Rudy Fugle: Meet William Byron’s Crew Chief in Hendrick Motorsports

It’s no secret that NASCAR is a sport which involves not just the perfect balance between a competent driver and a fast car, but also a capable crew chief that can bring the team together on all fronts. With that said, only a few crew chiefs in the modern era have had the pleasure of working with as many Cup Series stars as Rudy Fugle, who currently serves as the crew chief of the #24 Chevy driven by William Byron at Hendrick Motorsports. As Fugle continues on his Cup Series journey in the former position of the current HMS VP of competition, Chad Knaus, the aim for 2024 is not just a spot in the championship 4 but to bring home the Winston Cup.

Who is William Byron?

As NASCAR enters an era of new drivers after the retirement of stars such as Earnhardt Jr, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart, few drivers have shown consistency similar to the days of Jimmie Johnson as much as William Byron has. Known to live up to Hendrick Motorsports’ corporate image perfectly, Byron’s tunnel vision is directed at the 2024 championship, with a strong start to the season after the Daytona win.

So far in his Cup Series career, the 26-year-old hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina has gone winless for only three consecutive races at most, bringing in 13 victories in seven seasons, most of which came after Rudy Fugle reunited with the #24 HMS driver in 2021.

Who is William Byron’s Crew Chief Rudy Fugle?

Ryan ‘Rudy’ Fugle has been the crew chief of the #24 HMS Camaro driven by William Byron since 2021. The duo had also done wonders in the 2016 Truck Series season after winning seven races, narrowly missing out on the championship after disaster struck ahead of the Phoenix race. Fortunately, since their reunion, the pair have won 10 races together in four seasons, with the most iconic win coming at Daytona this year.

As the native from Livonia, New York aims to redeem that lost Truck Series championship with Byron by winning the Cup Series title this year, the top dogs at HMS, including Jeff Gordon, believe that Fugle is the only man other than Byron who is key to the success of the #24 garage. With that said, Fugle’s beginnings were rather humble.

Rudy Fugle’s Early Life

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Ever since Fugle could pick up a wrench and a spanner, the HMS crew chief surrounded himself with the world of auto racing. From working away in the family salvage yard to racing Micro Sprint cars locally, Fugle knew from an early age what life had in store for his career. So when the racing enthusiast graduated from high school, he immediately rolled himself into the Rochester Institute of Technology, after which he moved to UNC Charlotte to pursue his Masters in mechanical engineering.

Soon enough, Fugle would get his chance in NASCAR as an engineering apprentice and shock specialist at Robert Yates Racing. Two years later, Fugle got his big break working as an engineer for Germain Racing. But the Livonia native had ambitions far bigger than to just remain an engineer.

Rudy Fugle Foraying into Crew Chief

After quickly getting up to speed and impressing his bosses at Germain Racing, Fugle got his first shot at leadership after he was announced as the crew chief for their Xfinity Series driver, Michael Annett. Unfortunately, the results just weren’t there and Germain Racing shut its Xfinity Series doors, prompting Fugle to move over to their Truck Series team with Justin Lofton behind the wheel. While these partnerships delivered lacklustre finishes, Fugle’s path toward NASCAR glory would ramp up after his move to Kyle Busch Motorsports.

Rudy Fugle and Kyle Busch Motorsports

When Rudy Fugle made the transition to KBM in 2013, even Busch himself had no idea just how influential the crew chief would be over the team’s championship trajectory in the following Truck Series seasons. He not only kicked off his season with the first win of his career for Busch but ended it on a high note by bringing in 4 more with the owner and 1 with Erik Jones.

In the 2015 season, Fugle started the year strong with four pole positions in ten races for Jones, helping the star secure his place at JGR in the Xfinity Series the following season as well as the Truck Series championship. This is when the crew chief crossed paths with William Byron, who would be driving the #8 for KBM in 2016. Whilst Fugle had brought home the title with Jones after winning three races, the same wouldn’t be the case for his run with William Byron despite winning 7 races.

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So when Fugle got the opportunity to join Byron once again for his Cup Series campaign with HMS, that elusive title was the first thing on the crew chief’s mind.

Rudy Fugle re-pairing with William Byron

Four seasons ago, Fugle made the move to Hendrick Motorsports as Byron’s crew chief after Chad Knaus had been called up to become the Vice President of Competition for Hendrick Motorsports. This allowed Fugle the opportunity to make amends with Byron. And what an amend it has been as the duo have able to bring in 10 of the 13 Cup Series wins of Byron’s career. With that, it’s safe to say the chemistry between the two couldn’t have become stronger over the years. Kyle Busch also joked a few years ago about how he still blamed Byron for “stealing” Rudy Fugle from KBM. With that said, it certainly is the partnership of dreams for Byron and Fugle.

William Byron’s 2023 Cup Series success with Rudy Fugle

While Rudy Fugle has been helping William Byron perfect his craft through a handful of seasons, their best run together came last year as the #24 brought home six race wins, even tying with Championship winner Ryan Blaney for the most (15) top-fives. It is also worth mentioning that five of those wins came at new tracks, showcasing Fugle’s ability to help Byron master every track as time progresses. While the two are yet to win a championship together, Fugle’s long list of accolades shows great signs of promise.

Rudy Fugle Wins and Championships

When talking about Truck Series crew chiefs, no conversation is complete without the mention of Fugle. With 2 driver championships and 5 owner titles in the Series, Fugle has cemented his reputation as a formidable crew chief. He also brought in 28 wins during his time at KBM, prompting many to believe his time with Byron in the Cup Series would be no different. And after the latest win at the 2024 Daytona 500, it’s safe to say that prospect couldn’t be truer. With that said, the aim for the #24 crew chief now remains to recreate their early season success at the Championship round as well.

Will Rudy Fugle be able to clinch the championship in 2024?

Every time the conversation of Byron and Fugle winning the Cup Series comes up, it takes fans of the #24 garage back to dark days. After all, even Kyle Busch feels an amount of dissatisfaction at Byron’s Truck Series championship loss in 2016 despite 7 wins, an outcome that Fugle would also much rather forget.

Fortunately, with the Daytona 500 in the bag, the #24 couldn’t have started the year off better, with the crew chief also revealing his ultimate goal for 2024. He shared With SiriusXM’s NASCAR radio, “We gotta start the year off right. This year is about championships, you know, Daytona 500 championships, World 600 championships. All those big races we haven’t won yet. And the one at the end of the year, that’s what we want.”

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After taking a look at all that Fugle has achieved, and aims to achieve, it’s safe to say William Byron and the #24 garage couldn’t ask for a better leader to guide them toward that elusive title.