NASCAR Cup Series
Martinsville Speedway
Team Chevy Crew Chief Quotes
October 31, 2026
Cliff Daniels, crew chief of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team, met with the media in a panel with fellow Chase-contending crew chiefs – Adam Stevens, James Small and Chris Gayle – in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice qualifying session at Martinsville Speedway.
Cliff Daniels Media Availability Quotes:
As the team leading entering this weekend, this stretch, what is the number one objective for you guys? Is there any plan to go on defensive or is it all out to maximize?
“Yeah, I mean, really, our game plan hasn’t changed a lot the last handful of weeks, even with the ups and downs, and I think that that’s probably true for all of us sitting here. We’ve all seen and we’re all very aware of how quickly the points can swing, so every week you’ve just got to be focused on maximizing your day and whatever that’s going to take. This is certainly a race where the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) could go lead all 500 laps and we’ve still got to have a strong day, so our game plan really hasn’t changed much.”
Going into this Chase, there was kind of some preconceived notions of how we thought this was going to go, what we thought was going to be important, that kind of thing. As we now are in race nine, what have you guys learned about this format that maybe you didn’t think about going into this?
“I think it’s been a bit eye-opening to see the swing of the points, when earlier in the season, you had the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) hot, and then consistently hot to start, and then the same thing with the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) through the summer. I don’t know that we all quite had the picture or the window into what that could look like. And then, when everybody shows up and brings their best in The Chase and then you have some tumultuous weeks where unexpected things happen, it certainly shows that the points can be very dynamic and very unpredictable every week. So, from our perspective, it’s been exciting and it’s been fun to see that, just not knowing every week what can happen and what can unfold with how the points outlook moves along each week.”
With Richmond, New Hampshire, the last couple of races with this tire; do you feel like maybe it helps you guys be better this weekend than you were in the spring?
“Yeah, they’ve been solid steps for us at both of those tracks on this tire. Phoenix was such a bad miss for us that you still always have that asterisk of the short track package on this tire. We’ve certainly had a decent notebook here at Martinsville for a while. Our teammates have been strong. The No. 9 (Chase Elliott) and the No. 24 (William Byron) have been really strong here, historically and consistently, and we’ve also consistently been a top-10 car, so we’re not straying too far from home. We still have to evolve as the sport does, as the field does, of things that you learn and apply. So, yeah, we’ll see, but certainly trying to put it all together this weekend.”
One of the big talking points in the regular season, obviously, was the seeding and everybody was thinking that a top-six seed was going to be the way to go. Given the volatility that we’ve all seen with how quickly you can gain or lose points, does the gap between seeds need to be adjusted at all?
“Yeah, I don’t have a great answer. Tell us what the format is, and you’ve got to play to it. There’s always going to be unknowns. You know, from what Chris (Gayle) had alluded to earlier, you used to think of how you would strategize your final 10 races, but it was three races at a time. So, even when you look at history and how people play through those races, those decisions are predicated on the points format and what you had to do to advance. Even how we call a race now is a little bit new, just with the territory of having 10 races over a stretch.
I don’t know how you need to have it seeded. Whatever it is, we’re going to make our pit strategy, we’re going to make our pit calls, we’re going to make our play calls based on whatever that is.”
This isn’t easy, so don’t take that the wrong way, but is it almost easier to have all the resources of Hendrick Motorsports behind one driver as opposed to these three guys splitting everything on their level with each of their teams?
“My answer to that comes back at Charlotte when we had the unfortunate crash with the No. 24 (William Byron) and the No. 48 (Alex Bowman). We lined up on one of those restarts with three Toyota’s ahead of us, three Toyota’s behind us, the No. 12 (Ryan Blaney) was in the mix, and there were no friendlies that were going to help us out. I think it would be a little short-sighted for us to just completely turn the tables lopsided to the No. 5 team and where all of our resources go.
At the end of the day, for Hendrick Motorsports, we’re still focused on preparing four fast racecars and try to keep them up front because the more that we have ourselves up there, theoretically, the more points we can take from these guys and keep ourselves in a good spot.
So, no, all of the focus of Hendrick Motorsports is not solely on the No. 5 team. Of course, we’ve put the proper amount that needs to be there, but we still have three teams that have a responsibility to their sponsors, their teams, their seasons for what they need to accomplish, and we need to have all four Hendrick cars up front.”
Tyler Monn (spotter) said he’s seen Kyle rededicate himself this year, just pour his full focus into NASCAR as opposed to the sprint car racing, and Kyle addressed that himself. How have you seen Kyle just go completely invested in what needs to be done?
“Yeah, he’s done a great job, and that’s across many fronts; from his workout regimen to how he meets with the team, the time and effort that he’s put into the sim. And, oh, by the way, he still had a really good sprint car season, too, so he was able to do a lot of great things. The way he’s applying himself, of course, professionally to his craft, but he’s also spent a lot of time with his kids. You know, he’s been at Millbridge when they’ve been racing, been very supportive of them. I’m super proud of the growth that he’s shown in all of those areas, and I think it’s just part of the journey of him pushing himself to be better and to continue to hone his skills.
When you see a guy like Denny (Hamlin), who’s above the age of 40 and still be operating at such a high physical and mental racer IQ level, that’s a really good benchmark to look at. I think Kyle wants to hold himself to a really high standard in that regard, and hopefully, we continue it not only for the next two races, but I think he’s going to for quite some time.”
The 51-race drought that Kyle had, it’s just almost like a switch got flipped. I know you talked about Kyle’s dedication back to racing and focus, but what about the technology in the car and some of the things that you’ve done? What has your input been, as far as turning this whole thing around almost like on a dime?
“Yeah, I mean, just in general, we certainly got off to a slow start at Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet, at large, just trying to get our arms around the new body and the balance difference of that. But I would also argue, during the month of May and I think early June, we had a lot of top-fives in a row. The Toyota’s were still ahead of us, but we were kind of the best of the rest. And even in the summer, when you look at our finishes that weren’t great, we were probably going to have a really good day in Indy. We had a few other races that we were up front, or at least in the mix, that got away from us.
So, from our lens, I don’t think it looks quite so digital, you know, because of the change of the course of our season. As you go through the year and you learn little things to balance out your car, find a little speed, tune your setups and just get into the rhythm that we started to find; that’s what anyone hopes for down the stretch of a Cup season. We’ve certainly been able to dig into that a bit just with our prep and how it’s all coming together. It’s been not one big thing, but a lot of little things over time. I’m proud of our team for the effort to get us here. Like I said, now we’ve got two more that we’ve got to stay strong.”
What does it take in this day, in this format, in general, to win the championship, to earn it?
“I don’t think any of us have done it yet in this format, so I look forward to answering your question, hopefully, in a couple weeks.
I mean, just in general, everyone knows we have a long season; 36 competitive events with a lot of great teams, and certainly, the four teams at this table. But there’s more out there that we’ve been competing against every week. It’s a grind. It’s a physical and mental challenge on your team and on the people that support you back at home at the shop. It takes a lot of great people to be dedicated to a car or to an organization to see it through for how long our season is. That’s probably a common answer that they would all give. We still don’t know yet what it looks like to win in this format, none of us do, so we’ll find out.”
This marks 10 years since Jimmie Johnson won his seventh championship. You were their lead race engineer on that team. Are there things that you remember from that run that you still apply in your position now? I believe Jimmie won at Martinsville that year, and then went on to win his seventh championship. Are there things that you still use today in your role now as the crew chief?
“Yeah, certainly. Any chance you have an opportunity to work with or be around Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus, Rick Hendrick; those guys know how to operate at such a high level. To see it and experience it in person, just their dedication to the details week in and week out. Kind of like Adam (Stevens) was just alluding to, you have to elevate your game so much during this 10-week stretch. It’s not just this great burst of energy and preparation that you can take for a week or two. You have to sustain it across 10 weeks. You know, back then, it was still the round-style playoffs, but getting to see the way that they were so focused and so intense on their preparation every week was a really cool experience for me. I certainly learned a lot working with somebody like Chad. You learn how much all the little details of the team – the team culture, chemistry and preparation – matter more than just building the racecar. It’s pit stops, behind-the-wall pit support, so many different aspects that you have to have buttoned up. Even working with other guys in our company like Alan Gustafson, who’s been around for a long time. Alan is great with perspective in these types of situations. And also, Jeff Andrews and Jeff Gordon that have done it and lived it.
Yes, it was super special, of course, to work with Chad and Jimmie during that year, but we’re surrounded by a lot of good people that set a very high bar for what it takes to be prepared and compete at a high level.”
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.
GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.
