Chase Elliott secured a crucial win for Hendrick Motorsports at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, boosting the team’s drive in the Cup Series playoffs and highlighting the coordination among team members. The Chase Elliott Kansas Speedway victory showcased not only speed on the track but revealed intriguing details about how team communication fueled their success.
Team Resilience Leads to Kansas Speedway Triumph
Hendrick Motorsports faced adversity as the NASCAR playoffs began, struggling with extended pit stops and setbacks at Darlington. Despite these initial troubles, the powerhouse organization showed signs of rebuilding in New Hampshire. William Byron turned in a third-place finish, followed closely by Chase Elliott in fifth, and Kyle Larson claimed seventh. Alex Bowman, not currently in playoff contention, still posted a solid fifteenth.
Momentum continued at Kansas Speedway with Elliott taking the win, capping off a weekend where all three of the team’s playoff drivers finished inside the top ten. The strong collective performance signaled a turnaround for the team, especially as they chase another Cup Series title. William Byron, Larson, and Alex Bowman—alongside Elliott—all contributed to this dominant outing.
Inside Hendrick Motorsports’ Race Day Coordination
Following the race, questions turned to the secret behind Hendrick Motorsports’ coordination at Kansas. Vice chairman Jeff Gordon and Elliott’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, provided insight in their post-race interview, humorously describing how inter-team communication takes place under the pressure of playoff races.
When asked specifically how Rudy Fugle, who serves as Byron’s crew chief, stays in touch with the HMS main pit box during tense moments, Gordon invited Gustafson to explain the exchange. Gustafson deferred, suggesting Gordon was better at giving a “political” explanation, but then lightened the mood as he admitted:
“I live in the archaic ages where there’s text messaging and not instant messaging,”
— Winner, former Cup Series champion
“So, I don’t know how you guys (do it). You tell them,”
— Winner, former Cup Series champion
Moving from humor to detail, Gustafson illuminated the team’s technological approach:
“I guess without getting into great detail Rudy has, as do all the teams, an abundance of information available to them, and a lot of communication to each team,”
— Alan Gustafson, veteran crew chief
“Each team’s race engineers, each team’s crew chiefs, and we can communicate or display anything that he would want,”
— Alan Gustafson, veteran crew chief
This system involves open channels between race engineers and crew chiefs for all four HMS drivers, allowing them to share essential data and messages, essentially coordinating strategy across the board. After this exchange, Gordon affirmed his agreement with Gustafson’s description, endorsing the method without reservation.
Persistence and Partnership Fuel Playoff Ambitions
With the playoffs intensifying, the collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports’ teams—facilitated through their crew chiefs, race engineers, and communication protocols—could prove decisive. As the competition reaches its final stages, the Kansas victory strengthens the team’s confidence and momentum heading toward the ultimate Cup Series goal. For the North Carolina-based organization, keeping all playoff contenders in close contact and working as one unit may be the key to another championship.
