Wood Brothers Return To Bristol With The No. 21 SKF Ford Fusion

August 19, 2015

Over the years, the Wood Brothers have focused their attention on NASCAR’s biggest, fastest tracks. But they’ve also run 65 races on the half-mile oval at Bristol Motor Speedway, where this weekend Ryan Blaney will drive the No. 21 SKF Ford Fusion in Saturday’s 500-lap race under the lights. It’s the second of three races this season that the No. 21 Ford will carry the SKF sponsorship. The first, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last month, saw Blaney post the third-fastest speed in final practice and run as high as sixth in the race. The final race for the No. 21 SKF Ford Fusion will come at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 20. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Wood Brothers Return To Bristol With The No. 21 SKF Ford Fusion →

Blaney Finishes 24th in Pure Michigan 400

August 16, 2015

A good finish in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race requires both a fast race car and a fair amount of luck.

Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion team had the speed in Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway but came up a little short on the luck side. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blaney Finishes 24th in Pure Michigan 400 →

Blaney To Start 19th In Pure Michigan 400

August 14, 2015

Friday’s practice and qualifying session at Michigan International Speedway was like a big science project for Sprint Cup teams like the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion crew and driver Ryan Blaney.

In addition to trying to secure a starting berth for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400, Blaney and his team, led by crew chief Jeremy Bullins, had to tune their car to accommodate a new high-drag aerodynamic package in place for this weekend’s race at Michigan. The same package was used at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but Michigan International Speedway is a different track and that requires a different set-up. Blaney was 14th fastest in practice with a best lap at 192.802 miles per hour and qualified 19th with a lap at 193.128 mph. “We are trying to figure out where we need to get some speed here,” Blaney said “I know the guys are working hard at it. We will go make some race runs tomorrow. We are in the show, which is the biggest thing. We will see where our car is and where the balance is and see where we are.” Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blaney To Start 19th In Pure Michigan 400 →

Wood Brothers Remember Buddy Baker As “One Of The Great Ones”

August 12, 2015

As the NASCAR world looks back on the career accomplishments of Elzie Wylie “Buddy” Baker, who died Monday of cancer at age 74, an interesting trend emerges. Throughout a driving career that saw him win 19 races and 38 poles in the series now known as Sprint Cup, he was often paired with some of the sport’s greatest competitors, many of whom are already in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Continue reading Wood Brothers Remember Buddy Baker As “One Of The Great Ones” →

RYAN BLANEY UNVEILS SPECIAL SNAP-ON PAINT SCHEME CELEBRATING WOOD BROTHERS AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY MEDIA EVENT

August 4, 2015

Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, took part in a special media event today where the 21-year-old unveiled a special Snap-on paint scheme that he will run during the Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–RYAN BLANEY UNVEILS SPECIAL SNAP-ON PAINT SCHEME CELEBRATING WOOD BROTHERS AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY MEDIA EVENT →

Blaney’s Driving And Bullins’ Strategy Add Up To A 12th-Place Finish At The Brickyard

July 27, 2015

Over the years, Eddie and Len Wood, like their father and uncles before them, have made their share of race strategy decisions.

On Sunday, in a nerve-wracking, constantly evolving Crown Royal 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the two Wood Brothers were glad to have someone else making the strategy decisions for their No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane/JDRF Ford Fusion team. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blaney’s Driving And Bullins’ Strategy Add Up To A 12th-Place Finish At The Brickyard →

Blaney To Start 30th At The Brickyard

July 25, 2015

After a little slip in qualifying on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney will start 30th in Sunday’s Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400. But for his race team and the people who support it, where Blaney starts isn’t nearly as important as the fact that he’ll be in the starting field. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blaney To Start 30th At The Brickyard →

Leonard Wood Has A Lifetime Of Indy Memories

July 25, 2015

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of Sunday’s Crown Royal 400, is one of the most revered arenas in the sporting world.

It hosted its first race in 1909 and in the years since has become what most would agree, the most famous race track in the world.

Up until 1994, the Speedway was the exclusive race course of the open-wheel racers who competed in the Indianapolis 500. Since then, NASCAR has played a big role at the track with the running of the 400-mile race commonly known as the Brickyard 400. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Leonard Wood Has A Lifetime Of Indy Memories →

Blaney Finishes 23rd After Tough Day At New Hampshire

July 19, 2015

What started out to be a promising run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway didn’t turn out as expected for Ryan Blaney and his No. 21 SKF Ford Fusion team.

After a strong performance in qualifying on Friday and posting the third-best time in final practice on Saturday, Blaney was poised for a run to the front in Sunday’s New Hampshire 301. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blaney Finishes 23rd After Tough Day At New Hampshire →

Blaney And His SKF Ford Fusion Start 16th At New Hampshire

July 17, 2015

Ryan Blaney and his team’s No. 21 SKF-sponsored Ford Fusion finally had their day in the sun.

After missing two straight Sprint Cup races because of rain on qualifying day, the sun shone brightly at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Blaney and his Wood Brothers team responded with a strong effort in qualifying for Sunday’s New Hampshire 301.

Blaney, who was 10th fastest in practice on Friday morning, led the way in the first of three rounds of qualifying with a lap at 134.373 miles per hour. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blaney And His SKF Ford Fusion Start 16th At New Hampshire →

Glen Wood Turns 90 With Plenty of Spring Still in His Step

July 17, 2015

On Saturday, while Ryan Blaney and the SKF-branded Ford Fusion will be busy on track at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, folks around Stuart, Va., will gather to celebrate the 90th birthday of the team’s founder, Glen Wood.

Wood, a 2012 inductee into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, is like a lot of people who grew up in the hard times of the Depression, but through hard work, accomplished great things in their adult lives. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Glen Wood Turns 90 With Plenty of Spring Still in His Step →

SKF to Sponsor Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Ford Fusion and Ryan Blaney in New Hampshire 301

July 14, 2015

The No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford Fusion, with Ryan Blaney at the wheel, will hit the track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend with a new look representing technical partner SKF, the leading global supplier of friction-reducing solutions for industrial and transportation applications. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–SKF to Sponsor Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Ford Fusion and Ryan Blaney in New Hampshire 301 →

For The Wood Brothers And Ryan Blaney, When It Rains, It Floods

July 10, 2015

Eddie Wood, co-owner of the No. 21 Snap-on Ford Fusion, knows that in the end, the statistics always even out. In the case of his family’s Sprint Cup race team in the past two weeks, that’s a bad thing. Since going to a part-time status in 2009, the Wood Brothers; despite not having a provisional starting spot to rely on in the event of a qualifying rainout, have qualified for 90-straight races. Then last week at Daytona International Speedway, weather caused qualifying for the Coke Zero 400 to be cancelled, and that meant the Woods and their driver, Ryan Blaney, missed that race. As if last week wasn’t frustrating enough, now more than ever, the old adage “when it rains it pours” couldn’t be more fitting. On Friday at Kentucky Speedway, more rain caused another cancellation, and the No. 21 Ford Fusion, sporting the colors of sponsor Snap-on Tools for the first time ever, was out of the starting line-up again. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–For The Wood Brothers And Ryan Blaney, When It Rains, It Floods →

Daytona Rain Ends Wood Brothers’ Seven-Year Streak of Qualifying Success

July 4, 2015

Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion won’t be in Sunday’s Coke Zero 400, but it’s not because of a lack of performance on the part of Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team. Instead it’s Mother Nature who has been unusually kind to the team in recent seasons. On Saturday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway, threatening skies led NASCAR officials to cancel qualifying and set the field according to the rules that give the allotted starting spots to teams that run full-time. Under the current format, the lineup is set based on the previous day’s first practice speeds, with the fastest car in qualifying starting first and so on. The field is predetermined before the lineup is set; however, based on the number of race attempts each team has made, with the cars making the most attempts eligible before the ones that have run less. It’s the first time the Wood Brothers have failed to qualify for a race for any reason since the team went to a part-time status seven years ago. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Daytona Rain Ends Wood Brothers’ Seven-Year Streak of Qualifying Success →

1968 Firecracker 400 Was Smooth Sailing For Cale Yarborough But Quite The Adventure For Kenny Martin

June 30, 2015
The Wood Brothers, Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team return to Daytona International Speedway this weekend for the Coke Zero 400, a race the Woods have won eight times.

The Woods also have five victories in the Daytona 500, and every one of those Daytona victories has its own unique set of circumstances. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–1968 Firecracker 400 Was Smooth Sailing For Cale Yarborough But Quite The Adventure For Kenny Martin →

Blaney, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Wind Up 24th in Rain-Plagued 400-Miler At Michigan

June 15, 2015

Mother Nature cooperated with the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team on Friday at Michigan International Speedway. Threatening skies stayed clear long enough for Ryan Blaney to earn a starting spot – and a good fifth-place one – for Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blaney, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Wind Up 24th in Rain-Plagued 400-Miler At Michigan →

Blaney Qualifies Fifth At Ford Motor Company’s Home Track

June 13, 2015
The rain stayed away at Michigan International Speedway on Friday, allowing Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team a chance to qualify for the Quicken Loans 400 at one of the tracks that mean the most to them.

Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew responded in a big way, earning the fifth starting spot for Sunday’s 400 mile race. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blaney Qualifies Fifth At Ford Motor Company’s Home Track →

Wood Brothers Have Fond Memories of NASCAR’s Clown Prince, The Late Jabe Thomas

June 10, 2015

For Len and Eddie Wood, co-owners of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion that Ryan Blaney will drive this weekend at Michigan International Speedway, the friendships made through the years are something to be cherished.

Among the people who have been close to the Wood family for decades was Jabe Thomas, the retired racer from Christiansburg, Va., who died June 4 at the age of 85.

Thomas was a journeyman racer who moved to the series now known as Sprint Cup after racing Modifieds on some of the same Virginia tracks that the Wood Brothers once raced. Continue reading Wood Brothers Have Fond Memories of NASCAR’s Clown Prince, The Late Jabe Thomas →

Strong Charlotte Run For Blaney Cut Short By Engine Failure

May 25, 2015

Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion didn’t make it all the way to the end of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. An engine problem put him out of the race at Lap 283 of 400 after he’d run in the top 15 for most of the night. He was credited with a 42nd-place finish.

But overall, the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team had plenty to be proud of at the conclusion of the biggest weekend in motorsports. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Strong Charlotte Run For Blaney Cut Short By Engine Failure →

World War II Hero and NASCAR Legend Bud Moore Set to Celebrate 90th Birthday on Memorial Day

May 24, 2015

On Monday, Memorial Day, as people across America pause to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country, a truly outstanding member of the Greatest Generation celebrates a milestone birthday. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–World War II Hero and NASCAR Legend Bud Moore Set to Celebrate 90th Birthday on Memorial Day →