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It’s not Chase Elliott that did it, it was his crew: Another things comes to light about crew at Texas
It’s not Chase Elliott that did it, it was his crew: Another things comes to light about crew at Texas
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, had something huge to smile about at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend. He was back in victory lane after going winless in the Cup Series in 42 races dating back to a victory at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 2, 2022.
In recent weeks, Elliott and crew chief Alan Gustafson have been communicating well and their team has been performing well on pit road. So much so that they pulled off a record four-tire pit stop at Texas at 8.49 seconds. It’s the fastest four-tire stop in NASCAR’s 76-year history.
“I think just our performance over the last month, or maybe two, has done more than anything,” Elliott said. “I mean, I think obviously these races are hard to win. They seem like they get harder, at least for me. They continuously get harder over time.
“I’ve just been really proud of our group for sticking together because I’m sure a lot of you guys (in the media) have been around the sport long enough to understand and know that when you have a couple bad years, a period of time that things aren’t going well, it is so easy to jump ship and to start bailing out on one another. I think that the win’s great, all that stuff is fantastic, but I’m truthfully most proud of the journey and the group of people that we have climbed back up together with. We’ve made each other better. They push me to be a better driver and a better person.”
The closeness that translates to success on the track starts with the driver and crew chief, the place where personal and professional chemistry is the strongest. If things are clicking nicely there, communication in the heat of battle comes more naturally.
“I’m just very fortunate that I am surrounded by the type of people that we can all be open and honest with one another, push each other to be better. Even when it might be something that you don’t necessarily want to hear, it’s well-received. That’s growth. That’s improvement. That’s being mature adults,” Elliott said.
Millions of dollars are spent within teams and on race cars each season. Still, if everyone isn’t on the same page, the results will show in the form of bad performances on pit road and on the track.
Elliott has had his share of triumphs with 19 career Cup Series victories since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2015. He also won the Cup Series championship in 2020, just as his father, Bill Elliott, did in 1988. There have been disappointments, as in a few times of being in contention to win another championship but falling just short in the closing races of previous seasons.
Still, the No. 9 crew had taken the good with the bad, built on positive performances and learned from their mistakes.
“I think we just have a special group,” Elliott said. “Everybody’s clicking and working for each other. I think that starts with Alan and his leadership. He’s been doing it for a long time. I’ve been doing it a long time, but he’s been doing it a lot longer than me. It’s nice to have that experience to lean on. He’s pretty much seen it all throughout his career. That’s a nice thing to lean on.”
Gustafson has worked with many drivers at Hendrick Motorsports, including Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne and Mark Martin, to name a few. He has seen many scenarios unfold en route to collecting 39 career Cup Series wins since becoming a crew chief in 2005 with Kyle Busch.
“…I feel like he’s performed really well,” Gustafson said of Elliott. “I think sometimes you can get in a little bit of a hole. You just have to fight, right? That’s the biggest thing I’m most proud of him and the team for, is just continuing to fight through it, make it happen.
“He’s a young kid. You have to learn. You just have to grind through it…everybody goes through ebbs and flows. Whoever you want to call successful, (Martin) Truex, Denny (Hamlin), Kyle (Larson), Kyle Busch, everybody has those ups and downs. I think just having the strength to battle through it and persevere is key, and he’s done that.”
It’s often been said wins breed wins. If that’s true, Elliott is set to win more races in 2024.
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A former Ferrari engineer has criticised the decision to bring in Lewis Hamilton and thinks the Brit’s presence will mean “a lot of potential for drama”.
At the age of 40, seven-time Formula 1 champion Hamilton will form a formidable driver partnership with Charles Leclerc. His big switch comes at the expense of Carlos Sainz, who has performed well for the Italian squad but who was axed so they had room for their blockbuster new signing.
But not everyone of a Ferrari persuasion is convinced that it will go well. Ernest Knoors, who spent many years as an engineer at Maranello, specialising in power units, worries that Hamilton’s presence could do more harm than good for a team that is finding its groove under Frederic Vasseur.
“A big name like Hamilton also brings a lot of politics and if politics within Ferrari are not managed well, then there is a lot of potential for drama,” he told Formule1.nl. “Hamilton has the tendency that if things do not work out, he turns his whole car upside down and starts experimenting.
“Ferrari believes very much in the big personalities and will follow him. But Hamilton is just someone you have to guide a little bit and not give the freedom to rebuild the whole car, because then it will go completely wrong. So I do not know if it is such a smart move, but of course it is nice for the sport.”
News of Hamilton’s planned move broke on February 1, coinciding with football’s Transfer Deadline Day. That the back pages of many newspapers were dominated by the decision of Hamilton to swap Mercedes for Ferrari was testament to the magnitude of the announcement.
Sainz was not surprised as he had been informed by his team of the plan ahead of it being made public. But the Spaniard responded well with two victories to date this season and five further appearances on the podium, on the way to what looks likely to be a fifth-placed finish in the championship – two spots and 54 points ahead of Hamilton.
Sainz has signed for Williams next year and, after several years of running at the front of the grid, will focus on his new challenge of helping restore one of the grid’s most historic teams to its former glory. But Knoors believes he should have been kept on by Ferrari instead.
The Dutchman added: “I see Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari more as a PR move. With all due respect, Hamilton is not going to take that Ferrari from P6 to P1. He will get the most out of it, but what Ferrari has to do is make that car faster. And if you make that car faster, you can easily drive at the front with the current line-up.
“Besides, as a team you have to look further on the horizon. If Hamilton becomes champion in the coming years, he and Ferrari will become immortal. But if you want to build a team with talent for the next five years, are you going to build on Hamilton? No, because he will really be finished after two or three years. That is why I would have kept the very strong line-up that Ferrari has now.”
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Chase Elliott had a front-row seat for one of NASCAR’s most bizarre moments of the 2024 Cup Series season. At the start of Stage 2, the pace car dove onto pit road in front of Elliott; however, it was a tad too late. The pace car made contact with the sand barrels at the entry of pit road and caused a red flag for cleanup.
Initially, there was some speculation on the NBC Sports broadcast, even from the No. 9 team, that Elliott made contact with the pace car. Fortunately, the pace car didn’t slide across the No. 9 car’s nose, but it undoubtedly provided one of NASCAR’s craziest red flag moments in recent memory.
Below, you can listen to Elliott and the No. 9 team react to the pace car crashing into the sand barrels on pit road at Phoenix during Championship Weekend!
Reflecting on the recent retirement of 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., Earnhardt didn’t mince words about the toll NASCAR takes on its drivers. Speaking candidly, the two-time Daytona 500 winner admitted that the pressure to perform every week left him feeling miserable for most of his racing career—a sentiment he believes is shared by many of his peers.
“Right or wrong, racing made me a miserable person 90% of the time,” Earnhardt confessed. “And him too. I mean, ask Kyle Busch, ask anybody—unless you’re winning, you’re not happy.”
For these elite drivers, the sport is a relentless grind. A podium finish might bring temporary relief, but anything short of victory is often a source of frustration. The immense effort poured into preparation and execution rarely feels like it pays off unless the checkered flag is theirs.
Earnhardt highlighted the mental toll of falling short, explaining how the relentless focus on winning can overshadow the joy of simply competing. Even a solid performance feels hollow compared to the euphoria of a win.
“Unless you’re winning, you’re not happy at all,” he said. “You’re okay with a good run, but for the most part, all the effort it takes just to run good—it doesn’t weigh out.”
For drivers, the stakes are sky-high every week. Sponsors, fans, and teams demand nothing less than excellence, leaving little room for error or personal satisfaction in anything less than a dominant performance.
Earnhardt also shared insights into his friendship with Martin Truex Jr., who recently announced his retirement. While the two often spend time hunting together during NASCAR’s off-season, Earnhardt noted that the stress of racing even creeps into their leisure activities.
“When I’m with him during hunting season, it’s always in the back of his mind,” Earnhardt said. “It’s that stressful part of the year when he’s as miserable as he’s going to be.”
Now, with Truex stepping away from the track, Earnhardt looks forward to seeing a lighter, happier version of his long-time friend. Without the weight of weekly competition hanging over him, Truex might finally be able to relax and enjoy the outdoor lifestyle he cherishes.
“It’ll be fun to see him loosen up,” Earnhardt added.
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