Larry McClure, former NASCAR Cup Series team owner, passes away

Larry McClure, co-owner of Morgan–McClure Motorsports from 1983-2007, has died. His family confirmed his passing in a statement to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. He was 81.

“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.”

Morgan-McClure Motorsports operated as a NASCAR Cup Series team for 24 years. Larry McClure owned the team alongside Tim Morgan and Jerry McClure. Beginning with the 1983 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and ending with the 2009 Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the team made 703 starts at the Cup level. They tallied 14 victories.

The team employed several of the sport’s best drivers, including Mark Martin, Ernie Irvan and Sterling Marlin. Irvan won the 1991 Daytona 500 piloting the No. 4 Chevrolet for Morgan-McClure Motorsports.

Marlin replaced Irvan after the 1993 season and proceeded to win the Daytona 500 in 1994 and again in 1995. He had a very successful four-year tenure with the team, finishing as high as third in the points standings in 1995. Marlin, one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers, wrote the following on social media:

NASCAR community remembers Larry McClure

“My heart hurts finding out Larry McClure passed away,” Marlin wrote on X. “He took a chance on me saying “I know you’ll drive the hell out of it.” 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.”

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 pic.twitter.com/b538TPYe5O

— Sterling Marlin (@SMR_114) June 25, 2025

Other tributes have poured in from the NASCAR community. Hermie Sadler wrote, “I send my deepest condolences to the family of Larry McClure. Many years ago, I went to Chicagoland with one car and one engine. My engine blew in practice. He gave me an engine to run. He said, ‘if you out qualify my car, you can race that engine for free.’ RIP.”

Larry McClure was the uncle of former NASCAR driver Eric McClure. Eric died in May 2021.