Cliff Daniels’ first full-time season as crew chief of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team doubles as Jimmie Johnson’s last.
Naturally, pressure is there. Daniels admitted that much.
Or at least it should be.
“I haven’t really had time to sit back and think, ‘Oh, man. Is this intimidating or is this scary?'” Daniels said Thursday at the team’s complex in Concord, North Carolina. “I don’t know yet. I really don’t.”
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Johnson announced back in late November, just days after the 2019 finale, he will retire at the conclusion of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Already considered one of the sport’s greats, Johnson holds seven championships, making him the only active driver tied with Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for most titles. Johnson boasts 83 career wins in the premier series from 18 full seasons.
That’s who Daniels has to – gets to – command this year.
“One of the biggest things I’ve done this offseason is really drive the point home of the togetherness and the family dynamic of the team across the board,” Daniels said. “I grew up playing baseball, soccer, football, other sports. It’s so rare to see a team that truly every individual is pulling in the same direction. Obviously, we’re all unique with our identity, but together, the team is really, really strong.”
Daniels took over atop the pit box 22 races into last season, replacing Kevin Meendering, who was also new to the position in 2019. Chad Knaus was Johnson’s crew chief from 2002-18. All of Johnson’s championships and victories came during that time span.
Instead of being wary of yet another new leader, especially after a winless season without a NASCAR Playoffs berth, Johnson is confident in Daniels’ potential.
“Relationships are everything, and that driver-crew chief relationship is everything,” Johnson said. “When I reflect back on 17 years with Chad, the closer we were, the better that car ran. In some indirect way, there was a correlation. … That’s what makes things so easy with Cliff. We have so much in common.”
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Knaus remained within the Hendrick Motorsports organization and now works with William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet.
“Shoot, I’ll be frank: I probably go to Cliff more for advice than he comes to me,” Knaus said. “Those guys are going to do good things this year. I’m looking forward to it.”
The Johnson-Daniels pairing had four top-10 finishes in limited time matched up in 2019. It was Daniels’ first crew-chief gig, though he has been a part of Hendrick Motorsports since 2014. He was actually Johnson’s race engineer during his 2016 title run.
Ever since Johnson set an end date, names have been swirling as to who will fill the No. 48 vacancy. No true candidates have been revealed by the team itself. Daniels, though, undoubtedly wants to retain his role and ideally help pick out the next driver.
“When the conversations need to happen, and I’m sure they’re going to happen soon, we’ll see how that goes,” Daniels said. “But right now, we’re really focused on the here and the now.”