Wood Brothers
Home: Virginia
Glen Wood           Leonard Wood

Wood Brothers Racing is an auto racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup, Nationwide (Busch), and Craftsman Truck Series.  The Wood Brothers merged with Tad and Jodi Geschickter's JTG Racing in 2006 to increase their competitiveness and bring about sponsorship, but differences led to the breakup in early 2008.

The Wood Brothers Racing Team was formed in 1950 by brothers from Southwest Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. Walter and Ada Wood owned a family farm between Woolwine and Stuart, Virginia. They had five sons (Glen, Leonard, Delano, Clay, and Ray Lee) and one daughter (Crystal). The sons worked with their father as mechanics, farmers, and lumbermen. Glen Wood cut timber and hauled lumber to local sawmills. The boys had a talent for auto mechanics and spent much time at their father's garage. With each brother serving as a mechanic, they formed a stock car racing team. Curtis Turner, a local sawmill operator from nearby Floyd, Virginia, inspired them. Turner became a champion racecar driver with a "win or crash" style and later was co-owner of Charlotte Motor Speedway (now Lowes Motor Speedway). Coincidentally, Turner would later drive for the Wood Brothers.

In the early 1950s, none of the Wood boys wanted to drive, so they got fellow lumberman, Chris Williams, of nearby Stuart to drive. In the early days of stock car racing, teams drove their cars to the track, raced them, and drove them home. Williams and the Wood Brothers bought their first car for $50, inspiring them to number their car #50, many years before they adopted their famous #21.

Chris Williams and Glen Wood each drove a few races. The team consisted of Williams, some of his brothers, and the Wood boys. They became successful, winning races at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC and Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia.

Shortly after their early success, Chris Williams sold his share of the team to Glen Wood to focus on his lumber business. To fill team slots, the Wood Brothers enlisted help from Stuart area friends and neighbors including Ralph Edwards, a Wood cousin.

The Wood Brothers Racing Team evolved into a full-time business instead of a weekend hobby. Glen and Leonard worked full-time building and preparing cars, while the other brothers and crew worked nights and weekends apart from their regular jobs. Their first permanent racing shop was at the town limits of Stuart, Virginia.

The team adopted the #21 permanently, and would become as notorious as any number in NASCAR history (along with the Petty #43 and Earnhardt #3). The Wood Brothers also found themselves lured to the big-ticket cash prizes offered by the growing Superspeedway races in cities such as Daytona, FL; Charlotte, NC ; and Darlington, SC. Glen Wood soon stepped out from behind the wheel of the #21 Ford, and they began hiring drivers with reputations as winners at the different tracks. The team soon began competing on the highest levels of the sport. Victories were won with the mechanical genius of the team of brothers, relatives, and friends. Leonard Wood's talent in the engine department soon brought the team acclaim and was second in the early years only to the fabled Holman-Moody engine juggernaut and the Petty racing dynasty of Lee Petty and son Richard Petty.

Innovation - the modern Pit Stop

The Wood Brothers invented the modern Pit Stop. In the early days of all types of motor racing, it was common for the drivers, when service was needed during the race, to pull into the pits; turn off the car; get out and even smoke a cigarette as the crew took their time changing tires and servicing the cars. The Wood Brothers recognized that by limiting the time off the track, it could increase their position on the track. Thus, they created and perfected what is now known as the Pit Stop, and is as common to all types of racing as the checkered flag itself. As other teams noticed that the Wood Brothers were winning races due to their efficient pit stops, these competitors soon copied the Wood method. Not content with being innovators, the Wood team practiced and perfected the pit stop as a form of acrobatic, mechanical, ballet which gave them still further advantage over their competitors.

International success 1960s

With the Indy 500 win, the Wood Brothers Racing Team began to enjoy International acclaim as pioneers and leaders in motorsports. They were featured in Sports Illustrated and many other media of the day. Their rosters of drivers soon became second to none, and their victories were only matched by Richard Petty in the famed #43 STP car.

The Wood Brothers signed a long-term sponsorship agreement with Purolator to be their primary sponsor on the #21 car. Their drivers prior to and during this era had included a "Who's Who" of the best in motor racing. Among those driving for the Wood team through the mid-1960s were Curtis Turner, Marvin Panch, Fireball Roberts, Parnelli Jones, Tiny Lund, Junior Johnson, Speedy Thompson, Fred Lorenzen, Dan Gurney and Cale Yarborough.

Open-wheel star driver Dan Gurney, who enjoyed popular victories in Indy and Formula One racing, was hired by the Wood Brothers to drive in select events. The Gurney-Wood combination proved unbeatable, and they dominated the early road courses on the NASCAR circuit by winning every race in which Gurney drove the #21. In 1965, they also made up the Lotus-Ford pit crew at the Indianapolis 500, a race won by the Lotus-Ford of Jim Clark.

Tiny Lund and the infamous Daytona 500 Win 1963

 

By the 1968 season, the Wood Brothers earned over $160,000 in winnings for the single season, a staggering amount of winning for that period in any form of auto racing. In those years, the Wood Brothers also entered a second car in select events (under the number 121); and entered a total of three cars in at least one race.

 

Dominance

In the early 1970s, the Wood Brothers continued their success. The lightning-quick pit stops and high-power engines of the #21 car proved a formidable challenge to all on the NASCAR circuit. Legendary drivers such as Donnie Allison and open-wheel Indy 500 winner A.J. Foyt also took turns piloting the Wood car.

The team personnel in the Wood shop began to shift as the team raced in more events and traveled greater distances. Glen Wood emerged as the leader and patriarch of the team. Glen's young sons, Eddie Wood and Len Wood, also began working at the shop in menial labor jobs. Wood brother Delano Wood had evolved into one of the greatest pit crew members, and his skill as a Jack Man is incomparable even today. Other family friends soon joined the team, including Cecil Wilson from neighboring Lawsonville, North Carolina.

 

In 1972, David Pearson was hired to be the full-time driver of the #21. This choice would pave the way for one of the most successful strings of victory in motorsports history. Pearson would continue to drive the car from 1972 through 1979. In only seven years, the team entered 143 races and amassed a staggering 46 victories and 51 Pole Positions. Their race winnings surpassed $1.3 million dollars during this seven-year period with Pearson driving.

Triple crown

In 1976, with Pearson behind the wheel, the Wood Brothers won the coveted "Triple-Crown" of NASCAR racing. This feat was accomplished by winning the legendary Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway; plus the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway; and the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. All of this was accomplished during the 1976 season.

Due to their incredible success and their qualities as role models and Ambassadors of the sport, the Wood Brothers were invited to the White House in the late 1970s at the request of President Jimmy Carter. The occasion made history for these brothers and friends from the small town of Stuart, Virginia. As NASCAR itself gained prominence as an emerging sport, the Wood team was soon hailed as tops in their field. They were frequently toasted by and compared to their peers in other sports of the day, including baseball legend Reggie Jackson; football stars Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris; and basketball greats such as Julius Erving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Due to growth and demand, the #21 team vacated its former shop for a new home located at the junction of Dobyns Road and Mayo Court in Stuart, Virginia. This would be the teams home base shop for many years to come.

The 1980s

The decade of the 1980s saw changes in NASCAR and within the #21 team. David Pearson parted ways with the team, and was replaced by an emerging talent named Neil Bonnett from Hueytown, Alabama. Bonnett was a member of the notorious "Alabama Gang" which included driving stars Donnie Allison, Bobby Allison, and would later include Davey Allison and Hut Stricklin.

Bonnett and the Wood team had a successful relationship, lasting only three and a half seasons and 83 races. This period would include nine victories and over $700,000 in winnings. During the "Bonnett Years", the Wood Brothers long term sponsorship by Purolator would come to an end, marking one of the most enduring and synonymous sponsorships in the history of NASCAR.

The #21 was then sponsored by a company called National Engineer, a California-based company focused on research and development for multiple industries. National Engineering was owned by the flamboyant Warner Hodgdon, who proudly had his name placed on the #21 as the primary sponsor. The Hodgdon sponsorship was believed to have been one of the richest deals of its time in NASCAR racing, thus confirming the Wood's status as leaders in the sport.

Within the team itself, many of the original members had retired from racing. Original team members and brothers Clay Wood and Ray Lee Wood had stepped down years earlier, and focused more on their families and other jobs in their native Patrick County.

As the number of race events increased and the full-time work of running a team grew each season, the Wood Brothers hired younger team members to fill the gaps. Among these were Jimmy Edwards, who was the son of original crew member and Wood cousin Ralph Edwards. Other new faces include Curtis Quesinberry and Hylton Tatum of Stuart; and another young Wood relative named Butch Moricle. Other new personnel were drawn from surrounding cities such as Danville, Virginia and Roanoke, Virginia.

Also gaining an important role during these years was a young Kim Wood, the only daughter of Glen and Bernece Wood. While still in high school, Kim began handling administrative duties for the team, and would assist her mother in juggling secretarial duties, travel arrangements, and the business side of running the team.

The modern era

In the mid-1980s NASCAR entered what is now called the Modern Era of the sport. Growth in television coverage of the races had evolved from sporadic showings on ABC's Wide World of Sports, to full-time coverage of the Daytona 500 by CBS and the full-time live broadcast of races by emerging cable networks such as ESPN and WTBS. NASCAR also obtained permanent corporate sponsorship for the series from the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and the sport's top-level series was changed from Grand National Division to the Winston Cup Series.

Ironically, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company was founded by R.J. Reynolds, who was born and raised in Patrick County, only a few miles from the Wood Brothers team itself.

This period also marked the first-ever quest for points championships by most teams. Since the 1950s many teams had run only select races. Now however, in order to compete for the series title and its large cash prize, teams would be required to compete in all events in a scheduled season.

The Wood Brothers decided to make the leap to running a full-time schedule. This added enormous work to the team, and required further commitment of time, money, and manpower. This new commitment also saw the departure of Warner Hodgdon and National Engineering as a sponsor, and the Wood Brothers brought Valvoline on board as their chief patron.

In 1983, legendary driver Buddy Baker was hired to replace a departing Neil Bonnett in the #21 car. Baker and the Woods struggled for the first time in many years, only lasting two seasons together. During this time, they would capture victory at the Firecracker/Pepsi 400 July 4 race at Daytona International Speedway.

Baker and the Woods soon parted company, along with sponsor Valvoline, and international star driver Bobby Rahal from the Indy-car series would briefly fill Baker's vacant seat for one race.

Legends together

In 1985 history was made in NASCAR as a young Kyle Petty, the Grandson of legendary Lee Petty and son of series-dominator Richard Petty, was hired to drive the Wood car full time. This formed a unique union between the two most successful racing families in NASCAR history.

This also marked the first addition of a new sponsor to the Wood Brothers team. A trio of corporate sponsors consisting of 7-Eleven, Citgo, and Chief Auto Parts were brought on board with the Wood Brothers and Petty for the 1985 season. As part of their marketing strategy, the Wood Brothers were required to relinquish their world-famous #21 car number and adopt the #7 in favor of 7-Eleven's brand sponsorship. This caused a major discourse with fans of the Wood team, who knew the #21 as synonymous with the legendary team from Virginia.

This period also marked the emergence of the second generation of Wood Brothers, Eddie and Len, who had increased their responsibilities with the team over the years. They were now effectively calling the shots on race day for the team, and an "anything goes" attitude was welcomed within the team.

Many of the older team members had retired by this period, including original member and brother Delano Wood. Delano retired to focus on his emerging importance in his highly successful lumber business. He also sought more time at home with his family and his church, as most races were run on Sunday and it provided little time for regular worship and church attendance with his family.

With an increasingly young team, a young driver, and a new sponsor, the Wood Brothers were trying to recapture their past glory. As time marched on through the 1970s until the 80's, many of the cutting-edge innovations pioneered by the Wood team had been discovered or outright copied by other teams. Thus, the Wood's competitive edge had been dulled by other teams taking advantage of the Wood innovations. Therefore, the Wood Brothers were enjoying a unique time of rebirth for the fabled NASCAR legends.

With Kyle Petty in the seat, the Wood Brothers Ford would find victory in their second season together, 1986, at Richmond International Speedway in Richmond, Virginia. The next year, 1987, the team won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Just as the Petty-Wood relationship was beginning to bear fruit, Kyle Petty found himself lured to a new team, SABCO Racing, owned by the wealthy Felix Sabates. Unable to refuse the lucrative offer, Petty left the Wood Brothers after three seasons and 87 races together. The Wood's winnings during this two-victory period surpassed $1 million for only three seasons.

Reunion

After Petty's departure, and a brief three-race stint with substitute driver Tommy Ellis, the Wood Brothers hired their former driver Neil Bonnett to pilot the Wood car once again. This reunion was hailed as the possible cure for the Wood's launch back to the top of the sport. Both Bonnett and the Wood team were optimistic about the future, and the chemistry from earlier success still seemed evident.

Unfortunately, after only 31 races together in only one full season and the start of a second, Bonnett suffered serious injuries in a crash at Darlington Raceway. This left Bonnett questioning the ability to race again, and left the Wood team with an empty seat, to be filled by Dale Jarrett.

The sponsorship shuffle had become commonplace during this period in all NASCAR teams. As Fortune 500 companies and other top names were taking notice of the massive value of NASCAR sponsorship, names like Pepsi, Mello Yello, Ford Motorcraft, and Proctor & Gamble had signed big-dollar sponsorship deals with the top teams in the sport.

The Wood Brothers switched back to the legendary #21 which had been synonymous with the Woods since their early days. This was effected partially due to the loss of 7-Eleven as their primary sponsor, and the elevation of Citgo Petroleum from secondary to primary sponsorship placement with the team.

The face of the sport itself was changing too. Along with the full schedule and championship points races, a new breed of drivers like Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte, and Geoff Bodine had already become powerful stars and champions. This era saw young guns like Davey Allison, Ward Burton, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, and Bobby Labonte were emerging as the future of the sport as they worked up through the lower-ranked Busch Grand National Series.

New Technologies and innovations began to dominate the sport too. NASCAR teams were quickly being run like corporations and sports franchises, with names like Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing, SABCO, Larry Hendrick Motorsports, and Robert Yates Racing taking the dominance from Junior Johnson and the Petty team.

In efforts to keep up with the growth of NASCAR, the Wood Brothers continued to add more employees, and assigned some personnel as shop employees and others as race-day crew members. The additions of team members like Bennie Belcher, Butch Mitchell, and outside Engine Builder Tommy Turner were bringing the Wood team online with others in NASCAR.

The launching pad

By 1990, the Wood Brothers were back in the #21 Ford with Citgo as a sponsor. The early season loss of Neil Bonnett required a replacement driver. Eddie and Len Wood turned to old-time friend Dale Jarrett to take his rightful shot at the Winston Cup Series. Dale Jarrett was the son of former NASCAR champion and broadcaster Ned Jarrett, and had grown up in the sport with the Wood boys.

The choice of Jarrett would prove brilliant. In their first full season together in 1991, Dale Jarrett would bring the Wood Brothers #21 to victory at Michigan, narrowly edging out Davey Allison by inches in one of the closest wins in NASCAR history. The Wood team proved it still had what it took to win. More importantly, it would provide Jarrett with his first win and as a launching pad into one of the most successful careers in NASCAR's modern era.

The Michigan victory supported a unique record for the Wood team. Every single Rookie driver who had ever driven for them for at least a full season had scored at least one victory in the Wood car. More impressive was the fact that every driver to have driven for the Wood Brothers for a full season from 1953-2002 had won at least one race behind their wheel. A record which remains unbroken even today.

The Wood-Jarrett combination was widely considered to be as bright a future as any team in NASCAR's future. However, Jarrett was soon lured away by Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs who formed a new team with the finances to entice Jarrett to leave the #21. This new ride would earn Jarrett his first Daytona 500 win with Gibbs.

Although Jarrett's time in the #21 was limited, lasting only for 53 races over two seasons, it produced one victory and over $600,000 in winnings. It also cemented the fact that the Wood Brothers team was one of the best in NASCAR for breeding future superstars.

The 1990s

With Jarrett's departure, the Woods sought out the veteran Morgan Shepherd to fill the seat in the 1992 season. Shepherd had been a solid, dependable finisher in the top series for most of his career and was a serious championship contender. With his consistent top finishes, Shepherd would provide strength as the team continued to adapt to the growing sport.

This new decade would seem unfathomable changes in NASCAR. A greater focus on new technology and sciences began to take hold. Engineers were now the norm, and the race-day teams often trained like professional athletes. Many teams even employed pro athletes to service their cars during pit stops.

The cost of racing grew exponentially, and its appeal doubled every year. NASCAR was now televised live internationally, and was as popular as "stick and ball sports" with fans and advertisers.

Within the team itself, crew member turnover became frequent as Eddie and Len sought a perfect combination of chemistry to succeed. New members from nearby Mount Airy, North Carolina such as Rick Simmons and Mike "Andretti" Smith were added to the team. Paint and Body men Terry Hill and Chris Martin were hired, and longtime members Butch Moricle, Butch Mitchell, Hylton Tatum, and Cecil Wilson had become veterans on the team.

Glen Wood’s daughter Kim Wood had also emerged as a competent leader in her specialty with the team as well. In addition to running the business administrative aspects of the team, she was a "one woman show" that handled all booking, reservations, accommodations, travel, and financial matters for the team. At a time when teams Richard Childress Racing employed a full-time staff of a dozen administrative workers, Kim proved as much a professional in this field as her brothers were in the mechanical and competitive aspects of the team.

Kim Wood had married crew member Terry Hall, and became Kim Wood Hall by this time. Her husband Terry was a vital member of the team who served as general mechanic and truck driver. Terry had replaced the legendary Delano Wood as Jack Man on the race day crew, after Delano's retirement many years earlier. Terry Hall was from Mount Airy, NC and provided a gateway to recruiting many new members of the team from his ties to that area.

The #21 team continued many experiments and changes to again innovate the sport they helped build. They had been outsourcing much of their engine work, and during this period had contracted with Robert Yates Racing in an agreement to provide engine parts for the #21. They also began weight training routines for crew members and increasing their application of technology in their race day competition.

Always the innovators in Pit Stops, the Wood team continued to practice and seek new improvements in their race day pit skills. The team sought out Talley Griffith, a local television producer and college student, to videotape their pit stops during races, and edit the tapes for review in order to improve their race day performance. The team also employed wide use of computers for the set up and timing of each car. Hiring race day specialists such as Spotter Chuck Joyce; and part-time scorers/timers, the team was on the cutting edge of competition development.

It was in this period of the early 90's that Eddie Wood, Len Wood, and Kim Wood Hall each took an ownership position in the team. For several years, the team had been owned by The Glen Wood Company, with patriarch Glen controlling the team's destiny. Longtime Co-Founder and Crew Chief Leonard Wood had stepped down as Crew Chief many years earlier, and Eddie Wood had become official Crew Chief of the #21 Ford.

Morgan Shepherd would do very well with the #21 Citgo team, and would provide consistent finishes in all four seasons he ran for the Wood Brothers. They enjoyed 52 Top Ten finishes and over $4 million in earnings in their time together. Their one and only victory came at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March of 1993,a race that was delayed six days because of a snow storm in the Atlanta area the previous weekend, and provided a much-needed boost for the team who had suffered a drought since Jarrett's victory at Michigan.

The Waltrip years

With the 1996 season upon them, the Woods sought a younger driver to fill the seat of the #21 Ford. As Shepherd was approaching retirement age, and a youth trend had risen with hot drivers like Jeff Gordon, the Woods were looking to ride a similar wave. They parted ways with Shepherd and welcomed Michael Waltrip, the younger brother of series champion and legend Darrell Waltrip.

Although they produced no official regular-season victory, the Wood Brothers and Waltrip pulled off an amazing win at the Winston Select All-Star race. This contest is arguably one of the most difficult challenges in NASCAR, pitting the best against the best in a true old-style shootout between NASCAR's most elite drivers. In their first season with Waltrip, the Wood team brought home the victory that night in a stunning display of team excellence that secured a $200,000 purse for the race.

In Waltrip's three-season, 95-race tenure with the Woods, they would amass over $3.7 million in winnings.

Young again

With the dawn of the 1999 season, the Wood Brothers brought in Elliott Sadler to replace a departing Michael Waltrip. Like the Woods, Sadler was a Virginia native whose family had been involved in racing for many years. Sadler represented a young, talented Rookie looking to make a name for himself in the Winston Cup Series. With their reputation as a prime developer of new talent, many held great things for this combination.

Changes inside the #21 team would become pivotal during this period as well. After decades at their old shop location at Dobyns Road in Stuart, the Wood Brothers constructed a massive, state of the art new facility at the Industrial Park in Stuart, Virginia. This new facility was modern and spacious, and offered room for expansion and development of their ever-growing team.

This new home also offered a museum of Wood Brothers memorabilia and history. Glen Wood's wife Bernece, who had served as de facto archivist for the family and team since the 1950s, presented a treasure trove of history for race fans to enjoy. Bernece and Kim dedicated many long hours to perfecting the museum, and offered guided tours of the entire facility to visitors from around the world. This delighted fans and quickly became known as one of the best and most visitor-friendly locations for any NASCAR fan to visit.

Additional changes emerged in personnel as some left, while others were hired. Full-time secretarial assistant Annepaige Hancock had been hired a few years earlier to assist in the demanding office work. Previous hires such as William Fulp, John Ilowiecki, and Barry Sheppard had been brought in to expand the force to include parts managers, couriers, engineers, and shock specialists. A Chassis dyno, shock dyno, and other new equipment were added.

Also among the recent hires was legendary engine builder Danny Glad. Glad had worked on the 1992 Paul Andrews-led Alan Kulwicki team several years earlier, and came to the Woods after leaving Geoff Bodine. Along with notables such as Randy Dorton and Lou Larosa, Danny Glad was regarded as one of the best engine specialists in the sport.

Young Elliott Sadler cut his teeth in the #21 car, and was soon performing on par with the best in the top NASCAR circuit. Eddie and Len had brought in Crew Chief Mike Beam, marking a historic first time that someone outside the Wood family had served as Crew Chief for the #21 team. Beam had seen success with Junior Johnson, Bud Moore, and others prior to arriving at the Woods. His pairing with Sadler would also allow Eddie and Len more time to manage the overall growth of their ever-expanding business operations.

The Year 2000 marked a historic period for Wood Brothers Racing. They celebrated their 50 year anniversary in a special ceremony honoring their milestone achievements. For a team of brothers, relatives, and friends from tiny Stuart, Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains, they had achieved international acclaim as pioneers in motorsport competition. Also in 2000, brothers Glen Wood and Leonard Wood were inducted into the prestigious Motorsports Hall of Fame.

On the track, the Sadler-Wood combination began to bear fruit in the 2001 season, with Sadler capturing his first victory in the #21 Ford at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. This win, oddly, was the first win for the Wood Brothers in their career at Bristol. For many years, Bristol was not raced by the team, mostly because their focus was on the superspeedways, and they did not race at short tracks.

This period also saw an increased relationship between Wood Brothers racing and Roush Fenway Racing, headed by engine master Jack Roush of Michigan. Roush fielded several top-notch teams including those driven by Jeff Burton and Mark Martin. This Wood-Roush relationship gave the Wood Brothers the depth of engineering and engine resources that most multi-car teams relied upon to dominate the sport. This limited arrangement allowed the Woods a wide array of specialists and research to aid in their quest for victory.

The next generation emerges

Eddie Wood and his wife Carol have two children, a daughter Jordan, and son Jonathan. Jordan was quickly gaining success as a rising beauty queen in local and regional pageants and an award-winning competitive dancer with the Patrick County Dancing Arts Center. Jordan also would spend free time at the Wood Brothers racing office, assisting with administrative duties and working to learn the team's business operations. Eddie and Carol's son Jonathan began following in the family footsteps as a competitive racer.

Jon Wood was finding victory in his grandfather's footsteps as a driver, racing go-kart in the World Karting Series and other forms of racing. Many were already speculating on his future in NASCAR and with the Wood Brothers team.

Elliott Sadler continued to improve with the #21 and his evolution was quickly making him a target for other teams. As proven in the past, the Woods were excellent breeders of talent and had invested massive amounts of time and dedication to bringing Sadler to the forefront. Therefore, it was not a surprise when Sadler was lured away to Robert Yates Racing with another lucrative career move. The Sadler period for the Wood team had lasted 139 races, which was the longest single stretch for a pilot of the #21 since David Pearson drove in the Wood's heyday. Sadler and the Woods earned one victory together, and over $9 million in only four seasons together.

During Sadler's term in the #21, the long term sponsorship relationship between Wood Brothers Racing and Citgo Petroleum came to an end. This was the end of a historic run, as Citgo had been a sponsor on the Wood Brothers car for nearly 20 years, which remains a record in NASCAR racing. Citgo was replaced by Ford Motorcraft and the U.S. Air Force, which made the Wood Brothers team the de facto "factory team" for Ford Motor Company.

Sadler's departure would signal the end of the "win streak" which saw every full-season driver of the Wood car win at least one victory since 1953. This astonishing record remains unbroken today.

Rudd & beyond

Elliott Sadler was replaced by veteran winner Ricky Rudd, another Virginia native with a career full of wins and consistent finishes. His first season with the Wood team in 2003 saw an impressive five Top Ten finishes and over $3 million in winnings. Rudd pulled off a second-place finish nearly winning in his first year behind the wheel of the #21.

Eddie and Len Wood continued to seek the right mix of crew members and chemistry, shuffling through personnel and crew chiefs to finally hire Michael "Fatback" McSwain as Crew Chief of the #21 Motorcraft Ford. McSwain and Rudd had worked together while at Robert Yates Racing several years prior, with great success.

Meanwhile, the young Jon Wood continued blistering short tracks across the South and Mid-Atlantic in the Late Model Stock Series and Craftsman Truck Series. Wood raced for owner Jack Roush and was quickly earning a reputation as a "racer" and not just a "driver" with his hard-charging style and mature evolution into a competitive force.

Another young Wood, Keven Wood, also began his racing career in this period. The son of Len and Nancy Wood, Keven had begun his academic studies in Motorsports Technology at Patrick Henry Community College while also working at the family's race shop. Keven absorbed everything about racing, from car chassis set up to engine tuning, in order to add to his knowledge of racing. He began his tenure as a Driver in 2002 the Legends Series and quickly burned up every track he drove upon. His talents proved formidable, and his victories were hard won. In 2004 Keven began running in the Late Model Stock Series, a tough proving ground for emerging champions.

The 2004 Series was a success for the Wood Brothers, but times were again changing. R.J. Reynolds had been forced to withdraw sponsorship from NASCAR several years earlier due to tobacco company lawsuits, and the top series was now known as the Nextel Cup Series. The expense of operating a team had reached all-time highs, requiring as much as $10 million per year from corporate sponsors just to field a car for a season. The #21 was not immune to growing pains.

In 2004, the Wood Brothers Racing Team left their roots in Stuart, Virginia to locate their main base of operations near Charlotte, North Carolina. As every competitive team is base in the area, the Woods knew it was a difficult yet necessary move if they hoped to achieve their quest for the Nextel Cup. Their re-location to Mooresville, NC allowed them more resources and greater access to personnel and technology in the hub of NASCAR racing. As expected, many shifts in team composition occurred.

The Woods maintained their shop in Stuart, Virginia although it is used primarily as a museum and as a secondary facility to their main operations in NC. It still remains one of the best destinations for fans and visitors from all over the globe to enjoy a look behind the scenes of one of NASCAR's most legendary teams.

Ricky Rudd and the Wood Brothers enjoyed a successful run in 2004, again nearly winning and taking home a second place slot. They also won a Pole Position, the team's first since 1984 with Buddy Baker in the #21. Along with winning two outside Pole Positions and nearly $4 million in earnings, it was a good season for the Wood Brothers but they still continue to chase down the ever-elusive victories they once enjoyed.

2005 and beyond

The 2005 season saw another second place finish for Rudd in the #21 at California. They also enjoyed over $4 million in winnings. At the end of the 2005 season, Ricky Rudd announced his retirement. The beloved driver stepped down after only three seasons with the Wood Brothers during a period of tremendous change for the team. The Woods announced that veteran driver Ken Schrader will take the wheel of the #21 in 2005, with a new primary sponsorship from Little Debbie Snack Cakes supporting the team. The U.S. Air Force will remain as associate sponsor along with Motorcraft, and all three will rotate primary sponsorship duties through the season.

A tremendous shift towards the future in the legendary Wood Brothers Racing Team was announced in 2005. The team had entered into a partnership agreement with ST Motorsports based in NC to begin with the 2006 season. This partnership will provide tremendous growth potential for the Wood team, and will give it the depth of resources on par with other multi-car teams.

JTG Motorsports was spawned from ST Racing, which fields entries in the Craftsman Truck Series and Grand National Series. It is owned by Tad and Jodi Geschickter, a husband and wife team who have combined years of marketing expertise with hard work and top talent in racing. ST Motorsports built one of the most respected team operations in NASCAR, and will combine with Wood Brothers Racing to bring a true "family" partnership together at all levels of the NASCAR world.

The marketing success of JTG Motorsports and the competitive racing success of the legendary Wood Brothers team will fuse together two entities of excellence in a unified quest for motorsports excellence. The #21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion car will also enjoy the expertise of the Ford Racing Technology team and will be a force very week on the track.

Among the changes to the #21 team is the elevation of Michael “Fatback” McSwain from Crew Chief to Manager of racing operations for the team. The Crew Chief hired for the 2006 campaign was David Hyder, who worked with Schrader at BAM Racing. Eddie, Len, and Kim will focus on running the team’s competitive operations while Tad and Jodi Geschickter will concentrate their expertise on the sponsorship and marketing business side of the union.

In addition to the #21 Nextel Cup entry driven by Ken Schrader, ST Motorsports will be fielding the Busch Grand National #47 Clorox Ford Taurus driven by Jon Wood, and the #59 Kingsford/Bush's Baked Beans Ford Taurus driven by Stacy Compton. The Wood/JTG Team is also preparing entries for the Craftsman Truck Series and an additional Nextel Cup Series entry for the future.

The Wood Brothers hold many records and historic achievements. Among these are the fact that they have fielded only Ford Motor Company products since 1950, which makes the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer, ever. The Wood Brothers also have won at least one race in every decade for the last six decades, an unmatched feat. They have 98 total victories (including the Winston Select All-Star race); and have won 117 Pole Positions in 1,186 starts. They have earned over $30 million in career winnings, and remain among the winningest racing teams in the history of NASCAR racing for over 55 years.

In 2007 Ken Schrader & Bill Elliott split driving the #21 car with Jon Wood making 2 attempts making 1 race. The sponsors stayed the same from 2006. Also, the Wood Brothers entered a second car into 2 events, at Las Vegas with Schrader and Kansas with Jon Wood, but both of them failed to qualify.

In 2008, Bill Elliott and Marcos Ambrose will be sharing the #21.

 

Wood Brothers drivers (1953-2007) Glen Wood - Banjo Matthews - Bob Welborn - Junior Johnson - Fred Harb - Fred Lorenzen - Earl Balmer - Bobby Rahal - Jim Massey - Dave MacDonald - Tommy Ellis - Speedy Thompson - Parnelli Jones - Curtis Turner - Tiny Lund - Dan Gurney - Donnie Allison - Marvin Panch - A. J. Foyt - Buddy Baker - Cale Yarborough - Dale Jarrett - Neil Bonnett - David Pearson - Kyle Petty - Morgan Shepherd - Michael Waltrip - Elliott Sadler - Ricky Rudd - Ken Schrader - Bill Elliott - Jon Wood - Marcos Ambrose

 

Once-dominant Wood Brothers yearning for success of yesteryear MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Eddie Wood was beside himself when he arrived at Martinsville Speedway in 2004. The bright red hot dogs -- sorry, world-famous hot dogs -- typically filled with mustard, onions, chili, slaw and wrapped in wax paper had been placed in Styrofoam boxes without any of the toppings. Wood was so upset that he and several other representatives from the Sprint Cup garage marched into the NASCAR hauler and demanded that the $2 dogs be returned to normal or they "were done." So a call was put into NASCAR headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla., where longtime chairman Bill France Jr. still was calling many of the shots. Within a couple of hours the hot dogs were back in wax wrappers "and salty like they're supposed to be. I wish you could fix your team as quick as they fixed the hot dogs," said Wood, who co-owns the famed Wood Brothers team with brother Len out of Harrisburg, N.C. "It's not that simple." There was a time when the Wood Brothers were to stock car racing what the hot dogs are to Martinsville -- world famous. From 1970 until 1979 this legendary team collected 54 of its career 97 victories with greats such as Cale Yarborough, A.J. Foyt and David Pearson behind the wheel. In 1973, Pearson won an amazing 11 of 18 races out of the team's original shop in remote Stuart, Va., a 30-minute hike up Highway 58 from Martinsville. If he had entered the other 10 events, he likely would have won the title going away. Pearson followed that season with win totals of seven, three and 10, giving him 31 victories out of 80 events. There wasn't a time he went to the track that he didn't expect to win. Now the Wood Brothers go to the track simply hoping to make the 43-car field, which they've done only once in five races to fall out of the top 35 guaranteed a starting spot heading into this weekend's race at Martinsville. They haven't had a victory since Elliott Sadler at Bristol in 2001. They haven't had a top-10 since Ken Schrader was seventh at Richmond in 2006. They've spent the past 27 years equaling the 10 wins Pearson had in 1976. They've reached double figures in laps led only twice since 1983, and led only 19 laps in the past two-plus seasons. But never have they gone through tougher times than this season. The only race they made was the second week at California, where Bill Elliott got in on his past champion's provisional after qualifying was rained out. They are 44th in owners' points, 192 points out of the top 35. Nobody can pinpoint one reason for the downfall. Some say the organization fell behind when it refused to expand to multiple cars as most of the top teams did in the 1980s. Some say it stayed in Virginia, far away from the talent base in Charlotte, N.C., too long before making the move in 2004. Some say it didn't keep up with the technology as the sport moved more toward engineering. Likely it was a combination of all those things and much more. "It hurts to see," said Buddy Baker, who won his last points event for the Wood Brothers at the 1983 July race in Daytona. "Everybody in the sport, we all remember how good they were at one time. It's painful to watch what has happened. It would be like watching David Pearson come back and miss every race." Sadler, who grew up in Emporia, Va., can't believe how far the organization has fallen even since he left following the 2002 season. "It's awful to watch what the Wood Brothers are going through," he said. "Man, my heart goes out for them. You're not going to meet a better family of people that have supported this sport from the very beginning than them." The Wood Brothers have been around longer than any team outside of Petty Enterprises. Started in 1950 by brothers Glen and Leonard Wood in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia, the organization made the No. 21 as feared as the No. 43 of Richard Petty and the No. 3 of Dale Earnhardt. Now it strikes fear only into those competing for the final few spots in the field, and that happens primarily on weekends when Elliott is there with his champion's provisional instead of Jon Wood or Marcos Ambrose. It's so sad that Leonard Wood can only laugh. "You might as well laugh as cry," said the only original Wood still with the team. "If you lay down you might as well quit. You just have to grin and bear it, I reckon. Racin' don't have no pity sake on you." Walk through history On a grassy knoll on 21 Performance Drive in Stuart sits the Wood Brothers' first permanent shop. It's a museum now, filled with enough trophies and plaques to fill much of NASCAR's Hall of Fame being constructed in downtown Charlotte, N.C. "They could have their own Hall of Fame if they wanted to," Baker said with a laugh. On display this week is the 1971 Purolator Mercury made famous by Pearson. The car was loaned to Darlington Raceway for its museum 34 years ago, but recently it was returned to Stuart to be tuned for Pearson to drive around the newly paved Darlington track next month. Sadler is awestruck every time he enters this sacred place among stock car lovers. "How many trophies and wins those guys have is unbelievable," he said. "The names they've had on the side of their race cars, it's absolutely unbelievable. You don't really understand it until you have it all in one place." There you're reminded that this is the organization that invented the pit stop that is a part of every form of racing. You're reminded that this group crossed the open-wheel line long before Juan Pablo Montoya came to Chip Ganassi Racing with stars such as Foyt and Dan Gurney. You're reminded that 19 of NASCAR's "50 Greatest Drivers" drove under the Wood Brothers' logo. You're reminded of just how good Pearson was, collecting an amazing 46 wins and 51 poles in 143 events for the team from 1972-79. And when you visit the shop, you don't get a tour from just anybody in the community of just over 2,000 people. "You get shown by one of the Wood family," said Sadler, referring to Glen Wood's daughter, Kim Wood-Hall, and other family members. "I thought that was amazing. If you're anywhere near Martinsville, you need to take the extra time to go there. There's a lot of racing history that will explain a lot of things about our sport." The rest of what is happening in the sport can be found three hours away in Harrisburg. The Wood Brothers moved their shop to Mooresville, N.C., in 2004 and then to their current location two years later in hopes of turning things around. Like Petty Enterprises this season, the Wood Brothers wanted to be closer to the talent pool in what is considered the hub of stock car racing. This also put them closer to Ford's all-important seven-post shaker at nearby Roush Fenway Racing -- as well as Roush's technical support -- and gave them easy access to a wind tunnel. And while they believe the organization is stronger, it hasn't shown in the results. "Just moving, that's not necessarily going to fix your ills," Eddie said as he leaned forward in his office chair. "It's a long process. But if you're gonna get to where you would like to be, you've just about got to be here." Back at the shop Keven Wood emerged from a corner of the chassis shop wearing a yellow T-shirt that read "Inner Beauty is Overrated" and a lucky charm clover around his neck. "Whatever it takes," he said. The 23-year-old son of Len Wood helps in the chassis dyno department part of the week and spends the rest of his time trying to keep employees pumped up. "If you didn't have a good weekend, you try to take their mind off of things," he said. Forgotten when the No. 21 hauler pulls out of the track and the focus is on the 43 cars that made the race are the men and women in this converted factory that worked all week to put the car in the show. "Everything they can think of they're trying," Keven said. "You can tell when we don't make a race. The morale, it kind of gets hurt. It's dejecting to them when they don't get to see the car on the track and see their work. They're not getting enough credit." Keven was born in 1984, when Bobby Rahal replaced Baker and the organization started leveling out. "Ever since, it's been going downhill," he said. Keven's only reminders of past glory are the trophies and pictures in the museum. That, and being of Wood blood, drives him to breathe new life into the organization. "Especially with my grandfather still being alive," he said of Glen. "They don't want to have it quit while he's still around. It's his legacy and they want to keep it going as long as we can for him. "There's a lot of pride in our name. I'm thankful for being a Wood. It's kind of a double-edged sword, though, but I'd take it any day." Mike Smith doesn't share the Wood name, but he takes just as much pride in turning things around. He's worked for the organization for 18 years and has known the family since he was 6. "My dad was one of the Wood's bookies," Smith said with a chuckle. "I remember coming in and seeing all the trophies and checkered flags hanging up. I want to see that again." Smith, an aerodynamics specialist, has been to Victory Lane only three times with the Wood Brothers. One of those was The Winston All-Star race with Michael Waltrip in 1996. As bad as things have been in the past, he's never seen them this bad. "It's been hard," he said. "I'm actually dreading Fridays [qualifying day] now, which we ain't never done." Smith knows it's not feasible for a single-car team to compete with multicar teams such as Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing. He understands larger teams have more engineers and resources to draw on. He also believes that with the same chassis that everybody else uses in the new car and with Roush-Yates engines (that already have produced two wins this season), things should be better. "If we could win a race, just a race, and finish in the top 35, we could call it a good year," he said. "It will happen one day. Things will get better." One day at a time Bernie Marcus, Ford Racing's aerodynamics engineer, sat off to the side as Eddie Wood waited for an important call. But Ford is doing anything but sitting idly by and watching the Wood Brothers drown. The company has added another engineer over the past few weeks and is doing all it can to right this historic ship. Other teams, regardless of make, are encouraging, as well. "There seems like there's a lot of people interested in us and supporting us, telling us don't get discouraged and keep digging and that kind of thing," Eddie said. That doesn't make it any easier, particularly when Eddie and other members of the family have to stay throughout the weekend to entertain sponsors and guests who expected the car to be in the field. "I'm tired of walking in the garage area bumming drinks off of other teams," Leonard said. "Not much fun." Leonard still comes to the shop on a daily basis, but he hasn't been involved in many of the decisions since turning the business over to his nephews years ago. He believes, as does Eddie, that the turnaround is just a matter of getting the right people in the right places. Sadler isn't so sure. He believes that the Wood Brothers are at a crossroads, that if they don't soon expand to a multicar team they may not survive many more years. "We haven't seen many one-car Cup teams become successful," he reminded. "It's tough for those guys to compete week in and week out. They are just fighting an uphill battle every week." Pearson doesn't know what the problem is, but he knows what he would do to correct it. "I told some of them just the other day they need to let Leonard go back and be over everything," he said of his former crew chief. "Let him be the crew chief and set things up like he used to. I don't think they would have no problems making races then." Leonard isn't ready for that role anymore than Pearson is ready to tackle NASCAR's new car. "I couldn't drive a car where you go in a corner and you feel like the front end falls down on it," said the three-time champion. "It's like running on a solid car or something." But Leonard is ready to see things turn around. "I don't have nothing to do with the business end of it, but my thought is it needs to be fixed -- now," he said. "To be honest, and I don't mean this like I need special treatment, but I think anybody that's been racing for 50 years should be in the race each week anyway." That certainly would make life easier for Eddie, whose plate became even fuller on Monday when his crew chief left. "Right now, all I'm thinking about is getting my stuff running and getting in the top 35," he said. "You've got to be competitive first. It doesn't take very long to get behind, but it takes a long time to catch up. When you're out of the top 35 everything snowballs on you. You miss one race, oops. You miss a second, it just starts to snowball. But like a very good friend of mine once told me, 'Nobody died today.' This is not a funeral." Eddie believes Martinsville would be a fitting place to get this season on track because of what the track has meant to the family. He knows the car is better than it was a few weeks ago, and with other past champions safely in the top 35 Elliott is almost assured a spot. And he is certain of one thing. "I'm gonna have a hot dog there," Eddie said, a faint smile returning to his troubled face. "I'm going to have one for breakfast, maybe two. That's the least I'm going to carry out of there." David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at dnewtonespn@aol.com.

 

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