Rudy Fugle

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Rudy Fugle
Personal information
Birth nameRyan Fugle
NationalityAmerican
BornLivonia, New York
OccupationCrew Chief
Years active2009-present
Sport
SportAuto Racing
LeagueNASCAR
Team24. Hendrick Motorsports

Ryan "Rudy" Fugle is an American NASCAR crew chief from Livonia, New York.[1] He is currently the crew chief for William Byron at Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series. He has also previously been a crew chief for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Career[]

In 2007, after graduating UNC Charlotte with a degree in mechanical engineering, Fugle got his first job in racing as an engineering intern at Robert Yates Racing. Two years later, in 2009, he would transfer over to Germain Racing as an engineer before being promoted as crew chief for Michael Annett in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.[1] After seven races together in 2009, Fugle and Annett would team up for the full 2010 season.[2] Together, the two would only get 2 top-10 finishes towards a 13th place overall in the standings.[3]

Fugle would crew chief in the truck series during the 2011 season, pairing up with Justin Lofton for the first 9 races of the season.[4] He would then move to Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2013, becoming the crew chief for drivers such as Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, and team owner Kyle Busch. Fugle would get his first win as a crew chief at Charlotte, where Kyle Busch would win. Fugle would end the season with 6 wins, 5 with Busch and 1 with Erik Jones.[5]

In 2015 Fugle would return to the truck series with Erik Jones full time. The pair would start the season strong, getting the pole 4 times in the first ten races and winning the race at Iowa.[6] Before seasons end, the team would get two more wins and ended up winning the championship.[7]

In 2020 it was announced that Fugle would be replacing Chad Knaus as William Byron's crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports.[8] The two would start the season strong, as Byron went on to win the race at Homestead.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Hendrick Motorsports". www.hendrickmotorsports.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  2. ^ "Title-winning crew chief Rudy Fugle to lead Byron, No. 24 team in 2021 | Hendrick Motorsports". www.hendrickmotorsports.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  3. ^ "Driver Michael Annett 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  4. ^ "Justin Lofton race report". us.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  5. ^ "Rudy Fugle Crew Chief Statistics - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  6. ^ Services, Detroit Free Press News. "Byron's Erik Jones wins Trucks in Iowa again". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  7. ^ "Erik Jones wins NASCAR Truck Series championship". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  8. ^ "Rudy Fugle named crew chief of Hendrick's No. 24 for 2021 | NASCAR". Official Site Of NASCAR. 2020-10-26. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  9. ^ Crandall, Kelly. "William Byron wins at Homestead to give NASCAR another surprise winner". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
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