Larry McReynolds has experienced a lot during his time as a NASCAR Cup Series broadcaster with Fox. The upcoming Daytona 500, scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET, will be his 22nd time calling the race and mark the commencement of his 25th season as a full-time NASCAR on Fox broadcaster. However, his broadcasting career began under challenging circumstances.
The first Cup Series race McReynolds called was the 2001 Daytona 500, an event most notably remembered for Dale Earnhardt’s death. Recently, he spoke to Awful Announcing’s Brandon Contes on the Awful Announcing Podcast about his broadcasting career and the tragic incident surrounding that race. McReynolds shared his experience of being in the booth during that fateful crash.
McReynolds recalled that the first Daytona 500 turned out to be one of the most difficult days of his career. Leading up to the moment Earnhardt hit the wall, the broadcast was seamless. He reflected, “We were having probably one of the best 500s that there had been in a long time. Tons of lead changes, hard racing. We did have a big crash on the back straight away. And Michael Waltrip, Darryl’s brother, who had never won a Cup race aside from an all-star event at Charlotte, was in his first race driving for DEI [Dale Earnhardt Incorporated], the 15 NAPA car. It looked like he was going to win, with Dale running third. Everything was perfect until that final corner of the last lap.”
Initially, McReynolds was concerned about how Earnhardt would react post-race. “I remember seeing Dale hit the wall and thinking, ‘He’s not going to like that. He’ll be happy that Michael Waltrip won the race after everyone doubted him, but he’ll be pretty ticked off about this wreck in turn four.’” Still, despite focusing on his duties, McReynolds’s thoughts kept returning to Earnhardt.
“I remember focusing on my job, but I kept glancing towards turn four. I saw Ken Schrader waving at emergency workers and thought, ‘That’s not a good sign.’ Then I noticed them putting up a tarp, which is never a good indication.” He commended Mike Joy for his professionalism during the broadcast, as both he and Waltrip were new to the booth. “The best thing Darryl and I had going for us was Mike Joy. He took the reins, knowing exactly what to say, reminding us not to speculate but to stick to the facts.”
Even after the postrace coverage concluded, McReynolds remained unaware of the crash’s outcome, but he had a sinking feeling it would be grave. “After we left the booth, I walked to the airport, which is conveniently located behind the backstretch. While I walked, all I could do was replay the incident in my mind. I kept hoping for a call saying, ‘He’s got a broken leg,’ but that call never came.”
McReynolds learned of Earnhardt’s death while waiting for his flight. He recounted, “When I got to the airport, I went to a café outside the gate for a quick bite. I was with Kevin Clark, our chief spotter for NASCAR on Fox, when my phone rang. It was Neil Goldberg, our producer, who said, ‘Larry, I hope you’re hearing this from me first and not from a fan; Dale didn’t make it.’ I called my wife to break the heartbreaking news to her.”
The impact of that crash still resonates with McReynolds, who believes NASCAR changed that day. “I’ve always said it changed NASCAR. While the sport didn’t stop like rock and roll didn’t cease when Elvis died, it altered. NASCAR continued with the next week’s race at Rockingham, but things have never been the same since.”
You can listen to McReynolds’ full podcast episode here. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. For more content, subscribe to AA’s YouTube page.
