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.
For the Wood Brothers, returning to Bristol after a four-year absence is like a homecoming of sorts.
Team co-owner Eddie Wood said his family’s race team was a regular participant at Bristol back in the day because races there were considered among the more prestigious on the circuit.
“It’s the same today,” Wood said. “We haven’t been there since 2011, and we’re looking forward to being back.”
Bristol holds a special place in Wood’s heart as it was the first track he went to and was allowed to be among the men in the pit area. It was the 1967 Volunteer 500, and NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Cale Yarborough was driving the No. 21 Ford.
“I rode over there in the truck with my Dad,” Wood recalled. “We got there before daylight on Thursday and had to wait in line to sign in.”
Once inside the track, Glen Wood told his son he had some important people he needed to meet.
“He took me across the infield and introduced me to Lee Petty, Richard Petty, Maurice Petty and Dale Inman,” Wood said. “They were the first racing people I’d met other than the men who drove our race cars.”
Wood said Maurice Petty gave him a playful pop to the chest, while Inman shook his hand while squeezing his arm so hard he went to his knees in an initiation of sorts to the racing fraternity.
Throughout their time in NASCAR, the Woods have been big rivals of the Pettys but also have enjoyed a close friendship. Inman, a cousin of Richard and Maurice Petty who; like all three Pettys, along with Wood’s father and uncle Leonard, is a member of the Hall of Fame.
“Dale and I talk every week, and he’s always the first person I go find when I get to the race track,” Wood said
Wood said his team’s return to Bristol is a much anticipated one now that the Woods have an alliance with Team Penske, which has run exceptionally well at Bristol over the years and especially in the past few races there.
Roger Penske has 11 Cup wins at Bristol, and Team Penske’s two current drivers, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, finished 1-2 in last year’s night race.
The Woods’ driver Ryan Blaney has found success there as well, winning in both Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series races, including last year’s Food City 300 where he beat Kyle Busch, winning in a Team Penske Mustang.
“I’m really looking forward to this weekend,” Wood said. “Even though we’ve won the spring race before, we seem to race better in the night race.
But a lot of things can happen there. You need to stay out of other people’s troubles and try to not have any of your own.
It’s kind of like going off to war when the race starts because the biggest thing is trying to survive until the end.”
Qualifying is set for Friday at 5:45 p.m. and the race is set to get the green flag just after 7:30 pm. on Saturday with TV coverage on NBCSN.
About SKF
SKF, the Knowledge Engineering Company, manufactures bearings, seals, mechatronics, and lubrication systems. The company also offers a broad scope of services that include technical support; maintenance and reliability services; engineering consulting; and training. Other SKF Group Brands include Lincoln Industrial, specializing in centralized lubrication systems, Kaydon and Cooper specialty bearings, and ACE motion control products. Today the SKF Group has +50 production facilities in North America and is present in more than 130 countries, with 15,000 distributor locations worldwide. Annual sales in 2014 were $8.5 billion and the number of employees was 48,593. For more information about SKF and its complete range of products and services, visit www.skf.com.
