Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and current Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon said that he sees himself in the 2025 Daytona 500 winner William Byron.
Byron, a sim racer-turned-NASCAR Cup Series driver has been very vocal about his relationship with crew chief Rudy Fugle and credits their good equation for the impressive results at Hendrick Motorsports.
Talking about their pairing, Fugle said, “I think this is our 20th win together, so that’s pretty amazing if you count them all together. We don’t get stale. We’re not afraid to talk to each other and get through things.”
The No. 24 Chevrolet driver and Fugle were first introduced to each other at the 2016 Craftsman Truck Series competing for Kyle Busch Motorsports. After a successful partnership, they were reunited in 2021 at Hendrick Motorsports.
Jeff Gordon Recognizes Himself in the William Byron-Rudy Fugle Duo
Gordon who is now serving as the VC at Hendrick Motorsports, reminisced about how he sees bits of himself and his past with former crew chief Ray Evernham in the Byron-Fugle pairing.
“You find a guy that trusts and believes in you and is confident that you’re the guy,” Gordon said. “You’re the guy behind the wheel that if they give you the car and get you in position, that you’re going to go get the job done and that works in both directions — William believes in Rudy and Rudy believes in William.”
Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon, crew chief Rudy Fugle, and #Daytona500 winner William Byron sport the champion's rings for winning the race. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/JaPGV2BJVG
— Jeff Gordon Online (@JGinfo) February 17, 2025
Byron and Fugle have started the season strong, winning the 2025 edition of The Great American Race. Talking about what is in store for the pairing for the remaining season Fugle said, “If we build a good enough team, things like this happen more times than not, and that’s what we’ve been working on. It’ll hopefully just become easier and easier as we go.”
Byron and Fugle have worked together for four seasons at the Cup level. In 2023, Byron and Fugle led the series with six victories. Following that, Byron had two wins in the NASCAR Cup Series season in 2024 after the sixth race. He became the first driver after Gordon to be the first to reach multiple wins in three consecutive seasons, with Gordon accomplishing the feat in 1997, 1998, and 1999 — also driving the iconic No. 24 Chevrolet.
