CONCORD, N.C. – With just two races left in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series regular season, William Byron and the No. 24 team have their eyes set on securing as many playoff points as possible this Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.
Byron will lean on crew chief Rudy Fugle, who has been very success at the 2-mile oval. As a crew chief in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Fugle has called the shots to earn six top-five finishes and six top-10s in seven starts at Michigan. He also boasts an average start of 5.4 and an average finishing position of 4.6.
“I think he knows how to get around that track,” Byron said of Fugle. “He knows what it looks like to be competitive at that track, so I honestly feel like we are just going to continue to improve. I think we are on the right track to have success and we should be pretty fast.”
When Byron was in the Truck Series in 2016, he and Fugle started third and raced for a fourth-place result. Since moving on to Cup cars, Byron has posted one top-10 finish and four top-15s in six starts at the Michigan track. He’s hoping he can put on his strongest performance yet at Michigan based on the success he and Fugle have had in 2021.
In their first season paired up in the Cup Series, the duo has taken home one win, two pole positions, eight top-five finishes, 15 top-10s and three stage. Due to his record-setting year, Byron currently sits fourth in the NASCAR playoff standings.
“Because we have run well this year at similar type racetracks – Texas and Pocono come to mind – in terms of similarities, I think that those two tracks are going to suit us for this race,” Byron said. “We have a good notebook to look at and our car should be fast, so I am excited to see what progress we made since the last big oval.”
Be sure to tune in this Sunday, Aug. 22 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN to see Byron, Fugle, and the rest of the Hendrick Motorsports brigade take on the 2-mile track at Michigan.