Event Coverage Congrats Wood Brothers Ford

I kinda mentioned The King ... see post #101 of this thread.

 

Edsel Ford was in the winner's circle yesterday.

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/autos/2011/02/21/17356296.html

While everyone — rightly so — were singing the praises of 20-year-old Trevor Bayne on his Sunday afternoon drive that made him the 2011 Daytona 500 champion, not enough was said about the Wood Brothers team that got him to the big race in the first place.

The Wood family have been around NASCAR since stock cars were being raced on the sand of Atlantic Avenue in Daytona Beach.

Through the good times and the bad times, the family endured with such championship drivers as David Pearson and Bill Elliott.

But over the past few seasons Wood Brothers Racing had fallen on hard times and Bayne winning in the No. 21 Ford at Daytona was something of a fairy tale ending to a story that was told after the race by second-generation family member Eddie Wood.

In involved another famous automobile family — the Fords — and current company chairman Edsel Ford, and how he helped the team survive when it was having trouble even qualifying for NASCAR Sprint Cup races.

“Probably the lowest point was missing (the Daytona 500) in ’08,” Eddie said. “Our family had been coming down here since the ‘50s and had never missed one until we missed that one.

“I think that’s probably the lowest point for me was that day.

“It’s almost like when you miss a race, especially the Daytona 500, it’s like somebody died. Until you go through it, you can’t put it into words, but when you walk through the garage and you see people you see every week, they’re afraid to look at you.

“It’s like they don’t know what to say. Like you walk up to them and say, ‘Hey, we missed the race, OK.’ But it’s tearing you apart inside.

“Len and I dug in and we visited a lot of people. We got with our friends at Ford Motor Company. We were at Pocono that year and Edsel Ford was looking for a phone number for a four-star general that we were friends with and he called me.

“He said, ‘Why haven’t you called me? What’s going on?’ And I said, ‘Mr. Ford. I’m just ashamed to. We’ve run so poorly and we’re missing races.’

“He said, ‘We’ve got to fix that. I’m going to have someone call you in the morning.’ So the next morning, which was Wednesday, I think, Mr. Jim Farley from Ford Motor Company called us and he said, ‘We’ve got to fix your program. Why don’t you come up here?’ (to Detroit).

“So within two hours we had no clothes, we wore what we had on and headed to the airport and left just like we were.

“We went to Michigan and bought clothes to go visit Mr. Farley — stayed up there two days to get to him and we met with him and told him our problems and it was just like talking to someone you’ve known for years and he said, ‘OK, we’re gonna fix this.’

“There’s a lot of stuff in between that and now, but that’s how we started to come back.”

That is how Edsel Ford helped the Wood Brothers get back into Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway.

Jim Farley is a hot rodder - his '34 3 window coupe is featured in the latest issue of Rodder's Journal.

 

Quote:
<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border: 1px inset;"> Originally Posted by D.R.Smith
One thing nobody mentioned was that Richard Petty is the owner of the 21.It is only on paper as the Wood brothers used pettys last year owner points to get a startting spot for the 500 without having to race there way in. So not only did the Woods win so did Richard Petty.Can it get any better.
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

Yes you did, and I was wondering what you were talking about...D.R. cleared that up for me, I couldn't find anything anywhere about Petty in the winners circle now I know...
All week all you heard was how you don't want to be leading at the end because you'll be a sitting duck, the guy in 2nd has the advantage at the finish...guess the kid showed the rail birds.

 

Yep, that's the way I heard Eddie tell the story on the news. You can't add to this. I am proud to say I am a fan of the American auto industry, and particularly the Ford family. Thank you Edsel II for giving these guys a road back.

 

Very cool story!!

 

I was just happy that Jimmy Johnson didnt win.

 

Some perspective....
Trevor Bayne was 9 years old when Dale Earnhart died.

 

I read every single post..I hope Ford and Nascar are looking.

Trevor knocked a home run for the ages.

 

I was very happy to see the 21 car win again.

I kinda doubt that he will be a factor at the other races to come that are not super speedways. Remember he had just as much experience at the 2 car draft as the other older drivers. He was good at it all race long. Without the new paving and The new style drafting that the new paving permitted, it might not have turned out the same way. It sure was more entertaining than watching a 1/2 mile of cars drafting around the track, lap after lap, afraid of getting out of line and going to the rear. It was a fun race to watch again...for me anyway.

 

Good to see 21 car and what seems to be a decent kid in the winners circle. Also good to see Labonte in the top 5 again(even though he drives a toyota now) been a while for former champ who was left without drafting partners for most of the day only to pick up stragglers here and there like Robby Gordon or Truex.

 

Enough wasn't said about Kyle Busch, was turned sideways hit the wall and after several pit stops to repair a wounded car (even realigning the front wheels) at the end was back at the front leading laps, ended up 8th. Not muched liked but he is a Wheel Man.

 

I think it was the best Daytona 500 I've ever watched.

I like the technical nuances of the race. For instance:

- The 'pusher' car has to swap places with the 'pushee' cars to avoid overheating. But it seemed like every time the 21 car was in the picture he was the pusher and did not encounter overheating woes. Trevor Bahne seemed to be able to stay back and push indefinitely. I did notice he had mastered offset drafting quite well. Maybe that was his 'edge'. Did the Wood brothers car have a better handle on the cooling issues than other cars? I think other teams will be studying the replay in detail looking to learn from his run.

- The Fusion body seems better suited to being a 'pusher' than perhaps the more gracefully rounded front of a Nationwide Mustang body style (see Google images of the two). I wonder if the Ford teams will reconsider the Fusion instead of the Mustang body? The relatively slab-front end sheet metal of the Fusion may actually be better suited for two-up racing.

-Re 'pusher' cooling: would it be allowable to package an additional radiator at the rear of the car behind the fuel cell? How tightly is the NASCAR cooling system regulated? Is the capacity closely dictated, like the fuel system?

It seems like this two-up racing style will open up a whole new opportunity to gain an advantage over other teams.

Comments?

 

The story Eddie Wood told about Edsel Ford helping the Wood Brothers get competitive again shows their dedication to the only NASCAR team who have raced Fords ONLY for the last 50 years. NASCAR race teams go where the best deal is at. Evidentally the Wood Brothers have never looked for a better deal. Thanks to that phone call from Mr Ford offering help the team had it at Daytona. On speed alone Bayne would have qualified 3rd behind Jr. and Jeff Gordon.

I have never been much of a fan of Fords but I have been since they didn't need any of our money awhile back. When we needed a new car for my wife last year we bought a new Fusion. I feel a strong allegiance to Ford Motor Company now and couldn't have been prouder of the 2011 Daytona 500.

 

FYI for the Motor City folks-
Trevor and Len and Ed (I think) will be at the Henry Ford next Wednesday, March 9 at 330. Seats are limited it says, so get there early. At least that's what The Henry Ford posted on my Facebook wall.

JK

 

Cool!! I just might go there....