Category Archives: Wood Brothers

Wood Brothers Racing–Late Spin Ends Bayne’s Bid at Talladega

Late Spin Ends Bayne’s Bid at Talladega
October 19, 2014
With 10 of the scheduled 188 laps remaining to be run in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Trevor Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick crew had their No. 21 Ford Fusion in 2nd place with plenty of fuel in the tank for the finish.

Although the remaining laps didn’t play out like Bayne and his Wood Brothers team planned, co-owners Len and Eddie Wood left the track pleased with their team’s performance. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Late Spin Ends Bayne’s Bid at Talladega

Wood Brothers Set To Make 400th Superspeedway Start

Wood Brothers Set To Make 400th Superspeedway Start
October 15, 2014
Assuming Trevor Bayne successfully qualifies the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, Sunday’s GEICO 500 will mark the Wood Brothers’ 400th start on a Sprint Cup speedway two miles in length or longer.

Throughout their history, the Woods have focused on NASCAR’s biggest, fastest tracks. And they’ve had some of their biggest successes on them. Continue reading Wood Brothers Set To Make 400th Superspeedway Start

Wood Brothers Racing–Multi-Car Crash Spoils Bayne’s Quick Michigan Start

Multi-Car Crash Spoils Bayne’s Quick Michigan Start
August 17, 2014
After a strong start to Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Trevor Bayne and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion were involved in a multi-car accident on lap 22 that led to a trip to the garage for major repairs and a 41st-place finish.
Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Multi-Car Crash Spoils Bayne’s Quick Michigan Start

Wood Brothers Racing–Ryan Blaney Has Successful First Outing in Famed Wood Brothers Ford

Ryan Blaney Has Successful First Outing in Famed Wood Brothers Ford
August 16, 2014

Two three-generation racing families officially went to work together on Friday at Michigan International Speedway as Ryan Blaney took his first laps in the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion.
Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Ryan Blaney Has Successful First Outing in Famed Wood Brothers Ford

Wood Brothers Racing–Wood Brothers Racing Forms Alliance with Team Penske; Selects Ryan Blaney to Drive Famous No. 21 Car in 2015

Wood Brothers Racing Forms Alliance with Team Penske; Selects Ryan Blaney to Drive Famous No. 21 Car in 2015
August 14, 2014

HARRISBURG, N.C., Aug. 14, 2014 – Wood Brothers Racing announces today that it has formed a technical alliance with Team Penske and will race a partial-season schedule in the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with up-and-coming driver Ryan Blaney.

Blaney, who has raced as a Team Penske development driver since 2012, will compete in at least 12 races for Wood Brothers Racing next season in the iconic No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion as he continues his rapid NASCAR development.
Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Wood Brothers Racing Forms Alliance with Team Penske; Selects Ryan Blaney to Drive Famous No. 21 Car in 2015

Wood Brothers Racing–Flat Tire Ends Promising Brickyard Run For Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team

Flat Tire Ends Promising Brickyard Run For Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team
July 27, 2014
Motorcraft Quick/Lane team kicked off the Woods’ 64th NASCAR season – and Trevor Bayne and the crew of his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion spent most of their pre-race practice time at Indianapolis Motor Speedway preparing their car for qualifying, which meant sacrificing time normally spent preparing for the Brickyard 400.
Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Flat Tire Ends Promising Brickyard Run For Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team

Wood Brothers Racing–The Brickyard’s A Special Place For The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team

As the NASCAR community looks back on 20 years of racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, many in the sport say their most memorable experiences are from the inaugural event.

That’s true for Eddie and Len Wood, co-owners of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion. NASCAR’s first trip to the famous Brickyard was their first trip too. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–The Brickyard’s A Special Place For The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team

Wood Brothers Racing–Early Wreck Ruins Bayne’s Run At Daytona

Early Wreck Ruins Bayne’s Run At Daytona
July 6, 2014
For Trevor Bayne and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion, the rain-delayed, rain-shortened Coke Zero 400 wound up being a missed opportunity.  In the opening laps on Sunday morning, Bayne had driven from his 25th starting spot into the top 10 and was heading to a NASCAR-mandated competition caution on Lap 20 when a wreck began unfolding in front of him.

“I feel like we were just starting the race,” he said. “The first thing I saw was the 17 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) coming across in front of us, and I was already past the pit road entry and couldn’t turn down there.

“I slowed down enough, but four or five cars hit us from behind and sent us up the race track and we hit the outside wall.”

The Donnie Wingo-led Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew repaired their Ford Fusion and put Bayne back on the track, although numerous laps behind the leaders. Still, he was in position to regain many of the lost positions when the rains returned and the race was called 48 laps shy of the scheduled distance, leaving him with a 38th-place finish.

Bayne said the setback was especially tough, given the speed his No. 21 Ford Fusion typically has on the restrictor-plate tracks at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway.

“It is a terrible way to end our day for the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion when you feel like you have a shot to win these races and know you are really good here,” he said. “It is disheartening for these guys…..

“The only thing we come here for are the top-fives and wins, and this is not what we wanted.”

The good news on an otherwise disappointing day for the Wood Brothers team was seeing their long-time friends, the Petty family, celebrating in Victory Lane with their No. 43 Ford Fusion.

“We’re really happy for Richard, Dale, Aric and the rest of the team,” team co-owner Eddie Wood said. “It was a big day for the sport as a whole to have the 43 car in Victory Lane at Daytona on the 30th anniversary of Richard’s 200th win and on the day that our good friend Barney Hall retired from the MRN broadcast booth.”

The Woods and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team return to the track in three weeks for the Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27.

Wood Brothers Racing–Bayne Qualifies 25th For the Coke Zero 400 At Daytona

Bayne Qualifies 25th For the Coke Zero 400 At Daytona
July 4, 2014
Trevor Bayne and his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion will line up for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway from the 25th starting position. Bayne turned a lap at 197.994 miles per hour in the opening round of Friday’s knock-out qualifying session but did not advance to the final two rounds, which wound up being rained out.

Team co-owner Eddie Wood said that the key to a fast lap in knock-out qualifying on a restrictor-plate track like Daytona is to catch a pack of cars just ahead of  you. But that perfect timing is very difficult to achieve.

“Everybody has a plan, and everybody’s trying to outguess each other,” he said. “You need to catch a group of cars with a couple of them two wide, but as time was running out in the first session people had to go and the speeds weren’t what everyone expected.”

Indeed, the pole speed turned by the No. 38 Ford Fusion of David Gilliland, 199.322 mph, was more than a mile per hour slower than Bayne’s best lap in Friday’s practice session. He posted the 13th fastest lap on Friday with a speed of 200.553 mph.

Rain has been one of the bigger stories at Daytona this week as both Sprint Cup qualifying and one practice session were impacted by the showers that tend to pop up often at the track just off the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean.

Wood said he’s not too concerned as the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion has shown plenty of speed when it was on the track in race trim.

“We feel really good about the race,” he said.

Wood Brothers Racing–Woods Recall Summertime Success At Daytona

When most NASCAR fans think of the Wood Brothers and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team and racing at Daytona International Speedway, the first thing that usually comes to mind is the team’s five victories in the Daytona 500.

But the Woods actually have had more success in the summertime, winning 10 races on the July 4th weekend, making team founder Glen Wood the all-time leader in car owner victories in points-paying Cup races at Daytona, with a total of 15.

Many times, the Woods rolled their Fords into Daytona’s Victory Lane on the strength of dominating performances while other times luck played a hand. Sometimes a July win made up for the disappointment of a lost opportunity to win the Great American Race in February.  The 1983 Firecracker 400 was one of those races. Buddy Baker, a current nominee for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, was driving the No. 21 Ford, which was the team’s first of the then-new aerodynamically sleek Thunderbirds that came to rule the superspeedways for most of the 1980’s.

Baker had driven that same car in the ’83 Daytona 500. He led 35 laps and was poised to win, only to lose the lead to eventual winner Cale Yarborough on the last lap of the race and eventually finishing third behind Bill Elliott.

Then in July, it was Terry Labonte that dominated the race only to run out of gas coming to the white flag. Baker assumed the lead, and his No. 21 Ford also ran dry but not before he crossed the finish line to claim his 19th career Cup victory, which wound up being the final triumph of his career.

For team co-owner Eddie Wood, that ’83 win was special for several reasons.

“For one, it was the first race we won for Ford in the new model Thunderbird,” Wood said.

And it seemed overdue to the Woods, who built the car on a new Banjo Matthews chassis and unloaded it with lots of speed when they first arrived at Daytona that February.

“That car led the 125 miler, and we lost it to Dale Earnhardt, who at that time was driving a Thunderbird.” Wood said. “And in the Busch Clash it was fast but got wrecked on the last lap. To finally win one here in Daytona with it was really special.”

The Motorcraft/Quick Lane team returns to Daytona this week to try for its 16th win, and it’ll be the team’s most recent Daytona winner, 2011 Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne, at the wheel of the No. 21 Ford Fusion.

Qualifying for the 56th annual Coke Zero 400 is set for Friday at 5:10 p.m, and the race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 7:30 p.m. on Saturday with TV coverage on TNT.

Wood Brothers Racing–Bayne, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Notch Another Top-20

Bayne, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Notch Another Top-20
June 15, 2014

A day after struggling in the two final practice sessions at Michigan International Speedway, Trevor Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew found the speed needed in Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 to record the team’s fourth top-20 finish in its past five races.

Bayne was only 30th fastest in Happy Hour practice, but once the green flag dropped on Sunday, his No. 21 Ford Fusion, decked out in the blue colors of Quick Lane, was able to move from the 23rd starting spot into the top 20 and remain there for much of the race before coming home 19th.

“It was OK, but it’s not what we want,” Bayne said. “But we were better than I thought we’d be after practice.”

Team co-owner Len Wood said the Donnie Wingo-led crew continued to make changes to the chassis throughout the race as they dealt with a loose-handling condition.

“We struggled a little in the middle of the race, but got it back toward the end,” he said.

The 400-mile run boiled down to a fuel-mileage/strategy race at the end, and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team elected to go with fuel only on its final stop. The over-the-wall crew fueled the car in 3.3 seconds. putting in just enough gasoline to make it to the checkered flag.

That strategy gave Bayne some track position and also allowed him to enjoy the aerodynamic advantages of clean air. The down side was that the light fuel load made Bayne’s driving job more difficult, but he still prevailed over Ford teammate Greg Biffle in a spirited sprint to the checkered flag.

“Clean air is always important, but it was a bigger factor than it’s been in a long, long time,” Wood said.

In addition to the work of his chassis strategists, Wood had praise for both his driver and his over-the-wall crew. “Trevor did a good job missing a couple of early wrecks that he was really close to,” he said. “And all of our stops, other than the fuel-only one at the end, were in the 13-second range.”

The Motorcraft/Quick Lane team returns to the Sprint Cup Series on July 3-5 for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. 
 

Wood Brothers Racing–Woods Remember Donlavey As Their Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Prepares to Race at Michigan

Woods Remember Donlavey As Their Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Prepares to Race at Michigan
June 11, 2014

As the Wood Brothers and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team head to Michigan International Speedway for Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400, their thoughts naturally will be back home in Virginia, where friends and family are celebrating the life of Junie Donlavey, the beloved Sprint Cup team owner and loyal life-long member of the Ford racing family.

Donlavey, who died on Monday at age 90, had much in common with the Woods. Both were from Virginia, with the Donlaveys from Richmond and the Woods from Stuart. Both families made their living in NASCAR with decades of loyalty to Ford Motor Company. And, even though they were competitors at the race track, they also were close friends.

Eddie Wood, one of the current co-owners of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion, said Donlavey’s fine reputation in the NASCAR garage was much deserved.
 
“Anything you needed he’d help you,” Wood said. “He was one of the most well-liked people in the garage ever.”
 
Wood, who shared a birthday with Donlavey as both were born on April 8, went on say that his family and Donlavey were as close as competitors could be. It was almost a nightly event for the two to talk on the phone.
 
“You could call his shop any hour of the night and he’d answer on the first ring,” Wood said. “Sometimes we’d talk about racing, but a lot of those late-night conversations were about life in general, just friends talking.”
 
Wood pointed out that it was Donlavey who helped many young drivers get established in NASCAR’s premier series, including Ricky Rudd and Ken Schrader, both of whom went on to drive the Woods’ No. 21 Ford. And like the Woods, he also raced Modified and Sportsman cars.
 
Fittingly, Donlavey’s lone Cup win, at Dover International Speedway, in 1981, came in a race the Woods dominated with Neil Bonnett driving, and it came with one of Ford’s most loyal short trackers, Jody Ridley, at the wheel of Donlavey’s No. 90 Ford.
 
“We were as happy for them as if we’d won the race,” Wood said.
 
It’s also fitting that for this weekend’s race, the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion will be decked out in Quick Lane blue, a similar color to the one that Donlavey’s Fords carried for many years.
 
The paint scheme includes the usual Motorcraft logos but also has prominent Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center markings on the hood. The rear deck lid will feature the Quick Lane tag line “Ready to Serve,” which refers to the company’s factory-trained technicians’ willingness to go the extra mile to provide fast and dependable service with trusted expertise to make a customer’s vehicle ready for the road.
 

Wood Brothers Racing–Statement from Glen Wood on Passing of Junie Donlavey

Statement from Glen Wood on Passing of Junie Donlavey
June 10, 2014

Glen Wood:
 
“The only thing you really need to know about Junie Donlavey is that he was probably the most well-liked person ever in the sport of NASCAR.   He was a good friend of the Wood Brothers … one of our very best friends in the sport.   I can tell you I would call him on the phone, and even before I could get a word or two out, he knew who it was that was calling.
 
“The thing I will always remember about Junie is that he was never mad or upset.  He took everything in stride.  He just enjoyed being around the sport and being around people.   You’d see him in the garage, and he’d always be talking with someone, and I used to love seeing him doubled-up laughing over some story.
 
“As far as I know, his team was never fully-funded, like you would see with most teams.  But he always wanted to run well every time he was out there.  I know he had some real good cars in the modified and sportsman days, even before NASCAR started.  He had cars that ran well all the time, so he was a competitive person..
 
“But he always helped out everyone, no matter who you were.  He helped out so many drivers and crew members who just wanted to get into the sport.  He always had time for people like that.”
 

Wood Brothers Racing–Mid-Race Recovery in Coke 600 Gives Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Its Third Top-20 Finish of 2014

Mid-Race Recovery in Coke 600 Gives Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Its Third Top-20 Finish of 2014
May 26, 2014

Trevor Bayne and the crew of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion had a case of the long-green-flag-run blues early in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But as the sun went down and the lap count went up, the No. 21 Ford Fusion picked up speed and Bayne ended up driving his way back into the top half of the field and scoring a 20th-place finish.

It was the team’s third top-20 finish in five starts this season.

Bayne started 14th, and in the early going found his car to be tight in the center of the turns. Crew chief Donnie Wingo and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew made adjustments on pit stops, but it took three stops before the car began to respond and turn quick laps with Bayne running the high groove. The problem was the laps lost during the long green-flags runs early in the race.

 “When your car is right, long green-flag runs are your friend,” team owner Eddie Wood said. “When it’s not, they’re not what you want.”

 “Once we got the car freed up, it was running speeds comparable to the top-five cars.”

 Wood had praise for his over-the-wall pit crew, which consistently cranked out stops in the 12- to 13-second range even while making chassis adjustments on every stop.

 “That’s a strong point for us now,” he said.

The timing of the race’s eight caution flags didn’t work out in the team’s favor as most caution periods were followed by long green-flag runs that prevented them from making up lost laps by taking the wave-around during caution periods.

 “We tried it three times, but it only paid off once. We gained spots on a few cars at the end because they short-pitted and the caution flag caught them,” Wood said.

  Still, he was pleased with the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team’s mid-race recovery.

 “We finished 20th, but it was a strong hard fought 20th,” he said.

 Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team return to the Sprint Cup Series on June 13-15 for the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Wood Brothers Racing–On Trevor’s Leaving

He’ll Always Be Part of Our Family
May 24, 2014

Wood Brothers Racing Statement On Trevor Bayne Departure In 2015

“Trevor Bayne will always be part of our family.  And we will always share that great Daytona 500 moment together. It’s something that will always be so special for all of us,” said Eddie Wood, co-owner, Wood Brothers Racing.  “We will always be Trevor Bayne fans, so we are happy he is getting his shot to race for the Sprint Cup Championship. We are going to do everything in our power to get him to victory lane one more time in the #21 Fusion.”

Wood Brothers Racing–Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Set For Another Memorable Weekend At Charlotte Motor Speedway

For more than 50 years, people in the NASCAR world have said the only place to experience Memorial Day weekend is at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which hosts the sport’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600.
 
Eddie Wood and the Wood Brothers have spent most of their Memorial Day weekends in the garage and on pit road at Charlotte. They’ll be there again Sunday after Trevor Bayne qualified the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion in 14th place.
 
“We’ve been coming to Charlotte on Memorial Day weekend for a long, long time,” Eddie Wood said. “We’ve had a lot of success in this particular race, but more than that, it just feels like this is the place we’re supposed to be this weekend.”
 
The Woods won the 600 in 1974 and 1976 with David Pearson, in 1982 with Neil Bonnett and in 1987 with Kyle Petty.
 
Wood said that in recent years, the team’s tradition has been to arrive at the speedway early in the day, watch the opening laps of the Indianapolis 500 on track owner Bruton Smith’s giant TV screen, then get to work preparing the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion for the 600-mile grind.
 
Wood said he was proud of his team’s start to the weekend. Despite skipping last week’s Sprint Showdown at Charlotte, which many teams used mostly as a test session for the 600, Donnie Wingo and the crew hit the track on Thursday ready to go.
 
Bayne was 25th fastest in practice with a best lap of 189.195 miles per hour. Then in the first round of knockout qualifying, he was 18th fastest, which allowed him to advance to the second round, where he posted the 14th best time.
 
“I thought during the practice sessions we were close,” Bayne said. “It’s kind of hard going back and forth between the Cup cars and the Nationwide cars because they drive so different.

 “I was pretty satisfied with our first run, picking up four tenths [of a second per lap]. Donnie and those guys have done a great job all day. It seemed like every run we’d get faster and faster, making the right adjustments. The second session I got a little tight and missed (moving on) by 5/100ths.
 
“We’re in the race in the top half, and we get to run on Sunday, so that’s good.” 
 

Wood Brothers Racing–Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Set For Another Memorable Weekend At Charlotte Motor Speedway

For more than 50 years, people in the NASCAR world have said the only place to experience Memorial Day weekend is at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which hosts the sport’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600.
 
Eddie Wood and the Wood Brothers have spent most of their Memorial Day weekends in the garage and on pit road at Charlotte. They’ll be there again Sunday after Trevor Bayne qualified the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion in 14th place.
 
“We’ve been coming to Charlotte on Memorial Day weekend for a long, long time,” Eddie Wood said. “We’ve had a lot of success in this particular race, but more than that, it just feels like this is the place we’re supposed to be this weekend.”
 
The Woods won the 600 in 1974 and 1976 with David Pearson, in 1982 with Neil Bonnett and in 1987 with Kyle Petty.
 
Wood said that in recent years, the team’s tradition has been to arrive at the speedway early in the day, watch the opening laps of the Indianapolis 500 on track owner Bruton Smith’s giant TV screen, then get to work preparing the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion for the 600-mile grind.
 
Wood said he was proud of his team’s start to the weekend. Despite skipping last week’s Sprint Showdown at Charlotte, which many teams used mostly as a test session for the 600, Donnie Wingo and the crew hit the track on Thursday ready to go.
 
Bayne was 25th fastest in practice with a best lap of 189.195 miles per hour. Then in the first round of knockout qualifying, he was 18th fastest, which allowed him to advance to the second round, where he posted the 14th best time.
 
“I thought during the practice sessions we were close,” Bayne said. “It’s kind of hard going back and forth between the Cup cars and the Nationwide cars because they drive so different.

 “I was pretty satisfied with our first run, picking up four tenths [of a second per lap]. Donnie and those guys have done a great job all day. It seemed like every run we’d get faster and faster, making the right adjustments. The second session I got a little tight and missed (moving on) by 5/100ths.
 
“We’re in the race in the top half, and we get to run on Sunday, so that’s good.” 
 

Wood Brothers Racing–Wreck Ruins Strong Talladega Run for Bayne, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team

Wreck Ruins Strong Talladega Run for Bayne, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team
May 4, 2014

Trevor Bayne and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team have become known for their speed in restrictor-plate races at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, and Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega was no exception.

Bayne backed up his chart-topping performance in the final Happy Hour practice by taking the No. 21 Ford Fusion to the front of the pack and running there for most of Sunday’s race.
 
He could move through the field with apparent ease, coming from the back of the pack to the lead group in just a few laps on several occasions. He ran in the top 10 for much of the mid-portion of the race and led six laps, from Lap 113-118.
 
As the laps began to wind down, he was poised to contend for the win before being collected in a multi-car crash off turn four on Lap 137 of 188. His Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion was too damaged to continue, and Bayne was credited with a 41st-place finish.
 
For team co-owner Len Wood, the positives of the day helped soothe the disappointment of a wrecked race car and a lost chance to race for a victory.
 
“We had a fast car and led some laps,” Wood said. “We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. When Brad Keselowski got loose, Trevor was right behind him and had no place to go.”
 
Wood said that given a choice he’d rather see his driver wreck while running in the lead group than be swept up in a crash while riding at the back waiting to make a move at the end of the race.
 
“At least this way, you know what you had,” he said.

 Wood also was encouraged by the performance of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew, which put on a solid performance, from strategy calls by crew chief Donnie Wingo to the pit stops by the over-the-wall team members.
 
“It was the best day they’ve had all year,” he said, adding that a strong day at Talladega gives them momentum heading into the team’s next race, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend.
 
The Motorcraft/Quick Lane team won’t be running on All-Star weekend, but with the cooperative effort among the Ford race teams, Wood expects his team to have all the data needed to tune the No. 21 Ford Fusion for the 600.
 
“We’ll consult with our engineering teammates after the All-Star race, and that will help us decide where to start for the 600,” he said.
 
Then there’s the matter of building another fast superspeedway Ford Fusion before the next restrictor-plate race at Daytona International Speedway on July 5.
 
“We’ve had two wiped out this year,” Wood said, referring to an earlier crash in the Daytona 500. “We’ll just build another one.”

Wood Brothers Racing–Bayne to start 23rd in Aaron’s 499 at Talladega

Bayne to start 23rd in Aaron’s 499 at Talladega
May 3, 2013

For Trevor Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team, the most important goal in NASCAR’s new “knockout” qualifying system is to not get knocked out of the starting field.

Bayne and his No. 21 Ford Fusion accomplished that Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway by posting the 12th fastest time with a speed of 198.318 miles per hour in the opening round of knockout qualifying. No matter what happened after that, he and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team were assured of racing in Sunday’s Aaron’s 499.

The second of three rounds didn’t go as well. Bayne, trying to catch just the right draft to boost his lap time, wound up dancing with an uncooperative partner and did not advance to the final round. After topping the speed chart in Friday’s final practice session with a lap at 199.015 mph, he had to settle for a 23rd-place starting spot with an official qualifying lap at 190.575 mph.

“We made it to the race and that’s what our goal was, so we’ll see what happens,” Bayne said. “Things didn’t go as well in the second session. We were on a really good lap with the Gibbs car there, and then they shut it down.”
 
“I thought that was going to be a good lap for us, but it’s just qualifying.”
 
Team co-owner Eddie Wood pointed out that in the knockout qualifying system, a team that is not assured of a starting spot has lots to lose in the relatively quick, but dramatic qualifying sessions.

 “As crazy and wild and unpredictable as qualifying can be, we feel fortunate to be in the race,” he said.  “We had to make it on our lap speed. We were in a good position in the first session, but we didn’t get as good a position in the second.”

 “But the important thing is we’ll race on Sunday.”