24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 23 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 11th
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No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
FRONT RUNNER: Four races into his fourth NASCAR Cup Series season, William Byron is off to his best start of his career. So far, the 23-year-old driver has spent 514 laps running inside the top 10 – the fourth-highest amount in the Cup field. Of those 514 laps, 317 were inside the top-five running order, which is the fifth-most by a driver at NASCAR’s highest level this season. Currently, Byron has led laps in two consecutive races and ranks second for most laps led by a driver this year with 127. Only Denny Hamlin has led more laps (150).
PERFECT TENS: Byron currently holds three career top-10 finishes at Phoenix Raceway. A fourth top-10 this weekend would tie Phoenix with Pocono Raceway as tracks where he has the most top-10s. Byron was one of four drivers to finish inside the top 10 in both races at the Avondale, Arizona, venue in 2020.
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 Raceway for the seventh time in his Cup career. Across his six Cup Series starts at the 1-mile oval, Byron earned a personal-best finish of ninth twice (fall of 2018 and 2020). The driver of the No. 24 also has two NASCAR Xfinity Series appearances 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 that November. With the victory, he became the youngest Xfinity Series winner ever at Phoenix at 19 years, 11 months and 13 days.
DYNAMIC DUO OUT WEST: In 2016, Byron was behind the wheel for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Phoenix with crew chief Rudy Fugle atop the pit box. The duo won the pole and went on to lead 112 laps at the 1-mile track. Unfortunately, an engine failure while Byron was leading with 10 laps to go ended his race early and dashed his chances to advance into the Championship Four at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where they rebounded with a win.
RUDY’S PHOENIX PERFORMANCE: Although he’s heading there for the first time in his Cup Series career, Fugle has eight NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts under his belt at Phoenix. In those eight races, the No. 24 crew chief has four pole awards and his drivers have led a total of 471 laps. While Fugle has only one win at Phoenix (Erik Jones in 2013), he’s earned two runner-up results, three top-five finishes and six top-10s. In fact, his drivers have only finished worse than ninth two times, including 2017 when Byron dominated before an engine failure.
LAS VEGAS LOOKBACK: Rolling off second at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Byron took the lead early on and maintained that position until Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott took over just before the competition caution. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native continued to run up front during the duration of the 267-lap event. Dealing with a tire vibration in the final 20 laps, Byron held on to secure an eighth-place finish – his second consecutive top-10 result.
ALL ABOUT AXALTA: For the final stop of the West Coast swing, Byron will pilot the newly redesigned No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Sunday’s Cup Series race at Phoenix. Now in its 29th year of partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, Axalta will return as primary partner on Byron’s No. 24 for 14 races in 2021. For a better look at Byron’s new No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, click here.
HOMETOWN HYPE: Phoenix Raceway holds a special meaning for one member of the No. 24 team. Michael “Too Tall” Madill, the rear suspension mechanic for the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, hails from Glendale, Arizona, approximately 30 minutes from the track. At the age of 16, he made the move to North Carolina to pursue his career in NASCAR. Now 31, Madill is embarking on his 12th season in the sport and his third with the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team.
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the challenge that Phoenix brings: “The restarts are crazy at Phoenix. You really fan out and have to find different lanes to run going into turn one. You can run the apron and down on the flat, which isn’t really common for us at a lot of places. I enjoy it and the other challenges Phoenix brings. It is a difficult track to pass on because cars are so close to each other on speed. It’s about track position and having a car that you can drive up underneath guys to make a pass. Usually, there’s a lot of green-flag runs, too. It’s a tough short track overall.”
Byron on if any notes from this race translate to the fall Phoenix race: “I think you get good notes going to racetracks twice even if the conditions won’t be exactly the same when you come back. The biggest thing is we go back to Phoenix for the championship race, so it’s really that much more of an important race in that aspect. You know that whoever makes the final four will show up with a fast car, and I think that comes from the notes they have. You just need to go into this race and learn characteristics about the track. Hopefully, you have good speed and a good run to really capitalize on the situation.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the importance of this Phoenix race: “Phoenix is a track that has always just clicked for me. I enjoy the challenges the track brings but I also enjoy the stress that usually comes with it being the final race of the season and you’re hopefully in the hunt for a championship when you’re there. Now in the Cup Series, we go to Phoenix twice but it makes this first race even more crucial. Like last week’s race at Vegas, this is another track in the playoffs, so you really want to have a solid race the first time around to have a good notebook for when you come back in the fall with a championship on the line.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
