Yeah, listening to the radio and Larson all year, their motto has been execution. As a driver and race team, let's maximize our day, whatever that looks like.
Larson has made far fewer mistakes this year. After the 600, he did string together a few bad weeks in a row, Iowa (which was gonna be a win) and Chicago (probably a top 4 finish).
I was on Daniel's ass yesterday because I just didn't see that stage 2 strategy working out, and I didn't see the necessity of it. I turned out to be right for that stage, and even still, Cliff found a way to get them a good finish.
Early on, Larson was pretty unsure about what to request in terms of changes and balance and Cliff basically made a decision to adjust the car to help with early run turn. Larson was able to drive into p10 early in stage 2, taking advantage of that. Then, Cliff made the 1 stop call to gain further track position, presumably to get some stage points. It didn't work out and he ended the stage in p14. A net negative.
Cliff made the car better for one run in stage 3, and Larson was able to get back up to p12. Then, Cliff called Larson in to start the pit cycle, knowing that their weakness was short run speed in traffic. As a result, he got a clean pit entry/exit, and about 2 lap fresher tires, and was able to run a significant portion of the "weaker" part of his run in clean air. It netted him out about 7 spots ahead of where he was running and ultimately lead to a top 10 finish.
I thought the stage 2 mistake more or less ended the day as a good points day, but they still managed to defend the points lead with a 7th place finish with probably a 12th place car.
Considering how well Reddick ran, and how Elliott was able to accumulate 6 stage points, it was a good race.
Larson had zero useful feedback all race. It was bad. Cliff made a decision that minimized their car's weakness. It was great