was able to win there with Ernie Irvin back in 1994,” McReynolds said, overjoyed about the prospect of returning to a track that gave him many iconic wins from the pit wall.

“Of course it was the old configuration then. Being able to be a part of some iconic races here with NASCAR on FOX and, of course, the Quaker State 400. Quaker State is very near and dear to me; it was the sponsorship on my car that I got my first few wins with back in the 80s. Invitation accepted with open arms.”

That Quaker State connection runs deep. McReynolds’ first-ever Cup win came in August 1988, when Ricky Rudd drove the Quaker State Buick to Victory Lane at Watkins Glen International. Then, his first three Cup wins were all with the Quaker State team in the late 1980s and early 1990s, per Kentucky Speedway’s archived announcement from a previous Quaker State 400, where he served as Grand Marshal. 

That said, pace car duties in NASCAR typically go to celebrities, sponsors, or racing personalities with a driving background. McReynolds is a FOX broadcaster who has been with the network since its very first NASCAR race in 2001, first as a colour commentator alongside Darrell Waltrip and Mike Joy for 15 years, then as FOX’s in-race technical analyst from 2016 onwards. Giving him the wheel of the pace car at a race he’ll also be covering is truly a rare feat to add to his resume.

From never driving a race car to starting a NASCAR event

McReynolds’ co-host on SiriusXM’s The On Track Show, Danielle Trotta, picked up the moment immediately. When McReynolds jokingly invited her to ride shotgun, she turned it into something more revealing.

“Brandon, I just want to let you know. This man has been publicly stating on our show for years. He has never driven a race car. He has never done a driver experience. He has never sat behind the wheel of one of these things,” Trotta told Hutchison.

Larry McReynolds was a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief from 1985 to 2000, logging 23 wins, 21 poles, 122 top-fives, and 209 top-10 finishes, including two Daytona 500s in 1992 with Davey Allison and 1998 with Dale Earnhardt. He was selected to the Copenhagen/Skoal All-Pro Team for five consecutive years (1991–95) and won the 1998 UAW-GM Teamwork of Excellence Award. He directed some of NASCAR’s greatest drivers to some of the sport’s most iconic wins, and through all of it, he never once sat behind the wheel of a race car himself.