It took seven decades, but Wood Brothers finally claim 100th NASCAR victory

Speedy Thompson was the first driver to drive the famous No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing with a win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1960.

Over the next seven decades, 98 victories followed, culminating in Ryan Blaney's victory at Pocono Raceway in 2017. But then one of NASCAR's pioneering teams faltered.

Despite a close alliance with Team Penske and strong support from Ford Motor Co., Wood Brothers sat on 99 victories for more than six years. The drought finally ended this weekend when Harrison Burton gave the organization its 100th victory with a win – the first of his Cup Series career – in a surprise thriller at Daytona International Speedway.

The win secured Burton one of the last remaining spots in the playoff field and gave team co-owners Eddie and Len Wood the victory their late father had long been waiting for. NASCAR Hall of Fame member Glen Wood founded the team in 1950 with his brothers Leonard, Ray Lee, Delano and Clay.

The team continues to operate out of Stuart, Virginia, and is run by the second and third generations of the Wood family. Glen Wood died in 2019 at the age of 93.

“There's nothing like winning at Daytona,” said Eddie Wood, who called the facility his favorite NASCAR track. “Winning here means more to me than winning anywhere else. It's just special. Our father raced on the beach, specifically on sand. My goodness, that was almost 75 years ago. I think his first race ever on sand was in 1953. That was a long time ago. Winning at Daytona is just really special to our family.”

Chapter Three

Burton's victory was the 16th at Daytona for the No. 21, which has won five Daytona 500s and 11 other times at NASCAR's annual summer stop at the track. Burton is the 19th driver to win a family Cup race.

The single-car team was once one of the most dominant competitors in the Cup until it hit lean years, made worse by the 2008 recession. To keep the doors open, it needed help from Ford – the only manufacturer the team has ever partnered with.

“There are so many things in a person's life, in every person's life, a phone call, a place you happen to be at a certain time, timing is everything,” Eddie Wood said. “But in 2008, there was a call from Edsel Ford. We were really struggling. He said, 'I'm going to have a gentleman call you tomorrow who will help you.'

“The man's name was Jim Farley, and he's now the CEO of Ford Motor Co. That's how far back the history goes. Our family has been racing Ford Motor Co. products since the company was founded in 1950. I think that's one of the things I'm really, really proud of.”

Ford's support wasn't really enough to make Wood Brothers a contender again, and even after victory number 98, the Daytona 500 in 2011 with rookie Trevor Bayne, the turnaround didn't happen.

Burton's victory on Saturday night is only the fourth win for the No. 21 since 2000. Elliott Sadler won at Bristol in 2001, Bayne won the Daytona 500 and Blaney won at Pocono in 2017. Roger Penske's intervention also contributed to this victory.

Penske needed a spot for Blaney in 2014 and wanted to join a team where he could develop young personnel. Wood Brothers, like Penske a strong Ford team, was the perfect choice.

Chapter Three

When NASCAR implemented its charter system in 2016, Wood Brothers did not receive one, despite being one of the oldest teams in Cup history. Without the charter, the No. 21 was not guaranteed a spot in the field every week and its share of prize money was dramatically lower than chartered teams.

Jon Wood, Eddie's son and former driver, is now president of the team and said not getting a charter was almost the lowest point for him.

“When we didn't get approval and talked about it, that was rock bottom,” Jon Wood said. “We had to come here and face reality and say, 'I think we're going to be OK.' And that's it. That's the part that's so surreal about the whole thing. You come from rock bottom and you barely made it.”

The team was only able to secure a full charter in 2021.

Chapter Three

Unfortunately, Burton has not performed as well as Penske had hoped and the decision was made earlier this season to release the 23-year-old at the end of the year. The Penske drivers were among the many competitors who turned out to congratulate Burton on his breakthrough victory.

“The last three years obviously weren't going the way I wanted to represent myself or this team,” Burton said. “And then the walls were closing in, and I knew my time driving this historic car was definitely coming to an end. And then to find a way to win while the walls were closing in is really something special for me.”

“It almost makes the last three years worthwhile, but I would have much rather won earlier. It was just so tough, and that's the way it should be. The Cup Series is really, really tough. But to get the Wood Brothers' 100th win, to get my very first Cup win, that's just really, really hard to put into words.”

Burton has 11 races left in the No. 21 and will be part of the 16-driver playoff field when it kicks off in two weeks at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That's 11 weeks for Burton to continue making history with a historic NASCAR team.