William Byron wins

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I liked this lad from the start and I think just having the #24 on his car was a distraction.
Last season they moved Chad to his car and I thought that was a huge mistake.
Go back some years and Tony was the hot driver with his CC. They put Joey in Cup with the wrong CC.
He was bringing a car to the track that TONY could drive and tried to make the driver fit the car. That didn't work as evident by Joey moving to Penske, getting his own CC and he took off.
HMS did the same to Byron. Chad put a car on track that JJ could win with and tried to make Byron fit the car instead of building a car to fit Byron. So in comes this CC that is used to helping young up and comers in the truck series find victory lane. Move him to Cup with HMS resources and he ( with no ego on his part) gets Byron to Victory Lane.

Your thoughts??
 
To be fair, Knaus and Byron did get to victory lane. Together they scored some top 5s and plenty of top 10s. I think having Chad’s experience with Byron’s raw talent was a good pairing for William in a formative Cup season. Rudy Fugle credited Knaus for building that team’s foundation for success after their win yesterday. Byron is coming into his own and has had to work with three different crew chiefs so far, with his former crew chiefs being much older and taking on larger competition rolls within HMS. I think it’s a combination of everything and it’s granted the #24 team early 2021 success.
 
I don't think really highly of him or Bowman. They're good drivers, don't get me wrong. But I don't see them tearing it up at any point in their careers. Especially Byron I think he is over-hyped. I don't see either of them being Hall of Famers...but I do see them becoming Jamie MacMurray/Clint Bowyer caliber drivers where they have long careers and post up 10-20 wins. Neither of them I see as a superstar.

But congrats none the less! Always good to see new talent succeeding.
 
Before I chose Reddick as my bold prediction for 2021, I could have gone either way with Byron in that I was torn between predicting "William Byron has 3 wins and makes the Final 8 in the Cup Playoffs or " It is announced during the 2021 season that Noah Gragson will take over the 24 from William Byron." I always thought highly of Will's talent, but I figured he'd be on the proverbial hot seat during this year if he didnt get a W. He's got an early season W, I believe he wont have any pressure and can now focus on stacking playoff points and checkered flags. I think this early season win opens up a ton of positive possibilities for him this year.
 
Said it from when Byron was signed on to drive the 24 car. It was going to take him time to improve, he is going to be a long-term project for HMS. Year number 4 and it looks like he's slowly, but surely improving. Maybe this could be his breakout season? You never know in this day and age. Now with Fugle, I think they can take another step forward in improving this season.

Let's see how they get on for the rest of the season.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
I don't think really highly of him or Bowman. They're good drivers, don't get me wrong. But I don't see them tearing it up at any point in their careers. Especially Byron I think he is over-hyped. I don't see either of them being Hall of Famers...but I do see them becoming Jamie MacMurray/Clint Bowyer caliber drivers where they have long careers and post up 10-20 wins. Neither of them I see as a superstar.

But congrats none the less! Always good to see new talent succeeding.
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By today's standards 20 wins IS HoF material, and when they run out of those guys, they'll start putting more ten wins guys in.
 
Team Penske said:
I liked this lad from the start and I think just having the #24 on his car was a distraction.
Last season they moved Chad to his car and I thought that was a huge mistake.
Go back some years and Tony was the hot driver with his CC. They put Joey in Cup with the wrong CC.
He was bringing a car to the track that TONY could drive and tried to make the driver fit the car. That didn't work as evident by Joey moving to Penske, getting his own CC and he took off.
HMS did the same to Byron. Chad put a car on track that JJ could win with and tried to make Byron fit the car instead of building a car to fit Byron. So in comes this CC that is used to helping young up and comers in the truck series find victory lane. Move him to Cup with HMS resources and he ( with no ego on his part) gets Byron to Victory Lane.

Your thoughts??
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Chad will tell you that William didn't get the same Chad that won seven championships. He was basically out of gas. Rudy Fugle is today what Chad was in 2002. Hungry and motivated with something to prove. The fact that he already has a winning history with the driver is icing on the cake. I don't think anybody with a brain thought William was going to set the world on fire right away, with his age and absolute lack of experience, combined with the HMS cars previously not being being all that spectacular. I actually feel like he EXCEEDED my expectations, and now with a few years under his belt and better cars to work with, I think we'll see more of what we saw yesterday.
 
As long as we're talking about crew chiefs that aren't in the HoF, why is Kirk Shelmerdine not already in?
 
dirtfan said:
I'm pretty good at Real Racing 3 on my phone, and expect the ride offers to start pouring in any day now
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You are too modest Mr Pick em 2020 champion. You should start writing your Nascar HoF acceptance speech.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
I don't think really highly of him or Bowman. They're good drivers, don't get me wrong. But I don't see them tearing it up at any point in their careers. Especially Byron I think he is over-hyped. I don't see either of them being Hall of Famers...but I do see them becoming Jamie MacMurray/Clint Bowyer caliber drivers where they have long careers and post up 10-20 wins. Neither of them I see as a superstar.

But congrats none the less! Always good to see new talent succeeding.
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I think Byron sticks for a while, not sure about Bowman though. For some reason they really struggle to secure sponsorship for him. They got fortunate with the transition of Ally from Jimmie but once that deal is over who knows where things go. They're both solid though. Better than what SHR had in Bowyer and Aric when it comes to what you want out of a 4 car team imo.
 
HMS is ahead of schedule with their rebuild. Far less growing pains than I expected especially with no practice. Byron and Elliott being this good at this age is not normal. Hendrick team leadership has got to be thrilled with their current group of drivers.
 
LJ7201 said:
HMS is ahead of schedule with their rebuild. Far less growing pains than I expected especially with no practice. Byron and Elliott being this good at this age is not normal. Hendrick team leadership has got to be thrilled with their current group of drivers.
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This is Byron's 4th full-time season and Bowman's 6th full-time season (4th with HMS) so I'm not really sure how you can say they're "ahead" with the rebuild. They're both driving some of the best cars in the business...not THE best anymore but still would definitely expect to see multiple wins a season at this point.
 
Too soon to tell IMO but it's hard not to be optimistic at this point in the season. Elliott and 9 crew still have it on the road racing tracks, they had good speed at Daytona for a second place, and HMS won in dominating fashion with Byron and Fugle and put three cars in the top ten on a mile and a half. They are having a hell of a season so far.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
This is Byron's 4th full-time season and Bowman's 6th full-time season (4th with HMS) so I'm not really sure how you can say they're "ahead" with the rebuild. They're both driving some of the best cars in the business...not THE best anymore but still would definitely expect to see multiple wins a season at this point.
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My retort to this would be that Byron was 20 years old when he jumped in the 24, 1 year younger than the guy that won 93 races with that number when he started out. I never expected Byron to be a championship contender and a contender to win every week when he started out, there is a steep learning curve to Cup as these guys are starting out younger and younger. I always thought this was the make or break year for William, year 4. Hes 23 years old with 4 years in the 24... he'd have a Cup ride by now if he had talent and went up to Cup the regular way but he was hot shoted to Cup, maybe even rushed. I think HMS did it right and is right on schedule with the rebuild they embarked on when JG retired followed by Jr and JJ. I really expected William to shine this year or else maybe that seat would get really really warm. We'll see where he's at at the end of the year.
 
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Let's see if he actually wins a few more races and is in contention for The Championship 4 before we rush him into the HoF.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
This is Byron's 4th full-time season and Bowman's 6th full-time season (4th with HMS) so I'm not really sure how you can say they're "ahead" with the rebuild. They're both driving some of the best cars in the business...not THE best anymore but still would definitely expect to see multiple wins a season at this point.
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Like any racing luck plays a lot into your results which is why I don't put as much value into stats as I do my eyes watching each driver throughout the whole race to make a judgement on that driver. Lets take Bowmen's early races for the past 2 years. Last year he would have probably had more wins or at least more top 5 finishes if not for a bad call to pit by his crew chief and numerous accidents that were no fault of his own. If you look at his stats so far this year they don't look that good but if you watched the 48 very close in the clash he was running up towards the front until they pitted and then when he came back out and was heading back towards the front he was hit by another car and it screwed his car up. At Daytona he was up towards the front doing a great job and he was taken out like so many others were by a driver that made a bonehead move. At Homestead he started at the back and was in the front group before the end of the 1st stage but after the track started changing they lost their setup and was just mediocre after that. Out of the 4 HMS cars there is no doubt Byron had the best one and I think any of the 4 HMS drivers would have won in that car. If they give these guys good cars and they have some luck go their way then I see Elliott, Bowman, and Larson as a contender for a championship. I think Byron will need a another year or two. We know Elliott can do it and Bowman has been in the playoffs every year he has been at HMS and he keeps going further each year...and Larson is a freak of nature in a race car so he is definitely a contender.
 
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Nitro Dude said:
I think Byron will need a another year or two.
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I dissagree. He is already a contender for the Championship this year, and I think he has the best crew chief at HMS with Fugle easily one of the top 5 crew chiefs in all of Nascar. It wasn't any accident Byron could go where others couldn't. He ran like Elliott did on the road course. His pit crew would lose him 3 or 4 spots and he would drive right past them to the front time and time again. It's too soon to see if they can continue, but Fugle is the real deal on his end. Byron won 7 races and 16 top 10's out of 23 races in the Trucks with Fugle up on the box.
 
StandOnIt said:
I dissagree. He is already a contender for the Championship this year, and I think he has the best crew chief at HMS with Fugle easily one of the top 5 crew chiefs in all of Nascar. It wasn't any accident Byron could go where others couldn't. He ran like Elliott did on the road course. His pit crew would lose him 3 or 4 spots and he would drive right past them to the front time and time again. It's too soon to see if they can continue, but Fugle is the real deal on his end. Byron won 7 races and 16 top 10's out of 23 races in the Trucks with Fugle up on the box.
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I hope he does because he would make history as the youngest NASCAR Cup Champion. Plus, that would give HMS 2 in a row. I'm wired a little different then a lot of old timers...I love seeing young people succeed...or at least the ones that are not arrogant, think they know it all jerks. :)
 
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Formerjackman said:
Chad will tell you that William didn't get the same Chad that won seven championships. He was basically out of gas. Rudy Fugle is today what Chad was in 2002. Hungry and motivated with something to prove. The fact that he already has a winning history with the driver is icing on the cake. I don't think anybody with a brain thought William was going to set the world on fire right away, with his age and absolute lack of experience, combined with the HMS cars previously not being being all that spectacular. I actually feel like he EXCEEDED my expectations, and now with a few years under his belt and better cars to work with, I think we'll see more of what we saw yesterday.
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I always have been a fan and believer in him since watching his 7 truck wins. I've also always said and believe that with him or really any young driver it takes them about 3-5 years to figure it out.

Also if nothing else just from hearing them on the radio with Chad telling Byron he "you better" whenever he wanted him to do something etc, you could almost tell he saw him as more of a kid than a partner and probably didn't really listen to what he needed. He just gave him what he was used to with JJ and expected it to work. Fugle on the other hand has winning experience with Byron already and is already somewhat familiar with what he likes in a ride and actually listens to his feedback more.
 
StandOnIt said:
I dissagree. He is already a contender for the Championship this year, and I think he has the best crew chief at HMS with Fugle easily one of the top 5 crew chiefs in all of Nascar. It wasn't any accident Byron could go where others couldn't. He ran like Elliott did on the road course. His pit crew would lose him 3 or 4 spots and he would drive right past them to the front time and time again. It's too soon to see if they can continue, but Fugle is the real deal on his end. Byron won 7 races and 16 top 10's out of 23 races in the Trucks with Fugle up on the box.
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Amazing truck stats given his age and experience at the time.
Also just how calm and smooth he seemed in the final laps at Homestead during his Xfinity championship.
Also I immediately thought back to how good Byron has been in several races and could have won (Sonoma just for example), but had no chance because of having to points race and use a different strategy from the other guys. This year he will already have a win and can take some chances. He could easily win more given this fact.
 
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hmmm298 said:
Also if nothing else just from hearing them on the radio with Chad telling Byron he "you better" whenever he wanted him to do something etc, you could almost tell he saw him as more of a kid than a partner and probably didn't really listen to what he needed. He just gave him what he was used to with JJ and expected it to work.
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Team Penske said:
I agree and that is what happened to Joey at Gibbs.
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Successful / professional race teams don’t conduct their business in this manner.
 
hmmm298 said:
I always have been a fan and believer in him since watching his 7 truck wins. I've also always said and believe that with him or really any young driver it takes them about 3-5 years to figure it out.

Also if nothing else just from hearing them on the radio with Chad telling Byron he "you better" whenever he wanted him to do something etc, you could almost tell he saw him as more of a kid than a partner and probably didn't really listen to what he needed. He just gave him what he was used to with JJ and expected it to work. Fugle on the other hand has winning experience with Byron already and is already somewhat familiar with what he likes in a ride and actually listens to his feedback more.
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Well said dude! Agreed, what he did was unbelievable in the junior series of the sport.

Adjusting to the skill/aggressiveness of Cup is a tall tall task. Those dudes absolutely get after it out there
 
Hendrick4ever said:
I think we often forget that cup rookies 15-20 years ago were already at least 25 years old before they even sniffed Cup. Now we throw 18-20 year olds in and expect them to light the world on fire immediately.
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One of the reasons I say they need around 3-5 years.
 
Honestly yes its still too early to tell, but who else not named KB (and especially at that age) has Fugle had THAT much success with in the trucks. The chemistry is there.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
This is Byron's 4th full-time season and Bowman's 6th full-time season (4th with HMS) so I'm not really sure how you can say they're "ahead" with the rebuild. They're both driving some of the best cars in the business...not THE best anymore but still would definitely expect to see multiple wins a season at this point.
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If you just expect 23 year olds to win multiple races per season then that's your choice but I personally don't. Pretty short list of drivers that have done that. I believe Byron became the 12th driver to ever win a second race before he turns 25. The other 11 are Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, Richard Petty, Chase Elliott, Junior Johnson, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, and Erik Jones. Again if you expect that then alright but to me joining that list puts you "ahead of schedule" to me.
 
And again, remember that Byron is not Chase Elliott, who was born into a racing family and has been logging laps since he was just about out of diapers. What William has accomplished, considering his age and the path he has taken to get here is nothing short of amazing to me. Whether he becomes a big time champion or not remains to be seen, but I think he deserves all the credit in the world for what he has already done and the way that he has handled himself along the way.
 
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