24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 23 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 3rd
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No. 24 Valvoline Throwback Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
ON A ROLL: Dating back to his win at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Feb. 28, William Byron has been on a hot streak of top-10 finishes. The 23-year-old driver has now extended his consecutive top-10 finishes to nine races – the longest active streak in the NASCAR Cup Series. Byron’s nine total top-10s also are the most by any Cup driver this year. It took Byron 26 races in each of the last two seasons to secure nine top-10 finishes but he accomplished the same feat in only 11 events in 2021. In fact, Byron has the longest top-10 streak by a Hendrick Motorsports driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2010. He is also the youngest driver of all time to reach a nine-race top-10 streak in his Cup career.
ENCOURAGING ELEVEN: So far in the 2021 Cup Series season, Byron and the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team have been a model of consistency. After 11 races, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has spent 2,330 laps running inside the top 10 – the second-most in the field behind only points leader Denny Hamlin (2,612). Of those top-10 laps, 962 have been inside the top five, which is the seventh-most of all drivers. He also has the third-best average running position of 9.09 so far in 2021.
PRO INVITATIONAL SERIES: ROUND 3: After its inception last year during the coronavirus pandemic, the iRacing NASCAR Pro Invitational Series resumes this Wednesday night for the third race of 10 in 2021 at the virtual Darlington Raceway. Picking up where he left off last season, Byron raced to the win in the first Pro Invitational Series event this year on March 24 at the virtual Bristol dirt track. In his eight total Pro Invitational Series starts, Byron leads the field with four victories and is the only driver to win consecutive races. The driver of the No. 24 has paced the field in seven of his eight starts, leading a total of 445 laps out of 1,058.
DARLINGTON DEETS: With five previous Cup Series starts at Darlington, Byron is looking to capitalize on his previously strong showings at Darlington Raceway this Sunday and find a little luck along the way. Despite running well early on in past races, Byron currently has a track-best finish of fifth, which came last September. Byron also has one NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the southern short track where he qualified sixth and raced to a fifth-place result, as well.
THE FUGLE FILES: Despite an extensive résumé at NASCAR’s national level, this Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway will bring some unknowns for crew chief Rudy Fugle. Making his first Cup Series start at the 1.366-mile track, Fugle has only three previous starts at Darlington – two in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and one in the Xfinity Series. Fugle’s most recent race at the South Carolina-based venue came last year in the Truck Series where his driver started 17th and finished fifth.
WELCOME, VALVOLINE: Last week, Valvoline expanded it’s partnership with Hendrick Motorsports by adding primary sponsorships to the No. 5 and No. 24 teams for a combined five races. The Valvoline colors will be on board Byron’s Chevy for this Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway and will return in the playoffs for his hometown race at the Charlotte Roval on Oct. 10. In conjunction with the announcement, Valvoline also unveiled its Darlington throwback scheme that Byron will pilot, which pays tribute to driver Neil Bonnett.
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE OF MIND: While Landon Walker, the fueler on the No. 24 team, hails from North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, he also has significant ties to the southernmost Carolina state, having played football at Clemson University. The former college offensive tackle earned a scholarship to Clemson in 2007 after being named an All-American offensive lineman in his hometown at East Wilkes High School. While playing at Clemson, Walker recorded 3,131 snaps with 49 starts at tackle through four seasons. In 2011, Walker was named team captain, the same season Clemson went on to win the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. The college football standout was then recruited by Hendrick Motorsports in 2012 and earned a position as the starting fueler for the former No. 5 (now No. 24) team in 2015.
30-FOR-30: At Darlington Raceway this Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports is looking to secure a 30th consecutive top-10 finish in the NASCAR Cup Series. Chase Elliott (fifth) and William Byron (ninth) both finished in the top 10 at Kansas Speedway last weekend, extending a streak of at least one Hendrick Motorsports driver posting a top-10 result to 29 straight races. Team Penske ranks second with eight consecutive top-10s.
DARLINGTON THROWBACK: On May 12, 2012, Jimmie Johnson won at Darlington Raceway to capture Hendrick Motorsports’ 200th NASCAR Cup Series victory. Overall, a record-tying six different drivers have combined for Hendrick Motorsports’ record number of 14 victories at the 1.366-mile track: Jeff Gordon (seven), Johnson (three), Terry Labonte (one), Mark Martin (one), Tim Richmond (one) and Ricky Rudd (one). The organization holds the record for most drivers to win for a team at a track with eight different Hendrick Motorsports drivers victorious at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
MOTHER’S DAY: The last NASCAR Cup Series race held on Mother’s Day was won by four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Gordon. Originally scheduled for Saturday, May 12, the Hendrick Motorsports driver led the final 22 laps in the event delayed one day due to weather.
ONE (MORE) FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: Three different Hendrick Motorsports drivers have gone to victory lane in the first 11 races of 2021, marking only the 10th time in NASCAR Cup Series history a team has done so. Hendrick Motorsports also accomplished it in 2007 and 2009, while Joe Gibbs Racing did so in 2016, 2019 and 2021. Other teams with three different winners in the first 11 events: Team Penske in 2021; Roush Fenway Racing in 2005, Peter DePaolo Racing in 1957 and Carl Kiekhafer Racing in 1956. The earliest in a single season a team has won with four different drivers is race No. 12 by Hendrick Motorsports in 2007 and JGR in 2016.
TWO TO TIE: Hendrick Motorsports entered the 2021 season within striking distance of one of stock car racing’s most enduring achievements: Petty Enterprises’ all-time team record for NASCAR Cup Series victories. The legendary Petty organization captured the wins record from Carl Kiekhafer Racing more than 60 years ago when Lee Petty took the checkered flag at Orange Speedway on May 29, 1960, for the team’s 53rd victory. Its 268th and most recent win was delivered by driver John Andretti on April 18, 1999. Hendrick Motorsports has earned 266 points-paying Cup Series wins since Rick Hendrick founded the team in 1984 and currently needs just three to break the record at NASCAR’s highest level.
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on the difficulties of racing at Darlington: “Darlington is a track that is known for its old, worn-out surface and how hard it is on tires. You’re always elbows up at that place, but you also have to know when to press forward and when to manage your equipment so you’re not over taxing your tires. I’ve tried to manage that as best as I can, but that’s what makes Darlington such a tough track. It’s not an easy task while, at the same time, it’s easy to lose focus for a moment and that’s all it takes to end your day. Hopefully, this weekend we’ll have the setup we need, and then it’s up to me to get the most I can out of the Valvoline Chevy while making sure we’re around in the end of it.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, on what to expect at Darlington: “Darlington is a track that you race the race track more than anything. The track has an older surface, so it changes quite a bit throughout a run. It’s a place that you expect to be making changes to your setup almost constantly. Even if you feel like you have your car handling ideally at the time, you have to think and plan two steps ahead to keep up with the trends of the track and the race. That makes it difficult as a crew chief, though, because you don’t want to over adjust and get yourself behind early on. William has ran well in most of the races he’s been in at Darlington; we just need to work on putting him in position to be there at the end. Sunday is going to be a long race and we need to focus on running our race in the situation we’re in more than anything.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
