Wood Brothers Racing
History
Glen Wood founded Wood Brother Racing in 1950 under a beach tree on his family’s homeplace in Buffalo Ridge, virginia
The Wood Brothers Racing story began 74 years ago when family patriarch Glen Wood decided to try racing. It almost ended the same night it began.
In the early 1950s, the Wood Brothers needed a driver for their stock car but were turned down by friend John Conway. Lumberman Chris Williams stepped in and drove them. Back then, teams drove their cars to the track, raced, and drove home. The Wood Brothers bought their first car for $50, leading them to number it No. 50 before later adopting their iconic No. 21.
The Wood Brothers Racing Team was formed in 1950 by brothers from the blue ridge mountain of Southwest Virginia. Walter and Ada Wood owned a family farm between Woolwine and Stuart, Virginia.They had five sons (Glen, Leonard, Delano, Clay and Ray Lee) and one daughter (Crystal).
The Wood Brothers permanently adopted the No. 21, a number that would become as iconic in NASCAR history as the Petty No. 43 and Earnhardt No. 3. As NASCAR’s Superspeedway races in cities like Daytona, Charlotte, and Darlington grew in prominence with big cash prizes, the team shifted focus. Glen Wood stepped out of the driver’s seat of the No. 21 Ford, and the team began hiring well-known drivers to compete at these prestigious tracks.
Innovation
The Wood Brothers revolutionized racing by inventing the modern pit stop. In the early days, drivers would often turn off their cars and even smoke while their crew worked slowly. The Wood Brothers realized that minimizing time off the track could improve their position and thus created the fast, efficient pit stop, a crucial element in racing today.
In the 1960s, the Wood Brothers entered a second car, the No. 121, in select races. They hired open-wheel star Dan Gurney to drive it in road course events. Gurney and the Wood Brothers were unbeatable, winning every race he entered, including the Motor Trend 500 at Riverside, California, in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, and 1968.
The Wood Brothers’ pit stop innovations caught the attention of other racing organizations. In 1965, Ford brought them to the Indianapolis 500 to pit the Lotus-Ford team. Their efficient pit stops played a key role in helping Jim Clark win the race.
List Of Drivers:
| Years | Driver | Races | Wins | Top 10 | Poles |
| 1972 | A. J. Foyt | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 1972–1979 | David Pearson | 143 | 43 | 93 | 37 |
| 1979–1982; 1989–1990 | Neil Bonnett | 110 | 9 | 44 | 2 |
| 1983–1984 | Buddy Baker | 42 | 1 | 24 | 1 |
| 1984 | Bobby Rahal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985–1988 | Kyle Petty | 115 | 2 | 58 | 0 |
| 1989 | Tommy Ellis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990–1991 | Dale Jarrett | 53 | 1 | 15 | 0 |
| 1992–1995 | Morgan Shepherd | 121 | 1 | 52 | 0 |
| 1996–1998 | Michael Waltrip | 96 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 1999–2002 | Elliott Sadler | 140 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| 2003–2005 | Ricky Rudd | 108 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| 2006–2007 | Ken Schrader | 50 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2007 | Boris Said | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007–2008 | Jon Wood | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007–2010 | Bill Elliott | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | Johnny Sauter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | Jeff Green | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | Marcos Ambrose | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | David Gilliland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010–2014 | Trevor Bayne | 57 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2011 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015–2017 | Ryan Blaney | 91 | 1 | 25 | 1 |
| 2018–2019 | Paul Menard | 72 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| 2020–2021 | Matt DiBenedetto | 72 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 2022–2024 | Harrison Burton | 97 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 2025– | Josh Berry | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wood Brothers Racing Museum
- Address: 21 Performance Drive, Stuart, VA 24171
- Hours: Weekdays, 9 AM–Noon and 1 PM–5 PM