Chase Elliott’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, is under fire from the Hendrick Motorsports fandom once again. Elliott’s consistent streak of finishing inside the top-20 over the first 23 races of the ongoing season came to an end at Watkins Glen on Sunday. The blame has been put on Gustafson and his strategy to keep Elliott on defense for most of the race.
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The No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro came home across the checkered flag in 26th place and lost 24 points to William Byron, who sits at the top of the standings. Elliott now trails his teammate by 42 points in the battle to be the regular-season champion.
On a positive note, he is still 39 points above third-placed Denny Hamlin. But such a mediocre result at a road course is a massive disappointment, especially since Watkins Glen is a track where Elliott has won twice before.
He has always been an ace on road courses and was expected to perform well on Sunday. This is why the 26th-place was unfathomable for many. One fan wrote on X, “Blame the dumbass crew chief who should’ve been fired a long time ago.”
Blame the dumbass crew chief who should’ve been fired a long time ago
— JayStephens8 (@JayStephens88) August 10, 2025
The reception to Gustafson being Elliott’s crew chief is a bag of mixed emotions. Icons such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Elliott himself have expressed consistent appreciation for his work. But fans lash out at him every time he makes a questionable strategy, and it doesn’t work out. Hence the opinion prevails that he ought to be fired.
Another comment read, “Putting your driver on defense for 2/3 of the race isn’t going to help the lack of speed either. Something is off with this team and has been since 2023.” A third declared, “Time for a CC change.”
While others were bent on blaming him, one went a step further and proposed a replacement. They wrote, “If you finish 26th on an RC with Chase Elliott as your driver, questions need to be asked. But they won’t. Alan is the best CC ever, right!? Adam Wall needs to save this team.”
35-year-old Adam Wall is the crew chief of the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Xfinity Series team. Notably, he won the 2021 Cup Series championship with Kyle Larson as his lead race engineer.
Elliott and Co. have won only two races since the start of 2023. But the driver has been the most consistent in the field in the same span. That is an achievement owed to Gustafson and his strategic acumen. A second championship could silence all the criticism against him.
