CONCORD, N.C. - While it was William Byron taking the checkered flag on Monday evening to win the 2024 DAYTONA 500, the triumph came from a group of motivated individuals who set their driver up for success. Crew chief Rudy Fugle is the leader of the No. 24 team and he has emerged as one of the top crew chiefs in the NASCAR Cup Series.
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Fugle has been with Byron for 10 of his 11 Cup Series wins and together they are the fourth-winningest combination among active driver-crew chief pairings. Last year, the duo won a series-best six races and reached the Championship 4 for the first time, but this victory put both in a noteworthy club as DAYTONA 500 winners.
"It's just special. All the things that are starting to happen," Fugle said during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Wednesday. "The excitement from the team, the sponsors, for everybody at GM (General Motors), Mr. and Mrs. Hendrick and everybody here at the shop. I did a lap around all the departments, which takes a while, in between meetings yesterday. I tried to do a lap around the whole complex. There's just a ton of excitement and a lot of proud people to win that race. We haven't done it at Hendrick (Motorsports) in 10 years so it's a huge deal. So proud of my guys, proud of William (Byron), just proud everybody here."
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While the race ended in victory, the week did not begin how Fugle had imagined it. In Thursday night's second Duel at Daytona race, Byron was caught up in a crash in the tri-oval, causing damage to his primary car. While he was able to finish the race, the team decided to go to a backup car for the main event, a lengthy process to tackle as a team.
"It's tough," Fugle said having to go to a backup car. "It took until probably 30 minutes before practice started on Friday of our guys working super hard to get it done and they did a great job. It was prepared well, we hit the track in practice and it was fast. We had a vibration in the steering. We ended up changing the steering rack after practice but overall it was prepared well and the guys did awesome."
The hard work would pay off in a big way as Byron, Fugle and the team took the No. 24 Chevrolet back to victory lane in the sport's biggest race for the first time since 2005.
"They’ve grown together and they are a young team all in totality if you really look at it," Hendrick Motorsports vice president of competition Chad Knaus told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "They’ve got a lot of years ahead of them from the team standpoint not just the driver-crew chief."
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The Byron-Fugle partnership predates each of their time at Hendrick Motorsports. They first worked together in 2016 in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series at Kyle Busch Motorsports. Over 23 races, Byron won seven times in his rookie season, ultimately finishing fifth in points and earning Rookie of the Year honors.
When Knaus, a seven-time championship-winning crew chief and NASCAR Hall of Famer, decided to step down from the pit box after the 2020 season, Byron needed a new crew chief. Hendrick Motorsports team president and general manager Jeff Andrews recalled how much Byron advocated for Fugle to come to his team.
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"William (Byron) spoke about Rudy (Fugle) after he was here and Rudy was still in the Truck Series," Andrews said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "When Chad (Knaus) made his decision to step away as a crew chief from that team, William was very adamant that we sit down and talk with Rudy. There were multiple conversations with several of us. Quite frankly, it became very clear that Rudy was a leader and passionate about racing and it was an easy decision for us. We couldn’t be happier."
Long known for having a successful touch when it comes to pairing drivers and crew chiefs together, team owner Rick Hendrick seems to have found another strong duo. Following the win, Hendrick explained how this pairing reminds him of past teams that also found success within his organization.
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"It is an unbelievable combination," Hendrick told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio of the Byron-Fugle duo. William (Byron) just studies and he is in the simulator all the time studying tape. He wants to understand more about the car. When you have that kind of commitment at his age and Rudy (Fugle) is so smart and so eager to win every race. The combination of those two reminds me of Ray (Evernham) and Jeff (Gordon) or Chad (Knaus) and Jimmie (Johnson). Some of those unbelievable combinations that come along where they just clicked together and have total confidence in each other."
Up next for Fugle and the No. 24 team will be Atlanta Motor Speedway. Of the four races that have been held on the newly reconfigured track, Byron has gone to victory lane twice and led 171 circuits. Tune in to see the group go for back-to-back Cup Series wins on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
