In racing, the pursuit of victory often leads to delaying a trip back in time.

But luckily everyone needs a lunch break. And so on Wednesday afternoon, between broccoli and rice appetizers, Gustafson had just enough time to sit back in his office chair and reflect on 699 Cup races as a crew chief before returning to strategizing how to win his 700th race.

The historic start will take place on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the Michigan International Speedway. The race will be broadcast on the USA Network.

“It’s a pretty staggering number,” Gustafson admitted. “To do 700 races is definitely an accomplishment. To do 700 races and be pretty successful, yeah, that’s definitely special. I’d love to win the 700th race, that would be very cool. That’s on my mind.”

Hey, you don’t get to 700 just by looking in the rearview mirror for a long time.

And for almost 20 years, there has hardly been anyone better in the industry than the 49-year-old from Ormond Beach, Florida.

He has led the pits in more races than any other crew chief in Hendrick Motorsports history, surpassing Chad Knaus’ total of 673 races at the end of last season. Gustafson is also tied with Paul Wolfe for second among active crew chiefs with 39 wins, just one win shy of Rodney Childers.

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He was hired as a shock specialist for the No. 5 team in 2000 and began to rise from there, working his way up to lead engineer in 2002 before taking over the team’s crew chief position starting in 2005.

And nearly two decades have passed since then, with everything changing and the blows facing the world. He has led the seven-driver Hendrick Motorsports entries, including full seasons with Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears and Elliott. And more than that, drivers, cars and rule packages have come and gone, including “The Car of Tomorrow” (2007-2012), the Gen-6 (2013-2021) and the latest version, the Gen-7 car with less horsepower and more grip (2022-present).

But while personalities, equipment and standards have changed, Gustafson insists the core of success in NASCAR has not.

“When you first go through these rule changes, tire changes or track changes — and you’re probably oversensitive to it and maybe I’m jaded now — but when you’ve been through so many of them, you realize the fundamentals (have not changed),” Gustafson said. “The cars have changed, the rules have changed, the tires have changed, whatever you want to talk about, but I think the basic fundamentals of what makes someone successful in the NASCAR Cup Series and what certainly makes Hendrick Motorsports successful have not changed.”

As the NASCAR world has evolved around him, Hendrick Motorsports has served as his anchor, and nearly a quarter century after beginning his career at the Concord, North Carolina, shop, Gustafson can’t imagine being anywhere else.

“It’s really special to start here at 24 years old and see so many phases of this place,” Gustafson said. “There are so many people here that really took me under their wing and helped me when I was starting out and growing my career. I get to spend this time with them and hopefully give back to them for the help they gave me… I’ve been here 25 years. I’ve been here all the time, so this becomes your family and your friends. My closest friends are people who work here.

“This place is very special and I am incredibly grateful for it. As soon as I started working here, I knew how special it was.”

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During his time with the organization, Gustafson has only helped to increase the organization’s reputation, and that certainly includes the championship he brought to Hendrick Motorsports in 2020 with Elliott at the wheel.

And of course, Gustafson said, there are still a few things left to check off. He mentioned Richmond Raceway, for example, and of course the Daytona 500 – a gap that only grows wider for a man who practically grew up in the shadow of the high banked corners of Turn 4 and the even grander grandeur and historical significance of the track.

But the Great American Race can wait until next spring. Gustafson has no plans to change his approach, even after 699 races in his career.

So when it comes to racing, it’s no surprise that he’s returning to the Irish Hills and tackling the task ahead.

“Chase is really good there, his first two years, all four of those races, it’s really too bad we didn’t win all of them,” Gustafson said. “The big thing about Michigan is you need stability. You have to be able to really carry a lot of speed into the corner with that car and be really comfortable doing it. And when you can do that, you can kind of stress the car and the outcome is important. The old car was a little bit different. You wanted to have that really big arc and that huge launch and that big run down the back straight. It seems like this car has evolved to where we carry a lot of throttle into the corner.

“That’s always been the irony of Michigan. If you can give it a lot of gas, you burn a lot of gas, and that’s why I think racing traditionally comes down to gas consumption or can come down to gas consumption, because the really good guys just give it a lot of gas, so they burn a lot of gas and they give it a lot of gas. That always plays a role.”

Alan Gustafson’s career victories

(Wins with Kyle Busch)

• 4 September 2005: Auto Club Speedway
• 13 November 2005: Phoenix Racetrack
• July 16, 2006: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
• March 25, 2007: Bristol Motor Speedway

(Winning with Mark Martin)

• 18 April 2009: Phoenix Racetrack
• May 9, 2009: Darlington Racetrack
• June 14, 2009: Michigan International Speedway
• July 11, 2009: Chicagoland Speedway
• 20 September 2009: New Hampshire Motor Speedway

(Winning with Jeff Gordon)

• February 27, 2011: Phoenix Racetrack
• June 12, 2011: Pocono Race Track
• 6 September 2011: Atlanta Motor Speedway
• 5 August 2012: Pocono Race Track
• 18 November 2012: Homestead Miami Racetrack
• October 27, 2013: Martinsville Racetrack
• May 10, 2014: Kansas Racetrack
• July 27, 2014: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• 17 August 2014: Michigan International Speedway
• 28 September 2014: Dover Motor Speedway
• 1 November 2015: Martinsville Racetrack

(Wins with Chase Elliott)

• 5 August 2018: Watkins Glen International Speedway
• October 7, 2018: Dover Motor Speedway
• 21 October 2018: Kansas Racetrack
• 28 April 2019: Talladega Superspeedway
• 4 August 2019: Watkins Glen International Speedway
• 29 September 2019: Charlotte Roval
• 28 May 2020: Charlotte Motor Speedway
• 16 August 2020: Daytona International Speedway Road Course
• October 11, 2020: Charlotte Roval
• 1 November 2020: Martinsville Racetrack
• 8 November 2020: Phoenix Raceway (Championship)
• May 23, 2021: Tour through America
• July 4, 2021: Street America
• May 2, 2022: Dover Motor Speedway
• June 26, 2022: Nashville Superspeedway
• July 10, 2022: Atlanta Motor Speedway
• July 24, 2022: Pocono Race Track
• October 2, 2022: Talladega Superspeedway
• April 14, 2024: Texas Motor Speedway