Larry McClure, Three-Time Daytona 500 Winning Car Owner, Dead at 81

Larry McClure, who was co-owner of the Morgan-McClure Motorsports team in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1983 to 2007, passed away Wednesday morning at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon, VA, a statement from the family of the businessman and longtime NASCAR team owner explained.

McClure, who was born on March 21, 1944, was 81 years old.

“The Family of Larry A. McClure, former co-owner of Morgan McClure Motorsports, announces with great sorrow his passing on Wednesday, June 25 at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon, Virginia. We would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support during this most difficult time,” the statement from the family read.

In 1983, McClure along with co owners Tim Morgan and brother Jerry McClure, formed a part-time NASCAR Cup Series team. Morgan, who went into business with McClure in the car dealership business before they ever started their race team, issued his love and sympathy to McClure’s wife and family in a statement.

“Larry and I began our business partnership in 1980 when we bought a Chevrolet dealership together in Southwest Virginia,” Morgan said. “Our friendship, which grew out of a shared love for automobiles and the automobile business, started long before that. Over the years, we expanded, and Larry’s brothers Ed, Jerry, and Teddy joined the business. As small town guys, we were naive enough to believe we could compete in the world of NASCAR. And with the Lord’s blessing, we were able to achieve far more than anyone thought was possible. Larry was proud to call Southwest Virginia home, and many across the region enjoyed economic opportunity because of his efforts. When he left this world, he had the assurance of knowing Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. I send my love and deepest sympathies to Larry’s wife Ginny and the rest of his family.”

Connie Saylor made the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series start for the organization as he started from the 33rd position in the1983 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, a start that would result in a 40th-place finish after a blown engine on Lap 23.

Over the next few seasons the team would quickly build itself from a pretender into a contender, and the organization would acquire Ernie Irvan as its driver heading into the fourth race of the 1990 season. In their first race together, which occurred at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Irvan would score a third-place finish.

The team would collect its first-ever NASCAR Cup Series win with Irvan behind the wheel in the 1990 Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The following year, Irvan and Morgan-McClure Motorsports would collect a landmark win for the team in the Daytona 500.

Late in the 1993 season, Irvan departed the Morgan-McClure Motorsports team to take over as the driver of the No. 28 Robert Yates Racing Ford in place of the late Davey Allison.

The team would hire Sterling Marlin to replace Irvan for the 1994 NASCAR Cup Series season. That pairing proved to be the most potent pairing in the history of the team as Marlin and Morgan-McClure Motorsports would win six races from 1994 to 1997, including back-to-back Daytona 500 wins in 1994 and 1995, and Marlin would notch the all-time best point standings ranking (third) for the team in 1995.

Marlin reacted to the news of McClure’s passing on his personal X account on Wednesday saying, “My heart hurts finding out Larry McClure passed away. He took a chance on me saying, ‘I know you’ll drive the hell out of it.’ He gave me a fast race car & back to back Daytona 500s. He was innovative, smart & a hell of a guy. Glad I got to see him last year. Gonna miss him.”

Marlin included a photo from when he met up with his former car owner a year ago with the post on his X account.

As Marlin left Morgan-McClure Motorsports for SABCO Racing in 1998, the team tapped Bobby Hamilton to pilot the iconic No. 4 Kodak Film Chevrolet.

Hamilton would nab the 14th and final win for the storied organization in the 1998 Goody’s Headache Powder 500 at Martinsville Speedway, a race where Hamilton would lead 378 of 500 laps. Hamilton would finish the 1998 season 10th in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings.

After Hamilton left the team following the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series season, Morgan-McClure Motorsports struggled to regain its former glory. By 2007, the team, which also fielded an entry in the ARCA Menards Series part-time, shuttered.

In all, Morgan-McClure Motorsports collected 14 NASCAR Cup Series wins, 63 top-five finishes, 146 top-10s, and 13 poles over 702 starts.

In addition to Irvan, Marlin, and Hamilton, the team had many other legendary drivers take a turn behind the wheel of its racecars. Mark Martin made six starts for the team in its opening 1983 season, and scored a best finish of 10th at Talladega Superspeedway.

Lake Speed, A.J. Foyt, Phil Parsons, Joe Nemechek, Robby Gordon, Jimmy Spencer, and Ward Burton were other former NASCAR Cup Series race winners that at one point drove an entry for MBM Motorsports in their careers.

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