To be successful in NASCAR, a team must be on top of its game. Even the fastest pit crews on pit road require a support group back at the shop that is always one step ahead of the competition. Marc Fryar is the man that makes sure Bill Davis Racing is always one step ahead.

Fryar comes from a racing family.  His father was one of the pioneers in NASCAR racing, working as both a crew chief and a driver. He passed his passion for the sport on to his son Marc.  The younger Fryar worked on cars part time until he graduated from high school, then decided to make racing his full-time career.  He traveled with his father from track to track, working as a mechanic and learning everything he could about what it takes to make a race car go fast. 

In 1988, the 24-year-old Fryar received his first shot on NASCAR’s elite circuit with Hagan Racing and driver Sterling Marlin.  He served as a general mechanic and jackman for the newly-formed team. 

Fryar received an opportunity to work with NASCAR Cup Champion Terry Labonte in 1989.  He and one other employee built and prepared each of the team’s cars to go to the track every week.  Fryar worked endless hours trying to make Labonte’s car go fast at each NASCAR event.

Again following in his father’s footsteps, Fryar became crew chief of the No. 33 Wagner Racing entry in the NASCAR Busch Series with driver Bobby Labonte. Labonte entered 12 events during the 1994 season, notching a win at Michigan International Speedway and a pole at New Hampshire International Speedway. Although Fryar had much success in his first job as a crew chief, his time away from his family took a toll on him. He sought a job that did not require him to travel.

Fryar applied for and received a job at Bill Davis Racing working on rear suspensions for newly-hired driver Ward Burton in the No. 22 NASCAR Cup entry.  In Burton’s fifth race under the BDR umbrella, the organization received its career first victory at North Carolina Speedway.

“It was really neat,” Fryar said of the victory.  “It was the first win for BDR, and I was so proud that I was a part of it all.  At the time we were not a big outfit, and to win a race in the NASCAR Cup series was a huge deal.”

In 1997, Bill Davis appointed Fryar as the shop foreman for his NASCAR Cup organization.   Davis needed a veteran to make sure his team operated at its full potential. He believed Fryar had the knowledge to make sure his team was always ready to race every week. 

In 2000, BDR’s NASCAR Cup operations moved into a 125,000-square foot building in High Point, N.C. By this time, Fryar was responsible for making sure that Davis’ two Cup entries were always on schedule to have all their tasks completed in a timely manner.

Bill Davis Racing experienced another milestone victory in 2002 when it won the Super Bowl of motorsports, the Daytona 500. Fryar, like his teammates, was very proud of that accomplishment.

“To win the biggest one of them all was such a thrill,” Fryar recalled.  “It is something that I will never forget.”

Today, Fryar oversees more than 50 employees in the NASCAR Nextel Cup shop and ensures the No. 22 Caterpillar car is always one step ahead of the rest of the field.