2026 hasn’t exactly been a smooth season for William Byron. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is yet to reach Victory Lane and has already had three DNFs, which have kept him 12th in the standings. Plus, an apparent strategy mishap on the Fourth of July weekend in Chicagoland cost Byron a potential victory, which might have kept him on edge for the Quaker State 400 in Atlanta on Sunday. Mid-race, he lashed out at Rudy Fugle, with the veteran crew chief replying in kind as Byron struggled throughout.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Byron started from 26th on the grid and was looking motivated to make strides. But when in 19th place, around lap 90, he began complaining about the No. 24 Chevrolet, calling the car a “junk” and saying, “Plowing my a** off. This is terrible!”
Fugle, who first worked with Byron in the Truck Series in Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2016, was exasperated at the complaints. He replied, “I f**king heard you, OK!? I heard you! I got it!…
You’re five numbers loose. I put a round in the left rear. We’re too tight right now! It’s the tight offset! We can park it, or we can keep trying until I get to work on it again! Just drive the fucking thing!”
Byron was not happy with how the car was handling after the team’s latest adjustment. Earlier, it had been too loose, so Rudy Fugle made a change to settle it down, but it ended up making the car far too tight and difficult to turn. Since nothing could be changed until the next pit stop, the two grew frustrated over the radio. And some of it might just have boiled over from what happened in Chicago.
Byron was having a stellar race, winning both Stage 1 and Stage 2 and leading 94 laps. However, during the final green-flag pit cycle, Chase Briscoe and Joe Gibbs Racing timed their stop perfectly. By hitting pit road earlier, Briscoe successfully undercut the 24 car, cycling out into the lead. Byron was left to settle for a disappointing fourth-place finish on a night he completely looked like the favorite to win.
Atlanta was different. Byron was not looking like he would trouble front-runners Ryan Blaney (the eventual race winner), Bubba Wallace (who ultimately got a last-lap penalty and was relegated to 29th), Christian Bell, or Carson Hocevar by any means. He was looking to make up places, and when he couldn’t, he lashed out at the man who has been his crew chief since 2021.
Byron eventually finished 16th, and naturally, the focus of his post-race interviews was the heated exchange with Fugle. But as he has done throughout their time together, he did not blame Fugle for his tough night.
Byron and Fugle’s history together
Byron and Fugle’s familiarity with each other means that the Atlanta outburst should not be blown out of proportion, despite there being signs of internal frustration. They’ve formed a lasting partnership as a driver-crew chief duo, and before Byron entered the bright lights of the Cup Series, it was with Fugle that he won seven races in the Truck Series as a KBM driver.
So, when Byron made it to Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, he specifically asked Rick Hendrick for Fugle. And while a Cup Series championship still eludes the pair, they’ve made back-to-back Championship 4 appearances (2024 and 2025) and have also won two Daytona 500s.
Fugle has seen Byron’s growth as a driver firsthand, and in an interview with WENY in 2025 after their second Daytona 500 win, he said, “We’ve both grown, we both trust and respect each other. It breeds a lot of confidence and lets us feel like we can accomplish anything together.”
Byron, too, has placed full trust in his crew chief and has credited him for the work he’s put in over the years. In 2024, he said in an interview with NASCAR, “Just trust, confidence, knowledge, work ethic. There are a lot of different things that are important, key pillars to a relationship like that. So yeah, I feel like he’s done a great job over the years.
I mean, he’s getting a lot of experience at this. So yeah, I’m just thankful to have him as a crew chief. It’s a tremendous commitment, and he does it really well.”
It’s been a tough year for both of them. Byron remains winless, and the missed opportunity in Chicago may have stung. But that doesn’t take away from the 15 times they’ve reached Victory Lane together since 2021. On top of that, Byron is still in a good position to turn his season around. He sits 12th in the standings, 82 points above the cut line for the playoffs.