Nearly every weeknight, after he, his wife and his two young children have finished dinner, Cliff Daniels will tidy up the kitchen. And not just washing dishes, a cursory wiping of the counters and other typical duties after a meal.
Oh, no, this is Daniels, whose attention to detail and focus on performing at the highest level possible is well known. And this means that he makes sure the kitchen looks pristine.
“My daughter is 4, my son is almost 2, and when we’re done with dinner and the floor is a mess, I still make sure I vacuum and sweep every inch of the floor,” Daniels said. “That’s just my personality.”
This will surprise no one who knows the crew chief for Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team. Ask around the garage about Daniels’ defining characteristics and the responses are near universal: He’s detail-oriented, an exceptional leader and has an unmistakable white-hot intensity. Such attributes are the catalyst behind Larson vying for his second NASCAR Cup Series championship in three years Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
“Cliff takes the role seriously, embraces it, has the world’s most talented driver, bar none, and leads him,” said Chris Gabehart, crew chief for Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team. “He’s not afraid of it, he…
