The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season will begin with Chase Elliott and Alan Gustafson pursuing more wins together. Gustafson will also have an opportunity to secure a big achievement.
The veteran is currently second in wins on the list of active crew chiefs. He has celebrated 38 trips to Victory Lane. 18 of these have been with Elliott, starting with three in 2018 and continuing with four other multi-win seasons. Gustafson also celebrated the 2020 Cup Series championship while guiding the Dawsonville native on a weekly basis.
Rodney Childers, the crew chief for Kevin Harvick, currently tops the list with 40 career wins. He has 37 trips to Victory Lane with the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team, a run that includes the 2014 Cup Series championship. Childers also has two wins from his time with David Reutimann and one from his time with Brian Vickers.
Gustafson’s Resume Features Current & Future Hall of Fame Drivers
GettyAlan Gustafson (left) and Chase Elliott (right) prepare for a race at Atlanta.
Gustafson has also celebrated wins with some other standout drivers. He first reached Victory Lane at Auto Club Speedway in 2005 while working with Kyle Busch. They went on to win four total races together before Busch headed to Joe Gibbs Racing.
Gustafson went winless in 2008 while working with Casey Mears, but he returned to Victory Lane numerous times the following season. He joined forces with Mark Martin and celebrated five different wins, including the Southern 500 Crown Jewel race. The duo ultimately finished second in the championship standings while Jimmie Johnson won the title.
The Florida native’s time with Mark Martin came to an end after two seasons (2009-2010). He moved over to the No. 24 team and partnered with Jeff Gordon from 2011-2015. This partnership did not lead to Gordon’s fifth championship title, but there were multiple opportunities to celebrate.
Gordon and Gustafson won 11 races together, including four during the 2014 season. Though the 2015 season was better in terms of points as they reached the championship four and ended the season third in the standings.
Gordon retired after the 2015 season, which led to Gustafson working with his fourth driver in the Cup Series. He remained with the No. 24 team while Elliott moved up from the Xfinity Series and kicked off his time at the top level of NASCAR.
Another Crew Chief Remains in Hot Pursuit
GettyJoey Logano (left) & Paul Wolfe (right) celebrate a win at Phoenix Raceway.
Gustafson is not the only active crew chief that could potentially take the top spot during the 2023 Cup Series season. There is another just behind him, one that has celebrated multiple championships.
Paul Wolfe is third on the list of active crew chiefs with 37 wins of his own. He scored 29 with Brad Keselowski from 2011-2019, and he celebrated the championship in 2012. Wolfe then joined forces with Joey Logano in 2020 and has since won another eight races and a second Cup Series championship.
Will Wolfe pass Gustafson and track down Childers in 2023? This is a possibility considering that he has won in all 12 of his seasons as a Cup Series crew chief. Nine of these seasons have featured at least three trips to Victory Lane. The six wins in 2014 still stand out as the most in a single season for Wolfe.
Harvick, Elliott, and Logano are three of the best drivers in the Cup Series while Childers, Gustafson, and Wolfe are among the best active crew chiefs. These pairings should only lead to more wins in 2023 as they all pursue spots in the playoffs and significant moves on the respective all-time wins lists.
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Chase Elliott’s Crew Chief in Reach of Important Achievement