Larry Hedrick (born December 12, 1940 - August 31, 2020) was a
North Carolina-born businessman and former
NASCAR team owner.
In 1976, he formed
Statesville Auto Auction Statesville may refer to the following places in the United States:
* Statesville, North Carolina
* Statesville, Tennessee
See also
* Stateville Correctional Center
Stateville Correctional Center (SCC) is a maximum security state prison fo ...
, which became one of the largest and most profitable auto sales businesses until it was sold to
Manheim Auctions in 1993. Hedrick also owned and operated
Larry Hedrick Motorsports, a NASCAR team that debuted in 1990 with driver
Larry Pearson. The following season, Hedrick signed
Kellogg's Corn Flakes for a limited schedule. Pearson was released at the end of the year in favor of
Greg Sacks.
Manheim Auctions joined the team as sponsor for 1993 with
Dick Trickle and
Phil Parsons sharing driving duties. The following year, Hedrick signed former
Xfinity series champion
Joe Nemechek for a run at
Rookie of the Year. Nemechek left at season's end to run his own team and was replaced by
Ricky Craven
Richard Allen Craven (born May 24, 1966) is an American stock car racing analyst and former driver. Prior to his broadcasting duties, he was a NASCAR driver who won in four different series—the K&N Pro Series, and the three national series.
He ...
. Craven would go on to win Rookie of the Year in 1995.
In 1996, Craven earned five top-10 finishes before accepting an offer from
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...
.
Steve Grissom
Steven Paul Grissom (born June 26, 1963) is an American former stock car racing driver. Grissom was the 1993 Busch Series champion and has eleven Busch wins in 185 starts. He turned down a scholarship to play quarterback at the University of Alaba ...
became the team's driver in 1997 and sat on the outside pole at the season opening Daytona 500, earning six top 10s through the season—the most for Hedrick. In 1999, sponsor
Kodiak Kodiak may refer to:
Places
*Kodiak, Alaska, a city located on Kodiak island
* Kodiak, Missouri, an unincorporated community
*Kodiak Archipelago, in southern Alaska
*Kodiak Island, the largest island of the Kodiak archipelago
** Kodiak Launch Com ...
moved to
Melling Racing, leaving the team in search of sponsorship. In 2000 the team thought it had sponsorship from Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce, but the sponsor defaulted on the terms of its contract and the team shut its doors.
References
*
1940 births
2020 deaths
NASCAR team owners
People from North Carolina
{{NASCAR-bio-stub
20th-century American businesspeople