Chase Elliott is off to the fastest start of his Cup Series career after winning the Würth 400 at Texas. With two victories in 11 races, the No. 9 driver credits a decade of team chemistry for his early-season dominance.

What changed was the consistency of the team, and that’s exactly what Elliott commented upon.

“We’ve been together a long time,” Elliott explained. “We’ve experienced a lot together. We’ve experienced a lot of good, fortunately. We’ve also experienced a lot of bad, unfortunately.

"I think that’s a team that has experienced enough to know better just in how to handle things and how to handle bad days as well as how to handle good days,” Elliott added before concluding with how the win at Texas brought “a lot of pride” within the organization.

The performance at Texas was legendary as Elliott already dominated major portions of the race, winning Stage 2 while also pulling through a late restart against Denny Hamlin. For a veteran team that usually builds momentum as the season progresses, the 2026 season has been greatly different.

Elliott also kept framing this as a team effort rather than one of individual excellence. “Our pit crew was doing an incredible job. I thought Allen called a good race. I felt like I managed things behind the wheel well. I just felt like everything was clicking.” He later added, “When we’re clicking… I feel like we can really be one of the very best groups out here.”

But after all, what’s so special about this team that Elliott kept referring back to? And how did they help Elliott become what he is today together?

The decade of adversity that built the No. 9 team

Chase Elliott and Alan Gustafson have somehow managed to stick together since way back in Elliott’s rookie Cup days a decade ago, when they were paired under the No. 24 banner and now under the No. 9 banner.

The communication-heavy team culture that we know Hendrick Motorsports for today is heavily shaped by Gustafson, who brought immense experience from previously working with Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin.

Through the years, Gustafson’s guidance helped carry the team through late-race collapses, winless droughts, and even a difficult transition into the Next Gen era. However, the most difficult phase came in 2023 when Elliott fractured his tibia while snowboarding in Colorado before the Las Vegas race, forcing him to miss six races.

Combined with that, he also received a suspension after intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin at Charlotte.

The troubles didn’t end there. Hendrick Motorsports also battled massive L2 penalties over illegally modified hood louvers.

Despite all this, the team stuck together, and even when Elliott missed the playoffs, they refused to split apart, building the exact team spirit that Elliott vouches for today.

You can read more on the Daytona Racing Digest!

Written by

Uday Jakhar

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason