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| Owner | Larry Hedrick |
|---|---|
| Principal(s) | Crew chiefs and managers:Harry Hyde,Waddell Wilson,Mike Hill,Dennis Connor,Doug Richert,Charley PressleyTim Brewer |
| Base | Statesville, North Carolina |
| Series | Winston Cup, Busch Series |
| Race drivers | Dave Marcis, Dick Trickle, Ricky Craven, Greg Sacks, Hut Stricklin Steve Grissom, Joe Nemechek, David Green, Derrick Cope |
| Manufacturer | Chevrolet, Ford (1 race) |
| Opened | 1990 |
| Closed | 2001 |
| Career | |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 (best finish: 22nd) |
| Race victories | 0 (best finish: 3rd) |
Larry Hedrick Motorsports (LHM) was aNASCAR team. It was owned by businessmanLarry Hedrick and always fielded the No. 41Chevrolet in both theWinston Cup and theBusch Series. The team ran from 1990 until its closure in 2001.
The team is not related toHendrick Motorsports despite sharing similar last name.
LHM made its debut at the1990Bud 500 atBristol Motor Speedway.Larry Pearson was the driver, qualifying 26th and finishing 14th. Pearson ran three more races with the team that season, never finishing lower than 19th.
The two teamed up again in 1991, running a limited schedule withKellogg's and Jasper Engines & Transmissions sponsoring, withRobert "Boobie" Harrington stepping in as crew chief after the team parted ways with crew chief Jeffrey Ellis, moving operations from Ellis' North Wilkesboro based shop to Harrington's Kannapolis facility.
After signing a sponsorship deal for 1992 withKellogg's Corn Flakes, the team parted ways with Pearson & Harrington, bringing inGreg Sacks as the team's (first full-time) driver, team managerHarry Hyde, & crew chiefDennis Connor. The team was moved to Statesville, operating out of Hedrick's 80-acreStatesville Auto Auction facility.
Things started off well, as Sacks put together five top-fifteen finishes as well as a 7th place qualifying effort at theTranSouth 500. Performance never improved and at the urging of team managerHarry Hyde, Sacks was replaced by long-time independentDave Marcis, who hired Jim Sauter to drive for his racing team while he drove the 41 car. In a seven-race stretch, Marcis' best finish was 18th at theSouthern 500. Sacks returned at theAC Delco 500 for a 33rd-place finish.Hut Stricklin finished out the last two races of the year. For the season-endingHooters 500, the team switched from a Chevrolet Lumina to a Ford Thunderbird.
In 1993, Manheim Auctions moved to full-time sponsorship, andPhil Parsons was hired to drive. Parsons finished 8th atNorth Carolina Motor Speedway, but was released in the final part of the year asDick Trickle took his place, and had an outside-pole starting spot at theSlick 50 500, then followed it up with a fifth-place finish atAtlanta Motor Speedway. After Trickle left at the end of the year, LHM signed 1992Busch Series championJoe Nemechek to compete forRookie of the Year, sponsored byMeineke, for1994 Nemechek had two consecutive top-five qualifying runs and finished 3rd atPocono Raceway. When they were unable to clinch the rookie crown, Nemechek left to run his own team, and Hedrick signed another Busch Series veteran to compete for Cup rookie honors,Ricky Craven, as well asKodiak as a sponsor. They had one top-five and four top-tens, defeatingRobert Pressley for Rookie of the year. Craven was rewarded with a share of ownership in the Hedrick operation, and responded with two pole positions and five top-tens in1996. He ran up near the top of the points standings very early in the season, but suffered a horrific crash at theWinston Select 500. Although he survived with no major injuries, his performance slipped after that, and many attribute that to a lack of confidence following that wreck. Craven left forHendrick Motorsports at the end of the 1996 season.
Craven was replaced bySteve Grissom to pilot the 41 ride for1997. Grissom qualified on the outside pole at the season-openingDaytona 500, and garnered six top-ten finishes throughout the season. The momentum did not carry over into1998, and Grissom was released after the fall Bristol race.David Green andRick Wilson shared the driving duties for the balance of the season, with Green getting the nod to drive in1999. Green struggled, missing two races, and finished no higher than 18th. As the season came to a close, Green left forTyler Jet Motorsports, and Trickle returned to the team. He DNQ'd for all but one of the races he attempted, and was replaced byDerrike Cope for three races, untilGary Bradberry finished out the season.
With no driver for2000 and Kodiak leaving the team, Hedrick decided to hire journeymanRick Mast to drive. After a long search, LHM signed Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce as sponsor. The team struggled at first, but when Mast left forA.J. Foyt Racing, many questions began surrounding the organization. It was soon revealed that Big Daddy's had neglected to pay their sponsorship fees, and had instead given Hedrick 11 million shares of stock in the company. Hedrick tried to get a cash deal withNew Holland as well as ordering Big Daddy's to pay their money, with neither working out. The stocks were later proven to be worthless. During this time, Bradberry returned for a three-race deal, but the team took the rest of the year off because of the sponsorship problems. After no other sponsorship opportunities came up in 2001, Hedrick sold the team.
Hedrick died on August 31, 2020, at the age of 79.[1]
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | Owners | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | David Green | 41 | Chevy | DAY | CAR DNQ | LVS 22 | ATL | DAR 7 | TEX 22 | NSV | BRI 33 | TAL 10 | CAL 14 | NHA | RCH 16 | NZH | CLT 14 | DOV 4 | SBO | GLN | MLW | MYB | PPR | GTY | IRP | MCH 14 | BRI 19 | DAR 40 | RCH 7 | CLT 18 | CAR 9 | MEM | PHO | HOM 7 | 36th | 2032 | |
| 46 | DOV 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||