April 26, 2021 | By Lee Spencer

Rudy Fugle's formula has transformed William Byron into a contender

It’s amazing when one person can change the course of a career.

For William Byron, that person is crew chief Rudy Fugle.

Before Fugle was recruited to oversee the No. 24 crew, Byron was spinning his wheels. Now, the 24-year-old is leading the charge at Hendrick Motorsports.

“Rudy and (my) communication is the kryptonite in the whole thing,” Byron said after his second-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway. “I feel like we're able to work really well together. That shows with how consistently we run every week, just the ability to improve the car over the race.

“Even (Sunday), Talladega is not necessarily a handling place, but we did have some handling issues at the beginning of the race. Quickly fixed those, resolved that, had a race car to drive towards the front with. Credit to him, giving me what I need. I think it's really good what we're doing right now.”

Good barely scratches the surface of what the pair has been able to accomplish on NASCAR’s top tour. Both Byron and Fugle credit Chad Knaus with building the foundation of this team, but the chemistry between driver and crew chief has transformed them into contenders. 

“What I brought was a knowledge of William,” Fugle said after the Homestead win. “What helped us about the previous relationship was the fact that we've worked together before and I knew him, I knew how to push his buttons, I knew how to motivate him, and that helped buy me some time to learn these Cup cars that I don't know yet, so I think that's the biggest thing.

“The reason I came over here is to be able to work with William. I believe in him. He believes in me. I’ve believed in him since day one in the Trucks, and to be able to realize not only our dreams but our goal as well to be able to compete at this level and win and to be able to do it together. When somebody believes in you like he does in me and I do in him, it’s fun to be successful.”

That success manifested during Byron and Fugle’s maiden run in the Camping World Truck Series at Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2016. The duo won seven races, three poles and barely missed the Championship 4 round at Homestead after an engine failure the previous week at Phoenix. The team didn’t wave the white flag. Instead, they grabbed the checkered flag in the season finale.

Certainly, winning early took the pressure off of Byron, who entered the Hendrick camp racing under the shadows of seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson and the sport’s most popular driver Chase Elliott. Following the Homestead-Miami Speedway victory, no longer is he a one-win wonder. Secondly, locking down a win three races into the season took the pressure off of the team. Now, they can focus on the Playoffs.

Finally, the momentum from winning early has propelled Byron and the No. 24 team on a streak of eight top-10 results—a feat last achieved by 2014 Cup champion Kevin Harvick. Harvick and the No. 4 Stewart Haas Racing team. Harvick started 2020 with eight top 10s before going on a mid-season run of 10 top 10s that included nine-straight top-five finishes. 
Still, Byron’s eight top 10s this season account for 20 percent of his career total. His 150 laps lead are more than he posted last season. Second-place at Talladega was also a personal best for Byron.

“We have the right race cars,” Fugle said. “We have the engines. We have the people. And we’re going to put ourselves through the rigors to become a week-in and week-out contender like you see the No. 4 (Harvick) and the No. 18 (Kyle Busch) car and the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) car, the No. 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) car, and the No. 9 (Elliott) car clearly; and you see all those, every single week a contender and you’re surprised when they run 12th. 

“That’s what we have to be. Sometimes that takes training just by putting yourself through the rigors of the season, myself included, in a different series. That’s how I’ve always approached how to win a championship, with lots of different rookie drivers. And that’s how I’ve taken the approach. You go work on how to be a champion and when it comes time to perform, hopefully, you’re good enough.”

On Sunday, Byron exhibited those tendencies. He overcame early adversity in a similar fashion to Johnson and Knaus during the heyday of the No. 48 team. Byron attempted to avoid a wreck with Hamlin and Truex but collected Alex Bowman and Elliott in the process.

“I got spun out, was able to keep it out of the outside wall,” Byron said. “Our guys were able to execute good, fix the car up, get it reasonable to where we could be a good pusher.

“Obviously we couldn't be the lead car anymore, but we could still be a really good pusher.”

The No. 24 Chevrolet was down but not out. With 20 laps remaining in the Geico 500, Byron had worked his way back into the top 10. Earlier in the race, the Chevrolets knew with just six cars lined up they would have enough momentum to contend. 

While most of Byron’s bow-tie helpers were sidelined or working on their own agenda, the No. 24 was committed to the bottom lane. He continued to push Michael McDowell on the last lap until the No. 34 Ford pulled out to try to pass Brad Keselowski for the win and opened the door for Byron to finish second.

“I think we're already taking it to the next level, the way we're running,” Byron said. “Even today, with the way we fixed the car, finished second. I feel like next week is just hopefully a continuation of what we're doing.

“There's been a few obstacles that we've already cleared. Now we're going into the race tracks that are kind of the bread and butter of our team. Kansas has been really good for me in the past. Obviously, I'm very biased towards running well at Charlotte. I feel like that's one that is really important for me. Even Dover is important. We got some family up there, too. All these coming up are really good opportunities for us to try to win another race.”

As a rookie Cup crew chief, Fugle’s goal was to turn Byron and the No. 24 team into weekly contenders. If Byron’s performance continues at this level, championship contender might not be out of the question.