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William Byron crew chief Rudy Fugle 'embarrassed' after rough start to NASCAR Playoffs at Darlington

JHby: Jonathan Howard09/01/25Jondean25
William Byron Darlington NASCAR
Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Finishing P21 in the first race of the NASCAR Playoffs is not where Rudy Fugle and William Byron expected to be. It was a disappointing performance, and Fugle even went a little beyond that after the finish of the Southern 500.

If it weren’t for the 15 bonus points for the regular season championship, William Byron would be in a much worse position. However, he escapes Darlington in fifth overall among NASCAR Playoff drivers.

This was far from what this team wanted. Hendrick Motorsports as a whole had a rather poor outing. It’s back to the drawing board for these teams.

Rudy Fugle put his team on notice over the radio. William Byron confirmed the sentiment.

“We’re embarrassed. We’ve got to execute a lot better all around. Nothing comfortable. We didn’t do shit today. We’ve got to improve and get better and race our ass off every week or it’s going to be a long offseason,” Fugle said, via Jeff Gluck of The Athletic.

“Yeah, 10-4,” Byron replied. “That was terrible.”

Hendrick Motorsports came off the haulers slightly off. It was not a great qualifying session for the four teams. That played out during the race as well.

Chevrolet and Ford drivers were all boxed out of the top-10 tonight. Ross Chastain was the first non-Toyota driver in the Playoffs to finish. He was P11.

William Byron stumbles, Toyota drivers capitalize

Tonight was such a massive night for Toyota as a whole. Six in the top-10, including a 1-4 sweep. As far as NASCAR Playoffs go, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Denny Hamlin all had big days in the Southern 500.

Meanwhile, for William Byron and his teammates, things did not go so hot. Chase Elliott was the top Hendrick driver, and he finished P17. Kyle Larson was P19. Byron P21. Then there was Alex Bowman back in P31.

Rudy Fugle is right to put his team on notice the way he did. He has to get this group refocused and ready to go to Gateway and compete for the win there. If not, things could be sketchy at Bristol as far as points are concerned.

William Byron has a tough night. Chase Briscoe got the belt out tonight and put it to the rest of the field. 309 laps led, massive win. Who will be next to make the Round of 12?