Local racers made big impact on NASCAR

The local racing community lost the only Tri-Cities driver to be an official Cup Series winner and two Abingdon-based car owners who made a big impact on the sport since NASCAR was last at Bristol Motor Speedway. Paul Lewis, the only Tri-Cities driver recognized as an official winner of a NASCAR Cup Series race, died April 27. He was 92. Larry McClure, the owner of the No. 4 cars which won three Daytona 500s, died June 25 at age 81. It was just 11 days after the death of his close friend Charlie Henderson, whose shop set next to the original Morgan-McClure shop in Abingdon. PAUL LEWIS The Johnson City racer won the 1966 Smoky Mountain 200 at Maryville and scored a runner-up finish at Bristol later that season. He also won the pole position for a Late Model Sportsman race at Bristol in 1972. John A. Utsman, a close friend of Lewis, was a relief driver for NASCAR champion Benny Parsons in the 1973 Volunteer 500 at Bristol. While Utsman's role was significant, Parsons is listed as the official winner. Another big part of the Lewis legacy was starting Racers Reunion with local artist Jerry Honeycutt who hand-lettered many of the race cars back in the day. It was their goal to make sure the pioneers of the sport were remembered. While it mainly focused on the local drivers in the Tri-Cities area, NASCAR Hall of Famers Rex White, the 1960 Cup Series champion, and Jack Ingram, a five-time national champion in the Late Model Sportsman and Xfinity Series, also participated. "What I've tried to do with Racers Reunion is make people aware of the contribution those in this area have made to big-time racing," Lewis said in a 2006 interview. "A lot of the guys ran NASCAR. You could have taken six to 10 of those guys and put them in top rides and they would have been stars." Jeff Gilder, whom Lewis served as a mentor and crew chief, helped get the organization online and even set up an Independent Racer Hall of Fame, housed at the Memory Lane Museum in Mooresville, North Carolina. Lewis was part of the inaugural class in a ceremony emceed by all-time greats Bobby Allison and Ned Jarrett. Brownie King, who drove the No. 32 Chevrolet prepared by Jess and Clyde Potter before Lewis, remained a close friend throughout the years. King talked about being grateful for all of the efforts to bring attention to racers from the past. "That meant a lot to us because that brought our names back," King said. "People will forget about you after so long. When they'd see our names in the paper or recognize us at the reunions, that meant a lot to me and the other racers. It was a lot of work that Paul and Jerry put into that." Lewis, a licensed pilot originally from North Carolina, also put in the work to become the best race car driver he could. He started in drag racing and captured the 1958 Top Eliminator track championship at the old Maryville drag strip. After a transition to the oval tracks, his first Cup Series start was in 1960 when he was 27. His best season was 1966 when he had nine top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in 21 starts. Driving the No. 1 Plymouth, he took the lead from David Pearson at Maryville on lap 137 and led the final 64 laps to win by a two-second margin. He also was second to Dick Hutcherson in the Southeastern 500 and fourth in the Volunteer 500 at Bristol that season. Lewis even drove a race at Rockingham as a teammate to Richard Petty. He had 14 top-five finishes in his career and nine times was in the top three. He earned one Cup Series pole position at Harris, N.C., in 1965 before retiring with ignition problems. He had 45 top-10 finishes in 114 Cup Series starts including three starts in the Daytona 500. He finished in the top 10 for nearly 40 percent of the races despite being a true independent. He finished 13th in his final Cup Series race, the 1968 World 400 at Charlotte, in a No. 2 Dodge owned by Allison. Lewis went on to have success in the Late Model Sportsman ranks after his Cup career ended. He won the pole for the 1972 Permatex 300 at Bristol with a track record speed of 106.472 mph. A true talent, he won races at Kingsport Speedway driving a No. 12 Chevelle, which was a favorite of the kids with Snoopy painted on the hood. Outside of racing, Lewis, a military veteran, owned an upholstery and glass shop in Johnson City, and worked in the automobile wholesale business. In later years, Lewis served as a mentor and coach to younger racers like Gilder. LARRY MCCLURE McClure co-owned the Abingdon-based Morgan-McClure Motorsports with Tim Morgan and Jerry McClure for 28 years on the NASCAR tour. Successful businessmen, they also owned multiple car dealerships in Southwest Virginia. Larry McClure was the face of the team, which ran the yellow No. 4 Kodak car during its most successful years and won 14 Cup Series races in 703 starts. The first win came in the 1990 Bristol Night Race when driver Ernie Irvan held off defending series champion Rusty Wallace at the finish. Irvan would follow up with a win in the 1991 Daytona 500. Sterling Marlin became only the third driver to win back-to-back Daytona 500s, driving the No. 4 Chevrolet in 1994-95. "My heart hurts finding out Larry McClure passed away. He took a chance on my saying, 'I know you'll drive the hell out of it.' He gave me a fast car and back-to-back Daytona 500s. He was innovative, smart and a hell of a guy. Glad I got to see him last year, gonna miss him," Marlin posted on X. The Morgan-McClure team started after they purchased a car from veteran driver G.C. Spencer in 1983. Johnson City driver Connie Saylor drove the first race for the team at Talladega where he qualified 33rd and finished 40th due to engine failure. Mark Martin drove the No. 4 car for six more races in 1983. Former Cup Series Rookie of the Year Lennie Pond, Late Model Sportsman National Champion Tommy Ellis and Cup veteran Joe Ruttman all made multiple starts for the team before Rick Wilson took over the ride. Wilson had 16 top-10 finishes from 1986-89 including a runner-up finish to Bill Elliott at Daytona in July 1988. McClure was even listed as car owner for the legendary A.J. Foyt for the 1987 Daytona 500. Phil Parsons made three starts in 1990 before Irvan was chosen as a replacement. He won seven races over 3 1/2 seasons before moving to the No. 28 Robert Yates Racing team after the fatal helicopter crash of driver Davey Allison. Marlin won six races for the team from 1994-97 with the greatest success on the largest tracks of Daytona and Talladega where the No. 4 car had a distinctly different sound. Marlin drove the car to the team's best points finish in 1995, a season he finished third behind Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt. Ironically, the team's last win came in 1998 with Bobby Hamilton on the Cup Series' smallest track in Martinsville, Virginia. Kingsport native Tony Glover, son of the former Late Model Sportsman National Champion Gene Glover, served the team's longtime crew chief. Hamilton stayed with the team as driver until 2000. Mike Skinner and Mike Wallace recorded the team's final top-10 finishes. Johnson City driver Johnny Miller drove two races for the team on road courses in 2003. Former Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton made 16 starts for the No. 4 team in 2007. McClure was charged with federal income tax fraud a year later and served 18 months in jail. McClure was the uncle of the late NASCAR driver Eric McClure, who died in 2021. He and the team remain admired for their time as a major NASCAR player and representative for the local community. CHARLIE HENDERSON According to a press release at the time of Henderson's death at age 88, he was the second longest active team owner in NASCAR behind only the Wood Brothers. The owner of the Food Country USA grocery store chain began his racing career as a team owner at Kingsport Speedway for driver Larry Utsman in 1975. He had been a part of NASCAR's current three national series since 1982 when he teamed with Johnson City driver Brad Teague. The Abingdon-based team fielded cars for several high-profile drivers including Daytona 500 winners Ernie Irvan, Geoff Bodine and Ward Burton. Others included Rick Wilson, Morgan Shepherd and Jimmy Spencer. "His passion for racing, commitment to his team, and love for the sport left a lasting impact on everyone who has the privilege of working alongside him. He built this team on hard work, family values, and a love for competition that will continue to inspire us moving forward," the statement read. Henderson and Teague first teamed late in 1980 and they ran for the Late Model Sportsman national championship in 1981. They finished runner-up to Tommy Ellis in the series that later evolved into the Xfinity Series. "About halfway through the season in 1980 was when I started driving Charlie's car," Teague said. "After a race at Kingsport, we'd finished top two or three, Charlie sent his cousin Bo to ask me if I'd be interested in driving his car. I called him the next Monday morning and we worked out a deal. Then in 1981, we ran for the points and wound up second in national standings." A year later, they began a bid for NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year, but parted after nine races. Henderson teamed with noted car builder Ronnie Hopkins to finish the year. He and Teague reunited different times throughout their careers. They ran 86 races from 1985-88 with two pole positions and a victory at Martinsville where Teague beat future NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett to the finish line. They finished seventh in the 1987 Busch Series point standings. Teague made sporadic appearances for Henderson's teams in the 1990s including a 1996 race at Bristol where he qualified on the outside pole. Rick Wilson also drove for Henderson on multiple occasions with wins at Bristol and Dover in 1989. Officially, Henderson's cars had 24 Cup Series starts and 298 Xfinity Series starts. In recent years, Henderson fielded entries in the NASCAR Truck Series. Parker Kligerman drove the No. 75 Chevrolet to wins at Talladega in 2017 and the Mid-Ohio road course in 2022. The team crossed the finish line first in the 2025 season-opening race at Daytona before being disqualified by NASCAR for the truck measuring an 1/8-inch too low. "Charlie, his whole family and this race team have meant so much over the last decade," Kligerman posted on X. "Charlie and his family in some of my tougher moments in my racing career, have always been there to give me a shot and truly believed in me when others didn't. Together, we have done some incredible things, and it was all led by Charlie."' Kligerman pointed out that Henderson was so dedicated to the team even when it wasn't in his best financial interest. Of all the races, Henderson most wanted to win Bristol, Daytona and Talladega. Kligerman added, "Thank you Charlie for being the incredible, supportive, passionate racer that myself and many other racers owe a debt of gratitude for your support and love of racing."