One of the main reasons Kyle Larson has such dominant success in NASCAR is because of the crew that backs him. The 2021 Cup series champion has won five races so far and is the favorite for the title of many fans. Although he missed his chance at winning at Talladega coming in 4th, he stands 3rd in the playoffs charts with 52 points above the cutoff line. But what makes him such a great driver?

Recently, Kyle Larson was backed up by many NASCAR entities when he became the self-proclaimed “best driver in the world.” The truth is, it’s impossible to become one of the best drivers in the world without the best crew, and the No. 5 team aims to be just that. Cliff Daniels, Kyle Larson’s crew chief, has worked with the driver since 2021, and in his first year with the No. 5 team, they managed to win the Cup Series championship. So how does Daniels help Larson achieve such results? The answer is motivation.

Cliff Daniels’s iconic motivational speech

At Talladega, Kyle Larson was trying to win the race; however, an order from Cliff Daniels asked him to stop pushing Brad Keselowski to let Ricky Stenhouse Jr. win. This was mainly because Stenhouse Jr. was driving a Chevrolet and the manufacturers wanted one of their cars to win instead of the No. 6 Ford. Cliff Daniels called the shots, and ultimately it was a good result for all the drivers involved.

To discuss more with Cliff Daniels, the crew chief was called to NASCAR Daily where he spoke to Shannon Sparke about the season. Amid the interview, Sparke brought up one of Daniels’s motivational speeches before the race that gave her and Jamie McMurray the motivation to get into a stock car and start racing. She played the recording of the speech as she said, “let’s listen back on something that we heard on top of the pit box a couple of years ago because it is just way too good not to share with everybody.”

The recording of Cliff Daniel’s speech went like this: “We went from the back to the front more times than I could count. We hit the wall, we spun out, and we literally caught on fire. We were also the most penalized. T-bone pit road in the first half. All that means is that in the second half, already we’re going to be starting way better than we started the first half. We’ve got to go execute right now. It starts with this pit stop, then it’s going to be the restart, then it’s going to be whatever comes our way after that. I don’t really know what the hell you’re worried about, but I’m fine. The team’s fine. Everybody down here is nodding their heads and giving a thumbs up. So let’s go.”

This speech seemed to have brought back memories for Daniels as Sparke tried to do an activity with the crew chief. Sparke suggested that she would give a motivational speech to Daniels, and in return, he would do the same. When the No. 5 chief agreed, Sparke said, “So, Cliff, you got it this weekend. Everything’s going to be fine. We’re going to get through the Roval. We’re in our backyard, family, and friends there; everything’s going to be great, and we’re moving on to the Round of 8.”

Here is where the fun began as Cliff Daniels gave an exclusive motivational speech on the show: “Like I say to the five teams, it’s all about the process. It’s all about the habits you create, making sure you’re organized when you come in every day. Make sure you communicate well, work together, stick together, and whatever obstacles come your way, as long as you have a great team around you, you’re going to be able to overcome it. Everybody pull together and go get it.”

The No. 5 team’s crew chief got Shannon Sparke fired up in excitement as she got the Cup Series Champion treatment through Daniels’ words. However, with the upcoming race being at The Roval, Kyle Larson explained why he feels intimidated by the upcoming race.

Kyle Larson’s reservations with the ROVAL

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Kyle Larson is known to be a versatile driver who races in many disciplines, such as NASCAR, IndyCar, and also dirt racing. This should be enough to have him confident at any track he races at, right? Well, there is an exception when it comes to the ROVAL road course race. Although he was the winner of the 2021 Bank of America ROVAL, he has mentioned why the track scares him.

Ever since Larson joined Hendrick Motorsports, his performance at the ROVAL has been inconsistent. Despite the win in 2021, he had a P35 finish in 2022, which was followed by a P13 finish in 2023. However, it is not his inconsistency that scares him, but another underlying pattern that he has noticed with himself.

Kyle Larson recently revealed his feelings about the rival as he explained, “The ROVAL is intimidating to me in general just because… I don’t know, we won there but at least in the Next-Gen era, I feel like I don’t have a good feel for it; it’s really bumpy and I just feel super on edge. I’ve crashed there almost every time I’ve been there; we’ve been fast but crashed.”

Now if there is one thing that’s worse than not winning a race, it would be to get wrecked in it. In 2022, Kyle Larson started the race strong, finishing third after the second stage. However, a mistake at the exit of Turn 7 caused him to make contact with the wall, damaging his car. This is what caused the No. 5 driver to fall five laps behind and ultimately led to a 35th-place finish.

Such a result is not something a driver wants, especially when they are racing for the title and Larson fears that it might happen to him again. The ROVAL has been bad luck for Larson, as the HMS champion has not managed to finish in the top 10 at the track except for the time he won there in 2021.

With the ROVAL weekend coming up soon, do you think that Larson has what it takes to achieve another victory here? Share your thoughts in the comments below.