Byron's secret weapon

When Jeff Gordon is told this interview focuses on Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Rudy Fugle, he immediately pipes up.

“I love that,” Gordon, the vice chairman of the company, tells RACER. “I’m very impressed with what he’s done.”

Fugle is in his fourth year as the leader of the No. 24 team for William Byron. Coming off a 2023 season in which they led the series in victories (six) and competed for the NASCAR Cup Series championship, Fugle and Byron started 2024 winning the Daytona 500. It was their 10th victory in 105 starts together.

The two are at the top of their game, perhaps just getting started. It stands to reason there will be a lot more celebrating in their future, and as Byron’s stock grows, so does the respect and acknowledgment of Fugle as one of the best minds in the garage.

“He’s super competitive,” Gordon says, “and he’s very talented and smart. And he’s a racer. I like that. I think that’s important for us right now. We’re really focused on not just bringing in talented engineers and aerodynamicists, and these (other) great minds, but having a racing background and an understanding of racing from a very early age is super important and, I think, makes us better. Rudy has that, for sure.”

Fugle, 39, grew up in western New York working on cars and race cars at the family salvage yard while also doing some racing on the side. But Fugle wasn’t interested in working in the salvage yard for the rest of his life, so he went off to UNC Charlotte to earn a mechanical engineering degree.

Robert Yates Racing hired him after he graduated. Next came a stop at Germain Racing, where Fugle got his first chance to be a crew chief in the Xfinity Series (2009-2010). If you were to ask him, Fugle would admit he didn’t know much about leading a team or winning back then.

That all changed when Fugle landed at Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2013. Busch doesn’t take the credit for discovering Fugle, who instead caught the attention and became a student of Eric Phillips and Rick Ren.

“He was good right out of the gate,” Busch tells RACER. “When the new crew chiefs come in, they always work with me. I like to break them in, per se, and then let them loose and go. His first let loose moment was he and [Erik] Jones and they won the championship. Then Christopher Bell was working with Jerry Baxter and got over to Rudy and they won a championship. And then, when William Byron came over, he wanted Rudy, no questions asked. So, he got Rudy, and they were unstoppable that year.

“We screwed up big time that year with William, not being able to get him that Truck Series championship with an engine failure with two races to go. I still feel terrible about that.”

Erik Jones enjoyed success in the Cup series with Fugle. Nigel Kinrade/Motorsport Images

Fugle guided Jones to three wins in their 2015 championship season. He and Byron won seven races in 2016, but an engine failure at Phoenix Raceway kept them from competing for the championship in the finale. A year later, in 2017, Fugle and Bell won five races and the series championship. In 2018, Fugle and Noah Gragson won once and finished second in the championship standings.

“I love Rudy,” says Busch, who won 10 of 15 races with Fugle as his crew chief. “Rudy was the pinnacle of KBM, and his leadership and values, and smartness was what brought us the success that we had.

“He was just really good at putting it all together – whether it was the sim, the aero side and doing the bodies, the leadership of the shop and putting the right people in the right places. He was a big part of that when Ren and Phillips left. So, Rudy was literally last man standing, and I put it on him. I put it on his plate. I said, ‘Do you want this?’ and he said, ‘Yeah.’ He took over and ran with it.

“Honestly, I feel like we took a step backward when we lost him.”

It didn’t matter who was behind the wheel; Fugle was successful, and his trucks always seemed much better than the competition's. In 168 starts as a Truck Series crew chief for 15 different drivers, Fugle went to victory lane 28 times.

“It’s all areas,” Busch says of Fugle's impact. “It’s knowing and being integrated into every single area, every single facet of your organization; team, the car, the pit crew, the engine shop. I could go on. The aero and sim. You’ve got to know where to find those right answers, and it seems like those guys can really pick up where they know the answer is and find it, and some other crew chiefs just don’t piece it together like that.”

Hendrick Motorsports plucked Fugle away from Busch’s organization in 2021. It was a surprise that Fugle was let go by KBM and that Hendrick didn’t hire from within its organization or from affiliate JR Motorsports.

It was once again Byron asking for what he wanted. Fugle, however, was also on the list of desirable candidates when Chad Knaus and other Hendrick Motorsports executives began the process.

“From what I remember, 2020, we were in talks about Chad going into a different role, and they basically came to me and said, ‘Hey, you pretty much have choice of who you want,’” Byron says. “They also said we feel like we have a good (person) in mind, so I think they had a lot of the ball already rolling, which I didn’t know any of that. It was a great surprise.

“They were in talks with him for a while, to be an engineer and then be a crew chief later on. When that didn’t quite work out, we felt like maybe the option would be there later for him to be a crew chief.”

Knaus' decision that he was ready to step away from the crew chief role changed things. Fugle was in play quicker than the organization anticipated.

“We sat down at a TGI Friday’s and had lunch,” Byron says, “and talked about race cars. It felt like we picked up right where we left off. We were on the same page and knew what we wanted to accomplish with one another.”

It wasn’t so simple as wanting Fugle, though. Yes, Knaus recognized Fugle’s talent, and Hendrick Motorsports knew what Fugle and Byron had previously accomplished together, but Gordon “asked the dumb questions” before a deal was made.

“I’m just like, ‘OK, well, how does he fit in?’” Gordon laughs. “Or ‘How does he come in and contribute the way we expect crew chiefs to contribute? How does he grow the company?’”

Byron knew Fugle was the right guy, but he, too, was nervous about the move. Would Fugle be able to succeed at the Cup series level? Would they mesh again? Those doubts were put to rest in the third race of 2021 when Byron led 102 laps en route to his second career win and first for Fugle in the Cup Series.

Fugle and Byron's first Cup win together came at Homestead in 2021. Motorsport Images

Now, Byron believes their partnership has exceeded expectations. Something that isn’t a surprise to one of Fugle’s former drivers.

“It’s awesome to see where he’s at now,” Jones says. “When I met Rudy, he was the age I am now. So, he was a young guy then and it was his first year being a crew chief. I remember going to KBM to run five races, and they were like, ‘We’re going to pair you up with this guy. He’s moving into the crew chief role.’ I was like, ‘Man.’ It makes you nervous because you’re coming in as a young guy, and you want to run well, and they’re putting you with a guy who hasn’t done it.

“So, it’s like, what’s going to happen? But right away, I was like, this guy has a lot of talent, knows what’s going on, is a good leader. He gave me a huge opportunity in trucks.

“It’s been fun to watch him grow. I watched him grow a lot in our years together in trucks, and we’ve always stayed in touch. He was at my wedding a couple months ago. So, to see what he’s doing now is well deserved, and he and William are a great pairing. It’s fun to see.”

Just as Gordon and Busch mentioned how smart Fugle is and his engineering mindset, Jones agreed and took it further. He believes what separates Fugle is his leadership and putting trust in those around him. It allows Fugle to focus on leading the team and caring for them as people.

“The years I worked with him, everyone on that group was behind him all the way and loved working for and with him,” says Jones. “For me, that was always the biggest thing. Rudy has a lot of trust in his people. He had a lot of trust in me as a driver, and I think William feels that as well.

“For William to have someone come in and 100% believe in him and his ability probably meant more to him than anything. So, his leadership is up there. I’ve been fortunate to work with great leaders in a lot of different roles, but Rudy is definitely one of the best.”

Gordon pointed out how Fugle has helped grow Byron into a leader, too. In meetings, Fugle contributes to more than just what the No. 24 team is going through but how the organization can improve. It hasn’t gone unnoticed to Gordon how Fugle came in, learned the system, and built respect with his team.

Something else that Gordon – and others – notice is that Fugle is quiet but methodical. He is reserved and calm, and even at the most intense times, doesn’t get rattled. It’s a highlight of the team radio when Fugle begins preaching to Byron, “Make it (the car) live.” The team even sported custom-made t-shirts with the phrase after the finale at Phoenix Raceway. And there might sometimes be a counter kept on the pit box of how many times Fugle says those words during a race.

“I gave him some hard times for sure in our truck years … and he never faltered, never got frustrated with me,” says Jones of Fugle’s demeanor. “Or if he did, he never said it to me. He’s able to stay focused and stay calm in those situations.”

Byron gave Fugle the credit for keeping him in the game at Martinsville Speedway last fall. It was a long day fighting an ill-handling car and Byron not feeling well, but Fugle knew “what buttons to push” with his driver. They advanced to the Championship 4.

A victory at Daytona should put Byron back in the postseason. Once there, it’s a long road before Byron can say he’s back in the title race. In the meantime, the confidence to win races and contend for a championship keeps growing within the team under Fugle’s guidance.

“They’ve got a lot of good guys on the team,” Gordon says. “Who doesn’t like seeing good people achieve success?”