I think Cliff has turned him into a more well rounded driver. I didn't start focusing hard on them till summer time, but it seems like Kyle still had old habits, and the more I listen, the more I hear Cliff coaching him on mental stuff, tire management, being mindful of where his competitors are, lines. He feeds him important information, Larson has learned to not attempt to outdrive his equipment.
Forgetting all about strategy and setup, I don't think Larson would have been cruising to regular season dominance, even with this speed, without Cliff's coaching.
I remember saying last year that he's an exceptional leader. Criticized the hell out of him for struggling to adjust to changing track conditions (happened early this year, and still does), but it's been cleaned up. Cliff is a borderline elite CC in the cup series both in terms of technical stuff and motivation. He's the most natural leader out of all the CCs at HMS. Larson's talent is obvious, but Cliff deserves quite a bit of credit in helping Larson harness that.
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