Respect and resolve key to Gustafson, Martin success

Heading into this Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, Mark Martin still has a chance to win his first Cup championship.

His crew chief, Alan Gustafson, recently sat down with NASCAR.COM and talked about what it has been like this season with the 50-year-old Martin, and how it differs from his earlier experience as crew chief for 24-year-old Kyle Busch, among other things.

Question: After four races this season, you guys were 34th in points. How did you avoid panicking?

Success secrets

Alan Gustafson and Mark Martin got off to a slow start earlier this season, capped by Martin wrecking in Atlanta and leaving the track abruptly. Gustafson stayed behind, assessed the situation and turned the setback into motivation for his team's success.

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Gustafson: I think experience helped me in that situation. Experience helps when you go through those inevitable ups and downs. This is my fifth year as a crew chief so I had a good gauge. We had won races and been in the Chase. I knew where our team was at and how good we were. So I didn't panic.

But if I was a first-year crew chief? Yeah, you think you have a good team -- but you don't really know. Or if I was a fifth-year crew chief who had never had any success, I wouldn't have known. But I knew. And Mark knew -- and Mark has more experience than anybody out there.

Q: Did Mark help you stay positive during that time?

Gustafson: Mental toughness also applies. Even though I knew we had a good team, I could have gone home and said, 'Why is this happening to me? Why can't anything go right? Boo-hoo-hoo.' Instead, I just decided not to worry about it.

Feeling sorry for yourself yields no production. Pouting your lip out and saying woe is me does you no good. But it's hard not to let that creep into your subconscious sometimes. That's when having a guy like Mark to work with really helps. He's seen that happen with me and he's kind of straightened me out and said, 'Hey, that's not going to do us any good.'

Q: Do you wish Mark was about 20 years younger so you guys could see what you could do together over the really long haul?

Gustafson: I really don't know how they beat him when he was 35. Not saying that he's lost anything -- he may not have lost a thing -- but we're all just awed by his talent over and over and over again. You're like, 'Wow, how did anyone ever beat this guy in his prime?' And it may be his prime right now. But if he was ever any better at any point in time, I don't know how they beat him -- because he's awful hard to beat right now. (Continued)