William Byron had never raced at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, or Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth until this year. The goal was for the 18-year-old rookie contender to run all the laps, log seat time and gain experience on the bigger, faster tracks and hopefully get solid finishes. Byron exceeded those expectations by winning both races in dramatic fashion at tracks where he was the underdog. This weekend, Byron heads to Iowa Speedway in Newton where he already has two starts and one win under his belt. If he could win at two tracks where he’s never been before, what are the expectations this weekend when he is familiar with the track? We will find out Saturday night in the Speediatrics 200.
Byron was not expected to win at Texas last weekend. He ran in the top 10 throughout the race and it looked as though he would finish there. With a few adjustments to his No. 9 Liberty University Tundra late in the race, Byron found his groove, literally on the high side of the track and gained speed. With 10 laps to go he passed veteran Johnny Sauter for second place and began closing in on veteran Matt Crafton who had dominated the race, despite a tire issue early. With five laps to go Byron passed Crafton and pulled away from the field until a late-race challenge from fellow rookie Rico Abreu. He was able to hold off Abreu to win the race after leading only six of 167 laps.
Last spring Bryon won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Iowa. He started from the pole and led 128 of 150 laps en route to the victory. His second trip there did not turn out quite as well in July when he finished 13th, but the additional experience he gained at Iowa will be beneficial when he hits the track Friday afternoon for practice.
His Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) team also has quite a bit of experience at Iowa. KBM drivers have collected two wins, two poles, 303 laps led, five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 8.6 across 15 starts at Iowa. In last year’s Truck Series event at Iowa, Erik Jones captured the pole and led a race-high 131 laps en route to the victory. Jones also led a race-high 112 laps in his 2014 victory at Iowa.
William Byron, Driver of the No. 9 NCWTS Liberty University Tundra:
After winning at two tracks where you had never raced, how do you feel going to Iowa where you have already have a win?
“I think our strong suit this year has been going to different tracks and being able to adapt quickly, so going to a track I’ve been to before is going to help us get up to speed a lot faster and be able to work on the truck even more. I think it’s going to help us overall and help us be a little better for the beginning of the race. In the races we’ve won I feel like our truck was the best at the end of the race, so hopefully this weekend we can start the race as well as we finish.”
Did you expect to have this much success this early in the season?
“No, I was expecting Iowa to be the first place I might get a win just because it is a short track and a place I have been to before. To get two wins on two 1.5-mile tracks where I didn’t have any experience at all was a surprise. That was the biggest learning curve so far this season, so it’s definitely exciting to have those finishes and I’m ready to try and get more wins this year.”
Rudy Fugle, Crew Chief of the No. 9 NCWTS Liberty University Tundra:
Did you expect William to have this much success so early in the season?
“We expected to run top 10 or top five early in the season while William adjusted to the trucks and new tracks, but holy cow, two wins in the first seven races is pretty amazing. Kansas was a lot of speed and he had to do a good job. We almost lost it there on the last restart, but he got it back. At Texas he went out and earned it. We were decent and kept getting the truck a little better, but we weren’t prefect. He found the top groove, he decided to move around, he stood on the pedal there at the end and made it happen.”
William Byron’s No. 9 Liberty University Tundra:
KBM-031: The No. 9 Liberty University team will race KBM-031, for Saturday’s Speediatrics 200 at Iowa. This truck was most recently raced by Byron at Dover in May (finished 11th) and Martinsville in April (finished third).
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KBM-031 Performance Profile:
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|||||||
|
Date
|
Site
|
Driver
|
Start
|
Finish
|
Laps
|
Laps Led
|
Status
|
|
5/13/2016
|
Dover
|
Byron
|
1 (rain)
|
11
|
200/200
|
80
|
running
|
|
4/2/2016
|
Martinsville
|
Byron
|
7
|
3
|
255/255
|
0
|
running
|
|
10/3/2015
|
Las Vegas
|
Jones
|
15
|
9
|
146/146
|
0
|
running
|
|
9/19/2015
|
Chicagoland
|
Jones
|
8
|
6
|
150/150
|
19
|
running
|
|
7/9/2015
|
Kentucky
|
Bell
|
16*
|
17
|
144/145
|
0
|
running
|
|
Totals
|
5 starts, 0 Wins
|
10.0
|
9.2
|
99
|
|||
Notes of Interest:
William Byron 2016:
- Earned first career win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Kansas Speedway in just his fifth series start (5/6/16) and second win at Texas Motor Speedway (6/10/16)
- After seven races leads the NCWTS Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by 19 points and is currently third in the NCWTS driver standings with two wins which locks in him the inaugural NCWTS Chase
- Started and finished second in the ARCA Racing Series at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February (2/13/16)
|
Series
|
Races
|
Win
|
Top 5
|
Top 10
|
Pole
|
Laps
|
Led
|
AvSt
|
AvFn
|
|
NCWTS
|
7
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
0
|
1085
|
145
|
6.4
|
10.1
|
|
ARCA
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
160
|
3
|
2.5
|
5.0
|
|
Totals
|
9
|
2
|
4
|
6
|
0
|
1,245
|
147
|
4.4
|
7.5
|
William Byron 2015:
- Made first career NASCAR Camping World Series start at Phoenix International Raceway in November
- Captured the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Championship and Rookie of the Year honors after producing four wins, three poles, 740 laps led, five top-five and 11 top-10 finishes across 14 starts
- Made two ARCA Racing Series starts where he led a race-high 120 laps in his series debut at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis before settling for a runner-up finish when the race was decided by tire strategy. Also won the pole at Kentucky Speedway
|
Series
|
Races
|
Win
|
Top 5
|
Top 10
|
Pole
|
Laps
|
Led
|
AvSt
|
AvFn
|
|
NCWTS
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
0
|
5.0
|
31.0
|
|
K&N East
|
14
|
4
|
5
|
11
|
3
|
1729
|
740
|
3.8
|
6.8
|
|
CARS Super LM
|
3
|
1
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
400
|
156
|
5.3
|
2.3
|
|
ARCA
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
200
|
120
|
1.5
|
17.0
|
|
K&N West
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
68
|
0
|
2.0
|
5.0
|
|
Totals
|
21
|
5
|
10
|
16
|
4
|
2,403
|
1,016
|
3.5
|
12.42
|
William Byron 2014
- Named the N.C. NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Rookie of the Year with seven poles, 10 podium finishes and 15 top-five finishes in 30 starts
- Won six of six races at Winter Nationals in Auburndale, Fla., and crowned Pro Legend Champion
- Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Winter Heat Series Champion in the Legend Car Pro division
- Two wins and seven podium finishes in Charlotte’s Summer Shootout Series Legend Car Pro division
William Byron 2013
- Competed in the U.S. Legend Car Young Lion Division where he earned 33 wins, 59 top-five and 64 top-10 finishes in 69 starts to become the U.S. Legend Champion
- Won first-career feature at Concord (N.C.) Speedway
- Won pole and feature at Caraway (N.C.) Speedway – first time on a track over a quarter mile
- Won Legends All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway
- Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway Thursday Thunder Champion
Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 9 Tundra:
- The No. 9 team has earned two wins, three top-five and four top-10 finishes in seven starts this season.
- Ten members of this year’s No. 9 Tundra team were a part of last year’s No. 4 Tundra team which collected three wins, five poles, 925 laps led, 11 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes across 23 starts last season and captured the 2015 NCWTS Driver’s and Owner’s Championship
KBM NCWTS Program
- Has collected one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Driver’s Championship, four Owner’s Championships, 48 Truck Series victories and 24 poles across 295 starts since originating in 2010
- 48 career Truck Series victories as an organization ranks second all-time behind Roush Fenway (50)
- 14 victories as an organization during the 2014 season broke the Truck Series record of 12 set by Ultra Motorsports in 2001
- Eight different drivers have won a race for KBM, led by owner-driver Kyle Busch with 29. Erik Jones has collected seven victories, Darrell Wallace Jr., has five wins, William Byron and Denny Hamlin each produced two victories and Christopher Bell, Kasey Kahne and Brian Scott all collected one triumph
- Has collected victories at 20 of the 21 tracks on the 2016 schedule, excluding Atlanta Motor Speedway
KBM NCWTS @ Iowa Speedway
- KBM drivers have collected two wins, two poles, 303 laps led, five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 8.6 across 15 starts at Iowa
- In last year’s Truck Series event at Iowa, Erik Jones and the No. 4 Tundra team captured the pole and led a race-high 131 laps en route to the victory. Jones also led a race-high 112 laps in his 2014 victory at Iowa.
The Fugle File:
Fugle begins his third season as a crew chief at KBM and fifth overall with the team. Under his tutelage last season, Erik Jones posted three wins, five poles, 925 laps led, 11 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes en route to becoming the youngest champion in Truck Series history and the first driver to collect both the Rookie of the Year and the series title in the same year. The duo also nabbed KBM its record-breaking fourth Truck Series Owner’s championship last season, which was the second with Fugle calling the shots. In 2013, he led KBM’s No. 51 Tundra team to a series-leading six wins and an Owner’s Championship. Entering 2016, the New York native’s Truck Series drivers have totaled nine wins, six poles, 21 top-five and 35 top-10 finishes across his 44 races atop the pit box for KBM.
Fugle has one win and one pole (Erik Jones, 2015), two top-five and three top-10 finishes, as a crew chief in three starts at Iowa. Fugle’s Tundras have led 112 laps and have an average finish of 4.0.
Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 9 Liberty University Toyota Tundra 2016 NCWTS Box Score:
|
Date
|
Site
|
Driver
|
Start
|
Finish
|
Laps
|
Laps Led
|
Status
|
Driver Pts./Pos.
|
|
2/19
|
Daytona
|
Byron
|
13
|
13
|
100/100
|
0
|
Running
|
20/11th
|
|
2/27
|
Atlanta
|
Byron
|
15
|
32
|
59/130
|
0
|
Engine
|
21/26th
|
|
4/2
|
Martinsville
|
Byron
|
7
|
3
|
255/255
|
0
|
Running
|
51/12th
|
|
5/6
|
Kansas
|
Byron
|
2
|
1
|
170/170
|
34
|
Running
|
87/7th
|
|
5/13
|
Dover
|
Byron
|
1 (rain)
|
11
|
200/200
|
80
|
Running
|
111/6th
|
|
5/20
|
Charlotte
|
Byron
|
1 (rain)
|
10
|
134/134
|
25
|
Running
|
135/5th
|
|
6/10
|
Texas
|
Byron
|
6
|
1
|
167/167
|
6
|
Running
|
171/3rd
|
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
