Rough Night At Texas Leaves Blaney 29th In Duck Commander 500

April 10, 2016

Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team had a fast Ford Fusion for Saturday’s Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway as evidenced by his seventh-place starting spot. But a series of events and a lack of proper balance on the chassis set-up relegated the team to a 29th-place finish, four laps behind the leaders.

Team co-owner Eddie Wood said the team struggled with a tight handling condition all night, and the problems were compounded by two unscheduled pit stops, both for vibrations.

One was a suspected loose wheel, the other was indeed a loose wheel. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Rough Night At Texas Leaves Blaney 29th In Duck Commander 500 →

Blaney To Start Seventh In Duck Commander 500 At Texas

April 8, 2016

Qualifying continues to be a strong suit for Ryan Blaney and the crew of his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion.

On Friday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway, Blaney earned the seventh starting spot for Saturday’s Duck Commander 500. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blaney To Start Seventh In Duck Commander 500 At Texas →

Blaney Pays His Dues At Martinsville, Moves To 15th In Points

April 3, 2016

Martinsville Speedway, the tough, tight half-mile oval, is the one place on the Sprint Cup circuit where a first-time driver can either earn the respect of veterans or spend quite a while paying the price for not doing so.

In Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville, rookie Ryan Blaney did exactly what his Motorcraft/Quick Lane team expected of him. He drove a race in which he ran every lap – one of the pre-race goals – and did so in a manner that showed respect to the drivers around him. And despite a late-race penalty for a pit crew/pit road violation on the day’s final stop, he brought his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Fusion home in 19th place, and with it moved up two spots in the Sprint Cup standings to 15th. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blaney Pays His Dues At Martinsville, Moves To 15th In Points →

Blaney To Start 12th In Sunday’s STP 500 At Martinsville

April 2, 2016

Martinsville Speedway, the paper-clip-shaped half-mile oval, has confounded many a newcomer over the years, but rookies Ryan Blaney and Jeremy Bullins figured it out fairly well for their first trip there with a Sprint Cup car.

Blaney and his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion were seventh fastest in Friday’s opening practice session. They backed that up in qualifying, posting the sixth-best speed in the first round and the eighth-best in the second round before locking down the 12th starting spot in the final round. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blaney To Start 12th In Sunday’s STP 500 At Martinsville →

Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Executive Jon Wood Was A Martinsville Winner Back In The Day

March 30, 2016

As the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team and driver Ryan Blaney head to Martinsville Speedway for this weekend’s STP 500, race fans in the Virginia area are celebrating the return of the Wood Brothers to their home track for the first time since 2011 and for the first time as regular Sprint Cup competitors since 2008.

The Woods’ long history at Martinsville is being recalled, including team founder Glen Wood’s success at Martinsville in the series now known as Sprint Cup, where he won four poles and had three top-three finishes, and in the Modified Division where in 1960 he sped to victory in a 1937 Ford known then and now as the Backseater.

That car gets its name from the fact that the Woods, taking advantage of the more liberal rules of the Modified division, moved the engine so far back that the driver’s seat was pushed back to where the car’s back seat normally would be. Continue reading Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Executive Jon Wood Was A Martinsville Winner Back In The Day →

Blown Tire Ends Blaney’s Bid For A Top-10 Finish At Auto Club

March 20, 2016

Ryan Blaney kept his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion among the top-fifteen for most of Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. He was poised to finish there before a blown tire with seven laps remaining sent him into the outside wall and out of the race. He wound up 35th, which leaves him 17th in the Sprint Cup standings heading into the circuit’s first off weekend of the season. He’s tied in points with fellow Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Chase Elliott, who is 16th. Elliott gets the higher spot because his best finish this season is higher than Blaney’s.

Blaney said the tire issue that put him out of the race caught him by surprise.

“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “There was no warning, and the tire just exploded into turn three.”

Up until that point, he had a good weekend going.
Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blown Tire Ends Blaney’s Bid For A Top-10 Finish At Auto Club →

Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Head to Auto Club Down One Man

March 16, 2016

Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team head into Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., without the services of the team’s longest-serving road crew member other than those related to the Wood Brothers.

Michael “Andretti” Smith tore his bicep muscle loose from his shoulder and fifty percent apart from his elbow while trying to hold a full can of gasoline out over the wall during a pit stop at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Smith was able to continue his role on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew for the remainder of that race, since the remaining stops that day required only one can of fuel, which he was able to hand over to the gas man despite the injury and the pain. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Head to Auto Club Down One Man →

Blaney Scores Second-Straight Top-10 With 10th Place Finish At Phoenix

March 13, 2016

Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team backed up their sixth-place finish at Las Vegas a week ago with a 10th place finish in Sunday’s Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

It was the first back-to-back top-10 finish for the Wood Brothers team since Ricky Rudd scored a pair of ninth-place finishes at Kansas and Charlotte in the fall of 2005.

Blaney qualified 12th for the 500-kilometer run at Phoenix, where he’d never before raced a Sprint Cup car.

He stayed inside the top 15 for the majority of the race, and had worked his way into the top 12 when the caution flag flew with six laps remaining.

That set up an overtime finish. The Motorcraft/Quick Lane team opted to pit for fresh right-side tires, and Blaney was able to muscle his way into 10th place at the finish.

“That wasn’t bad,” Blaney said in his post-race comments. “We fought really hard all day. We got a lot better throughout the day.”

“The guys did a great job with two tires at the end. I thought about staying out, but we wouldn’t have been on the first two rows I don’t think so we had to come in and get two. I think it picked us up one spot.

“It was a good day and a good job by everybody on this Motorcraft Quick Lane team and a top-10 car is all I could ask for.”

With his Phoenix finish, Blaney moves from 14th to 12th in the Sprint Cup standings, just 11 points out of the top 10. He also continues to lead what is shaping up to be a tight battle with Chase Elliott for the top spot in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contest.

For team owner Eddie Wood, watching the rookie Blaney and his rookie crew chief Jeremy Bullins at work is a pleasure.

“I’m just so proud of everyone on this Motorcraft/Quick Lane team,” Wood said. “They backed up their finish from Las Vegas. Ryan did a really good job staying with it all day. I didn’t want to see that last caution come out, but it wound up working out in our favor.”

Wood also is enjoying the rookie contest between the two young drivers.

“I’ve known Ryan and Chase since they were little boys,” he said. “Seeing them race for Sunoco Rookie of the Year is a lot of fun. It looks like it’s going to be a great battle between them from week to week.

“I’m excited to move on to California and do it all again next week.”

Wood Brothers Remember Pioneer Racer Bobby Johns And His One Run In The No. 21 Ford

March 12, 2016

Among the many pieces of racing memorabilia collected by the Wood Brothers over the past seven decades is a helmet signed by 33 of the drivers who have driven the iconic No. 21 Ford now driven by Ryan Blaney with sponsorship from Motorcraft/Quick Lane.

That helmet, features the signature of Bobby Johns who died suddenly on March 7 in his hometown of Miami Fla. It has a total of 48 signatures including Edsel B Ford II, NASCAR Hall of Famers and others important to the team such as family matriarch Bernece Wood. Continue reading Wood Brothers Remember Pioneer Racer Bobby Johns And His One Run In The No. 21 Ford →

Blaney Qualifies 12th For First Phoenix Start In Sprint Cup

March 11, 2016

Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team rode the momentum of a strong sixth-place run at Las Vegas into Phoenix International Raceway on Friday and came away with the 12th starting spot for Sunday’s Good Sam 500.

The rookie Blaney and his rookie crew chief Jeremy Bullins had never before been to Phoenix with a Sprint Cup car, but quickly got the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion up to speed in opening practice.

Blaney’s best lap of 137.101 miles per hour put him 12th on the speed chart, and he backed that up by qualifying in that same position.

But to do it, he had to advance through the first two rounds of knock-out qualifying and make his first appearance of the season in the third and final round.

Blaney was 5th fastest in the first round and 11th in the second, but dropped to 12th in the final round, interrupted by a red flag brought out for a crash by Jimmie Johnson. His official qualifying lap was at 136.307 mph.

“It wasn’t bad,” Blaney said. “We didn’t have a lot of speed that last round unfortunately, but it isn’t a bad day for us making it to the last round.”

“That is about all you can ask for, and we worked hard at it today. The guys on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team have been working really hard, and they have made me a really fast Fusion, so I am most looking forward to getting out there and seeing what we can do in the race on Sunday.”

Team co-owner Eddie Wood said he was particularly pleased with the performance, given Blaney’s and Bullins’ inexperience at the one-mile oval in the Arizona desert.

“I’m proud of how far they’ve come in a short time,” Wood said. “We’ll go back to work tomorrow and give it our best on Sunday.”

Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Hoping New Hampshire Notes Are Helpful At Phoenix
March 10, 2016

Ryan Blaney and his crew chief Jeremy Bullins have never competed in a Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway, site of this weekend’s Good Sam 500.

But they have raced on a similar track, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which like Phoenix is a mile in length and relatively flat.

At New Hampshire last year, Blaney put his team’s No. 21 Ford Fusion on top of the scoreboard after the opening session of knock-out qualifying and wound up starting 16th.

The notes gathered that weekend in Loudon, N.H., have Bullins encouraged as the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team prepares for a three-race stretch of racing at tracks that he and Blaney have never run as Cup competitors. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Hoping New Hampshire Notes Are Helpful At Phoenix →

Young Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Has Strong Run at Vegas

March 6, 2016

Three weeks into their first full-time Sprint Cup season since 2008, the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team faced one of its toughest tests yet in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The team, led by rookie driver Ryan Blaney and crew chief Jeremy Bullins, passed with flying colors as they wound up with a sixth-place finish, the team’s best performance this year.

The Vegas race – and the current season – is different than those in recent years. Decisions by Blaney on the track and by Bullins on the pit box now are made with the bigger picture in mind – the Chase for the Sprint Cup and the series championship. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Young Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Has Strong Run at Vegas →

Encouraging Atlanta Run Has Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Optimistic About Las Vegas

March 1, 2016

Despite a disappointing crash on the final lap of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, rookie Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are off to a strong start to the team’s first full-time campaign since 2008.

The Wood Brothers team enters this weekend’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 23rd in the Sprint Cup car owner standings, two points out of the top 20 and 10 points out of the top 15. Continue reading Encouraging Atlanta Run Has Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Optimistic About Las Vegas →

Overtime Crash Spoils Top-15 Run For Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team

February 28, 2016

Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion team came about a mile shy of completing a successful first run of the season under NASCAR’s new lower-downforce rules package.

In Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, Blaney started 23rd, quickly raced his way into the top 15 and essentially stayed there throughout the race, that ran with just a single caution until there were just two laps remaining. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Overtime Crash Spoils Top-15 Run For Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team →

Blaney To Start 23rd At Atlanta

February 26, 2016

With only 39 entries for the 40 available starting spots for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team was assured a starting spot for the team’s 103rd start at the Atlanta track.

Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team took an aggressive approach to Friday’s qualifying session, with Blaney turning in a steering-wheel-sawing performance in the closing seconds to bump fellow rookie Chase Elliott from the top-24 and an advance to the second round.

It took a lap at 189.766 miles per hour for Blaney to post the 23rd-best time in his second attempt in the first round, but he paid a big price for that extra time on his tires as he dropped to 24th in the second round with a lap at 187.449 mph. That puts him 23rd in the line-up for Sunday after apparent pole-sitter Kyle Busch had his time disallowed due to a rules infraction.

Eddie Wood, co-owner of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion, said he liked the way Blaney drove in qualifying despite having a loose-handling car.

“That said a lot about Ryan’s determination,” Wood said. “The way it all played out, we were locked into a starting spot, but still he was running on the edge.”

“That makes me happy.”

Wood went on to say that the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team is encouraged by its runs in race trim on Friday, and there’s still another session on Saturday to finish fine-tuning the No. 21 Ford Fusion.

Winter Weather At Atlanta Was Wonderful For the Woods In 1993

February 25, 2016

Officials at the Atlanta Motor Speedway are offering a good weather guarantee for this weekend’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, hoping to reassure fans that there won’t be a repeat of bad weather like the weekend in 1993. That year, a blizzard dumped nearly a foot of snow on the track and forced the postponement of the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 until the following Saturday.

Eddie Wood, co-owner of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion driven by Ryan Blaney, is among those who wouldn’t mind a repeat of ‘93. Continue reading Winter Weather At Atlanta Was Wonderful For the Woods In 1993 →

Wood Brothers And Blaney Say Thanks To Their Fans By Earning Daytona 500 Starting Spot

February 14, 2016

For Eddie Wood, co-owner of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion, and the rest of his family, the outpouring of fan support over the past 66 seasons, through the good times and the struggles, has been humbling.

This proved true again this past week, as fans and others in the NASCAR community have reached out through social media and other ways to express their support for the Woods. Continue reading Wood Brothers And Blaney Say Thanks To Their Fans By Earning Daytona 500 Starting Spot →

Woods Share Memories On 40th Anniversary Of Pearson’s Dramatic 1976 Daytona 500 Win

February 11, 2016

NASCAR is unique in the sports world for a lot of reasons, chief among them is that it holds its own Super Bowl of sorts, the Daytona 500, at the start of the season rather than at the end.

Over the years, it’s worked out well, with dramatic races on the iconic Daytona International Speedway setting a positive tone for the entire season. But few Daytona 500s have ended as spectacularly as the one 40 years ago this month. Continue reading Woods Share Memories On 40th Anniversary Of Pearson’s Dramatic 1976 Daytona 500 Win →

Marvin Panch Was Like One Of The Wood Brothers

January 4, 2016

Of all the drivers who have taken the wheel of the Wood Brothers’ Fords over the years, none were as close to the Wood family as Marvin Panch.

Panch, who died Dec. 31 at the age of 89 at his home in Port Orange, Fla., drove the No. 21 from 1962 to 1966, winning eight races, including a sweep of the superspeedway races at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1965. When Panch drove the Wood’s Ford, now driven by Ryan Blaney, he was more like a member of the family than an employee of the team. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Marvin Panch Was Like One Of The Wood Brothers →

Blaney Closes Out Rookie Sprint Cup Season With 17th-Place Finish In Ford EcoBoost 400 At Homestead

November 23, 2015

Ryan Blaney and Jeremy Bullins finished their rookie Sprint Cup season with a 17th-place finish in the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday night.

Blaney started 6th and ran as high as 2nd before falling back during some early caution periods.

Fittingly, the rookie Blaney got to race door-to-door early in the race with the retiring Jeff Gordon in Gordon’s final race, much like Gordon was able to race Richard Petty in Petty’s final race in 1992 at Atlanta.

Blaney’s No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion appeared to be faster than Gordon’s car at that point, but the rookie didn’t make any daring moves to pass. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blaney Closes Out Rookie Sprint Cup Season With 17th-Place Finish In Ford EcoBoost 400 At Homestead →