Dale Earnhardt’s former crew chief Larry McReynolds recalls groundbreaking aero tests on iconic RCR-28 car

Larry McReynolds, who served as NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt’s former crew chief at Richard Childress Racing, recently reminisced about his groundbreaking work on the famous RCR-28 chassis during wind tunnel testing days.

The RCR‑28 was fitted with a rear window right side air deflector "shark fin" that was experimented with at AeroDyn’s tunnel in the 2000s, aiming to improve stability and reduce drag. The car is now preserved as a showpiece at the RCR museum in the Taz livery.

McReynolds was among the NASCAR crew chief who helped to collect aerodynamics and drafting data in a wind tunnel, which simulated up to 130mph airflow gusts. McReynolds recently replied to a post on X, which shared his picture from a wind tunnel testing session, and wrote:

"Always loved making changes and finding things to help the aero of the car during wind tunnel testing!"

These wind tunnel efforts were ahead of their time and influenced NASCAR aerodynamics before the Gen‑6 era. NASCAR had four wind tunnels. AeroDyn in Mooresville, NC was a full-scale closed‑jet wind tunnel, that opened in 2006 and was designed just for stock cars and trucks. A2 in the same facility, ARC and Windshear near Concord airport in NC were established later.

Larry McReynolds moved to the iconic No. 3 team after crew chief Andy Petree departed in 1997 and guided Dale Earnhardt to his legendary 1998 Daytona 500 win. In total, McReynolds drove teams to 23 victories over 417 starts as crew chief before retiring from the role in 2000. Post‑2000, he transitioned to broadcasting and became an analyst for NASCAR on FOX.

"The watershed moment for safety" - Larry McReynolds on Dale Earnhardt's tragic death

Larry McReynolds remembered the 1998 Daytona 500 win with Dale Earnhardt as one of motorsports’ most celebrated moments. But just three years later, during NASCAR’s first FOX broadcast, Earnhardt tragically died in a crash at Daytona. After Earnhardt’s death, NASCAR made big changes and introduced safety features like SAFER barriers, HANS devices, and stronger car designs.

According to McReynolds, the 2001 crash was a turning point and wake-up call for everyone to focus on safety.

"We all know the watershed moment for safety was the final corner of the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 when we lost Dale Earnhardt. When you look at 1999 and 2000, we had some knocks on the door that we were way behind on safety, safety of the cars, safety of the tracks, safety of everything," McReynolds said in 2023 via the Daytona Beach News Journal.

The safety evolution and improvements to the cars is still ongoing. Late last season, NASCAR mandated a new right rear-window air deflector to prevent cars from flipping, at Daytona following Corey LaJoie’s crash at Michigan.