12-race 2013 Schedule planned with Trevor Bayne driving:
1) Daytona 500 - 2/24, Motorcraft/Quick Lane, 1963 scheme
2) Las Vegas - 3/10, Motorcraft/Quick Lane
3) Texas - 4/13, Motorcraft/Quick Lane
4) Talladega - 5/5, Motorcraft/Quick Lane
5) Charlotte - 5/23, Motorcraft/Quick Lane
6) Michigan - 6/16, Motorcraft/Quick Lane
7) Daytona - 7/6, Motorcraft/Quick Lane
8) Indy - 7/28, Motorcraft/Quick Lane
9) Michigan - 8/18, Motorcraft/Quick Lane
10) Talladega - 10/20, Motorcraft/Quick Lane
11) Texas - 11/3, Motorcraft/Quick Lane
12) Homestead - 11/17, Motorcraft/Quick Lane

Contract Status: Driver: 2013; Primary Sponsors: 2013

Kurt Busch, Trevor Bayne to test at MIS on May 14-15: NASCAR's new Gen-6 Car has drawn rave reviews from drivers and fans alike after the first 10 races in 2013. On May 14-15, the car will make its debut at Michigan International Speedway when two teams conduct a test. And fans are invited to watch free of charge. Speedway officials will open the Turn One grandstands from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. May 14 and May 15 to watch testing. So far, #78-Kurt Busch and #21-Trevor Bayne are the only drivers schedule to test those days. "It will be exciting to finally see the Gen 6 Car at Michigan International Speedway," track President Roger Curtis said. "We became NASCAR's fastest track in 2012 during the Quicken Loans 400. So far in 2013, the new cars have been posting record qualifying speeds so it will be fun to see how fast they go here."
Last year, Marcos Ambrose posted a track qualifying mark of 203.241 mph for the Quicken Loans 400. That speed was the 11th-fastest pole-winning speed in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history and the first time the pole winning speed was faster than 200 mph at a track other than Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. pulled into victory lane for his first win since June of 2008, also at MIS. Testing times, track schedule and drivers are subject to change due to weather or other circumstances. Fans are asked to park in Lot 10 off US 12 and enter the grandstands through Gate 17, just behind the water tower. The restroom facilities will be open. Fans are also allowed to bring in coolers that meet the MIS grandstand gate policies for any race weekend. MIS is once again host to a pair of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 2013. The top series comes to the Irish Hills for the Quicken Loans 400 on Sunday, June 16 and returns just two short months later for the Pure Michigan 400 on Sunday, August 18. Tickets are on sale at MISpeedway.com or by phone at 800-354-1010.(MIS)(5-7-2013)

Bayne to use Brand-New Back-Up Ford Fusion for Daytona 500: The scene in the Motorcraft/Quick Lane garage area at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday was a tale of two race cars. On one side of the aisle, there was a battered #21 Ford Fusion, one that led more than half of the first of two Budweiser Duel qualifying races, but was later wiped out in a crash. On the other side sat a brand-new Fusion, one that had never even been rolled on asphalt before it was unloaded from the Wood Brothers' hauler. The first car, despite the damage, did its job. It was third fastest in qualifying, assuring Trevor Bayne and the team a starting spot for Sunday's Daytona 500. Bayne will start 33rd, one spot worse than he started in 2011 when he won the 500. The other car now is poised to pick up where the first one left off. First, there's plenty of preparation to be done by crew chief Donnie Wingo and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew. "We may not even practice on Friday, but that's OK," said team co-owner Eddie Wood. "We didn't practice on Friday in 2011, and we won that race." There also is a final practice session set for Saturday, and Wood said he was confident the new car would be race ready by then. Despite the battered car in the background on Thursday, Wood and the rest of the Motorcraft crew seemed upbeat. "You can't be disappointed when you lead more that half the race," he said.(Wood Brothers Racing)(2-22-2013)

#21 Ford To Sport New Look, Old Colors At Daytona: The 2013 edition of Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway has a throwback feel as the Generation-6 cars that will make their competitive debut this week, once again closely resemble those found in dealer showrooms, bringing back the old "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" approach to Motorsports Marketing. NASCAR's qualifying rules have been changed back to an earlier format, one that puts more emphasis on performance during qualifying rather than rewarding teams for past performances. It's a perfect environment for the Wood Brothers and Motorcraft/Quick Lane to roll out their 2013 Ford Fusion. This Fusion, while carrying the shapes and style of the street-legal Fusions, 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. "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.(Wood Brothers Racing), see an image of the scheme on my #21 Team Schemes page.(2-13-2013)

Bayne may run full time in 2014: Roush Fenway Racing's goal is to put Trevor Bayne in a full-time Sprint Cup ride by 2014. Bayne has run a part-time schedule since 2011 when he kicked off the season winning the Daytona 500 in the legendary #21 Wood Brothers Ford. He will run another part-time schedule for the Wood Brothers this season as well as a full Nationwide Series schedule for Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne's contract is with RFR, which supplies engines and chassis to the Wood Brothers. Team owner Jack Roush said if he can work out the finances and sponsorship issues toward the end of this season the plan is to put Bayne in Cup full time next year.(ESPN)(1-25-2013)

2013 silly season notes for #21-Trevor Bayne / Wood Brothers Racing:: Trevor Bayne, with 32 Cup starts, expects to run a part-time Sprint Cup schedule [16-18 races] for the Wood Brothers again in 2013. Motorcraft-Quick Lane return to sponsor the team in about 16 races. No word if Good Sam Club / Camping World will return to sponsor the team in 2013, it was the primary sponsor in four races in 2012. Donnie Wingo returns as the crew chief of the operation. Bayne will run the full Nationwide Season schedule for Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne also got engaged in the off season. See images of the Motorcraft schemes on my #21 Team Schemes page. See more about other teams on my 2013 Team / Driver Silly Season Chart.(1-12-2013)

Wingo's Winter Of Work To Be Tested at Daytona: The recently completed NASCAR off-season was anything but for crew chief Donnie Wingo and his #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion team. The change to a radically different Ford Fusion has kept Wingo and his Wood Brothers crew especially busy, even during the weeks of Christmas and New Year's, when teams typically take a few days off. "For the first time in a long time I didn't take a vacation," Wingo said. "We didn't even take the whole week of Christmas off. This is by far the most change we've ever had from one season to the next." It was just this week that the #21 Ford Fusion saw its first wind-tunnel test, one that answered few questions for now because it's a totally new car. "There's really nothing to compare it to," Wingo said. For the Daytona test, Wingo and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team have taken the chassis they raced at Talladega Superspeedway last fall and made the necessary changes, including the installation of the new 2013 Ford Fusion body, one that more closely resembles those on the Fusions in dealers' showrooms.
"The car has less drag, but it also has less downforce  front, rear, and overall," Wingo said. Since NASCAR is adding even more body templates this year, there's very little that teams can do to affect the aerodynamic characteristics of their cars." Wingo said he'll have his driver Trevor Bayne focus initially on single-car runs, but he does plan to do some drafting before the test ends on Saturday. Only after some drafting practice will drivers and teams know whether the tandem-style racing that has been commonplace at Daytona and Talladega in recent years will be feasible with the new cars.(Wood Brothers Racing)(1-11-2013)

Leonard Wood Could Do Anything With A Race Car - Architect Of Modern Pit Stop Heads To NASCAR Hall Of Fame: Back in the day, there was no such thing as a "how-to" manual for chief mechanics. Or for race car builders, engine assemblers and tuners and anyone else associated with the then-fledgling sport of NASCAR stock car racing. And one who did it among the best is Stuart, Va.'s Leonard Wood, who is among the 2013 class of five set for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Friday, Feb. 8. Wood, 78, will be enshrined in ceremonies to be held at the Charlotte (N.C.) Convention Center Crown Ballroom which is connected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Wood joins his older brother Glen Wood, the fabled Wood Brothers #21 racing team's original driver and owner, as a NASCAR Hall of Fame member. His fellow inductees in the Hall's fourth class are NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions Buck Baker, Herb Thomas and Rusty Wallace and car owner/builder/driver/crew chief Cotton Owens (NASCAR). For the full story, stats and more on Leonard Wood and the Class of 2013, see my NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2013 page.(1-11-2013)

Congrats: NASCAR's Trevor Bayne is stepping out of the fast lane and settling down. The Knoxville area native and 2011 Daytona 500 champion has announced his engagement on Twitter. "Well Ladies and Gentlemen, she said yes," Bayne tweeted. The message was accompanied with a photo of Bayne and his fiance, Ashton Clapp, at a ski slope. Bayne's father confirmed the engagement via text message to WATE 6 Sports on Saturday. Rocky Bayne said Clapp is also from the Knoxville area and said no wedding date has been set.(WATE)(12-23-2012)

Bayne disappointed he didn't get Cup ride: #21-Trevor Bayne admitted Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway he has mixed emotions about Ricky Stenhouse Jr. being Matt Kenseth's replacement at Roush Fenway Racing because he believes they both deserve a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ride. "At first when they said that [Stenhouse in the #17 next year] I was a little bit bummed out because I wanted them to come to me and say, 'Hey, we're gonna run you full-time in a Cup car with the fourth team' and that didn't happen," Bayne said. "But when I did find out I was running Nationwide and I thought about it, I thought that's probably a good decision to go out there and get that first full season under our belt in the series. I haven't gotten to go points racing and I think it would be good to get that under our belt before we go to that Cup level when it's gonna be even tougher to do that and get that experience." Bayne believes Stenhouse's move into the #17 Ford is a "great opportunity" for his teammate. "At the same time, I can't wait to get my opportunity in Cup," Bayne continued. "I think we could run competitively there every weekend. We do that even with the Wood Brothers part-time. But I've just got to be patient in the meantime for that." Team co-owner Jack Roush has already said he planned to field a full-time Nationwide team for Bayne in 2013. Bayne also plans to continue driving a limited Sprint Cup schedule for the Wood Brothers [#21 Ford]. Bayne said the only way he would consider a move to Penske Racing would be if Roush told him it was an option. "Being under contract, there is no way I would go talk to another team or do anything like that at this point," the 21-year-old Bayne said. "The more (Ford) teams the better, but I don't know if that changes opportunities for me or not."(RacinToday)(8-25-2012)

Wood Brothers donate winning car to museum: Eddie Wood and Len Wood of the famed Wood Brothers Racing team, donated Trevor Bayne's 2011 Daytona 500 winning Ford Fusion to The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Mich., on Thursday. The car, exactly as it was after Bayne won at Daytona International Speedway and still covered in celebratory confetti, Gatorade and Coca-Cola will be housed in the museum's Driving America exhibit, next to Henry Ford's 1901 Sweepstakes and Jimmy Clark's 1965 Indianapolis 500 winning Lotus-Ford. The Wood Brothers and Trevor Bayne will attempt to win at Michigan International Speedway this summer during the NASCAR Sprint Cup race on June 17 and the Pure Michigan 400 on Aug. 19. Visit MISpeedway.com or call 800-354-1010 for tickets.(see an image at mispeedway.com)(3-23-2012)