This year's Wood Brothers Ford |
NASCAR’s qualifying rules have also
been dialed back to a familiar, older format, one that puts more emphasis on
performance in qualifying, rather than rewarding teams for past performance.
It’s a perfect environment for the
Wood Brothers and Motorcraft/Quick Lane to roll out their 2013 Ford Fusion. While
carrying the shape and style of the street-legal Fusion, the No. 21 Ford is
decked out in the same colors as the 1963 Ford Galaxie that Tiny Lund drove to
victory in the Daytona 500 for the Woods on Feb. 24, 1963; 50 years ago to the
day from this year’s 500.
The Rangoon Red-and-Corinthian White
paint scheme is part of the effort of the current generation of Wood racers to
honor the team’s long-time chief mechanic and crew chief Leonard Wood, who was
inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame last week.
“It’s a real honor to be able to do
something like this for our uncle,” said Eddie Wood, one of the co-owners of
the team.
Wood also is anxious to get back on
the track with a Ford Fusion that, like the ’63 Ford Galaxie back in the day,
has the kind of appeal that sends race fans to the local dealership after their
favorite race car wins in NASCAR.
Trevor Bayne |
“I’ve have at least a dozen people
come up to me recently and say they went out and bought a 1963 Galaxie after
Tiny Lund won the Daytona 500,” Wood said, adding that a true-to-life replica
of Lund’s winning Ford will be on display in the Fan Zone at Daytona
International Speedway during Speedweeks.
The real emphasis for the Woods and
their current driver Trevor Bayne will be in the garage and on the track as
they compete in the 55th running of the Daytona 500.
Even after 63 years of NASCAR racing
and a Hall of Fame induction, Leonard Wood, who still works with the team, is
looking out his windshield instead of his rear-view mirror as he heads to
Speedweeks, where his team has five wins in NASCAR’s showcase race.
During his Hall of Fame induction,
he talked about how happy he was to see his nephews, Eddie and Len, and his
niece Kim, along with crew chief Donnie Wingo, win the 2011 Daytona 500. He
also laid out his hopes for this year.
“I want to see them do it again this
year,” he said.
He believes they’ve got the driver
to do it in a new car and with a new style of racing, now that the two-car
tandem that Bayne used so skillfully in 2011 appears to have become a thing of
the past with the change to the 2013 cars.
“He seems to me he's matured enough
that I think he's got what it takes to win the Daytona 500,” Wood said.
Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is
set for Sunday, Feb. 17, at 1:10 p.m. Eastern Time. The 150-mile Budweiser
Duels qualifying races are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 21, at 2 p.m., and the
55th annual Daytona 500 should get the green flag just after 1 p.m. on Sunday,
Feb. 24.
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