Charlotte, N.C.--Ask Alan Gustafson, crew chief for Kyle Busch and the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST NASCAR Nextel Cup Chevrolet, to describe himself, and the response is a modest, "I'm a pretty ordinary guy." Gustafson said he is 31 years old, married, and the father of "two great kids. I like to spend time with my family, cut my grass, wash my cars, and do the normal things that everyone does."
The difference, of course, is that on weekends most ordinary guys do not sit atop a NASCAR Nextel Cup pit-box "war wagon" at places such as Daytona, Talladega, Bristol, or Richmond. Nor are the decisions they make in the course of a weekend watched and sometimes dissected by millions of motorsports fans around the world.
Gustafson has been around racing nearly all his life. A native of Ormond Beach, Fla., Gustafson said he more or less grew up in the shadow of Daytona International Speedway; his father and many of his father's friends were amateur racers or big fans of racing, and one of his childhood buddies was Casey Yunick, grandson of the legendary Smokey Yunick.
By age 8, Gustafson said he was wrenching go-karts, as he and Casey Yunick competed against each other on Florida kart tracks. He said he also spent countless hours hanging out, working, and absorbing motorsports business in Smokey Yunick's famous machine shop.
Now in his eighth year with Hendrick Motorsports, Gustafson said he began his career in a familiar manner: at local short tracks and regional tracks that, as elsewhere in the United States, serve as feeder series for NASCAR.
"You have to get acclimated to the business," he said. "You have to understand how the business works. The Nextel Cup isn't the best place to do that. The best place is your local short track, or amateur racing, which is where I came from and which is where the majority of the people in NASCAR come from. You pay your dues."
Gustafson said he compares the process to one a professional football player might follow: First, for example, Peewee football, then high school and college football, and finally, pro football. "It's good to grow up through the sport, and if you have the general skill sets--you work on racecars, you understand the business, you have the passion for it--you just have to try to do it," he said.
The process also required commitment and determination, Gustafson added. Along the way, he said he knocked on a lot of doors. "You have to drop off your resume and get job interviews and start at the bottom and work your way up," he said. "I don't think it's any different from any other business. You have to make a commitment and have an attitude that you're not going to be refused. When you get the chance, you make the opportunity work."
Aside from his very visible weekend office atop the Hendrick Motorsports Kellogg's/CARQUEST war wagon, Gustafson said the skills he, or any good crew chief, brings to his job are not unlike the attributes possessed by any good businessman or businesswoman, or any good employee.
"It all starts with the basics," he said. "You have to have good values and a good work ethic. You have to have a good idea of human capital and the value of the people you work with. You have to have respect for them."
Gustafson said a good crew chief must also possess a strong technical understanding of what the team is trying to accomplish. "With these cars, there are a lot of different areas we're working on: aerodynamics, suspension geometry, tires and shocks, engines," he said. "You have to have a vast set of experience and skills with that."
Good communication skills are also critical, added Gustafson, who is responsible for a staff of about 90. Even when you have good employees, "which we do," he said, poor communication can lead to misunderstandings.
"The majority of the issues we run into are caused by a lack of communication; so you've got to work that out. If what you are trying to accomplish is communicated clearly, there are no issues. Everybody's on the same page, everybody's pulling on the rope the same way."
Having said that, Gustafson admitted that it's not always easy. And having weekends such as the one the team had at Talladega on April 28-29, where Kyle Busch was eliminated from both the Busch and Nextel Cup races, good communication skills and an ability to motivate your team are 
essential attributes, especially after a team has worked hard to put competitive cars on the track, and the result is cut short by circumstances beyond its control.
essential attributes, especially after a team has worked hard to put competitive cars on the track, and the result is cut short by circumstances beyond its control. "Racing is a very humbling sport," he said. "Motivation is important. At Talladega, you work really hard, and you put some really good cars on the track, and when you don't get the rewards you're hoping for, that's frustrating. So you've really got to focus on the positive and make sure your guys understand there is some light around the corner. Just because we had issues at Talladega, doesn't mean we're not going to run well at Richmond or have a chance to go back to Talladega and win the race."
Although the most visible part of Gustafson's job occurs on the weekend, that is by no means his sole responsibility. "I usually work seven days a week," he said. "I'm usually here [at the Hendrick shop] every day of the week. I would say I work upwards of 80 hours a week, maybe 90 hours a week. My job is a little extreme, but there are a few other guys in the shop that work as much as I do, or maybe more."
For other team members, Gustafson said the Hendrick organization aims for something resembling a 40-hour workweek. "Unfortunately, sometimes that doesn't work out," he said. "Sometimes they have to work 50, 60, or 70 hours a week. But we do the best we can to keep that to a minimum."
Gustafson said that even during the off-season, "which seems to be shrinking," the hours may be long. "The workweek is still very hectic because that's when we try to get ahead," he said.
When he does find time away from work, Gustafson said he spends it with his family. "I cherish that time, and I spend it with them," he said. "Every minute I have to spare, I try to spend it with them."
Can a regular repair shop or other business learn from the experiences of top NASCAR teams such as Hendrick Motorsports? Gustafson answers that question with an emphatic yes.
"Teamwork would probably be the first and foremost," he said, "everybody contributing toward a common goal, not working for individual goals. We all have to contribute to the success of the racecars. That is the only way we are graded. There is no individual performance; we're graded as a team."
Gustafson offered another observation, too: "Preparation is important. Small things really matter. And as I've said before, communication is a huge factor, as is the determination to be successful. When things don't go your way, you continue to push, and you continue to be positive. If you have a co-worker who stumbles, you try not to push him down; you pick him up."
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