“Like a Boy Band”: William Byron’s Pit-Crew Members Pinpoint the Significance of Synchronization Within the Team

Never in NASCAR has a driver alone brought glory to the team. Though it is the driver whose skills are at show during the races, stock car racing is as much a team sport as any. This season, perhaps one of the best displays of teamwork was put up on the big stage by Rick Hendrick’s #24 team. William Byron, with the support of his crew, has gone up the ranks in NASCAR quicker than any other driver in recent history. Winning the highest number of races (6) this season, the #24 team reached as far as the Championship 4.

Casting ink on fresh pages of history, the key members of his crew have detailed what made the team click so symbiotically that they were able to lift Byron as one of Hendrick Motorsports’ key drivers.

William Byron’s fueler opens up about the importance of trust in a pit crew

Landon Walker has been working with Hendrick Motorsports as a pit crew athlete for the last 11 years. A native of North Wilkesboro, he was one of the crucial members of William Byron’s squad under the command of crew chief Rudy Fugle this season. In an initiative by Hendrick Motorsports’ in-house media team, On The Road, Walker appeared along with his crewmates in front of the camera to detail the importance of trust between the five members of any pit crew.

Mentioning how the #24 had been blessed with such members, he said, “Kind of like a boy band, you know? I mean, we all have a different sound, a different voice and the cumulative effect of that is a good harmony. We all have different positions and we all try to make it all work together. It doesn’t always go perfectly, but we have faith and trust in each other which I think goes a long way in this sport.”

At each pit stop, NASCAR rules allow 5 crew members beyond the wall (6, if the driver needs refreshments). A front and rear tire changer, a tire carrier, a jackman, and a fueler. Though the roles are different in name and function, their purpose is one. To put the driver up ahead of his contenders. After a season throughout which the #24 crew did just that, they also laid out the purpose and motive that drove them.

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The #24 crew of Rick Hendrick lives life by the tenth of every second under William Byron

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Among the victories of Rudy Fugle’s team were the #24 car’s 100th win in the Cup Series and Hendrick Motorsports’ 300th win. Sitting alongside Landon Walker, the team’s tire carrier Ryan Patton explained how much the little seconds mattered whilst behind the wall. He said, “We live our lives in tens of seconds you know? And if we’re a couple of tens slower that may be a position or two. That may be a shot at the front row, and if we’re not, you know if we lose a spot or two you know that can really be a momentum killer.” Ryan Patton was a part of the HMS crew that won the championships in 2013 and 2016.

Continuing along the words of Patton, Jeff Cordero, Byron’s tire changer said, “Our job is to the four tires and gas but we’re also out there trying to be an asset in the race and take those positions away from our competitors and put ourselves in a better position to win.” With every passing day, teams try to emphasize more on cutting down the time that their drivers spend in the pits. As an outcome of this, all pit road members today have athletic backgrounds. In a field where the competition and pressure keep rising above the hood, it is pleasing to see long-term members of Hendrick Motorsports doing a splendid job for the young driver, William Byron.

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