NASCAR's Chase Elliott surges into victory lane with record speed from crew

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."

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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.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: NASCAR's Chase Elliott, crew set tire-changing record time at Texas