Alan Gustafson Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Following last Sunday’s United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway, all eyes were on NASCAR penalty day to see what penalties, if any, would stem from the weekend in the Arizona desert. On Wednesday, the report was released, with a number of teams caught in the sanctioning body’s crosshairs. Most notably, Hendrick Motorsports had the hammer dropped on them for the hood louvers that were taken from all four team cars after practice. Though the team still dominated on Sunday with new parts, a cloudRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Had the original 2021 schedule held, the NASCAR Cup Series would have been heading down I-95 to Homestead-Miami Speedway, but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced some changes, meaning NASCAR’s top division will be staying in Daytona for another week. After last weekend’s running of the Daytona 500 on the oval, it’s the track’s 3.61-mile, 14-turn road course that will be the focus this Sunday for the running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253. The 70-lap race will be the third for the Cup Series on theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Chase Elliott was just two laps away from doing something his father Bill never accomplished in his NASCAR Hall of Fame career — winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Then his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron happened. Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE had his eye on a seventh career Cup Series triumph set in stone with a comfortable 1+ second lead over Brad Keselowski. That was until Byron’s left rear tire cut down and spun in Turn 2, bringingRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Wednesday night madness struck at Darlington Raceway between NASCAR’s biggest figures in terms of popularity. Kyle Busch ended up finishing second in the Toyota 500K, but it was far from the biggest story after a miscalculated game of clearing a competitor backfired, costing Chase Elliott a shot of a win. In what would be the final green flag action, Busch and Elliott were chasing down Denny Hamlin, who was running on older tires, for the race lead with 29 laps remaining. Coming to the frontstretch, ElliottRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for the full-time drivers in the series leading into February’s 61st annual running of the Daytona 500. Age: 23 Years in Cup: 3 Career Wins: Three Biggest Accomplishment: 2014 Xfinity Series champion NASCAR fans alike have been anticipating Chase Elliott to have a true breakthrough season, where he finally win races. People however tend to forget that Elliott finished 10th and fifth in the standings in his first two seasons. This past campaign, he came withRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Entering the 2018 version of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Chevrolet had four drivers in the postseason with a shot to make a run to the championship race at Homestead. With two rounds complete, the Bowtie Brigade has seen all but one of their Camaros eliminated from the Playoffs. Jimmie Johnson met his fate at the Charlotte Roval, while Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman exited stage left after Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway. Standing alone as the only Chevrolet left in the postseason isRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Chase Elliott was outside the Round of 12 cutoff line heading into Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway, and he’ll leave the 0.75-mile oval just 10 points to the good after finishing fourth and leading 34 of 400 laps. Elliott was on the outside looking in after an day-shortened 36th place finish due to a two-car crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sept. 16. It put him in a vulnerable position of playing catch up, trailing 12th place Alex Bowman by nine points andRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Chase Elliott’s day had finally come. The high-fives, shouts of joy and “I told ya so” moments filled NASCAR fandom Sunday from living room, to pool deck to cell phone to “man-caves” around the country as the most popular of the sport’s “favorite sons” – 22-year old Chase Elliott won his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Even he acknowledged hearing the grandstand cheers as he wheeled his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 around the famed WatkinsRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For the second time this season, Chase Elliott’s No. 9 team has found themselves in hot water with NASCAR. On Wednesday, the sanctioning body penalized the Hendrick Motorsports entry for violating Section 20.4.87.1 of the NASCAR rule book, pertaining to the Rear Window Support and Structure. Per the rule book, “Rear Window Support Braces must keep the rear window glass rigid in all direction at all times.” As a result of the penalty, crew chief Alan Gustafson has been suspended for two races and finedRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Several Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series teams were issued penalties by NASCAR Wednesday, notably impacting Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team. Elliott’s team received an L1-level penalty for a rear suspension violation following Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway, where he finished a season-high third. The team was found to have violated Section 20.14.2, which deals with rear suspension and trailing arm angles/pinion angle shims. Elliott’s car didn’t meet the requirements as the Rule Book states it must be in completeRead More