The preparations for the Championship 4 race have reached a feverish pace in Phoenix. But one Hendrick Motorsports team has been maintaining this intensity for an entire year, simply because the 2022 elimination of Kyle Larson was simply unacceptable for the 2021 champion’s crew chief.

Two days before the test of the #5 team’s grit and mettle, Cliff Daniels detailed the meticulous process that began in the off-season last year. 

Crew chief Cliff Daniels recorded the wins and losses of Kyle Larson with equal precision

Hendrick Motorsports’ #5 crew chief Cliff Daniels met Kyle Larson when Larson was suspended for violation of NASCAR’s code of conduct in 2020. True to his core, the HMS driver spent the year honing his craft in various dirt and sprint races across the country. The former crew chief of Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson knew he had met another future champion when he diligently studied the racer’s technique and form until he was reinstated as a Cup driver. 

The effort paid off, and the duo were ready to conquer NASCAR’s premier series in their very first year together. Cliff Daniels matched the #5 driver’s ambition and driver from day one and was equally dejected when they could not recreate that success the following year. To rectify that, Daniels decided to revisit the tool that worked for them prior to their championship year- a journal. In an interview with Sirius XM, the #5 team’s hardworking crew chief explained, 

“I wanna say since November since we didn’t have the result of the 2022 season that we wanted, I started my own leadership notebook that I have been taking notes all year long. I had to do that for myself so that in this situation, I can just go back through and skim through my own notes and quotes and things that I have read and encountered along in the journey of this season. Really, the season started in November a year ago and those are the things that help paint a picture for me.

“The battles that have tested us, the mistakes that we made, the triumphs that we had, all the things in between. So there is a lot of perspective in that, a lot of wisdom in that I’ve been building throughout the year for myself just to be mentally sharp and leveled and focused and all the things that I need to have.” Along with these precious notes, there was another reason that aided Kyle Larson in returning to his Championship 4 form.

The #5 Hendrick Motorsports team does not stop till they are 10/10

Kyle Larson is undoubtedly one of the most talented drivers of his generation. Regardless of whether he wins the race at the Phoenix Raceway this Sunday, Larson proved his exceptional skills in the Round of 8 itself. The HMS driver won the High Limit Sprint race series, aced in the Indy 500 rookie test, and won the playoff race in Las Vegas to qualify for the Championship 4 within a single week.

Watch This Story: Kyle Larson: A Racing Prodigy’s Dream Journey

However, the #5 driver will be the first to admit that all the talent in the world cannot single-handedly garner success. The crew working round the clock behind the scenes contributes as much, or even more, to the eventual outcome of the race. Cliff Daniels acknowledged that the entire #5 team found a place in his notebook as a constant source of inspiration. 

“All the individuals of the 5 team, it’s such a great group of guys. It’s a very young team, but there’s a lot of strength and a lot of resilience in all the guys of the team. They give me a lot of inspiration too. I think in a way we inspire each other in the sense that we don’t stop when we are not at a 10. We keep going to make sure we’re 10 out of 10.

“We know how to push each other. We don’t want to let each other down. We have a lot of trust and respect for what we do. That in itself is inspiring to be part of, just being in the 5 team. So a lot of good in all those things and a lot of healthy wisdom and perspective and inspiration and all that. And that’s keeping us going, especially this week.”

It is now time for that relentless dedication to pay off and Kyle Larson will not stop till he is a perfect 10 in his pursuit of the checkered flag this weekend.

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