"He did an amazing job": Alan Gustafson lauds Chase Elliott following dominant Clash weekend by the Hendrick driver

Chase Elliott took the checkered flag on Sunday at Bowman Gray to kickstart his 2025 campaign in the best way possible. The Hendrick Motorsports driver, who registered only one win in 2024, won the season-opener exhibition race at the iconic venue.

Elliott's win came as a result of him starting from the pole following his win in the heat race. The #9 driver controlled the first half of the 200 lap race and despite losing the lead at one point, gained back his advantage and drove his racecar all the way to the victory lane.

Speaking about his win, Alan Gustafson, the crew chief of Chase Elliott, lauded his driver's efforts in the second half of the race.

"Chase, in the second half of the race was superb, I think that was, he learned from the first 100 laps there and he did an amazing job in the second half of the race, putting us in a great position and taking care of the stuff, it's amazing," Gustafson said.

Elliott's crew chief also touched on the 'great enviroment' at Bowman Gray Stadium as he thanked NASCAR and the fans for pulling off the 'super fun' event. He further deemed his crew's performance as 'an amazing job.'

It's worth mentioning that by winning the Clash, Chase Elliott matched his father, Bill Elliott's feat of winning the same event. The elder Elliott won the exhibition race in 1987 behind the wheel of the #9 car.

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Alan Gustafson explains what Chase Elliott winning the Clash means for the #9 team going forward

In a post-race interview, Alan Gustafson was asked by a media member whether Chase Elliott's Clash win has set him up for more success going forward. The crew chief said that he was pleased with their win, even though it didn't earn the team any points or bonus points.

He added:

"I think it’s just some validation to we all tried to come here and win, we all tried to come here and be successful, and we were able to. Gives you validation in your process, validation in how your team is operating and working. Certainly I think it’s going to give Chase some confidence and validation seeing he did an amazing job to win the race. Basically did everything right."

Gustafson addressed whether their Clash win would carry them far into the season as he said that when they reach Daytona, they'd have to unload and 'do it all over again.' Elliott's crew chief acknowledged that all the things that happened for the #9 team went well.

Having said that, he claimed it didn't mean anything beyond that and he'd much rather have that than 'anything else.'