Byron, 24 team on wrong side of Chicagoland strategy: ‘Missed it by a little bit’

JOLIET, Ill. -- William Byron led the most laps in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway and appeared on his way toward his first win of 2026. Instead, a battle of crew chiefs' calls to pit road allowed Chase Briscoe to leapfrog Byron's No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with 50 laps remaining, with Briscoe prevailing to a rousing victory in the eero 400 and Byron settling for fourth. RELATED: Race results | Photos: Chicagoland returns Briscoe entered the final green-flag pit cycle in second place behind Byron before crew chief James Small called the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to pit road at Lap 215. No. 24 crew chief Rudy Fugle drew Byron to pit road one lap later at Lap 216, but by then, the damage was done: Briscoe's momentum on one-lap fresher tires caught Byron midway down the backstretch as Byron returned to the racing line. Briscoe flew by Byron's outside and ultimately sailed to victory as Byron faded in the closing 50 laps. "Those guys were just fast," Byron said. "I mean, even when I was leading, they could just stay right with me, and everything had to be perfect. And ultimately, we got jumped there on the cycle, but it's hard to know. They have the advantage of being second and being able to do that. So I don't know. I feel like if I was perfect that last run, I could have gotten a little closer and just didn't quite have the pace that they had. I don't know. I think that was probably pretty maxed out for us. They just eventually got the clean air, and it was hard to defend." Like all strategy shot-callers, Fugle watched the laps tick away as the fuel window neared, targeting a particular lap number to hit pit road and leave with enough fuel to last until the checkered flag. "We wanted to run a little longer, and we were right at the one-lap gap to the 19," Fugle told NASCAR.com, "but it was probably just under. I was hoping for a faster pit stop and the best clean in and out that he could get and just missed it by a little bit. Yeah, that sucks. I don't know how the race finishes and how we manage it otherwise, but yeah, keep gaining on the little things." [caption id="attachment_518071" align="aligncenter" width="1300"]Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media[/caption] While Fugle had to plan strategy to defend, Small and Briscoe were on offense, searching for any advantage they could find to jump past the No. 24 car. "Every lap is just a process. OK, what are we going to do right now? What are we going to do?" Small said. "You are constantly managing the gap there, and you know what the undercut is worth. It's like you said, a game of cat and mouse. You don't want to go too early because you don't want to risk burning your tires off at the end. All it can take is two or three laps' difference. I knew we were getting close enough there and close enough to the number I had in my mind where I thought everything would work out and be safe at the end. We got to that, and thankfully he hadn't pulled the trigger yet, either, and it gave us that opportunity. And then it just kind of started the chain of reaction with everybody else." To fall short of victory was disappointing for Byron and Co., but having contending speed was a certain step forward. Sandwiched around a double dose of road courses on the Cup Series slate, the No. 24 team displayed an apparent gain of speed on larger, intermediate ovals, evidenced by a third-place effort at Pocono Raceway before leading a race-high and season-best 94 laps Sunday at Chicagoland. "I think we're starting to gain," Byron said. "I think, honestly, it makes a lot more sense now the way the car feels. And now in the last two oval races, we've had a shot to win. Here and Pocono, we've been top four, so yeah, we've just gotta keep inching up on it and hopefully find a little bit." MORE: Cup Series standings | Cup Series schedule After its fourth top five of the season, that momentum is felt throughout the No. 24 team, particularly with a stretch of diverse ovals standing between now and The Chase over the next seven weeks. "I think since Dover, we've been making small gains," Fugle said. "And the results haven't always shown it -- or hardly ever shown it until recently -- but we've just got to keep our heads on straight and keep making small gains, and we'll get where we need to be by the time the playoffs start."