Cliff Daniels

Cliff Daniels
Daniels watching his pit crew make a pit stop in the race at Pocono in 2022
Personal information
Birth nameClifton Oliver Daniels
Born (1988-06-30) June 30, 1988 (age 36)[1]
Smithfield, Virginia, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte
OccupationCrew chief
Sport
CountryUnited States United States
SportMotor racing
LeagueNASCAR Cup Series
Team5. Hendrick Motorsports

Clifton Oliver Daniels (born June 30, 1988) is an American crew chief who works for Hendrick Motorsports as the crew chief of their No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series driven by Kyle Larson.

Racing career

Cliff Daniels had a short racing career as a driver, racing model cars at short tracks in his home state of Virginia before pursuing a mechanical engineering degree at University of North Carolina at Charlotte.[1] After graduating, he joined RAB Racing in 2011. He then moved to Stewart-Haas Racing, where he served as the race engineer of the No. 14 Chevrolet driven by Tony Stewart from 2013 to 2014. In December 2014, Daniels moved to Hendrick Motorsports to serve as the race engineer of the No. 48 Chevrolet driven by Jimmie Johnson, helping Johnson win the 2016 Sprint Cup Series Championship. Following the 2018 season, Daniels moved to Hendrick's competition systems group before rejoining the No. 48 team at Sonoma in 2019.[2]

On July 29, 2019, following a string of disappointing finishes during the 2019 season, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Daniels would replace Kevin Meendering as the crew chief of the No. 48.[1][3][4]

Daniels (standing on the pit wall) watching his pit crew make a pit stop in the race at Pocono in 2022

On October 28, 2020, Daniels was announced to become the crew chief for No. 5 of Kyle Larson. The 5 car would replace the No. 48 in 2021.[5]

On March 7, 2021, Daniels earned his first win as a crew chief in the 2021 Pennzoil 400. He won his first championship as a crew chief in 2021 at Phoenix.

On June 14, 2022, Daniels was suspended for four races due to a tire and wheel loss during the Sonoma race.[6]

On March 15, 2023, NASCAR suspended all four Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs (Daniels, Alan Gustafson, Rudy Fugle and Blake Harris) as well as Kaulig Racing No. 31 car crew chief Trent Owens for four races after it was discovered during practice for the race at Phoenix in March that the hood louvers on all five cars were illegally modified. As a result, each team received an L2 penalty (a loss of 100 driver and owner points as well as the four-race crew chief suspension).

References

  1. ^ a b c Spencer, Reid (July 29, 2019). "Hendrick Motorsports names Cliff Daniels as No. 48 crew chief". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  2. ^ "Cliff Daniels named crew chief for Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 team". Hendrick Motorsports. July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  3. ^ Wilhelm, Chase (July 29, 2019). "Jimmie Johnson on crew chief change: 'We have to act now'". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  4. ^ Page, Scott (July 29, 2019). "Cliff Daniels named crew chief for Jimmie Johnson". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  5. ^ "Kyle Larson signs with Hendrick Motorsports to drive No. 9 in 2021". Official Site Of NASCAR. 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  6. ^ "Sonoma penalty report: Cliff Daniels suspended; No. 51 loses points". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.

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