TWO TO GO: With two races left in the regular season, William Byron is third in the NASCAR Cup Series driver points standings, 104 markers behind the leader. While the Charlotte, North Carolina, native is hoping to secure his first Cup Series regular-season championship, he’s still having a career-best season. Byron leads the series in wins (four), stage wins (seven) and laps run in the top five (2,688). He also has led a single-season career-best 810 laps (second-most in the series). The 25-year-old driver’s eight top-five finishes are tied for the third-most in the sport’s top division. In addition, Byron ranks third in average running position (10.37) and laps run in the top 10 (3,617).
WATKINS GLEN WIZ: Sunday’s race will mark Byron’s fifth Cup Series start at Watkins Glen International and his seventh NASCAR national series start overall at the road course. In the Cup Series, Byron has a track-best qualifying effort of second (2019) and a best finish of sixth (2021). Prior to his four Cup Series starts, he made his debut at Watkins Glen in the 2015 ARCA Menards Series East race, starting second and finishing seventh. He returned to the venue in 2017 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, finishing 10th. Byron has made one additional start at the upstate New York facility in the Xfinity Series in 2022 with Hendrick Motorsports. In that race, he earned the pole and led 35 laps before being caught up in a late-race, on-track incident while battling for the lead.
HOMEWARD BOUND: While Rudy Fugle may have limited experience at Watkins Glen, the Livonia, New York, native is excited to be heading to his hometown track for Sunday’s race. This weekend will mark Fugle’s third Cup Series start as a crew chief at the 2.45-mile road course. In his three Cup Series starts in front of his hometown crowd, his best showing came in 2021, leading Byron and the No. 24 team to a sixth-place finish. In total, Fugle has 26 national series starts on road courses (16 in the Cup Series, three in the Xfinity Series and seven in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series). He earned a road course win in the truck ranks in 2015. One of those seven truck starts was also with Byron where the duo raced to a 10th-place finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2016.
ROAD POTPOURRI: Earlier this season, Byron earned his best-ever road course result in the Cup Series, securing a fifth-place finish at Circuit of The Americas. In 2023, he is tied for sixth in points scored on road courses (119) and he has run the eighth-most laps (78) in the top five on this track type. In addition, four of Byron’s 11 career poles in the sport’s top series have come at road courses.
PIT ROAD PROWESS: After 24 races in the 2023 season, the No. 24 pit crew remains in the top spot with the fastest average four-tire pit stop time of 11.040 seconds. The No. 24 pit crew consists of Spencer Bishop (jackman), Jeff Cordero (front-tire changer), Orane Ossowski (rear-tire changer), Ryan Patton (tire carrier) and Landon Walker (fueler).
VALVOLINE RETURNS: Valvoline will make its third appearance of 2023 as the primary sponsor of Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for this Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen. Valvoline Inc. (NYSE: VVV) is a leading worldwide marketer and supplier of premium branded lubricants and automotive services, with sales in more than 140 countries. Established in 1866, the company’s heritage spans more than 150 years, during which time it has developed powerful brand recognition across multiple product and service channels. Valvoline ranks as the No. 3 passenger car motor oil brand in the DIY market by volume. To see Byron’s No. 24 Valvoline Chevy, click here.
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on building momentum with the playoffs approaching: "I don’t think we change our processes the next couple weeks. We want to go into these last races of the regular season and execute to the best we can and keep building the momentum. While winning the regular-season championship would be great, we’re focused on making the final four and that starts now with maximizing the playoff points we can earn for each round. We don’t need to change anything we do now because that’s when mistakes happen."
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on how to be successful at Watkins Glen: "Watkins Glen (International) is pretty big for me. It’s my home track and I grew up not far away from there. So it’s important to go out there and run well for me. It’s a super fast and historic racetrack. There are big braking zones and the bus stop puts on it’s own event basically. It’s just amazing to watch them go through the bus stop, but you have to be good everywhere at this track. It’s very technical. This car will want to swing the back through the carousel, and you need to be able to get the rear tires underneath you before you get into turn six and seven because they make a lot of speed. You have a lot of speed then down the frontstretch and into turn one, which makes that a big passing zone. That place always packs out, so you know there will be a ton of fans. I’m excited to get there."
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