Cliff Daniels is pleased with Kyle Larson’s performance in the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 double last month. During an appearance on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, the Hendrick Motorsports crew chief highlighted why Larson’s double attempt was a significant win despite not completing it.
“Yes the result wasn’t what we all wanted, but in my opinion, I still think it was a win and here’s why,” Daniels stated. “Globally, it was a success. It was a fantastic day for racing; it drew a lot of attention to IndyCar and NASCAR, and it truly demonstrated what someone like Kyle Larson could do, which is an important element of our sport as we know. However, it also demonstrated how he had never ran a competitive lap in an IndyCar before the green flag of the Indy 500 and was literally one minor breaking mistake and pit road entry away from a top-five result. That is wonderful. That is a win.
“At the same time, how can you call it a win if he didn’t get to race the five call, and all of these questions are acceptable for someone to ask me? Well, it’s a win because the five teams were prepared, and we have a good relationship with Justin Allgaier. He had a lot of courage to show up and get into our car. I informed Justin before the race that we’d go a lap down. I’m not worried about it, and neither should you be.”
Cliff Daniels says Kyle Larson’s performance was a ‘victory for racing’.
Daniels went on to suggest that once Allgaier was comfortable with the car, they will be competitive. “The win for us is we put Justin in the car like we kind of predicted work through that, he unlapped himself under the green, drives away from the leaders, that’s incredible.”
Allgaier was 13th when NASCAR announced the Coca-Cola 600. If the race had continued, Larson would have taken the lead and had a good chance of winning. “What a win for motorsports, for the opportunity, for so many people involved in that,” Daniels said. “I really wanted Kyle to receive that message the following Monday, when he was second-guessing everything he had done along the road, which I don’t believe was appropriate. He did so many things correctly along the way; sometimes in life, things just don’t work out.”
