CONCORD, N.C. – William Byron and Chad Knaus both will add another feather to their caps when they hit the track this weekend at Richmond Raceway.
The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will make his 100th Cup Series start while his crew chief will log his 700th Cup race on Saturday night.
The duo just earned their first Cup Series victory together from the regular-season finale at Daytona. The win also marked Byron’s first-ever checkered flag in the highest level of NASCAR competition.
“Ever since the second race at Dover, we’ve had three top-fives in a row, and I feel like we really turned the corner there by knowing what we needed in the car and going to work on that,” Byron said this week on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Byron and Knaus are in their second playoffs together. Even though it’s only Byron’s second postseason appearance, Knaus’ guidance has the 22-year-old driver at ease. The crew chief has yet to miss the playoffs since the inception of the format in 2004.
“Chad having been to the playoffs so many times, I think that he really thrives in that environment,” Byron said. “With the championship experience he’s had, it really helps us along in the playoff rounds.”
Knaus’ expertise as a crew chief dates back to his days as the leader of the No. 48 team. With driver Jimmie Johnson, the veteran race caller earned 81 wins and seven Cup Series championships, putting him among the best of all time.
The No. 24 team’s victory at Daytona now has Knaus at 82 victories, ranking him in third for most wins by a Cup Series crew chief. In fact, Knaus is just one away from tying Leonard Wood for second on the list. Overall, Knaus ranks seventh for all-time starts as a crew chief in the Cup Series.
However, it’s not just Knaus who holds all the talent on the No. 24 team. He predicted before the season started that Byron’s confidence has grown and that he’s poised to continue getting better and better.
“William is a very intelligent young man,” Knaus said. “He definitely gets more than just racing, so he’s got a lot to offer. He’s going to have amazing leadership skills as he continues to grow and to mature.”
Catch Byron and Knaus make their milestone starts at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.