Author’s Note: As we all know, NASCAR drivers garner more attention than anyone else on their team. However, there are so many people on the teams that all play an important role in the success of the team and the sport we love. I am going to feature a variety of people who have careers in NASCAR, but aren’t normally in the spotlight.
Cliff Daniels is the race engineer for RAB Racing’s No. 09 Toyota driven by Kenny Wallace in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Since their RAB Racing team is relatively small, Daniels can be found under the car, at the TRD pull down rig, in his office, or on the pit box at any given point in the week. He also happens to be my brother.
Here are some of Daniels’ quick facts:
Family: Mom (Wanda), Dad (Charlie), Sister (Tiffany)
Hobbies: Flag football, Mountain Biking, Go-karting
Favorite sport to watch: College football
Favorite type of music: Outlaw Country
Most memorable moment of his racing career: First win (Bandolero 1999)
Most memorable life moment: Graduating college
Daniels grew up watching his dad drive stock cars at local short tracks, and always knew he wanted to race. He followed in his dad’s footsteps when he was nine years old and raced for more than 10 years.
Cliff Daniels won his share of races and championships. However, he knew he would need a backup plan in case he did not get his big break as a driver. With that in mind, Daniels attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he majored in mechanical engineering with a concentration in motorsports.
While searching for sponsors for his racecar, Daniels was able to parlay his engineering degree into a full-time job at RAB Racing. He works closely with crew chief Scott Zipadelli on every aspect of car preparation.
“I work on the 7-post, pull down, and setup plate during the week, while maintaining our setup database,” Daniels said. “At the track I log our practice, qualifying, and race information. During the race I’m on the pit box monitoring our fuel strategy, the details of our race, and the race strategy of the competition.”
He values the experience he has gained working on a solid race team with strong leaders that have many years of experience. Currently, his RAB Racing team sits seventh in driver points with Kenny Wallace and thirteenth in the owner’s standings. For a team on a tight budget, this is a major accomplishment, but for the ultra-competitive Daniels, his only career goal is to win, win again, and then win some more.
He is a racer to the core, but the transition to engineer has certainly not lessened his desire to get behind the wheel. When asked about his favorite and least favorite parts of race engineering, Daniels only replies, “I would rather be driving!”
Though he is not in the driver’s seat, he does believe that his driving experience is an asset to his job as an engineer.
“I’m sometimes able to help translate driver feedback into what the crew chief needs to know about the car’s handling,” Daniels explains.
Plus, he still gets to live and breathe racing every day. When asked what advice he would give to others hoping to pursue a similar career, he says, “An engineering degree isn’t a sure-fire ticket into this sport anymore; make sure to get ‘grassroots’ racing experience when you can.”
The advice is certainly something Daniels knows firsthand. He has spent plenty of time getting ‘grassroots’ racing experience, but throughout his career, his goal has stayed the same. He is completely driven to win.
In closing, he answers a few additional questions where his ever-present competitive spirit shines through:
TD: What makes drivers easy or difficult to work with from your perspective as a race engineer?
CD: Hmm, I’m a bad judge on that because I spent the first 10 years of my career as a driver so my instinct wants to beat them all.
TD: What are the advantages and disadvantages of working with a Nationwide team versus a Cup team?
CD: Nationwide racing means you can still go to church on Sunday at home, and you have a few less races. But Cup racing has the best of the best in NASCAR, so it’s where everyone wants to be.
TD: If you could change anything about NASCAR, what would it be?
CD: Ask me in the off-season.
TD: Do you have any funny stories from the road?
CD: I lost two random bets to our crew guys so everyone was thinking I owed them money. I have since won a double-or-nothing bet and two other bets with those same guys; pretty sure I’m up about $40 right now.
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