Chase Elliott goes to Phoenix on Sunday in desperate need of a win in the Cup Series. The 2020 champion is yet to finish inside the top-10 in the ongoing season and recover from the bad spell that he has been struggling with. As the 28-year-old returns to the location where he fired his way to his maiden Cup Series title, he will be hoping to reproduce some of that magic. The upcoming race will be his 16th start at the 1-mile short track. Over the last 15 appearances, he has amassed five top-5s and eight top-10s, apart from the win in 2020.
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Crew Chief Alan Gustafson is the more experienced of the two as he prepares to call his 39th race as crew chief at Phoenix. Gustafson has collected four wins, twelve top-5s, and twenty-four top-10s finishes in the previous 38 races. His four wins are tied with Chad Knaus for second-most wins at Phoenix by a crew chief.
With a nine-year association on their backs, Elliott and Gustafson are the longest-tenured driver-chief combo on the grid currently. They have 18 victories together so far and won the 2020 championship. Elliott currently sits 7th on the Cup Series standings after finishing in 12th place at Vegas last Sunday.
Considering his decent record here, the weekend will present a golden opportunity for him to get maximum points and fix his spot in the playoffs. His #9 Camaro will be clad in the colors of his primary sponsor for the race, Kelly Blue Book.
Why Chase Elliott desperately needs to win at the Phoenix Raceway on Sunday
After failing to win at Vegas, Elliott found himself entering a rather unfortunate Cup Series list. Beginning in 2022, he has now gone 37 races without a win. The victory drought spans three seasons and is the tenth longest for an active driver. Joining him on the list are his teammate Alex Bowman and RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski.
Apart from the 98-race drought that Elliott experienced when setting out in the Cup Series, this streak is the longest that he has gone winless. The #9 team and Rick Hendrick will want to be over this worrying tale sooner rather than later and prove that Elliott is still the driver he was when he won the championship.
