Wood Brothers Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was formed in 1950 by brothers Ray Lee, Clay, Delano, Glen, and Leonard Wood. Today, it is owned by the children and grandchildren of Glen Wood—Len Wood, Eddie Wood, Kim Hall, Jon Wood, Jordan Hicks, Brent Wood and Keven Wood. From 2006 to 2008, the team was merged with Tad and Jodi Geschickter's JTG Racing. The Wood Brothers Racing Team holds the unique distinction of being the oldest active team in NASCAR, having fielded cars since 1950. They are known for their long relationship with Ford Motor Company, and the long-standing use of the number 21 on their main car. The team currently fields the No. 21 Ford Mustang full-time for Josh Berry and has a technical alliance with Team Penske.
Cup Series
Car No. 21 history
The Wood Brothers Racing Team was founded in 1950 by brothers from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia. Walter and Ada Wood, who owned a farm near Woolwine and Stuart, Virginia, had five sons—Glen, Leonard, Delano, Clay, and Ray Lee—and one daughter, Crystal. The sons worked with their father as mechanics, farmers, and lumbermen. Glen Wood cut timber and hauled lumber to local sawmills, and the brothers honed their auto mechanic skills in their father's garage. Inspired by Curtis Turner, a local sawmill operator and champion racecar driver known for his "win or crash" style, the brothers formed a stock car racing team. Turner, who later co-owned Charlotte Motor Speedway, eventually became a driver for the Wood Brothers.
In the early 1950s, the Wood Brothers needed a driver, so they asked their friend John Conway, who declined. They then recruited fellow lumberman Chris Williams. Back then, race teams drove their cars to the track, raced, and then drove them home. Williams and the Wood Brothers bought their first car for $50, leading them to number it 50—years before adopting their iconic No. 21. Chris Williams and Glen Wood each drove in a few races for the team, which included Williams, his brothers, and the Wood brothers. They found success, winning at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC, and Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA.
After their early success, Chris Williams sold his share of the team to Glen Wood to focus on his lumber business. The Wood Brothers then enlisted local friends and family, including Wood's cousin Ralph Edwards, to fill team roles. Over the years, the Wood Brothers Racing Team grew from a weekend hobby into a full-time business. Glen and Leonard worked full-time building and preparing cars, while the other brothers and crew helped on nights and weekends outside their regular jobs. Their first permanent shop was located at the edge of Stuart, Virginia.
The team permanently adopted the No. 21, making it as iconic in NASCAR as Petty's No. 43 and Earnhardt's No. 3. Drawn by the big cash prizes at Superspeedway races in cities like Daytona, Charlotte, and Darlington, the Wood Brothers shifted focus. Glen Wood stepped back from driving, and they began hiring proven winners to drive the No. 21 Ford at various tracks.
The team quickly rose to compete at the highest levels, achieving victories through the mechanical genius of brothers, relatives, and friends. Leonard Wood's talent in engine work soon earned the team acclaim, rivaling only the legendary Holman-Moody engines and the Petty racing dynasty of Lee and Richard Petty.
Innovation The Wood Brothers revolutionized motor racing by inventing the modern pit stop. In the early days of racing, drivers would pull into the pits, turn off their cars, step out, and sometimes smoke a cigarette while the crew changed tires and serviced the vehicle. The Wood Brothers realized that minimizing time off the track could improve their position. They developed the pit stop common today, which is used in all types of racing.
As other teams noticed the Wood Brothers' success with efficient pit stops, they quickly adopted the Wood method. The Wood team, however, continued to refine pit stops into a precise, mechanical ballet, maintaining their advantage over competitors. Other racing organizations took note of the Wood Brothers' pit stop innovations. In 1965, Ford invited the Wood Brothers team to the Indianapolis 500 to support the Lotus-Ford team. Their speed and precision in the pits contributed to Jim Clark's victory in the 1965 Indianapolis 500.
1960s international success After their Indianapolis 500 win, Wood Brothers Racing gained international acclaim as motorsport pioneers and leaders. Featured in Sports Illustrated and other major media, they built a top-tier roster of drivers, with victories rivaled only by Richard Petty.
The Wood Brothers signed a long-term deal with Purolator as the primary sponsor for the No. 21 car. Their drivers through the mid-1960s included top stock car racers like Curtis Turner, Marvin Panch, Fireball Roberts, Parnelli Jones, Tiny Lund, Junior Johnson, Speedy Thompson, Fred Lorenzen, and Cale Yarborough.
The Wood Brothers fielded a second car, the No. 121, in select races, even entering three cars in one event. Open-wheel star Dan Gurney, known for his success in Indycar and Formula One, drove the No. 121 on NASCAR road courses for the team. The Gurney-Wood pairing dominated, winning every race Gurney entered for them, including the Motor Trend 500 at Riverside International Raceway, Moreno Valley, California in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, and 1968. In the 1968 season, the Wood Brothers earned over $160,000 ($ Today) in single-season winnings—a remarkable amount for that era in any form of auto racing.
Dominance In the early 1970s, the Wood Brothers maintained their success with the No. 21 car, known for its lightning-quick pit stops and powerful engines, which posed a formidable challenge to competitors on the NASCAR circuit. Legendary drivers like Donnie Allison and A.J. Foyt, an open-wheel Indy 500 winner, also took turns behind the wheel of the Wood car.
As the team participated in more events and traveled greater distances, the personnel in the wood shop began to change. Glen Wood emerged as the team's leader and patriarch. His young sons, Eddie and Len, started working in the shop in menial labor roles. Glen's brother, Delano Wood, became one of the greatest pit crew members, with unmatched skill as a jackman even today. Additionally, family friends, including Cecil Wilson from neighboring Lawsonville, North Carolina, soon joined the team.
Modern era
David Pearson (1972–1979) In 1972, David Pearson became the full-time driver of the No. 21 car, launching one of motorsports' most successful runs. From 1972 to 1979, the team competed in 143 races, securing 46 wins and 51 poles, with race earnings exceeding $1.3 million.
In 1976, with Pearson still driving, the Wood Brothers achieved NASCAR's "Triple Crown" by winning the Daytona 500 at Daytona, the World 600 at Charlotte, and the Southern 500 at Darlington. Due to their remarkable success and exemplary qualities as role models and ambassadors of the sport, the Wood Brothers were invited to the White House in the late 1970s at the request of President Jimmy Carter. This occasion marked a historic moment for the brothers and their friends from the small town of Stuart, Virginia.
As NASCAR gained prominence as an emerging sport, the Wood team quickly earned a reputation as one of the best. They were often celebrated and compared to top athletes from other sports, such as baseball legend Reggie Jackson, football stars Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris, and basketball icons Julius Erving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Due to growth and increased demand, the No. 21 team relocated from its former shop to a new facility at the junction of Dobyns Road and Mayo Court in Stuart, where it would remain for many years. Neil Bonnett (1979–1982) The 1980s brought significant changes to NASCAR and the No. 21 team. Driver David Pearson departed, making way for rising star Neil Bonnett from Hueytown, Alabama. Bonnett was part of the "Alabama Gang," which included notable drivers like Bobby and Donnie Allison, as well as later members Davey Allison and Hut Stricklin.
Bonnett and the Wood Brothers team enjoyed a successful partnership that spanned three and a half seasons and 83 races, achieving nine victories and over $700,000 ($ today) in winnings. During the "Bonnett Years," Purolator's longtime president, Paul Cameron, retired, leading to the conclusion of the Wood Brothers' long-term sponsorship with Purolator. This marked the end of one of the most enduring and iconic sponsorships in NASCAR history.
The No. 21 car was sponsored by National Engineer, a California-based company specializing in research and development across various industries. The company was owned by the Warner Hodgdon, who prominently featured his name on the No. 21 car as its main sponsor. This sponsorship was considered one of the richest deals in NASCAR history, further solidifying Wood's status as a leader in the sport. Many original team members, including brothers Clay and Ray Lee Wood, have retired from racing, choosing to focus on their families and other careers in Patrick County.
As the number of race events increased and the demands of running a team intensified each season, the Wood Brothers hired younger team members to fill the gaps. This included the son of original crew member Jimmy Edwards and the Wood Brothers' cousin, Ralph Edwards. They also welcomed Curtis Quesinberry and Hylton Tatum from Stuart, along with another young relative, Butch Moricle. Additional personnel were recruited from nearby Virginia towns such as Danville and Roanoke. During these years, Kim Wood, the only daughter of Glen and Bernece Wood, emerged in an important role. While still in high school, she began handling administrative tasks for the team, assisting her mother with secretarial duties, travel arrangements, and the business aspects of team operations. Buddy Baker (1983–1984)
In the mid-1980s, NASCAR entered what is now known as the modern era of the sport. Television coverage evolved from sporadic broadcasts on ABC's Wide World of Sports to full-time coverage of the Daytona 500 by CBS and live race broadcasts by emerging cable networks like ESPN and TBS. NASCAR secured permanent corporate sponsorship from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, leading to a rebranding of the sport's top series from the Grand National Division to the Winston Cup Series. Notably, R.J. Reynolds, the company's founder, was born and raised in Patrick County, just a few miles from the Wood Brothers team's headquarters.
The Modern Era marked the first comprehensive quest for points championships among most teams. Since the 1950s, many teams participated in only select races. However, to compete for the series title and its substantial cash prize, teams were now required to participate in all events within the scheduled season. The Wood Brothers made the decision to transition to a full-time racing schedule, which significantly increased the team's workload and required greater investments of time, money, and manpower. As part of this new commitment, Warner Hodgdon and National Engineering departed as sponsors, and Valvoline was brought on as the team's primary patron.
In 1983, legendary driver Buddy Baker was hired to replace the departing Neil Bonnett in the No. 21 car. However, he and the Woods team struggled for the first time in many years, lasting only two seasons together. Despite this, they achieved a notable victory at the Firecracker 400 at Daytona that same year. Baker and the Woods parted ways, along with Valvoline as the sponsor. International star driver Bobby Rahal from the IndyCar series briefly filled Baker's vacant seat for one race.
Kyle Petty (1985–1988)