This is the best Chase Elliott has looked this early and there's more to come

“If you win on a consistent basis, then again, that's what adds to a championship-caliber team.”

Not only does Gustafson think this is a championship level team this season, but the crew chief of over two decades also thinks Elliott could win this title starting from 16th with 10 races left to go … not that it will actually come down to that.

Of course, he thinks anyone could realistically win too, but he does like his chances sitting at third right now.

“Okay. Do the math, right,” Gustafson said. “After 10 (races) Tyler Reddick had over a 100-point lead. Theoretically, if you repeat those races, he could start 16th and win the championship, right? So I think anything is possible.

“I do think, look, everybody wants as many points as you can get. Certainly, the best teams are going to position themselves towards the top. I'm not sleeping on anybody. I mean, somebody can figure something out and get hot. I don't think 100 points makes anybody safe.”

And perhaps the most telling thing about where the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 is right now is that they have married two wins with consistency while it seems like all of Chevrolet is still trying to maximize their new body style for this season.

In other words, this is not the best Hendrick Motorsports will be all year either, and Elliott was quick to credit ‘the guys at the shop’ for getting them closer each week.

“I mean, I think it's always about the effort and the conversations that go on during the week and during the weeks leading up to the races and how that work is put into our race cars at the shop,” Elliott said. “These races are certainly -- yes, they're won on the racetrack and how well you execute and all those things, but you sure are hedging your bet a lot by how you prepare and what your car is like before it loads up in the truck.

“I can't emphasize that enough. I understand that. I don't know that a lot of people understand just how important that is to the overall performance, but it is a huge piece. Really fortunate and proud of everybody at Hendrick Motorsports for their continued efforts to just dig in.

“We have a gritty group back home that they just don't take no for an answer. They'll just work and work and work. Whatever has got to be done, get done. Friday, Saturday, midnight, 2:00, whatever. They want to win, and the boss wants to win, and we'll do whatever we got to do to try our best for that.”

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.