CONCORD, N.C. -- Rudy Fugle expressed he is honored to be the new crew chief of the No. 24 team. Having previously worked with William Byron in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in 2016, the pair already had a great rapport.
With Chad Knaus moving on to an executive role with Hendrick Motorsports, Fugle said it’s a huge accomplishment to sit atop the No. 24 pit box,
“It’s kind of a dream to be on a team like this with this kind of history and success in the past,” Fugle said. “The 24 car is just historic, so to be able to work with William, who I’ve had a lot of success within the past, with (Hendrick Motorsports) and Mr. (Rick) Hendrick is just a dream.”
Fugle was tabbed as Byron’s new crew chief on Oct. 26. They only had one season together in the Truck Series, but they won seven of 23 races, led 21% of all possible laps and earned the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series owner championship.
“We hope to pick up right where we left off, so we’ve already started the communication this offseason,” Fugle said of Byron. “Just the way that we’ve prepared together has always been special, so I think we can get a lot of great communication going, then execute the changes and whatever the car is going to need to have success to win a lot races.”
Even though this is Fugle’s first season calling the shots in the Cup Series, he said Byron makes his job a little easier. The 23-year-old driver’s nature, combined with his dedication to the sport, naturally makes the team want to work harder.
"He’s a really likable person,” Fugle said. “The whole team wants to push for him, they want to do anything they can to make him successful. He’s self-driven, he puts the effort in, you don’t have to push him to put effort in, so you know he’s working as hard or harder than you right there with you, so it makes it fun to do.”