NASCAR CUP SERIES
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
SEPTEMBER 14, 2024
WILLIAM BYRON, DRIVER OF THE NO. 24 LIBERITY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 AND THE NO. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO SS, met with the media in advance of racing double duty in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series at Watkins Glen International.
Media Availability Quotes:
Do you have any idea what the changes in the track will be like now that you’ve had a chance to look at them and how it could impact how you drive the track?
“Yeah, I mean it looks like, from the ARCA race; it looked like they used kind of that six feet of excess, between the curb and the rumbles. So I feel like that’s probably what it will do, especially starting out, and then we’ll kind of see from there. It looked pretty dirty within the rumbles that they cut in the track. It looked like there was a lot of residual dirt and dust. I mean yeah, we’ll just see. I think we’ll be still using some runoff, but obviously not to the level we were, probably.”
Today, Connor Zilisch will make his Xfinity Series debut. Is there a lot of interest about him from the Cup guys, or are you not worried about someone like him yet until he starts running Cup?
“Well, no – I mean I think he’s been really impressive. He’s doing all the right things and making a lot of speed out there. It’s hard to judge when you’re in an ARCA race, per say. But yeah, I feel like he’ll get out there today and I’ll be up against him, so I’m excited to see how he does.”
I think you were the first one a few years ago to note that you can only get 40 points at a road course race with the stages the way they are, and now that there are two of those situations in the playoffs this year. With the situation you’re in, are you thinking more stage points or are you thinking more about going for the win? Do you know how you’re going to play it yet?
“Yeah, I mean I hope there’s kind of a combination of both that works. I feel like for us, if we’re in position to win, we’re probably going to go for that because that’s going to mean more for us hopefully down the road. But yeah, hopefully with this tire, there could be a position where you can get Stage One points and still compete for the win, like we saw maybe way back when the stages kind of first came along. You could pit and then still get seventh or eighth place stage points and still kind of tally them up that way. Hopefully it’s not like a 40-point max day because that would be tough, for sure.”
What is it about Bristol and you that you’re either hit or miss.. podium finishes or wrecking out? Is it simply because it’s racing and unpredictable, and what can you do to help your odds when we go there next weekend?
“Yeah, I mean I don’t really feel like we’ve ever been the dominant car there. So that’s the goal; try to inch up on that and figure out what we need to be more competitive there. But yeah, we’ve had some really good runs.. like top-three’s, but never like leading laps. So yeah, I think going to Bristol, there’s definitely going to be a lot of studying this week to figure out what it is that we need to be a little bit better yet. And then you have the tire, so you’re not really sure what that’s going to do. For us, it would be nice to be under less pressure going there and hopefully have a buffer and cushion of who knows how many points or a win. So it would be nice just to race freely there. The spring was just a fluke situation. We got put into the wall there and broke the toe link. That was tough. But yeah, I think we’re usually pretty solid there. We’re usually like a top-10 car, we just have to figure out what it takes to have winning speed.”
Hendrick Motorsports has won the last five races here. Why do you feel like it’s such a good track for the organization?
“Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, I think we’ve had pretty good road course stuff for like a little less than a decade, and I feel like it just builds on itself, even though there was a car change. We actually did struggle with this car on the road courses initially.. like quite a bit. And then once we figured out what it needed; we have smart drivers and smart crew chiefs and we all contribute and get a package that we like, and then we go from there. I think that’s what it took with this car. And then yeah, Watkins Glen is just a faster place, so it takes a little bit of everything. The engine is really important, and we always have great engines. So I feel like we’ve been able to make the straightaways good; get through the braking zones and everything.”
Being a little bit more seasoned now in the playoffs, do you find yourself approaching the 10 weeks any differently? Approaching each race any differently? Is it truly just business-as-usual, like the first 26 weeks?
“Yeah, I’ve really just learned not to expect or let my guard now. I think last year, with all the bonus points that we had, I think we had 36.. I guess 41 by the time we got to the Round of Eight. But it was easy to feel like – man, we can kind of just point our way through this deal. And then you get to the Round of Eight and guys start to win, and it all really goes out the window. So I feel like for me, it’s learning from that; not letting my guard down and just really trying to show up each week and have winning speed.”
This is Rudy’s (Fugle) home race. Do you notice anything different, in terms of his preparation, his attention, stuff like that, or is it also business-as-usual?
“No, I mean it was a little bit last year. He had more family and things here. But this year, I feel like he’s just locked-in on what we need to do for the playoffs. So it’s probably, I don’t know his routine or anything like that, but he’s just focused on what we need to do, especially today. Try to qualify well.. that’s going to be important. And then see what the strategy is; see what the falloff is.”
Years ago, when we showed up at Watkins Glen, there were maybe four drivers that were going to win the race. Now, it’s so much deeper. Did you start focusing on becoming a good road course racer at the beginning of career, or is that something you’ve seen in recent years?
“Yeah, I feel like it was kind of engrained in me from early on, K&N Series level. Like we’d go do tests with that, and then go race my cart at GoPro Motorplex, and I feel like it was just engrained in me pretty early on. I don’t really feel like at the time that there were that many road courses, but by the time I got to the Cup Series, it was two. And then like the next year, it was three with the ROVAL. No.. it was three the first year, and then yeah, it just kind of kept going and expanding. So it just fit the fact that I was ready for it, but I don’t think I really did it from a young age or anything, but definitely started to up my game when I was 16 or 17 years old.”
You haven’t been on track yet, but how have you and your team been preparing for this weekend, knowing that you have a new tire that could have three seconds of falloff per lap? Are you expecting some chaos from that? Are you expecting what we saw at Bristol in the spring, or more like a Richmond situation?
“Yeah, I think the tire is going to definitely falloff more, but we’re interested to see if that curb from the test flattens out a little bit because typically it does when you get rubber on the race track.. more cars get the right tire pressures, all those things. So yeah, I think there will still be a lot of falloff and it’ll just be interesting to see if that effects qualifying, if we’re not able to re-run. Or if in the race, like I said, maybe flip the stages because you need tires. It could shakeup the way that you strategize the race, for sure, because typically you’re just trying to strategize based on fuel.”
This is the last race for Hendrick Motorsports’ Xfinity Series program. How important for you is it to run that race today, given the track adjustments for tomorrow’s Cup race? Is it going to be beneficial for you to run this race?
“Yeah, I mean I love running here, so it was just really a place where I wanted to come run. And also, more laps on a road course are always great. The last one we had was Chicago, which is very unique, so it’s just nice to have 20 minutes of practice and a full race going into tomorrow. Hopefully it’s fun and hopefully we can compete for the win and be up there with Shane (van Gisbergen) and whoever else is upfront.”
Talking about last year, Martinsville Speedway was such a struggle. We saw at Darlington, another driver have a struggle, with Tyler Reddick staying in the car with his situation. I think we can all relate to a sense of feeling uncomfortable when we’re on a drive, but we can pull off. What is that like? When you look back at Martinsville, was that the hardest day in your career and how does somebody get through that?
“Yeah, I mean you just have to distract yourself with what the task is. Tyler (Reddick) and I’s situations were different, for sure. But for me personally, as hot as I was, I was just thinking about – how do I get the next spot on the race track. If I could do that, I felt like I was going to advance. I think I had to get like seven or eight spots in the last stage, and I was running 22nd. I think we ended up finishing 13th because a couple guys pitted. It was just about getting the next position and trying to distract myself with that and not think about how I’m feeling. If I thought about how I was feeling, I was probably going to slow down.”
No mic..
“Not since maybe like late models, when I was like out of shape (laughs).”
Juan Pablo Montoya is coming back to race this weekend. Are you looking forward to being on the same track with someone as successful as he has been in his racing career?
“Yeah, I mean he was the man when I was growing up. He was really good here. He was good everywhere, just didn’t maybe win the oval races that he could have or should have. But yeah, it’ll be nice to be on the track with him. Hopefully he’s nice and respectful of the playoff guys (laughs).”
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