After finishing third in each of the last two seasons, could 2025 be the year William Byron finally earns his first NASCAR Cup championship?
Advertisement
While the Charlotte, North Carolina native doesn’t want to jinx his chances, he admitted in media availability prior to Saturday’s Cup race at Richmond that he has somewhat of a different feeling this year than he has felt in the last two seasons.
The way Byron sees it, he’s in a much better rhythm in 2025. “I feel like we’ve had summers where we’ve been kind of under the radar, just completely out of it, not running well,” Byron said. “Then we just turn it on in the playoffs.”
But this year, the Hendrick Motorsports driver has not been running under the radar at all. In fact, he enters this coming Sunday’s regular season finale at Daytona in first place in the Cup standings. Moreover, since winning the season-opening Daytona 500 for the second straight year, Byron has been No. 1 after 20 of the first 25 races in 2025.
And after those five races when he’s not been No. 1, he hasn’t strayed very far: he’s only dropped to second place each time. Most recently, he’s gone back-and-forth between first and second with Chase Elliott. So yes, Byron is feeling much stronger and more positive in 2025.
“This year we’re coming in (to the playoffs), I feel like we’re in rhythm, in sync,” Byron said. “I feel like it’s better this way honestly. I feel like the years we’ve been on the other side, it’s a lot of questions, a lot of doubt sort of that things are going to work out.
“I feel like now we’ve been kind of through the wringer of a lot of different things this year. I mean, every race has kind of been different in terms of what we fight. There’s been some easier races with speed.
“It just kind of feels nice to go into the playoffs hitting on all cylinders, just operating well. I don’t feel like we’ve ever really slowed down (since Daytona), so it’s been good.”
While Byron feels a better rhythm this year, his statistics year-to-date in 2025 are very similar to what he did in all of 2024. In the first 25 races of 2025, Byron has two wins, nine top-fives and 13 top-10 finishes, along with two poles. By comparison, in all 36 races of 2024, Byron earned three wins, as well as 13 top-fives and 21 top-10 finishes, along with one pole.
Byron also feels more in rhythm with crew chief Rudy Fugle
Much of the difference can potentially be Byron’s relationship with crew chief Rudy Fugle. Even though Fugle is now in his fifth season as Byron’s crew chief, there’s been something about their relationship in 2025 that seems as if it’s gone to a higher level than their first four seasons together.
“I feel like our relationship has really evolved this year,” Byron said of Fugle. “I feel like we communicate to each other like we’re more on the same page. I feel like that has helped us just push each other.
“I think there’s a lot of accountability between the two of us. He holds me to a high standard of my prep during the week, what is expected of me, how I execute. Like, he can see the small details that maybe a lot of people can’t.
“I appreciate that he can tell if I had a good qualifying lap or if I did little things with changes in my driving style. ‘Accountability’ is probably the word. That’s the evolution of the relationship this year. I even do that sort of back to him on strategy decisions or whatever it is. I kind of want that clarity and that picture.”
Byron feels he and Fugle ‘have evolved’
The 27-year-old Byron has worked with Fugle in various capacities since Byron was 18, the last five years as Byron’s crew chief.
“We’ve evolved,” Byron said. “He (Fugle) was teaching me everything (early on in their relationship). I was just driving and executing. He was giving me that balance I needed.
“Now it’s like more of an equal footing. He’s just a great crew chief, works extremely hard. His work ethic is just incredible. He wants it more than anybody.”
