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.

Q: We in the media hear Mark give his "Aw, shucks, pinch me I'm dreaming ... Alan is the greatest" routine quite frequently. Do you get to hear it, too? And what do you think about his high praise for you?

Gustafson: To be with him all the time, I love his quirky habits. He gets pretty anxious and nervous. He's been doing this for 25 years, but he still gets the butterflies, still has the passion. I think it's awesome for a guy to be as accomplished as he is, to be 50 years old, to be so successful and so respected, and still see him go through the same things a rookie goes through. That shows me his love for the sport and his commitment to the sport, how much it means to him.

It's flattering to hear some of the things he says about me and the team, and to read some of those things. But at the same time, I know the reasons we're doing well and we've got to continue to work hard and do the same things that got us here. It's special to me that we can help Mark perform at a high level.

Q: How different has it been being crew chief for Kyle Busch vs. Mark Martin?

Gustafson: Mark did not become a good race-car driver and a good communicator overnight. Same with me. It takes years and years and years. So I think a little bit of it is getting to a point and a position where you can get results out of it. If I compare my experiences with Kyle to my experiences with Mark, well, with Kyle we had good communication -- but neither one of us was at the level we're at now.

Q: You did want to make it clear that you became and still remain friends with Kyle, but that's not really enough, is it?

Gustafson: It's not just that you get along and you communicate. That doesn't guarantee that you'll have success. You've got to have all the other things behind you, too, including equipment and a loyal, committed team.

But I do think to be at the tippity-top-top, you've got to work very hard and it helps a lot to genuinely like who you're in that relationship with. One of the things that helps me with Mark, and I think helps him with me, is that if we had the choice, we would spend time together. That helps when you're around each other so much and you have similar interests.

Q: It helps to have a good crew behind you, too, doesn't it?

Gustafson (who is now 34): Don't forget I was 25 once, too. I've had my struggles along the way and I'm just trying to help those guys who work on that car reach their full potential and encourage them and let them do what they can do. I'm proud of them because what we're doing on the race track is them; it's not me. The only thing I've had to do with that is encouraging them and giving them opportunity to reach their full potential.

Q: It's really sort of a mutual respect thing all the way around that works for you and your team, isn't it?

Gustafson: The mutual respect really allows us to do what we do. I've been with other drivers in the past where if you disagree with them, they take offense. And they get mad. They feel like you are in some way, shape or form degrading them -- and that's tough.

That makes my job really easy with Mark. He knows I'm not questioning his ability. He knows I think he's the best guy for the job in this series. He knows if I say we ought to go in another direction, it's because I think it's in the best interests of him and the team. But some drivers will take that as an insult.

Also, the proof is in the pudding. If I say something like that, I'd better be right. When you've got a great team behind you, like Mark and I do, fortunately that enables us to be right the great majority of the time.