Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media at the Phoenix Raceway media center on Friday, Nov. 3, following NASCAR Cup Series practice.
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media at the Phoenix Raceway media center on Saturday, Nov. 4, following NASCAR Cup Series qualifying.
CHAMP 4 BOUND: For the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, William Byron has earned a spot in the Championship 4 for the sport's season finale at Phoenix Raceway. The No. 24 team rallied to secure enough points at Martinsville Speedway to advance through the Round of 8. Entering as the youngest competitor of the final four, Byron won the most recent race at Phoenix on March 12. The driver who won on that same date went on to win the championship in three of the prior four times, including twice by Hendrick Motorsports drivers (Jeff Gordon in 1995 and Jimmie Johnson in 2006). If Byron were to win this weekend, he would become only the sixth driver to win a championship in his first Championship 4 appearance. The 25-year-old would also be the fourth-youngest Cup champion of all time.
CAREER SEASON: Heading into the season finale for the Cup Series playoffs, Byron continues to add to his already impressive 2023 stats. After 35 races, Byron leads the series in wins (six), average finishing position (11.17) and top-10 finishes (20). He is tied for the most top-five finishes with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson (14) and is in a three-way tie along with Larson for the most stage wins (eight) this season. Byron has also led a single-season career-best 921 laps, which is the third-most in the series. In addition, he ranks second for the season in average running position (10.37), laps run in the top five (3,784) and third for laps run in the top 10 (5,387). In the playoffs, his average finish (6.33) is the fifth-best mark in the elimination-style postseason (first started in 2014).
SIMILAR IN SIZE: This Sunday’s race at Phoenix will mark Byron’s 43rd start on tracks 1 to 1.37 miles in length (Darlington Raceway, Dover Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Phoenix and WWT Raceway). In his previous 42 starts, he has collected one pole award, two wins (2023 victories at Darlington and Phoenix), nine top-five finishes, 18 top-10s and led 440 laps.
VENTURING TO THE VALLEY OF THE SUN: Heading to a track where he has found success at every level of NASCAR competition, Byron will return to Phoenix for the 12th time in his Cup career. Across his 11 Cup Series starts at the 1-mile oval, Byron’s best showing came earlier this year when he took home the victory. He has earned six top-10s and led 91 laps. His five top-10 finishes since 2020 are tied for his second-most at a track behind only Kansas Speedway with six. With three Next Gen races (since 2022) taking place at Phoenix, Byron leads all drivers with laps run in the top five (621) and ranks third in laps run in the top 10 (840). The Charlotte, North Carolina, native also has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Phoenix on his résumé, both coming in 2017. He started on the front row and finished in the top four in both races, including a win in November 2017. With that victory, he became the youngest winner ever at Phoenix in the Xfinity Series at 19 years, 11 months and 13 days. The following week he earned the Xfinity Series championship.
DYNAMIC DUO OUT WEST: In 2016, Byron was behind the wheel for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race in Arizona with crew chief Rudy Fugle atop the pit box. The duo won the pole and went on to lead 112 laps. Unfortunately, an engine failure while Byron was leading with 10 laps to go ended his night early and his chances to advance on to the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway – where they ended up finding redemption and winning the next weekend.
RUDY’S PHOENIX PERFORMANCE: Going to Phoenix for the sixth time in his Cup Series crew chief career, Fugle has one win (March 2023), one top-five finish, three top-10s and 76 laps led in those previous five races. Aside from his Cup Series starts, Fugle has three Xfinity Series starts and eight Truck Series starts under his belt at the 1-mile desert oval. In those eight Truck Series races, Fugle has four pole awards and his drivers have led a total of 471 laps. While Fugle has only one Truck Series win at Phoenix, he has two runner-up results, four top-five finishes and six top-10s.
PIT ROAD PROWESS: After 35 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 10.963 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). In the middle race of the Round of 8 at Homestead-Miami, the No. 24 team had the fastest average four-tire pit stop time of 9.986 seconds.
AT IT AGAIN WITH AXALTA: For the season finale, Axalta will be back onboard Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. This is Axalta’s 31st year of partnership with Hendrick Motorsports. The company has been a primary partner for two of Byron’s wins this year – the May victory at Darlington and the July triumph at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on preparing for Phoenix: "I wanted this opportunity bad and I wanted it really bad for our team. We have all worked so hard for the chance to run for a championship and we have as good of a chance as anyone. We’ve worked hard this week to get ready between going over data, film and time at the Chevy sim. We’ve done all we can to prepare here before we get to Phoenix (Raceway). Being able to have a full 50-minute practice session is nice though, so we can really work on some changes and be even more prepared for Sunday. It will be about maximizing every chance we have and I am confident that we will be at our best on Sunday."
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his mindset of racing for a NASCAR Cup Series championship: "This is about capitalizing on the opportunity. The opportunity to run for a championship at the top level of motorsports in North America is what we dream of doing. I know the whole team feels the same way. We’re going to put our full effort into it and we will know that after the race Sunday, we will have put everything we have on the line. There will be no regrets. We have an amazing team, pit crew and support system back at the shop. We’re going to use every ounce of intelligence, effort and athleticism that we have to make it happen."
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