Cliff Daniels, crew chief for Kyle Larson, had mixed emotions following a 34th-place result in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Larson exited the race in the final stage after crashing into the wall due to a right-front tire failure.
The driver of the No. 5 entered Phoenix with a 49-point lead in the Chase. After a difficult day in the desert, the Hendrick Motorsports star only has a five-point lead with three races remaining.
Cliff Daniels on ‘Terrible’ Day At Phoenix: ‘Certainly Disappointing’
Larson’s crew chief spoke to reporters after a frustrating Phoenix race. Throughout the 312-lap event, Larson was mired outside the top 20 and never made much of a run to the front.
Going into Sunday, Daniels said they had put more effort behind their Phoenix preparation than ever before.
“It’s certainly disappointing, but at the same time, we have put as much effort into this race as we have for a Phoenix race really ever. That’s a lot to say because, typically, Phoenix is the championship race,” Daniels said.
Unfortunately for the No. 5 team, the time and effort put into Phoenix only resulted in a 34th-place finish.
“Today was a terrible day. Our car was way off. Don’t know why because we had done a lot of work in the sim. Kyle, to his credit, was really invested in it and we were, too, as a team. We thought we were solving for something correctly from where we’ve been here in the past and, obviously, didn’t come together today,” Daniels said.
As disappointed as Daniels was by the outcome, he said it is nothing out of the ordinary for the No. 5 team. Daniels said as strong as Larson performs throughout a given season, there is always one of those disappointing results that skews the consistency.
“Disappointing day, but if you plot the average finishing position of the 5 team ever, it looks like this, so we’re OK. We have a lot of strength, we have a lot of poise, we are not fearful of what’s ahead, and we’re going to keep fighting hard,” Daniels said.
Larson’s Crew Chief Chuckles At Prematurely Crowning a Champion
With a 49-point lead entering the final four races, it was evident that Larson was the favorite to secure his third career Cup Series title. Yet, after a disastrous Phoenix, the championship battle is wide open.
That is why Daniels scoffs when he sees people who prematurely “crown” a champion. Because of the up and down nature of the series, Daniels said the champion cannot be decided until the season is over.
“Everybody tried to crown Reddick the champion early and then they tried to crown Denny the champion; then they’d try to crown us. There’s still three races left. There’s so many things that can change,” Daniels said.
Larson went winless during the regular season but picked up victories in the Chase at World Wide Technology Raceway and Kansas Speedway. Prior to Phoenix, Larson had finished sixth or better in every Chase race with an average finish of 2.8.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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