William Byron is a polarizing figure. Not in the way the usual archetype of such a figure is, he doesn’t necessarily divide people into those who hate him and those who love him. But he divides people in the groups of those who think he’ll soon be on a path to be the next big thing and those who think he already is on that path.

This season, the argument can be made for the latter. After all, the Hendrick driver has won two races this season already, more than any other driver so far.

However, to say that William Byron did it on his own would be the equivalent of saying Jimmie Johnson won all seven of his Cup Series titles on his own. In other words, it’ll be foolish.

Because just as Johnson won his seven with his crew chief Chad Knaus, Byron seems to have found his own Knaus, his crew chief, Rudy Fugle.

And that’s not just a theory but a theory that was recently proved in Martinsville when Byron won his second race of the season, majorly because of his crew chief. This was also something that Todd Gordon, the former crew chief of Ryan Blaney, recently pointed out.

“After knowing the outcome, when you go back and watch, William (Byron) had run the (No.) 9 car down. Chase (Elliott) had led the first what? 180 some laps,” Gordon said. “But William had got to a point when he was right on Chase’s bumper. He just couldn’t get around him.”

“Once they got him off the pit road first, he pretty much controlled the rest of the day.”

William Byron credits behind-the-scenes work for on track dividends

After he won the race at Martinsville, William Byron confessed that they’re still trying to figure out what makes them “tick“, that the Next Gen car was a chance for them to reassess and recalibrate their approach.

So far, Byron believes, it has “really paid dividends” for him and the No.24 team.

“All the things we’re doing behind the scenes to make sure we’re ready for Sundays is really helping,” he added.

Also Read: Hendrick Motorsports Ace William Byron “Worried” About the Hybrid Engine Aspect of Next Gen Car