EYE ON THE PRIZE: With four races left in the regular season, William Byron is third in the NASCAR Cup Series driver points standings, 43 markers behind the leader. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native is looking for his first Cup Series regular-season championship and the extra 15 playoff points that come with it. To this point, Byron leads the series in wins (four), laps led (810), laps run in the top five (2,688) and stage wins (seven). His 810 laps led mark a new season-high for the 25-year-old driver. In addition, Byron is tied for second in top-five finishes (eight) with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson (nine) leading the way in that category, tied for third in top-10s (11) and has run the third-most laps in the top 10 (3,595). He also has an average running position of 9.53, which is second-best in the field.
MICHIGAN MINUTES: With 10 NASCAR national series starts at Michigan International Speedway under his belt, Byron will be adding one more to his résumé this Sunday. Of those 10 races, eight have come at the Cup level, where he has a track-best starting position of third (August 2019) and a track-best finish of second (in 2021). In fact, of the last five races at the Brooklyn, Michigan, track, Byron has an average finish of 9.60. He has also spent 213 laps running in the top 10 in the last two races there – the fifth-most among active drivers. Byron has one NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the 2-mile D-shaped oval, where he qualified fourth and ended the race in the runner-up position. He also has one NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start, where he started third and finished fourth with crew chief Rudy Fugle on top of the box.
OH SO CLOSE: Sunday will mark Fugle’s third Cup Series event at Michigan. In his previous Cup Series starts, the Livonia, New York, native has a track-best finish of second coming with Byron in 2021. Aside from those two Cup Series starts, Fugle has eight other starts in the Irish Hills, with seven coming in the Truck Series. In those truck starts, he has six top-five finishes and six top-10s. To further break it down, Fugle has finished second on three occasions, third once, and in the fourth position two times, with his only finish outside of the top four coming in 2019. This weekend, he hopes to continue his success by capturing his first checkered flag at the Michigan venue.
PIT ROAD PROWESS: After 22 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 10.991 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).
LIBERTY U IS BACK: For back-to-back weekends, Byron will sport his Liberty University paint scheme. Featuring a white base with navy flames and red accents, the Liberty University No. 24 will be sure to stand out on track. Liberty University has a long history with Byron starting back in 2014 in the late model ranks. Liberty University has been Training Champions for Christ since it was founded in 1971. Located in the mountains of Central Virginia, Liberty is a liberal arts institution with 17 colleges and schools that offers more than 600 degree programs from the certificate to the doctoral level, on campus and online. Working on an undergraduate degree in strategic communication, Byron is now in his junior year at Liberty University through its online program. For a better look at Byron’s Liberty University paint scheme, click here.
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his motivation for this weekend at Michigan: "We’ve had a couple weeks now that we haven’t gotten the result we’ve wanted. I think going to Michigan (International Speedway) is going to turn that around for us. It’s a big and fast track and we’ve always had speed there. We did a tire test there earlier this year there and it went really well. We’re not going to let the last couple weeks define our team though. We’re going to show that we’ve put those races behind us and move on to the next week. That’s what is great about our team. You can’t get us down."
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on what he expects at Michigan: "Michigan (International Speedway) is a track I’ve always liked. I think we’re going to be pretty prepared for this weekend’s race. We had speed at Michigan last year and we were able to do the tire test in May with the new tire we’ll be running. With that combination of notes, I think we’re going to unload in a good place. We’ve also been good on the intermediate tracks this season, which is a bit of added confidence in what we’re doing. I think track position is going to be key, even though it’s a wide track with multiple lanes. It’s really going to come down to your pit strategy and when within your pit window do you stop for fuel."
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