Within a mere number of days, the Cup Series field will be ready to raze down the streets of Chicago for its next race. Though the weekend presents NASCAR’s second visit to the Windy City’s public roads, there are too many unknowns to draft a proper racing strategy with. William Byron’s crew chief Rudy Fugle is as in the blue as any of his counterparts on this front.
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It wasn’t unearthed yesterday that even the slightest of disturbances on a race track can hugely mess with a driver’s race. In a sport that demands such precision and balance, the Chicago Street Course comes off as a highly volatile venue that cannot possibly be controlled or mimicked to its last detail via a simulator. Fugle underlined the same when talking to the press recently.
“I mean, if someone blew a transmission on the streets downtown last week, that will affect the racing surface for us. All those things are things that are way out of your control when it comes to racing on public roads. The track constantly changes and we don’t technically have a scan of it so we don’t know what bumps are going to be this time either.” – Rudy Fugle.
The rainy conditions under which the race was held last year do not offer a lot of help either. The course is expected to be entirely dry this time and there’s no way to predict how much tire it will eat.
Fugle believes that if it races anything like road courses have recently, fuel strategy will come to play a huge role. Figuring out the right fuel window becomes crucial due to the race having a single pit stop.
Where did William Byron and Rudy Fugle finish last year in Chicago?
Byron had to start at the rear of the field in 2023 because of a broken toe link in practice. As heavy rain hit the first half of the race, Byron navigated up to fourth place but was collected in an accident that pushed him down.
He was able to continue his race and finally finish in 13th place. Though it was a promising first step, he doesn’t expect any familiarity to help him this weekend.
He told the press, “This is really new for us as drivers and the teams still. I really enjoyed the challenge it brought last year and all the unknowns behind it. The rain definitely threw a wrench in things, and with the weather being clear this weekend, I think we can expect a completely different track and race. I’m excited for it.” Byron is currently seventh in the driver standings.
