AVONDALE, Ariz. — Sunday marks a big day for William Byron and crew chief Rudy Fugle.
Their fantasy football teams compete against each other. Second place in their championship is at stake.
Of course, the pursuit of the Cup Series championship will be much more important to them since they will be on the grid at Phoenix Raceway.
“I mean, if there’s ever a week where we probably don’t care about fantasy, it’s this week,” Byron said Thursday.
Byron and Rudy Fugle are one race away from winning their first Cup championship together. If they succeed Sunday (3 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock), they will celebrate the latest and greatest moment in a friendship that has blossomed in the biggest spotlight.
“It’s just a very strong relationship from the friendship side,” Fugle told NBC Sports. “We also use this friendship to get what we want in life and succeed in professional life. The fact that we understand each other so well is great.
Fugle has served as Byron’s Cup crew chief since the start of the 2021 Cup season. He succeeded Chad Knaus, who was crew chief in 2019 and 2020. Darian Grubb was Byron’s crew chief in 2018.
Byron produced early in his first season with Fugle. He won the third race of the season at Homestead. It was their only trip to Victory Lane, but Byron finished the season with a career-high 20 top 10s and 12 top fives. He finished the season 10th in points.
Since that first Cup season together, Byron and Fugle have won eight more races together – two last season and six this year. One more victory would secure their first championship. It would also be the first time since 1999 that the No. 24 car has reached Victory Lane seven times.
“It’s just about refining the process, getting more experience and getting better,” Fugle said of success. “Learn from your mistakes and have a fast car.”
The relationship goes back further than the 2021 season. Fugle was Byron’s crew chief at Kyle Busch Motorsports during the 2016 truck season. They celebrated seven victories together but failed to win the championship due to an engine failure in the penultimate race.
The relationship grew as Byron and Fugle pursued victories and championships together. That doesn’t mean they only talk about their day job every day of the season. Their friendship is deeper.
Byron and Fugle have long conversations that help them escape the pressure of the Cup season. Everything is an option as a topic of conversation, especially sport. Fugle said he prefers to avoid talking about golf. He just doesn’t particularly like it.
“Our favorite sport is football, so we love talking about football and our teams,” Fugle said. “Or fantasy football…or things like that.” We both love short track racing and Super Late Model racing, so we love talking about what’s going on there.
The chemistry between Byron and Fugle is obvious. That’s something Rick Hendrick emphasized before championship weekend when he said he thought “there would be a lot of championships” on the team’s horizon.
Of course, there’s more to chemistry than just working together on race weekends. Byron and Fugle must be in sync at all times. They need to know what everyone wants at critical moments in the race.
Fugle says they’ve gotten to that point. He and Byron know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. They know when to hit the radio and when to keep quiet. There are no arguments in the heat of the moment circulating on social media after every race.
“We work well together because we can, I can be a sounding board for him and he can learn from what I say and try to improve the car,” Byron said.
Byron continues to set career-best marks while working with Fugle. They put No. 24 back in the spotlight. And possibly a championship.
