The year 1997 was a difficult one for Dale Earnhardt. It’s not often that ‘The Intimidator’ struggled on-track. However, after the win at the 1996 Quaker State 400, the legendary racer went on a 59-race winless streak. By that time, the Richard Childress Racing driver had already won seven championships. And it seemed unfathomable that one of the greatest NASCAR drivers in history would ever find it difficult to enter Victory Lane again.

But that just goes to show that even the best can struggle in the world of stock car racing when things aren’t going their way. And now, in a candid interview, his former crew chief, Larry McReynolds, has revealed the underlying reasons behind his 1997 winless streak.

Dale Earnhardt hated the 1997 Chevy

Expectations were high for Dale Earnhardt. Why would they not be? ‘The Intimidator’ had secured just two wins in the 1996 season, both of which came in the opening four races. Despite securing plenty of top-five results and finishing fourth, his campaign left much to be desired. Hence, forcing Richard Childress to pair his star driver with Larry McReynolds. The expectation in the garage was that the two would work well together and clinch that eighth championship. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

By then, Dale Earnhardt had already spent more than a decade behind the wheel of the No. 3 Chevy. But something didn’t feel right about the car during the 1997 season. Taking a trip down memory lane, his former crew chief, Larry McReynolds, said, “It was just driving me nuts because Dale just gave horrible feedback about the racecar. His number 1 comment was, “It just doesn’t feel good. It’s just not comfortable.” And that would just drive me nuts. I would say, ‘Dale, I can’t fix that. Tell me what you mean. Is the seat not right for you? What is going on with this race car?’”

Just like ‘The Intimidator’, McReynolds had also built quite a reputation by then. During the 1992 season, the crew chief sat atop the pit box when Davey Allison came agonizingly close to winning the Winston Cup Championship. The No. 28 team had won five races, including the Daytona 500. And they, indeed, dominated the All-Star Race for the second year in a row. But inconsistency cost them in the end, and the crew chief knew he had unfinished business, one that he hoped he would fulfill with Dale Earnhardt.

But it just wasn’t meant to be. McReynolds recalled how challenging the season was, going on to say, “I’m going to tell you, 97 was tough. To leave Robert Yates Racing and go to Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt, we went flippin winless. We never won a race.” Even though the No. 3 team had no DNFs, finishing 5th in the standings was the worst result Dale Earnhardt had in four years. Many fans even began questioning if this was the beginning of the end of ‘The Intimidator’. But as always, Earnhardt proved all his critics wrong.

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Earnhardt and McReynolds turned it around in 1998

By the time the 1997 season ended in Atlanta, there was an audible sigh of relief in the No. 3 garage after what seemed like a disastrous season. For Larry McReynolds, it wasn’t time for holidays as he was determined to end this winless streak, which was quickly becoming a stain on his career. Searching for answers, the crew chief hoped that the off-season would take away much of the scrutiny, allowing the Richard Childress Racing crew to work tirelessly behind the scenes to get Dale Earnhardt back to winning ways. They succeeded.

Earnhardt made his 20th Daytona 500 start in February of 1998 and went on to win the biggest race of his career. Recalling the result, McReynolds said, “I knew how bad he wanted to win that race. The man had won 30-something races at Daytona. He’d won everything from IROC, Xfinity Series, Duels, the Clash, the July race, he just hadn’t sealed the deal with the 500. I remember being in victory lane. It was such a surreal moment. I remember taking a step back and taking it all in.”

But the joy was short-lived. Dale Earnhardt couldn’t secure another win in the remaining 32 races. Moreover, it looked like age had finally caught up with arguably the greatest NASCAR driver of all time. While ‘The Intimidator’ never won a championship after the fabled 1994 season, he did finish runner-up in 2000. Indeed, he secured wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway before his untimely death in the season-opener the following year.