"Making me mad": NASCAR Insider reveals William Byron's ally's reaction to SVG's Watkins Glen tactics

Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron recently competed in the Go Bowling at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, August 10, 2025. Following the same, Byron's crew chief, Rudy Fugle, expressed his frustration over the race winner, Shane van Gisbergen's, driving tactics in the 90-lap race.

Byron had a decent qualifying session and wrapped up in P10 with a best time of 72.2 seconds and a top speed of 122.14 mph. He was 0.26 seconds behind the pole sitter, Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney.

Meanwhile, Shane van Gisbergen was 0.03 seconds behind Blaney in second place. Despite the solid start, Gisbergen fell to P8, and Byron lost three spots, wrapping stage one in P14.

However, things changed in the second stage, where William Byron took the lead and finished the stage in P2; meanwhile, the Trackhouse Racing driver fell to P22. Later in the final stage of the race, with 24 laps to go, Shane van Gisbergen was in the lead, and Byron was following him bumper to bumper, giving it everything he had. Reflecting on pushing the #24 Chevy Camaro ZL1 to his limits, Rudy Fugle stated:

"On Byron's radio, sounds like Rudy Fugle told the spotter SVG is "making me mad. Wish he'd get away a little bit further" because SVG is messing around and making Byron burn his stuff up."

Jeff Gluck

@jeff_gluck

On Byron's radio, sounds like Rudy Fugle told the spotter SVG is "making me mad. Wish he'd get away a little bit further" because SVG is messing around and making Byron burn his stuff up.

Trackhouse Racing driver Shane van Gisbergen won the 90-lap race with a winning margin of 11.116 seconds, earning 43 points. On the other hand, HMS driver William Byron crossed the finish line in fourth place, earning 42 points.

---

HMS Ace William Byron opened up about extending his contract with his team

Earlier in May 2025, NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron signed a four-year contract with Hendrick Motorsports to pilot the #24 Chevy Camaro ZL1. The 2024 Daytona 500 champion joined the team nearly a decade ago in 2016 when he was 18. Despite being a rookie, he gave tough competition to the seasoned drivers and became the Rookie of the Year in 2018.

Additionally, Byron has been consistently landing a spot in the playoffs for the past six years and competed in the Championship Four race in the last two seasons. Reflecting on his contract renewal, the #24 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver stated (via SpeedwayDigest.com):

"I definitely wanted to be here, and really for me, just want to focus on winning races. That’s what it's all about at Hendrick Motorsports, and that's what I personally enjoy and want to be here to do. So, for me personally, I try to just kind of keep my head down this year and focus. I’m just really happy that it's done… it's a bit of a relief, I guess you could say, just to be able to focus on what we're doing here."

"We have a lot of goals to accomplish. So, yeah, we've had a couple really good years, but at the same time, I think that we all expect to continue to progress as a team and just kind of keep it going. So, yeah, I definitely felt like I was always going to be here. This is my home at Hendrick Motorsports, so it makes the most sense, for sure," he added.

William Byron leads the Cup Series points table with 812 points to his name. He has secured two wins, 13 top-ten finishes, and nine top-five finishes with two pole positions in 24 starts this season.