"We had to openly talk about a lot of things" - Chase Elliott gives account of Next Gen transition with crew chief Alan Gustafson

Chase Elliott recently opened up on the transition he and his team made from the previous generation of race car to the current Next Gen one. Elliott not only described that transition but also opened up on what he as a driver has enabled in his team.

This subject was brought up during an interview with Kevin Harvick, who asked Elliott about the transition from the previous gen to the Next Gen car, how that was dealt with between Elliott and his crew chief Alan Gustafson, and what they had to do differently. Elliott said:

"A lot different. I just don't think people realize how much of a departure this car is from the last one or even vehicles that you might race along the way, short track area, all of the above. You take all that stuff and it is just way different how you make speed, how you be consistent, how you make tires last etc."

"I think Alan has always been at the top of the class or right up there with whoever through different generation of crew chiefs on knowing how to extract pace out of the car, knowing what details that he needs to be focused and making sure every little piece of that thing is exactly the way it needs to be," Elliott added. [11:28]

Elliott claimed that with the transition to the Next Gen car, Gustafson has learned a lot about him and his driving style because of one factor that wasn't present in the previous generation.

"We had to openly talk about a lot of things that we just might not have to discuss in the last car because we were making pace and when things were right we could go fast," he said.

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Chase Elliott has opened a door for his team with his upfront nature

Speaking further on this subject with Harvick, Chase Elliott mentioned how he would challenge his teammates in the #9 team throughout the previous season, including his crew chief. The 2020 Cup champion reasoned this by claiming that he had to be "super upfront" and honest with them about the aspects where he felt he used to or still struggles.

Elliott believes his team can help him navigate the areas he struggles with because of this and claims he has opened a door for them.

"I think that I have really opened the door for our group to just let them help me as much as possible and look at that stuff and know my deficiencies and kind of start to analyze some of that driver stuff probably more than he's had to do with other guys in the past," Elliott added. [12:40]

Now that Elliott has ended his winless streak, he's full of confidence once again and moving forward with steps that resemble his old self. But can he replicate his success from the previous generation of race car into the Next Gen? Time will tell.