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Larry Hedrick Motorsports

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Hedrick Motorsports
Owner(s)Larry Hedrick
Principal(s)Crew chiefs and managers: Harry Hyde, Waddell Wilson, Mike Hill, Dennis Connor, Doug Richert, Charley Pressley Tim Brewer
BaseStatesville, North Carolina
SeriesWinston Cup, Busch Series
Race driversDave Marcis, Dick Trickle, Ricky Craven, Greg Sacks, Hut Stricklin Steve Grissom, Joe Nemechek, David Green, Derrick Cope
SponsorsKodiak
ManufacturerChevrolet, Ford (1 race)
Opened1990
Closed2001
Career
Drivers' Championships0
Race victories0

Larry Hedrick Motorsports (LHM) was a NASCAR team. It was owned by businessman Larry Hedrick and always fielded the No. 41 Chevrolet in both the Winston Cup and the Busch Series. The team ran from 1990 until its closure in 2001.

Beginnings

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LHM made its debut at the 1990 Bud 500 at Bristol 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 with Kellogg's and Jasper Engines & Transmissions sponsoring, with Robert "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 with Kellogg's Corn Flakes, the team parted ways with Pearson & Harrington, bringing in Greg Sacks as the team's (first full-time) driver, team manager Harry Hyde, & crew chief Dennis Connor. The team was moved to Statesville, operating out of Hedrick's 80-acre Statesville Auto Auction facility.

Things started off well, as Sacks put together five top-fifteen finishes as well as a 7th place qualifying effort at the TranSouth 500. Performance never improved and at the urging of team manager Harry Hyde, Sacks was replaced by long-time independent Dave 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 the Southern 500. Sacks returned at the AC Delco 500 for a 33rd-place finish. Hut Stricklin finished out the last two races of the year. For the season-ending Hooters 500, the team switched from a Chevrolet Lumina to a Ford Thunderbird.

Mid-1990s

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In 1993, Manheim Auctions moved to full-time sponsorship, and Phil Parsons was hired to drive. Parsons finished 8th at North Carolina Motor Speedway, but was released in the final part of the year as Dick Trickle took his place, and had an outside-pole starting spot at the Slick 50 500, then followed it up with a fifth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After Trickle left at the end of the year, LHM signed 1992 Busch Series champion Joe Nemechek to compete for Rookie of the Year, sponsored by Meineke, for 1994 Nemechek had two consecutive top-five qualifying runs and finished 3rd at Pocono 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 as Kodiak as a sponsor. They had one top-five and four top-tens, defeating Robert 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 in 1996. He ran up near the top of the points standings very early in the season, but suffered a horrific crash at the Winston 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 for Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the 1996 season.

Final years

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The paint scheme that ran from 1997-1999.

Craven was replaced by Steve Grissom to pilot the 41 ride for 1997. Grissom qualified on the outside pole at the season-opening Daytona 500, and garnered six top-ten finishes throughout the season. The momentum did not carry over into 1998, and Grissom was released after the fall Bristol race. David Green and Rick Wilson shared the driving duties for the balance of the season, with Green getting the nod to drive in 1999. Green struggled, missing two races, and finished no higher than 18th. As the season came to a close, Green left for Tyler Jet Motorsports, and Trickle returned to the team. He DNQ'd for all but one of the races he attempted, and was replaced by Derrike Cope for three races, until Gary Bradberry finished out the season.

With no driver for 2000 and Kodiak leaving the team, Hedrick decided to hire journeyman Rick 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 for A.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 with New 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]

Driver history

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Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Car No. 41 results

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year Driver 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 33 34 Owners Pts
1990 Larry Pearson 41 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI
14
DAR
17
RCH DOV MAR NWS
DNQ
CLT
19
CAR
19
PHO ATL 39th 445
1991 DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS
DNQ
MAR TAL
41
CLT
41
DOV SON POC
32
MCH
20
DAY
21
POC TAL
17
GLN MCH BRI
DNQ
DAR
30
RCH
36
DOV
30
MAR NWS CLT
DNQ
CAR PHO
33
ATL
14
38th 848
1992 Greg Sacks DAY
14
CAR
34
RCH
32
ATL
31
DAR
28
BRI
13
NWS
21
MAR
12
TAL
35
CLT
16
DOV
19
SON
43
POC
11
MCH
14
DAY
26
POC
29
TAL
19
GLN
31
MCH
41
CAR
33
29th 2482
Dave Marcis BRI
32
DAR
18
RCH
24
DOV
26
MAR
25
NWS
28
CLT
39
Hut Stricklin PHO
15
ATL
41
1993 Phil Parsons DAY
22
CAR
8
RCH
16
ATL
39
DAR
36
BRI
31
NWS
18
MAR
20
TAL
19
SON
37
CLT
12
DOV
37
POC
14
MCH
13
DAY
25
NHA
39
POC
18
TAL
22
GLN
33
MCH
19
BRI
14
DAR
21
RCH
20
DOV
37
MAR
19
28th 2849
Dick Trickle NWS
30
CLT
22
CAR
9
PHO
31
ATL
5
1994 Joe Nemechek DAY
DNQ
CAR
36
RCH
21
ATL
18
DAR
19
BRI
16
NWS
DNQ
MAR
22
TAL
42
SON
22
CLT
33
DOV
14
POC
32
MCH
7
DAY
39
NHA
19
POC
3
TAL
35
IND
20
GLN
8
MCH
21
BRI
29
DAR
42
RCH
28
DOV
36
MAR
22
NWS
34
CLT
11
CAR
17
PHO
25
ATL
23
28th 2673
1995 Ricky Craven DAY
16
CAR
16
RCH
38
ATL
12
DAR
42
BRI
29
NWS
33
MAR
18
TAL
17
SON
25
CLT
10
DOV
22
POC
26
MCH
33
DAY
22
NHA
31
POC
25
TAL
26
IND
31
GLN
10
MCH
7
BRI
32
DAR
18
RCH
29
DOV
22
MAR
35
NWS
21
CLT
25
CAR
8
PHO
24
ATL
30
25th 2883
1996 DAY
13
CAR
3
RCH
17
ATL
12
DAR
3
BRI
9
NWS
7
MAR
12
TAL
36
SON
31
CLT
37
DOV
14
POC
17
MCH
29
DAY
22
NHA
26
POC
20
TAL
19
IND
34
GLN
36
MCH
18
BRI
21
DAR
42
RCH
28
DOV
35
MAR
26
NWS
22
CLT
5
CAR
22
PHO
34
ATL
35
22nd 3078
1997 Steve Grissom DAY
40
CAR
24
RCH
11
ATL
33
DAR
DNQ
TEX
10
BRI
32
MAR
20
SON
17
TAL
41
CLT
11
DOV
24
POC
18
MCH
38
CAL
17
DAY
38
NHA
4
POC
30
IND
26
GLN
9
MCH
25
BRI
5
DAR
21
RCH
12
NHA
4
DOV
21
MAR
40
CLT
13
TAL
32
CAR
24
PHO
8
ATL
28
23rd 3061
1998 DAY
28
CAR
20
LVS
39
ATL
16
DAR
19
BRI
16
TEX
10
MAR
25
TAL
16
CAL
30
CLT
32
DOV
32
RCH
39
MCH
41
POC
23
SON
10
NHA
43
POC
39
IND
23
GLN
38
MCH
33
BRI
DNQ
NHA
25
DAR
20
RCH
17
DOV
DNQ
37th 2228
David Green MAR
DNQ
CLT
43
PHO
37
CAR
26
ATL
41
Rick Wilson TAL
DNQ
DAY
DNQ
1999 David Green DAY
DNQ
CAR
18
LVS
27
ATL
21
DAR
42
TEX
26
BRI
33
MAR
26
TAL
33
CAL
25
RCH
43
CLT
27
DOV
18
MCH
35
POC
38
SON
36
DAY
33
NHA
DNQ
POC
41
IND
20
GLN
37
MCH
32
BRI
25
DAR
42
RCH
33
41st 1888
Dick Trickle NHA
DNQ
DOV
DNQ
MAR
DNQ
CLT
41
Derrike Cope TAL
37
CAR
25
PHO
43
HOM
DNQ
Gary Bradberry ATL
35
2000 Rick Mast DAY
28
CAR
33
LVS
DNQ
ATL
21
DAR
30
BRI
34
51st 481
Gary Bradberry TEX
41
MAR
33
TAL
DNQ
CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV MAR CLT TAL CAR PHO HOM ATL
Footnotes
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  1. ^ White, Rea. "A Joy To Be Around: Former county commissioner, NASCAR team owner Larry Hedrick remembered". Statesville Record & Landmark. Retrieved September 1, 2020.