Chase Elliott and Joey Logano are leading contenders for the 2024 Cup Series championship, with their playoff positions already secured.
Their cars are being fine-tuned throughout the regular season, ensuring they remain competitive. However, the competition between them extends beyond just their driving abilities. Their crew chiefs, Alan Gustafson and Paul Wolfe, are also in a fierce rivalry this season.
Gustafson and Wolfe are two of the most accomplished crew chiefs currently active in the Cup Series, each boasting 39 wins. Only Rodney Childers has more, with 40 victories to his name. Gustafson’s journey began at the 2005 Daytona 500, where he was tasked with leading Kyle Busch to victory.
Now, 699 races later, he is recognized as one of the top leaders of his generation. The upcoming race at Michigan International Speedway will be a milestone for him, marking his 700th race as a crew chief.
Over his two-decade career, Gustafson has secured at least four wins with four different drivers: Busch, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, and Elliott. His partnership with Elliott is currently the longest-running driver-crew chief pairing in the series.
On the other side, Paul Wolfe is equally formidable. Now in his 14th season with Team Penske, Wolfe was instrumental in securing the team’s first two championships, leading them to the Xfinity title in 2010 and the Cup Series title in 2012.
All 39 of Wolfe’s victories have come with Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. His teams have consistently delivered, winning at least one race in each of the last 12 seasons, making him a tough competitor for Gustafson.
Other notable crew chiefs include Adam Stevens of the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing team, who has achieved 37 wins while working with Christopher Bell in the Cup Series. Currently, Stevens is recovering from injuries sustained during a vacation.
Another prominent figure is Chris Gabehart, crew chief for Denny Hamlin’s #11 team. Since 2019, Gabehart has secured 22 victories and is expected to play a key role in Hamlin’s pursuit of his first championship this season.
👀 "I'm glad we had the cajones to do it. It was a bit of a high risk play."@joeylogano lauded crew chief Paul Wolfe's call to take 2 tires at the end of Stage 1, which helped net him another top 6 finish.
More on Behind The Wheel TOMORROW @ 9 am ET → https://t.co/1aUirPWIgB pic.twitter.com/EEMyvcbKTe
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) April 9, 2024
Kyle Larson’s chief, Cliff Daniels, has 20 victories. The pairing is one of the strongest on the field and has produced four wins just this season.
The #5 Hendrick Motorsports team leads the points table heading to Michigan and is a favorite for the championship. Rudy Fugle helms the #24 team of William Byron. He has helped the driver to 12 victories so far and has been a crucial part of the driver’s incredible growth.
It remains to be seen which one of these pairings manages to take their driver and team into victory lane as NASCAR prepares to restart the 2024 FireKeepers Casino 400 on Monday after an initial rain delay caused the race to be red-flagged this weekend.
This article appeared first on Classic Sport.
