Bayne Hangs On For A 28th-Place Finish At The Brickyard
July 28, 2013

“We made adjustments on every pit stop, but we never really got it right,” Wood said. “It was better at the end, and it was really good in clean air, but unfortunately there wasn’t much clean air where we were running.”

Trevor Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew had the No. 21 Ford Fusion running strong in practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but when it came time to qualify for the Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard, they experienced a minor hiccup.

“The car was super tight in qualifying trim,” Bayne said. “We were on the splitter really hard which makes it even tighter.”

Still Bayne managed a lap at 183.906 miles per hour, which will put him in the 28th starting spot for Sunday’s 400-mile run.

Overall, Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew were pleased with their pre-race efforts. They were 15th fastest in the opening practice session on Friday, with a best lap at 181.459 mph. In Saturday morning’s second session, they improved to 184.057.

When it came time to prepare the No. 21 Ford Fusion for qualifying, the crew made some adjustments to allow for a tight handling condition, but they were careful to not go too far and put Bayne in the position of trying to qualify his way into the race with a car that was too loose.

“If you free the car up too much here at Indy, you just can’t drive it,” team co-owner Eddie Wood said, pointing out that even a minor slip on the qualifying run would have likely meant missing the race. “The important thing is that we made the race. That was important, especially since our car was chosen to commemorate Henry Ford’s 150th birthday.”

Bayne also was glad to have qualifying in his rear-view mirror.

“I’m glad to go back to race trim where our car was good,” he said. “It is hard to pass here, so qualifying is important.

“I think we can still make it up and go to the front…. We are in the show, and that is what we came here to do.”

“It is cool to represent Henry Ford, the Ford Oval, Motorcraft/Quick Lane and the Ford family,” he said. “Wood Brothers Racing has also been a huge part of Ford Racing’s history.”

“It is an awesome partnership, and we are glad to be celebrating Henry Ford’s 150th birthday.”

The Crown Royal Presents the Samuel Deeds 400 is set to get the green flag just after 1 p.m. Eastern Time with TV coverage on ESPN.

This weekend’s Crown Royal Presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard, as one of NASCAR’s marquee events, historically brings out the best in Sprint Cup Series race teams and drivers.

For this year’s 400-miler at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Wood Brothers and their Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew have prepared a Gen-6 2013 Ford Fusion that has been extensively tested, including a session at Indy, and another at Michigan International Speedway in May, but never raced.

Crew chief Donnie Wingo said he’s been pleased by what he’s seen in the test sessions.

“We were at the test primarily to help Goodyear develop a tire and there really weren’t enough cars there to put down enough rubber to simulate race conditions, but we were able to learn some things about our car,” he said. “We have a good direction heading into this weekend.”

As is the case most weekends on the Sprint Cup circuit, qualifying is importa
nt because a good starting spot allows a driver and team to start the race with good track position, which is important because passing is difficult, especially at a place like Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Good qualifying runs also assure more advantageous pit stalls, as crew chiefs pick their stall based on the qualifying results, with the pole-sitter’s team first in line followed by those behind him in the starting order.

“To be successful at Indy, you almost have to run the race backwards from a pit strategy standpoint,” Wingo said. “You need to be in position to do the least you can on the final pit stop so you can get back on the track ahead of as many cars as you can be.”

The veteran crew chief says that will lead to lots of two-tire stops in the 400, except in cases where a pit stop sets up a full-fuel-tank run.

“You’re always trying to keep your track position,” Wingo said. “That’s why qualifying is so important.”

One thing that will be different for Wingo and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew is the color of their No. 21 Ford Fusion. Instead of the usual Motorcraft red and white colors, it’ll be decked out in black and white to honor the 150th birthday of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford, who had the overwhelming majority of his first mass-produced car, the Model T, painted black.

“It really looks good,” Wingo said of the special paint scheme. “It doesn’t look like a Model T, but it’s a cool design.

“I think everybody will like it.”

Trevor Bayne and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion were in the hunt for victory for most of Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. As the laps wound down, Bayne was leading a pack of drivers making a charge in the outside lane. He drove under the white flag in eighth place and counting, but his plans didn’t pan out, and he wound up steering his way through some late-race wreckage to finish 20th.

“Up to the white flag I thought we had shot at that thing with the 2 car [the Ford Fusion of Brad Keselowski] pushing us,” Bayne said.

But the beating and banging that is typical of green-white-checkered-flag runs to the finish of restrictor-plate races ended his bid for a finish at the front.

“We had the top with open track ahead of us and the 17 [the Ford Fusion of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.] got in there somehow to our left-rear and got us completely sideways,” Bayne said. “I thought we were crashed, so luckily we didn’t tear it up and finish that one early, but it wasn’t the finish we were looking for with that strong of a car.

“We ran in the top 10 all day and could drive to the front, but we just didn’t get a good finish.”

Team co-owner Eddie Wood left Daytona happy.

“All you can ask for in a restrictor-plate race is to have a fast car and be in a position to contend for the win when it comes to a green-white-checkered-flag finish,” he said. “And we were in the mix all night long.”

Bayne started 20th, and was running fourth by Lap 40. Throughout the race, he was able to move through the field with relative ease.

Wood said that ability to race well was what the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew was working toward in both of Thursday’s practice sessions, a strategy made possible by the fact that there were just 43 teams vying for the 43 starting positions.

“Since we didn’t have to worry about qualifying for the race, we got to spend time on the race set-up, and it paid off,” he said.

Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team return to action in three weeks when the Sprint Cup Series returns to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Bayne to Start 20th in Coke Zero 400 at Daytona
July 5, 2013

With only 43 teams entered in Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, Trevor Bayne and the crew of his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion enjoyed a luxury not often afforded to a part-time Sprint Cup team.

Since there are 43 starting spots, there was no danger of missing the race. Bayne and his Motorcraft/Quick Lane team were able to spend the majority of the two practice sessions perfecting the race set-up for their No. 21 Ford Fusion. Most weeks, a good portion of practice is devoted to qualifying set-ups since the team usually has to make the starting field based on their qualifying time.

Nonetheless, Bayne ran a lap at 192.583 miles per hour to earn a respectable 20th starting position.

Like the rest of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew, he was more concerned about how his Ford Fusion will perform in the race than how it ran by itself against the clock.

“Hopefully our car is good in the pack,” he said. “You can’t really tell from qualifying with gusts and things like that.”

“Being an impound race, obviously that takes away a little bit of the things you would do if you were just qualifying, but I’m always proud of this team at superspeedway races, and hopefully we’ll be able to work our way up and be at the front by the end of this thing.”

Considering his team’s track record at Daytona International Speedway, it’s understandable that veteran crew chief Donnie Wingo would put some extra effort into preparing the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion for Saturday’s Coke Zero 400.

His Wood Brothers team leads all others in points-paying Sprint Cup Series victories at Daytona with 15 overall. The next closest owners are Richard Petty and Rick Hendrick, who have 11 apiece.

The Woods have won the prestigious Daytona 500 five times, most recently in 2011 with Trevor Bayne driving and Wingo as crew chief.

Where the Woods have really excelled over the years is in the 400-miler in July, a race they’ve historically had impressive driver line-ups.  Some of NASCAR’s greatest names, like Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Neil Bonnett and Buddy Baker have made history in Wood Brothers cars.

“There’s a lot of history here with this team,” Wingo said. “We always put a lot of emphasis on the cars we bring to Daytona.”

For this year’s race, Wingo has chosen the same Ford Fusion that the team took to Talladega Superspeedway in May but ran only 22 laps before being sidelined by engine issues.

Wingo and his Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew did a lot more than just dust off their preferred superspeedway car.

“We’ve done a lot of tweaking and tuning on it trying to make it even better,” he said. “It’s been to the wind tunnel twice since Talladega.”

A lot of Wingo’s effort, at the shop and in practice at Daytona prior to the 400, is being focused on perfecting the handling of his team’s Ford Fusion under race conditions, especially since the track is hotter in July than in February and that could cause handling issues even though the track has relatively fresh asphalt.

“With the July heat, the cars can get a little looser,” he said.

Then on Saturday, his goal will be to develop a race strategy that will put Bayne near the front of the pack as the laps wind down.

“If we can be there at the end, hopefully we can do something like we did in the 500 in 2011,” he said.

Qualifying for the Coke Zero 400 is set for Friday at 4:10 p.m. Eastern Time, and the race is scheduled to start on Saturday just after 7:30 p.m. with TV coverage on TNT.

Wood Brothers Among Those Celebrating Ford’s 1,000th NASCAR Victory
June 16, 2013

The Wood Brothers and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew didn’t get to drive their No. 21 Ford Fusion to Victory Lane at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, but they did feel like a big celebration was in order.

While Trevor Bayne scored a 15th-place finish, fellow Ford driver Greg Biffle captured the win in his No 16 Ford Fusion, giving Ford Motor Company its 1,000th NASCAR victory.

Over the years, the Wood Brothers have played a large role in Ford’s NASCAR success, winning 98 races in both Fords and Mercurys, including some of the sport’s marquee events. Among the Woods’ victories are five in the Daytona 500 and 11 at Michigan International Speedway, where their win total is second only to Sunday’s winning team, Roush Fenway Racing, which now has 13 at the home track of the U.S. auto makers.

“We’re proud to be a part of Ford’s celebration of 1,000 NASCAR victories,” said Eddie Wood, co-owner of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion. “We want to congratulate Ford Motor Company, Jack Roush and Greg Biffle for getting this milestone win and for getting it here at Michigan. It caps off a great week here.”

Wood, his brother Len and their driver Trevor Bayne took time this past week to visit their Ford friends in Dearborn and on Sunday, Edsel B. Ford II, the great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford, and his son Albert watched the Quicken Loans 400 from atop the Wood Brothers’ pit box.

“That’s truly an honor for us,” Eddie Wood said, adding that Mr. Ford is a huge supporter of racing.

On the track, Bayne was involved in a minor dust-up on the start, but quickly moved inside the top 15 from his 25th starting spot. A later incident caused some aerodynamic damage to the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion, but quick pit work by the Motorcraft crew and good race strategy by crew chief Donnie Wingo helped Bayne bring the No. 21 Ford Fusion home for a top-15 finish.

“Considering the damage to the car, we were fortunate to wind up 15th,” Eddie Wood said.

Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew return to the Sprint Cup Series next month for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 6.

Bayne, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Aiming High At Michigan
June 12, 2013

Trevor Bayne and the Motocraft/Quick Lane team have a chance this weekend to write another chapter in Ford Motor Company’s racing history.

Bayne’s victory in Sunday’s Nationwide Series race at Iowa Speedway was the 200th for Ford in that series, and the 999th overall major NASCAR victory for the Blue Oval racers.

A win by any of the Ford contingent this weekend at Michigan International Speedway would push that number to an even 1,000, and that’s a goal that Donnie Wingo, crew chief of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion, has for Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400.

“Milestones like that are important for everyone on the Ford team,” Wingo said, adding that he wouldn’t be too disappointed if Bayne or another Ford driver were to reach the 1,000-win mark in Saturday’s Nationwide Series race at Michigan. “It’s something we’re all striving for, but we all want the Fords to run well and win races, even if we’re not in a particular race.”

Team co-owner Eddie Wood feels upbeat about his team’s chances this weekend, especially given the Wood Brothers’ and Bayne’s good fortune in previous milestone victories by Ford.

In the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 at Atlanta in the spring of 1993, Morgan Shepherd drove the No. 21 Thunderbird to Ford’s 400th victory in the series now known as Sprint Cup. In 2011, Bayne delivered Ford’s 600th Cup win with a strong surge at the finish of the Daytona 500.

“For whatever reason, we’ve been fortunate to score some milestone victories for Ford,” Wood said. “And we’re very proud of it.”

The Woods also have a history of success at Michigan, where their 11 Cup victories are just one behind fellow Ford owner Jack Roush, the all-time leader.

For this weekend’s race, Wingo and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew have prepared Chassis No. 745, which hasn’t been raced since 2011 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Since then the car has been completely overhauled and converted to a Generation-6 racer, and Wingo is pleased with the final result.

“We’ve put a lot of work into it,” he said, adding that the results of a recent wind-tunnel test indicate the car will be a fast one.

The team will need it on the newly repaved Michigan oval, where speeds are expected to be high, even with a winter’s worth of aging on the track’s asphalt.

That aging should make for a good race, according to the veteran crew chief.

“I think the groove will get even wider than it was last year,” he said.

He anticipates his biggest challenge on the pit box will be developing a strategy that will give Bayne track position in the closing laps.

“You won’t be taking four tires on every stop,” he said. “The key is going to be doing what you have to do to have track position at the end of the race.”

The No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion will carry a special decal this weekend in memory of Cecil Wilson, who passed last week at age 77 after a battle with cancer.

He was the team’s longest-serving non-family member, having worked for the team since the late 1960’s, when Cale Yarborough drove the No. 21 Mercury Cyclone.

“Cecil was there when I started, and he was with us as long as his health allowed. He will be missed.” Eddie Wood said.

Qualifying for the Quicken Loans 400 is set for Friday at 3:35 p.m., and the race is set to get the green flag just after 1 p.m. on Sunday with TV coverage on TNT.

Bayne and Motorcraft/Quick Lane Crew Finish 16th in Charlotte Marathon
May 27, 2013

Trevor Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team overcame a back-row start because of a blown engine and a flat tire in happy hour practice, an unscheduled pit stop to remove trash from the grille in the early laps of the Coca-Cola 600, a loose-handling condition mid-race and a lack of wave-around opportunities to post a 16th-place finish in Sunday’s marathon race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The final result in the Wood Brothers’ 1,400th Sprint Cup start wasn’t exactly what Bayne and the team were hoping for, but the performances of driver and crew exceeded expectations.

In a race that saw many of the front-runners eliminated in crashes, Bayne dodged disaster on at least two occasions to bring his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion home unscathed. He was running just behind Aric Almirola and Mark Martin when the two touched on the frontstretch and triggered a multi-car melee with 74 laps to go. Bayne drove onto the apron and out of harm’s way.

With 66 laps remaining, he had to make another evasive maneuver to avoid being swept up in the crash that knocked Jimmie Johnson out of contention for the win.

On pit road, crew chief Donnie Wingo and his race strategists figured out adjustments to correct a loose-handling condition that contributed to Bayne being two laps down by the halfway point. But once they got the car back up to speed, the strategies employed by the teams on the lead lap closed the door on any wave-around opportunities for drivers like Bayne. If any leaders stay on the track during caution periods, there is no wave-around opportunity for drivers a lap or more behind to regain the lost ground.

“Trevor did a really good job missing those wrecks,” team co-owner Eddie Wood said. “And Donnie and the crew were able to make a couple of small adjustments and fix a car that was so loose that we thought there was something broken with the suspension.”

“We were really happy to get that fixed, because if you have speed, all the rest will work out sooner or later.”

Wood pointed out that overcoming obstacles is what the annual 600-mile grind at Charlotte is all about.

“We started out in a bad spot because of the engine problems on Saturday, which meant that we basically had no happy hour practice,” he said. “Then we had to stop to get trash off the grille and got a lap down early. But everybody on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team hung in there, and we were fast at the end.”

“For us, it was a good thing that the race was 600 miles.”

Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew return to the Sprint Cup Series in three weeks for the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Wood Brothers To Make 1400th Cup Start in Coke 600
May 24, 2013

The sunshine in turn three at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday hampered Trevor Bayne on his qualifying lap, but a sunny day was just what Bayne and the crew of his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion needed to qualify for the Wood Brothers’ 1,400th Sprint Cup start.

Should the rain have made its way to the track just 2 hours sooner, most likely qualifying would’ve been cancelled. The Woods, with their limited schedule, would have missed the race, as they had the fewest attempts to qualify at this point in the season, of the teams entered in the Coca-Cola 600.

Bayne will line up 29th for his team’s milestone start, and just being in the starting field is a great relief, and a proud moment, for team co-owner Eddie Wood.

“We all feel very fortunate to be where we are today,” Wood said. “We couldn’t have done it without having great drivers in our cars over the years, from my dad in the beginning to Trevor Bayne today.”

“And we couldn’t have done it without the support of Ford Motor Company. They’ve been right there with us through the great times and the struggles.”

“The people at Ford and Motorcraft/Quick Lane have been like family to us for more than 60 years.”

The significance of 1,400 starts wasn’t lost on Bayne, but he’s more focused on the present, and a bit disappointed in the outcome of his qualifying lap of 190.409 miles per hour, which represented a significant improvement over his best lap in practice, which was at 188.022 mph.

“The results aren’t what we wanted at all, but the thing was stuck through [turns] one and two,” he said. “I felt like we had to be on the pole off of two, but then I got over to turn three where the sun was shining, and it was just so hot and slick”

“If we could have gone out late at night, I honestly think we had a shot at the pole as good as our car was in the shaded areas. In those hot areas we were just way too tight.”

 Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew return to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday for two practice sessions, then on Sunday, the Coca-Cola 600 is set to get the green flag just after 6 p.m. with TV coverage on FOX.

Woods Poised To Make Milestone Start At Charlotte
May 22, 2013

Like nearly everyone in America this week, Eddie Wood and his fellow members of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team have had the weather on their minds, especially after the heart-breaking death and damage that massive tornados caused in Oklahoma on Tuesday.

Wood and his crew also have been keeping an eye on the forecast for Charlotte on Thursday, when qualifying is scheduled for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, and there’s a chance of rain.

Wood is hoping for clear skies and a fast Ford Fusion so his family team can reach a milestone 1,400 Sprint Cup starts, dating back to Glen Wood’s first appearance in NASCAR’s elite division, at Martinsville Speedway on May 17, 1953, driving a 1953 Lincoln.  Should there be rain, enough rain for qualifying to be cancelled, the team would miss the race.  By competing on a limited schedule, the team has made fewer attempts to qualify for races this season than the other teams not otherwise locked into the starting field.

In rainouts, the final starting slots go to teams based on the number of attempts to qualify.

“Considering the tragedy and loss the people of Oklahoma have suffered, our weather concerns don’t seem that important,” Wood said. “But the Wood Brothers have run 1,399 races, and we plan to run a lot more in the future. If we miss Charlotte, we’ll make our 1,400th start somewhere else.”

Charlotte would be an appropriate venue, as the team got its first superspeedway victory there in the 1960 National 400 with Speedy Thompson at the wheel.

Crew chief Donnie Wingo also is hoping the weather works out in the team’s favor, as he and driver Trevor Bayne are looking forward to getting the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion back into Sprint Cup action.

“We’re taking the same Ford Fusion we ran at Texas and Las Vegas,” Wingo said. “It was our best chassis last year, and we’ve done a lot of work on it since.”

Wingo, Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew also are hoping to keep up the momentum from two recent test sessions, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Michigan International Speedway.

“We tested with a different car, but you always pick up things that can help you at other places and with other cars,” Wingo said.

The veteran crew chief will be putting his experience – recent and long-term – to work should the team make the field for NASCAR’s longest race.

“I like the challenge of 600 miles,” he said. “It requires a lot of preparation, and you have to build a lot of adjustability into the car because the race goes from daytime into night, and Charlotte is one of the most heat-sensitive tracks we race on.”

Qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled for Thursday at 7:10 p.m., and the race is set to get the green flag just after 6 p.m. on Sunday with TV coverage on FOX.

Even With Rain, Bayne Gets A Starting Spot At Talladega
May 4, 2013

Trevor Bayne and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion will be in the starting field for the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, but that prized spot had more to do with good fortune than it did with the speed of the car.

Normally, when Sprint Cup qualifying is rained out the field is set according to the rule book, which means the top 36 teams in the car owner points standings get starting spots, with the remaining 7 spots going to car owners based on owner points and race attempts.

With 44 cars entered and just 43 spots available, one part-time team would miss the show.

Because team owner Glen Wood has more attempts this season, his No. 21 Ford Fusion will race while the No. 81, owned by Joe Gibbs and driven by Elliott Sadler, will miss the race because that car has made just one attempt to qualify this year, but had the No. 19 of Mike Bliss not withdrawn from the race earlier this week, he’d been racing and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew would be absent from the starting field.

“We’re really fortunate to be able to race,” team co-owner Eddie Wood said, adding that since the Wood Brothers’ team only runs a limited schedule, every qualifying session brings more drama than one might expect.

Once it was determined which cars made the race, the starting line-up was based on speeds in the first practice session on Friday, and Bayne’s best lap of 198.372 miles per hour earned him the 15th starting spot.

Like nearly every other driver and team in that practice session, Bayne and his Donnie Wingo-led crew knew that qualifying likely would be rained out, so they were going for maximum speed.

“Almost everybody was out there trying to run in the pack or catch the pack to get a fast lap,” Wood said. “Trevor was running with Carl Edwards, who wound up on the pole, and they had a really fast lap going but the No. 42 (Juan Pablo Montoya) pulled down, and Trevor had to check up at the last moment.”

Given the circumstances, Wood wasn’t too disappointed, and as a bonus, spending time drafting that otherwise might have been spent getting ready for a qualifying run should allow Bayne and the crew to be better prepared for actual racing conditions.

“I think we’re in good shape for the race,” he said.

Talladega Superspeedway, site of this weekend’s Aaron’s 499 has long been one of the favorite Sprint Cup stops for the Wood Brothers and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew.

That’s especially true for the track’s first race of the year – the Winston 500 in the early years and the Aaron’s 499 today.

From the day Donnie Allison got the first of the Woods five Talladega wins in the 1971 Winston 500 to Trevor Bayne’s eighth-place finish in the 499 last May, the Wood Brothers team seems to regularly find their way to the front of the giant Talladega pack in the track’s first race each year.

David Pearson, who took the Woods to Victory Lane all over America, could work his magic at Talladega too.

From 1972-1974, he swept the spring races at Talladega. His win 40 years ago especially stands out for the events that took place that afternoon. Just a week after Pearson drove a Wood Brothers Mercury designed for superspeedway competition to a surprise home-track victory for the Woods at Martinsville Speedway, he qualified the No. 21 Mercury on the outside pole at Talladega. Buddy Baker, who later would drive for the Woods, was the top qualifier.

Behind the lead duo were 58 other drivers, comprising the largest starting field ever for a modern-day Sprint Cup race. (Other Talladega races in that era had 50 drivers in the starting field.)

Baker took the lead on the initial start, and Pearson, the sly Silver Fox, was content to ride in second-place in the early going.

On Lap 10, Ramo Stott’s Mercury blew an engine, triggering a major crash on the backstretch.

Eddie Wood, one of the co-owners of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion, was working in the pit area that day back in 1973.

“We didn’t have radios, and there was no TV, so you really didn’t know what was happening on the backstretch,” he said. “As the cars went down the backstretch, it got quiet.”

Wood and his fellow crewmembers could only look toward Turn Four and hope their No. 21 Mercury eventually would appear.

“I remember seeing Pearson come into sight, him and the 09 car,” Wood said. “They came back around, and then some of the others wrecked the second time around, there was such a mess on the backstretch.” All told, 21 drivers were involved in the crash with 19 cars too damaged
to continue.

Pearson pitted during the caution period brought about by the crash, turning the lead over to the No. 09 Ford driven by Charles Barrett of Cleveland, Ga. Barrett led from Lap 24-36. It was the first time that his car owner, the late George Elliott, ever saw one of his cars lead a Cup race.

Barrett’s career was cut short by a highway crash, and two years later Elliott, one of the most loyal supporters ever of the Blue Oval brand, put his youngest son behind the wheel.

Bill Elliott went on to deliver 40 Cup victories for Ford along with the 1988 championship, and in addition, he wound up driving the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion from 2007-2010.

Barrett’s lead was short-lived, as he ran over debris from the crash and cut a tire. His ensuing pit stop gave the lead to J.D. McDuffie. But the independents and journeyman drivers who avoided the crash and shared time in the spotlight soon found themselves chasing Pearson.

The Silver Fox dominated the remainder of the race, leading 111 of 188 laps and was a lap ahead of runner-up Donnie Allison at the finish. For Eddie Wood, the memories from decades ago are made more special by the fact that 40 years later his team’s Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion is still considered a legitimate contender for the win at Talladega.

In its most recent run at Talladega last fall, Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500 winner, took the No. 21 Fusion to the lead for five laps, made up a lost lap and was running fourth with four laps to go before his fuel-pressure gauge began fluctuating, sending him to pit road and an eventual 21st-place finish.

This time around, crew chief Donnie Wingo and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew have prepared a new 2013 Ford Fusion, and Wood said it has all the signs of being another front-runner.

“It blew some good numbers in the wind tunnel, and we tested it two weeks ago at Daytona,” Wood said. “We’re really happy with it.”