24 WILLIAM BYRON
Age: 25 (Nov. 29, 1997)
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
Standings: 2nd
No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
RECORD YEAR: After 18 of 36 points-paying races, William Byron is having a career year behind the wheel of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Competing in his sixth NASCAR Cup Series season, he has posted three race wins, seven stage victories and 722 laps led, which are all personal records through 18 starts. In 2023, Byron’s two pole awards, seven top-five finishes and 10 top-10s each rank as his second-most at the 18-event mark.
IN THE HUNT: With eight races left in the regular season, Byron is closing the gap to first in driver points. Now just nine markers behind the leader, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native is looking for his first regular-season championship and the extra 15 playoff points that come with it. In 2023, Byron has an average running position of 8.50 – the best of any driver. He has also led 722 laps (most), spent 2,477 laps in the top five (most), 3,197 laps in the top 10 (second-most), collected seven top-five finishes (second-most) and 10 top-10s (tied for second-most).
DRAFT DAY: When it comes to drafting tracks, Byron normally runs up front. He has two wins on this type of track – his first Cup Series victory at Daytona International Speedway in August 2020 and the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway in March 2022. He has also led 194 laps at drafting tracks since the start of the 2022 season – the most of any driver.
THE ATL ARCHIVE: Byron has eight Cup starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but Sunday will be only his fourth at the 1.54-mile track since its reconfiguration prior to the 2022 season. In the spring race last year, he rocketed to the front of the field and led 111 laps en route to his first win of 2022. The performance made him the fourth-youngest Atlanta winner at 24 years, 3 months, and 20 days. In fact, Byron has led 152 laps in his three starts at the Georgia venue since 2022, tied for the most with Joey Logano.
RUDY RUNS THE ATL: Sunday will mark crew chief Rudy Fugle’s sixth race at Atlanta in the Cup Series and his fourth after the track’s reconfiguration. In the spring of 2022, he and the No. 24 team led 111 laps and captured their first win of the season. In two Atlanta starts since then, Fugle and Byron have led 41 total laps but have been collected in on-track incidents. Fugle also has six NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at the 1.54-mile oval with two pole awards and two wins. His drivers recorded five top-10 finishes in those events, including four top-three results. Fugle has finished worse than seventh at Atlanta only once, which occurred with Byron in 2016 when the pair ran second before suffering an engine failure.
WELCOME RELAY PAYMENTS: Earlier today, Hendrick Motorsports announced a new partnership with Relay Payments, the fintech company modernizing payments for the transportation, logistics and supply chain industries. Founded in 2019, Relay’s mission is to help digitally transform the logistics industry. The company offers a digital payment network designed to increase efficiencies, reduce fraud, improve driver satisfaction and eliminate operational headaches. At Atlanta Motor Speedway, Relay Payments will debut as an associate partner of Byron and the No. 24 team for 2023. It also will be featured as a primary partner for two playoff races: Sept. 16 at Bristol Motor Speedway during Truck Driver Appreciation Week and Oct. 15 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. For a closer look at Byron’s No. 24 Relay Payments Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, click here.
PIT ROAD PROWESS: After 18 races in 2023, the No. 24 pit crew continues to lead the Cup Series with an average four-tire pit stop time of 10.960 seconds. The pit crew consists of Spencer Bishop (jackman), Landon Walker (fueler), Ryan Patton (tire carrier), Jeff Cordero (front-tire changer) and Orane Ossowski (rear-tire changer). The team has posted three of the fastest pit stops of the season, which rank sixth (9.383 seconds), eighth (9.443) and ninth (9.504) overall.
AT IT AGAIN WITH AXALTA: For the second time in 2023, Axalta will be on board Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, this time at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It is Axalta’s 31st year of partnership with Hendrick Motorsports.
CLOSING IN ON 300: Hendrick Motorsports is just four points-paying victories away from its milestone 300th in the NASCAR Cup Series. Twenty drivers have combined to reach the organization’s current total of 296, which is the most Cup wins by any team. With five victories in 2023, Hendrick Motorsports has posted its 36th multi-win season in the Cup Series while maintaining a streak of at least two per season for the past 30 years. The organization has gone to victory lane at more racetracks (31) than any other active team.
MILESTONE MOMENTS: In addition to 300 Cup Series wins, Hendrick Motorsports is approaching several other major milestones. With 244 pole awards, the team is just six away from 250 at the Cup level. In addition, Hendrick Motorsports engines have recorded 494 NASCAR national series victories and need just six more to reach 500.
PEACH STATE POWER: Hendrick Motorsports has seen eight of its drivers win at Atlanta Motor Speedway – the most among all organizations. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson each won five times at the Georgia oval. Darrell Waltrip, Ken Schrader, Jerry Nadeau, Kasey Kahne, Chase Elliott and William Byron have one victory apiece. Gordon (23 years, 7 months and 8 days) and Byron (24 years, 3 months and 20 days) stand as the second- and fourth-youngest Cup Series winners in track history.
GEORGIA ON THEIR MINDS: Hendrick Motorsports has been to victory lane 16 times at Atlanta. The total is the most among all Cup teams and is the fifth-most for the organization at any track. Martinsville Speedway (28), Dover Motor Speedway (22), Charlotte Motor Speedway (21) and Pocono Raceway (19) are the only venues where Hendrick Motorsports has more wins.
RECONFIGURATION ROUNDUP: Since Atlanta reconfigured to a drafting track ahead of the 2022 season, Hendrick Motorsports has found great success. Over the last three races there, the Concord, North Carolina, team has the most wins (two), led the most laps (278) and is tied for the most stage wins (three). Byron and Elliott swept last year’s Cup races and rank first and third, respectively, in laps led since the repave.
DRAFTING DOMINANCE: Hendrick Motorsports has 31 all-time wins on drafting tracks (Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Atlanta), which is 11 more than the next-best team. In 2022, the organization won three of the six races (both Atlanta events and the fall Talladega race) at drafting tracks.
STILL STREAKING: In the past eight points-paying races dating back to Dover Motor Speedway in May, Hendrick Motorsports has had at least one driver finish in the top five. It is the longest such streak by a team since Hendrick Motorsports had nine straight (from Atlanta in March to Kansas Speedway in May) in 2022.
LEADERS OF THE PACK: With its series-leading 1,417 laps led in 2023, Hendrick Motorsports has been at the front of the pack for 30.32% of the season. The squad has led laps in all but two of the 18 points-paying races: Atlanta in March and the Chicago Street Race in July. Byron (722) and Kyle Larson (588) rank first and second, respectively, in the statistical category.
William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his hopes for Atlanta: “I’m excited to get back to Atlanta (Motor Speedway). We’ve had success there and run up front since the repave but unfortunately got caught up in other people’s incidents the last couple races. Hopefully we can have a clean, smooth weekend and will be there at the end to have a shot at another win.”
Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his expectations for Atlanta: “We were pretty good at Atlanta (Motor Speedway) in the spring race. We got caught in a wreck, but before that we were running second in our lane. So we were running up front. We have a pretty good baseline for Atlanta. Hendrick Motorsports’ speedway cars are always pretty good. So we’ll start there and try to add some more downforce. Since it’s summer, we need to try get the car handling good as well. The second thing is that this will be the first race of the newly updated center section and front clips for all of the Cup Series. We’ll have to see how that affects everything and see how different the car handles now. I don’t think it will be a huge difference, but you never know until we get on track.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
