“It’s never really haunted me!” Chase Elliott’s crew chief declares they aren’t desperate for a Daytona 500 victory
Chase Elliott’s No:9 HMS Chevy crew chief Alan Gustafson has shared his feelings about not having a Daytona 500 victory.
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Chase Elliott and Alan Gustafson (Via @LegendsNascar/X)
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott started the 2025 NASCAR Cup season strong, with a strong win at Bowman Gray Stadium. He won The Clash, leading a record 171 laps, fending of the tough challenge from Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin. This gives the No:9 HMS racer the advantage of solid momentum, going into the Daytona 500.
Chase Elliott is one of the champion drivers in the history of the sport that doesn’t win the Cup championship. So going into the 2025, with strong momentum they have, he is hopeful of a Daytona 500 victory. But according to his long-time crew chief Alan Gustafson, they are not haunted by the lack of the race win.
I think for me, that is definitely a race I’d love to win but it’s never really haunted me because you look at some of the winners, and if you look at some of our other marquee events, those races really have more of a Hall-of-Fame win list – the Southern 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to win it.
Alan Gustafson said ahead of 2025 Daytona 500.
The No:9 crew chief further pointed out that he wants to win the race and is ready to do everything to make it reality. He highlighted that winning at Daytona not only need good cars, but a significant amount of luck as well.
I do want to win it and obviously, I’m going to do everything I can to do that, but those aren’t the ones I lose sleep over at night… as a competitor there are a lot of moving parts and it needs some amount of luck and a lot of fortunate circumstances need to happen to win the race.
Alan Gustafson added.
Alan Gustafson asserts HMS is now focused on Daytona 500
Following The Clash win, Gustafson pointed out that his team understand they magnitude of Daytona 500 weekend and is looking forward to tackle the race with a fast NAPA Chevy. They are focussed on qualifying strong, finishing strong in the duel to put themselves on a strong position to win the event.
We all know the magnitude of that race and everything that goes on throughout the week. Just looking to go down there and have a really fast NAPA Chevy, qualify well and race the (Daytona Duels) well and put ourselves in a position to win the DAYTONA 500. I think that’s the focus right now.
Alan Gustafson said.
The comments from Alan Gustafson shows the team have a new level of confidence and focus ahead of the race. It would be interesting to see how well the No:9 Chevy racer can perform in the Daytona weekend and whether he can win the race.
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Justin P Joy
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