Alan Gustafson, crew chief for
Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger
Chevrolet, broke an eight-way tie in the battle for Federal-
Mogul's MOOG® Chassis Parts "Problem Solver of the Year"
Award by capturing weekly
MOOG Problem Solver honors in Sunday's NASCAR®
AAA Texas 500 Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Gustafson won the weekly
MOOG award for the second straight week thanks to
Gordon’s race-best 0.143-second improvement in average lap
speed over the second half of the race. The No. 24 car
started 23rd on what has been one of Gordon’s least favorite
tracks, but cracked the top 10 within the first 70 laps and
was rarely out of the top five the rest of the way. Gordon’s
6th-place finish was his best at TMS in more than two
years.
“Jeff and Alan teamed up for a great run and the No. 24 was
consistently running as fast as the leader over the second
half,” said Federal-Mogul Motorsports Director Tim Nelson.
“Alan was able to keep their MOOG-equipped chassis dialed in
to the cooling track temperatures and they had a legitimate
chance to win it all until their tires wore out during the
final green-flag run.”
Gustafson last week moved into a tie with seven other Sprint
Cup crew chiefs by winning his third MOOG Problem Solver of the Race Award, at
Martinsville. Now he can clinch season-ending MOOG Problem
Solver honors with a win in either of the final two races of
the season. If he doesn’t win again, he needs to hope that
one of the seven crew chiefs tied for second – Drew
Blickensderfer (No. 6 Ford), Darian Grubb (No. 14 Chevrolet),
Steve Letarte (No. 88 Chevrolet), Gil Martin (No. 29
Chevrolet), Bob Osborne (No. 99 Ford), Shane Wilson (No. 33
Chevrolet), or Paul Wolfe (No. 2 Dodge) – doesn’t capture a
fourth weekly MOOG award. In the case of a tie, the award
goes to the crew chief whose driver has the most Sprint Cup
points.
“It seems like every year we have someone make a late run to
win this award, and it’s looking like Alan might be the man
in 2011. But any one of those seven other crew chiefs is
capable of winning one or both of the final two races,”
Nelson said. “Nothing would surprise me at this point – it
has been a great battle from beginning to end.”
MOOG steering and suspension components are the leading
choice of NASCAR crew chiefs and automotive repair
professionals and have helped drive an unprecedented 45
consecutive NASCAR Cup champions to victory.
For the latest news and statistics regarding the MOOG Problem
Solver awards, simply click on the “NASCAR” link on the
brand’s popular
website. This technician-focused site
also includes extensive technical information about MOOG
steering and suspension components and a wide range of common
chassis repair challenges. To identify the right MOOG part
for virtually any application, please use the convenient,
free
electronic catalog or visit the company’s
website at
www.federalmogul.com.
