Cliff Daniels is happy with what he saw from Kyle Larson after attempting the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 double last month. While appearing on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, the Hendrick Motorsports crew chief explained why Larson’s double attempt was a big 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 said. “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. But it also showcased how he had never run a competitive lap in an IndyCar until the green flag of the Indy 500 and was really one little breaking mistake and pit road entry away from a top-five finish. That’s incredible. That’s a win.

“Then at the same time, how can you consider it a win that he didn’t get to race the five call and all these things would be reasonable for somebody to ask me? Well, the reason it’s a win is the five team was prepared, we have a great relationship with Justin Allgaier. He showed a lot of courage to show up to get in our car. I told Justin before the race, we’re going to go a lap down. I’m not worried about it, so you don’t need to be either.”

Cliff Daniels says Kyle Larson’s showing was a ‘win for motorsports’

Daniels went on to say that once Allgaier got comfortable with the car, they were going to 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 in 13th before NASCAR called the Coca-Cola 600. Had the race continued, Larson would have taken over and he would have had a strong chance to win. “What a win for motorsports, for the opportunity, for so many people involved in that,” Daniels added. “I really wanted Kyle to know that message the Monday after when he was second-guessing everything that he had done along the way, which I don’t think was proper. He did so many things right along the way, sometimes in life things just don’t work out.”