CONCORD, N.C. – Alan Gustafson will hit 650 NASCAR Cup Series starts as a crew chief with this weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.
This comes in his 19th season atop the pit box, which have all been with Hendrick Motorsports. During that time, Gustafson has worked with Kyle Busch (2005-07), Casey Mears (2008), Mark Martin (2009-2010), Jeff Gordon (2011-2015) and Chase Elliott (2016-present). This season, the veteran crew chief also worked with Josh Berry, while Elliott was sidelined with a fractured tibia.
Gustafson’s 38 wins as a crew chief are tied for the second-most among active crew chiefs. Those wins have come among four drivers: Elliott (18 wins), Gordon (11 wins), Martin (five wins) and Busch (four wins). His 18 victories with Elliott are the second-most among current driver-crew chief pairings. In 649 starts (ahead of Talladega), he also has 188 top-five finishes, 324 top-10s and 34 poles.
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The Ormond Beach, Florida, native was the 2020 championship-winning crew chief as he helped lead Elliott and the No. 9 team to the title. The 47-year-old crew chief has been part of four Championship 4’s – three in a row with Elliott from 2020-2022) and one with Gordon in 2015.
"For this to be my 19th season and just to survive this long in this sport and continue to be competitive, it’s a big deal to me," Gustafson said. "There’s been a lot of great people I’ve met over the years that have had a major impact on my career here at Hendrick (Motorsports), from Mr. Hendrick himself to Terry Labonte and Gary DeHart to both Jeffs (Jeff Gordon and Jeff Andrews). I really appreciate those relationships.
"To me, having the success and accomplishments is great, but really, it’s the people and the relationships I’ve made that make me enjoy my job the most. So, yeah, this weekend will be really cool. I’m looking forward to it."
Gustafson’s start at Hendrick Motorsports came in 1999 with DeHart, who was then a crew chief for the No. 5 team, offered him a chance to work in the chassis department at the organization. The following year, he was a shock specialist for DeHart, Labonte and the No. 5 team. In 2002, he then became the lead engineer for the team before becoming a crew chief ahead of the 2005 season.
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Tune in to watch Gustafson’s 650th Cup Series start as he leads Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team at Talladega on Sunday, April 23, at 3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.