CONCORD, N.C. - Inevitably, the longer a NASCAR Cup Series driver's career stretches on without a win in the DAYTONA 500, the more questions about winning it, or finishing their careers without winning it, begin to bubble up.
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 car, is obviously not a driver. But entering his 21st season on top of a pit box at Hendrick Motorsports, and his 26th with the organization in general, winning the Great American Race would seem to be the biggest box he's left to check. Especially for a native of Ormond Beach, Florida, who grew up just a few miles north of Daytona International Speedway.
Gustafson, who has 39 points-paying wins, a Cup Series title (Chase Elliott, 2020), a Brickyard 400 victory (Jeff Gordon, 2014) and a Southern 500 crown (Mark Martin, 2009) to his credit, chooses to approach stock car racing's Super Bowl with a dose of perspective. Even though, winning one would certainly be special.
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"I've thought about it a little bit. I'm not at all interested in trying to diminish the value of the DAYTONA 500 because it is our biggest race but from a competitor's point of view, there's a lot of moving parts and ... I don't know if I'd go as far as to say, 'luck' ... but a lot of fortunate circumstances that need to happen," Gustafson told HendrickMotorsports.com. "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. 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. And I've been close."
Multiple times, in fact. And the first that comes to his mind is 2007.
Gustafson made a four-tire call for Kyle Busch after caution waved with 27 laps to go. After a couple of more crashes and a red flag plagued that stretch of the race, Busch lined up second behind Mark Martin for an overtime restart with fresher rubber. Busch took the white flag in second as well but after searching for a lane and being blocked on the backstretch, he spun out in turn 4, taking most of the field with him. In the end, Kevin Harvick out-dueled Martin to the line in one of the most famous DAYTONA 500 finishes in history.
Then, there was 2017.
Elliott rocketed to the lead with 26 laps to go in just is second DAYTONA 500 start and controlled a single-file, pack of cars down the stretch. However, with just three to go, the car sputtered, causing him to lose momentum and the lead and eventually, run out of gas, settling for a 14th place finish. Coincidentally, future Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson was in the lead as the white flag waved, but he too ran out of fuel as everyone gave way to eventual-race-winner, Kurt Busch.
But while Gustafson is yet to win the DAYTONA 500, or the Coke Zero Sugar 400, the summer race at Daytona, he's not winless in his Cup Series career at his home track, either.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a scheduled race at Watkins Glen International was moved to the Daytona Road Course due to New York's more stringent restrictions. Per usual, the Elliott/Gustafson combination was a force on the serpentine track, leading 34 of the 65 laps in charging to a victory. It was one of only two, points-paying, Cup Series races on the Daytona Road Course.
Maybe from the outside, the fact that the event was only run twice could diminish winning it at least in comparison to winning on the Daytona International Speedway tri-oval. But for Gustafson, who cut his teeth in Sports Car Club of America racing on the road course, the victory serving as his first at his home track was fitting.
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"When we won that race I laughed and was like, 'This is really probably appropriate because this is what I did growing up,'" Gustafson recalled. "I don't want to say it means more but that style of racing and that competition was great. I have a photo of us loading the car - that was during COVID so no one is there after we won - and the pylon still reads, 'No. 9' and then whoever it was. I can remember thinking, 'Yeah, this is appropriate. The Daytona race I've won is a road course.'"
But there's still time. And there's no time like the present. That's especially true for the No. 9 team which followed up on a strong close to the 2024 season with a dominant performance in the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on Sunday as Elliott led 171 of 200 laps en route to a win.
Elliott also has a history of success at drafting tracks. He's won twice at Talladega Superspeedway and also won at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2022. And historical trends are also on the team's side. Prior to William Byron's victory in the DAYTONA 500 last year, Hendrick Motorsports' last four wins in the Great American Race came in the form of two, two-peats (Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in 2005 and 2006; Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2013 and 2014).
So why not this year for Elliott, the No. 9 bunch and its hometown hero pit boss?
"We all know the magnitude of that race and everything that goes on throughout the week," Gustafson said. "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."