Cliff Daniels argues why Kyle Larson’s Double attempt was a win, not a failure 

Kyle Larson's crew chief Cliff Daniels has described why the driver's recent Double attempt on 26 May was a big win despite being a failure in some ways. Larson finished inside the top 20 in his very first Indy 500 but failed to drive even a single lap in the Coca-Cola 600 due to delays caused by rain.

Daniels believes there were many wins that day, as he noted on the podcast "Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour."

"Globally it was a win. It was a great day for motorsports. Brought a lot of attention to IndyCar, brought a lot of attention to NASCAR. It really showcased what somebody like Kyle Larson could do and is a big part of our sport as we know," Daniels said.

"But it also showcased how... he had never run a competitive lap in an IndyCar until the green flag at the Indy 500, and was really one little braking mistake at pit road entry away from a top 5 finish. That's incredible. That's a win," he added.

The crew chief then addressed the Coke 600 phase of the Double, explaining why that was a win too.

"The reason it's a win is because the #5 team was prepared. The win for us is get (substitute driver) Justin Allgaier in the car, go a lap down, like we predicted, work through that. He unlapped himself under green, drives away from the leaders, that's incredible. And the courage and the talent to do that, that's remarkable."

Daniels claimed that when it started raining, the #5 car was in 13th place on lap 250 with 150 laps to go. This meant they were still in "a very competitive spot" for Kyle Larson where he could have either hopped in the car once he arrived or Justin Allgaier could've gone on to win considering he "positioned himself very well," if the race had continued.

For Kyle Larson's crew chief, the entire Double experience was a win for motorsports and the people involved.

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Cliff Daniels didn't approve of Kyle Larson's long note following the Double

After his underwhelming Double duty last month, Kyle Larson took to X to pen down a long note sharing his disappointment. He suggested that he viewed his Double attempt as a failure. This was something Cliff Daniels didn't like, as he revealed on the aforementioned podcast.

"That message the Monday after when he was second-guessing everything that he had done along the way, which I just don't think was proper," Daniels said.

Cliff Daniels wanted his driver to know that he did "so many things right along the way." He stated that sometimes in life, things don't work out but it's important that one learns from the choice one makes, appreciate it and to move forward.

Daniels claimed he told Kyle Larson that there's a big difference in failing and things not working out. To the crew chief, failure would've been not doing things the right way and missing on checking every box with Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports.