This is the best that Chase Elliott, Alan Gustafson and the Hendrick Motorsports team have ever looked to start a NASAR Cup Series season and that makes them a very serious threat in the new Chase for the Championship.<\/p>\n
Sure, Elliott has led the standings early in a season through his trademark consistency and penchant for finishing races and having good points day but now he\u2019s won twice over the first 11 races.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the earliest he has reached multiple wins, by the way, and now sits third in the championship standings. It\u2019s the best of both worlds regarding what makes a great Cup Series contender.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think having a win early at Martinsville, and I said it then \u2026 it’s not like, \u2018oh, hey, the pressure is off, we have a win.\u2019 It’s, \u2018man, we have a lot longer period of time to build on that.\u2019 That’s genuinely where my mind was at.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are so many parallels from Elliott to his direct supervisor, Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman and four-time champion Jeff Gordon, but it\u2019s mostly in how they put together seasons.<\/p>\n
Even when Gordon wasn\u2019t winning in bulk, especially when paired with Gustafson, the No. 24 still frequently contended for championships on pure consistency. But Gordon will also tell you that the consistency without winning multiple races is something that gnawed at him in those seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsistency helps because you’re not trying to reinvent the wheel,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cYou’re fine-tuning. You’re, like, \u2018hey, we’re good but we need to be better.\u2019 \u00a0We would want to keep working in certain areas because we must be doing something right.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least the consistency keeps you in kind of a flow and a direction that I think you can build on and only get better. But if you don’t win every once in a while, like I’ve always said, if you don’t win every eight to ten races, man, just the hard work drains you, the whole team, driver, team, everybody, pit crew.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou got to have these victories.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Gordon also said, if not winning races, they need to be winning \u2018mini-races\u2019 on pit road or in consistency, all the little ways that Elliott and Gustafson have continued to be in the mix every season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could be not just a win of a race, but those race wins are so critical I think to a team’s season and success because that builds the confidence to another level that not only are we heading in the right direction, but we’re capable of winning it all,\u201d Gordon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you win on a consistent basis, then again, that’s what adds to a championship-caliber team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not only does Gustafson think this is a championship level team this season, but the crew chief of over two decades also thinks Elliott could win this title starting from 16th with 10 races left to go \u2026 not that it will actually come down to that.<\/p>\n
Of course, he thinks anyone could realistically win too, but he does like his chances sitting at third right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay. Do the math, right,\u201d Gustafson said. \u201cAfter 10 (races) Tyler Reddick had over a 100-point lead. Theoretically, if you repeat those races, he could start 16th and win the championship, right? So I think anything is possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think, look, everybody wants as many points as you can get. Certainly, the best teams are going to position themselves towards the top. I’m not sleeping on anybody. I mean, somebody can figure something out and get hot. I don’t think 100 points makes anybody safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
And perhaps the most telling thing about where the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 is right now is that they have married two wins with consistency while it seems like all of Chevrolet is still trying to maximize their new body style for this season.<\/p>\n
In other words, this is not the best Hendrick Motorsports will be all year either, and Elliott was quick to credit \u2018the guys at the shop\u2019 for getting them closer each week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I think it’s always about the effort and the conversations that go on during the week and during the weeks leading up to the races and how that work is put into our race cars at the shop,\u201d Elliott said. \u201cThese races are certainly — yes, they’re won on the racetrack and how well you execute and all those things, but you sure are hedging your bet a lot by how you prepare and what your car is like before it loads up in the truck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can’t emphasize that enough. I understand that. I don’t know that a lot of people understand just how important that is to the overall performance, but it is a huge piece. Really fortunate and proud of everybody at Hendrick Motorsports for their continued efforts to just dig in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a gritty group back home that they just don’t take no for an answer. They’ll just work and work and work. Whatever has got to be done, get done. Friday, Saturday, midnight, 2:00, whatever. They want to win, and the boss wants to win, and we’ll do whatever we got to do to try our best for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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