- Little Debbie sponsorship note: The #21-Wood Brother's part time primary sponsor, Little Debbie snacks, is run by Seventh Day Adventists. From sundown Friday till sundown Saturday, the team has to cover all Little Debbie logos on the hauler, wear non-Little Debbie attire and remove all Little Debbie decal from the race car.(Autoweek)(3-16-2006)
Bill Elliott's planned 2008 Schedule (17 races) in the #21:
Bud Shootout [2/9]
Daytona [2/17]
California [2/24]
Atlanta [3/9]
Bristol [3/16] Jeff Green ran
Martinsville [3/30](swapped for Bristol)
Texas [4/6]
Phoenix [4/12]
Darlington [5/10]
All-Star Showdown [5/17]
Pocono [6/8]?
Michigan [6/15]
Chicago [7/12]
Indianapolis [7/27]
Bristol [8/23]
New Hampshire [9/14]
Kansas [9/28]
Charlotte [10/11]
Talladega [10/5] (was not listed on billelliott.com, but in Motorcraft PR)
Homestead [11/16]
(Bill Elliott site)
Races [8] that Motorcraft is scheduled to be the primary sponsor in 2008:
Texas [4/6], Elliott
Phoenix [4/12], Elliott
Darlington [5/10] Retro 1971 scheme, Elliott
Michigan [6/15]
Indianapolis [7/27]
Bristol [8/23]
New Hampshire [9/14]
Talladega [10/5]
Homestead [11/16]
Marcos Ambrose planned 2008 Races (4) in the #47 Little Debbie Ford:
Indianapolis [7/27]
Kansas [9/28]
Atlanta [10/26]
Homestead [11/16]
Marcos Ambrose planned 2008 Schedule in the #21:
Infineon Raceway [6/22]
Watkins Glen [8/10]
others TBA
Jon Wood planned 2008 Schedule:
Las Vegas [3/2] skipped, Johnny Sauter in the car
Talladega - 4/27, Honey Buns
Richmond - 5/3, Air Force
Lowe's Motor Speedway, Air Force - 5/25
Dover - 6/1
Pocono - 6/8?
others TBA
Contract Status: Drivers: 2008 ; Sponsors: 2009
- Wood Brothers Racing Brings Back Mercury Paint Scheme: Wood Brothers Racing will be placing its 1971 Mercury paint scheme on the #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion in Darlington this weekend for the Dodge Challenger 500 on Saturday night, May 10th. Bill Elliott will drive the #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion with the vintage paint scheme. The candy apple red and white COT with the signature gold numbers will commemorate a time in Wood Brother's racing history when David Pearson drove the #21 to five wins and eight pole starting positions at Darlington Raceway. The #21 Purolator Mercury moved back into the racing scene when Leonard Wood recently restored the race car that was housed in the Darlington Raceway Museum for over 30 years. David Pearson and Carl Edwards brought modern and classic race cars together again in a media event for the newly surfaced raceway in April. Pearson made laps in the original Mercury as Carl Edwards followed in the new COT style race car. Leonard Wood stood by and buckled Pearson in, as he did as Pearson’s crew chief years ago. Scenes of the special feature will air during the pre-race show NASCAR Raceday on Speed Saturday, May 10th at 5:00pm/et.(Wood Brothers Racing)(5-7-2008) Comment here
- No #21 driver named yet for RIR UPDATE: The Wood Brothers have not announced who will drive for its [#21 Ford] car this week at Richmond, but Bill Elliott is scheduled to drive for the team at Darlington Raceway the following weekend.(Roanoke Times), Schrader?(4-28-2008)
UPDATE: Jon Wood will drive the #21 Air Force Ford Fusion at this weekend’s Sprint Cup event at the Richmond International Raceway. The 26 year old driver will be attempting to qualify for his second start of the 2008 season, after qualifying 12th at Talladega Superspeedway last week.(Wood Brothers Racing) Comment here
- Jon Wood in the #21 at Talladega: Jon Wood will make his 2008 Sprint Cup Series debut in the Wood Brothers Racing #21 Honey Buns Ford in the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 27th. Since the race was not a scheduled event for Bill Elliott, the team felt that Jon was a logical choice given his experience in the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series on superspeedways. Jon has a busy schedule this week as he is also entered to drive the #21 Air Force Ford in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 CTS race at the Kansas Speedway on April 26th. The team is making every effort to make sure Jon participates in both events. An alternative driver is being considered to practice, qualify and possibly race the truck if arrangements cannot be made to get Jon to the Kansas Speedway.(Wood Brothers PR)(4-21-2008) Comment here
- Logo added to #21 Hood: The #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion of Bill Elliott will be sporting an additional logo on its hood in Phoenix. Ford Motor Company held a contest for the dealerships in its West Division. Landmark Ford of Tigard, Oregon won the grand prize of placing their company name on the hood of the #21 race car for this weekend’s race event. The greater Portland area dealership also won two additional prizes for second and third which awarded race tickets and garage passes. The landslide win is recognized by Ford Motor Company as a great accomplishment. Ford Motor Company’s Sales and Marketing Manager for the West Hub, John Ulrich, commented on the dealership’s contest sweep. Ulrich said, “Landmark Ford was the highest performer out of eight dealerships who participated in the contest. They exceeded their objectives in parts and retail service excellence. Ford Motor Company is very proud of the dealership and we are very excited that they used a Ford Motor Company contest to motivate their people.”(Wood Bros Racing)(4-12-2008) Comment here
- Special Salute the troops scheme at LMS in May: Memorial Day Weekend is always thrilling for race fans at Lowe's Motor Speedway. This year, a special celebration of America's military personnel takes place with the Salute the Troops program. Dale Earnhardt Jr and Hendrick Motorsports join the celebration of America's heroes with a special National Guard paint scheme on the #88 Chevy. This special paint scheme features the Salute the Troops logo on the hood, as well as the lower side panels. Salute the Troops will be an on-track program based around strength, patriotism and philanthropy. By positioning this program around Memorial Day, Motorsports Authentics and the teams involved will look to celebrate and honor one of the greatest federal holidays for Americans all year long. The program calls for teams to carry the "Salute the Troops" insignia and/or showcase a special paint out featuring a branch of the United States military. The Salute the Troops program will be on track in May for the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. This program will celebrate the history and tradition of the military branches on this Memorial Day weekend. The pre-race show for Memorial Day will include a military demonstration for the fans and then followed by a concert for the troops. In support of this program, Motorsports Authentics will create a unique and collectible line of Salute the Troops merchandise. Motorsports Authentics will create a line of Salute the Troops die-cast and collectables that will raise money for military families. In addition, MA will work with corporate sponsors to raise money and awareness for the men and women of the armed forces.
Scheduled Participating Sprint Cup Drivers:
#88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - Carrying the logo on hood and rear quarter panels
#24-Jeff Gordon - Carrying the logo on the decklid
#8-Mark Martin - Full military paint out with program logos
#21-Jon Wood - Full military paint out with program logos
#07-Clint Bowyer - Carrying the logo on the rear spoiler, along with Toast the Troops logo on the deck lid
Scheduled Participating Nationwide Seires Drivers:
#88-Brad Keselowski - Full military paint out
See the schemes on my #88 Team schemes page, #24 Team schemes page, #8 Team schemes page, #21 Team schemes page and #07 Team schemes page and on the Nationwide Series schemes Gallery.(4-8-2008)
- Smith continues as #21 crew chief: Mike Smith will be the interim crew chief for Wood Brothers Racing and driver #21-Bill Elliott again this weekend for the Samsung 500 Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Smith debuted in the role last weekend, and he is optimistic about the car the team is bringing for Elliott, who has 11 starts at Texas with one pole position and one top-10.(SceneDaily).(4-4-2008) Comment here
- Wood Brothers Racing Texas Preview Motorcraft Primary Sponsorship Debut: Wood Brothers Racing will unveil Motorcraft’s black, white and red paint scheme as the primary sponsor for this weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. Bill Elliott will drive #21 Ford Fusion in the Samsung 500 on Sunday, April 6th. Geoff Smith, Motorcraft’s Motorsports Manager, explained why Motorcraft chose to debut their primary sponsorship at Texas Motor Speedway. He stated, “Motorcraft is excited to launch our 2008 sponsorship season in Texas this weekend. Texas is a very large and important market for Ford and Motorcraft parts. The Texas NASCAR race will afford us the opportunity to continue to grow our brand image given NASCAR's popularity and exposure. We will provide trackside hospitality to reward local dealer and distributor contest winners who will attend the race as our guests.” “Team 21” is looking forward to racing a newly built chassis. Crew Chief, Mike “Andretti” Smith commented on this week’s preparation. He noted, “We went to Ford [Racing] this week to work on the 7-post shaker rig with the actual Texas race car. We think we came up with something really good.” He admited that they will focus on both qualifying and race runs during the initial practice on Friday because they are using a setup that is different from what they have tried at other tracks that resemble Texas, such as Atlanta. For more information on Motorcraft , please visit www.motorcraft.com.(Wood Brothers Racing)(4-3-2008) Comment here
- Interim crew chief named for the #21: Team engineer Mike Smith is the interim crew chief for the #21 Wood Brothers Racing Sprint Cup Series team this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Smith is an aerodynamic specialist who has been with the team for 18 years. Bill Elliott is driving for the Wood Brothers this weekend at Martinsville. The team is outside the top 35 in owners points, but has access to a past champions provisional and is, therefore, locked into the field for Sunday’s Goody’s Cool Orange 500.(SceneDaily)(3-28-2008)
- Original Wood Brothers Purolator Mercury on Display: The Wood Brothers Racing original 1971 #21 Purolator Mercury driven by David Pearson has been brought home to Stuart, Virginia where it will be on display at the Wood Brothers Racing museum beginning this week. The legendary race car is in fact, the same machine that David Pearson won his first race with the Wood Brothers and also shared the infamous 11 out of 18 wins in 1973. The race car also known as "The Wood Brothers Purolator Mercury" was loaned to the Darlington Speedway 34 years ago and still carries all of the original parts and paint scheme as it was raced in those infamous years. It was brought back to the Stuart, Virginia race shop for routine maintenance and restoration. The museum of Wood Brothers memorabilia spans 58 years of racing. Among some of the many items on display are; a 1989 Neil Bonnett Thunderbird, a 1937 Glen Wood Ford Coach, and cars from Jon Wood and Keven Wood's careers. Every inch of the walls are decked with plaques and photos, new and old that Glen Wood personally hung himself. There are also a variety of trophies, helmets, uniforms and other items from the Wood Brothers history. Nineteen of NASCAR's "50 Greatest Drivers" have piloted the Wood Brothers cars over the past 58 years, such as David Pearson, AJ Foyt, Curtis Turner, Dale Jarrett and others. The museum is open weekdays from 9:00am to noon, & 1:00pm to 5:00pm. There is no admission fee, and the gift shop offers varied souvenir items. It's located only thirty minutes from Martinsville Speedway, just off highway 58. The museum and souvenir shop is also open this Saturday during the Martinsville Race weekend until 1pm.(WBR PR)(3-27-2008) Comment here
- #21 Crew chief leaves team: Gene Nead, crew chief for the #21 Wood Brothers Racing Sprint Cup car, has left the team, team officials confirmed Monday morning.
Nead joined the Wood Brothers in November 2007 after a stint with Robby Gordon Motorsports. With a variety of drivers this year – Bill Elliott, Johnny Sauter and Jeff Green – the Wood Brothers have failed to qualify for four of the five events. The team is 44th in owners points and has had to qualify for races on speed but should be OK for the race in Martinsville because with Dale Jarrett’s retirement and Kurt Busch now being locked in with points, Elliott is expected to be the only past champion who isn’t locked into the field.
The team has not yet named a replacement for Nead.(SceneDaily)(3-24-2008)
UPDATE: “We had a whole bunch of testing planned, to go out and just race more and go through some things and figure them out,” [#22-Dave] Blaney [of Bill Davis Racing] said. “We needed the days to try to learn something, but we missed out on a couple.” Instead, the #22 Cat team will attempt to make up for lost time this week before going to Martinsville. Monday’s workout will be at a short track in North Carolina in preparation for Martinsville, while Tuesday and Wednesday in Nashville are for general testing. “We’ll try to learn all we can this week,” Blaney said. Since Bristol, the Cat team has added Gene Nead, who left a year ago to join another team. “He’s coming back,” Blaney said of the crew member whose role will most likely be that of engineer. “He’s very good,” Blaney said of Nead, who will help crew chief Tommy Baldwin in all phases. “If you can add some people to make your team stronger, no matter when, that’s a good thing. Hopefully, it’ll give us a little shot in the arm and turn it around.”(Youngstown Vindicator)(3-24-2008) Comment here
- Why no Elliott at Bristol? UPDATE: Bill Elliott is not running the #21 Wood Brothers Little Debbie Ford at Bristol Motor Speedway this week, supposedly Elliott asked to switch the Bristol race [scheduled for Elliott] with Martinsville on March 28-30th, so the team hired Jeff Green to run at Bristol. Green has won a pole at Bristol in August 2001.(3-14-2008)
UPDATE: Wood Brothers Racing and the #21 Team spent the week tapping every available resource looking for answers on how to get the car to perform better and make races. They were excited about their findings and were looking forward to qualifying for this Sunday's Food City 500. Earlier in the week, the decision was made to ask Bill Elliott to drive the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway, a race he was not scheduled for, instead of Bristol. This resulted in the team finding another driver for the Bristol race. Wood Brothers asked Jeff Green to pilot the #21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion and he agreed. Green is a proven Nationwide and Sprint Cup series veteran who has a history of top finishes and poles at the infamous short speedway. With Green behind the wheel, the #21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion finished the only practice before qualifying as the ninth fastest car overall. The team was confident that if Jeff and the car qualified as they had practiced the #21 would be in the race on Sunday. It appeared as though the #21 Team was going to have the kind of weekend their efforts merited. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. Around noon, the rain clouds arrived at Bristol Motor Speedway and loomed overhead most of the afternoon. NASCAR did its best to try to get qualifying in, but it just wasn't meant to be. After several delays and efforts to dry the track, NASCAR made the call at 5:00 pm to cancel qualifying. As the rain continued, they set the field according to last year's owner points, past champions and the top teams remaining according to this year's owner points. This meant that the #21 Wood Brothers Racing Team and Jeff Green would not be racing this weekend. While missing the race is a grave disappointment, the depth of which is only truly appreciated by those actually missing the race, Wood Brothers Racing leaves Bristol knowing they put forth a car that was fast enough to make the race on speed.(Wood Brothers racing PR)(3-15-2008) Comment here
- Bill Elliott's son wins title: Twelve-year-old Chase Elliott, son of NASCAR legend Bill Elliott, won his first major racing title Saturday by clinching the Young Guns division of Atlanta Motor Speedway's Winter Flurry. The Winter Flurry is a six-race competition for eight divisions of Legends, Bandolero and Roadsters. Other champions crowned Saturday were Bubba Harry (Roadsters), Kyle Plott (Bandits), Trey Maughan (Outlaws), Rawlin West (Chargers), Justin Swilling (Semi-Pro), Jeff Haynie (Masters) and Billy Fulson (Pro). Elliott's crew chief is his father Bill, who said he was just "tickled to death that nothing fell off the car" during the race. But he shouldn't start looking for a full-time gig in that arena, according to his son. "He climbed out and said, 'It's junk,'" Bill Elliott said. "I guess he must have got that from me. But he's doing a good job. Right now, it's just been a good way to spend time with him. I didn't get to spend too much time with my other kids, and I regret that." Chase Elliott, from Ballground, Ga., also sees these early races as a stepping stone for his future. "It was fun," Chase Elliott said. "We're just working hard, having a good time. We're moving in to a Legends car this summer and just want to keep moving up. I guess my goal is to get to Cup one day." His mother, Cindy, is bracing herself for that. "I tried to deter him when he was younger; I gave him golf lessons, tried to get him involved in baseball," Cindy Elliott said, laughing. "But ever since he's been old enough to talk, he's wanted to be a race car driver. And he's doing a great job, having a lot of fun. I'm so proud of him."(AMS Pit Notes)(3-10-2008)
- Wood skips Vegas, Sauter to run #21: Jon Wood told Mike Bagley and David Poole this morning on "The Morning Drive" (Sirius NASCAR Radio 128) that he will step aside for this weekend's Sprint Cup UAW Dodge 400 at Las Vegas. Jon feels he is not ready to drive his family's car this weekend due to lack of experience in NASCAR's new race car. He has elected to take a pass and let Johnny Sauter take the wheel. The Wood Brothers decided to put Sauter in the car because they feel he is the best qualifier that was
available. Bill Elliott was unavailable for this weekend's event due to other commitments. Wood's next Sprint Cup race is scheduled to be the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowes Motor Speedway in May.(Sirius NASCAR Radio)(2-27-2008) Comment here
- Fatback looking for a gig..TV?: Former Sprint Cup crew chief Michael “Fatback” McSwain was in the garage at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, looking for work, but not the kind he used to do when he was atop the pit box for drivers like Bobby Labonte and Ricky Rudd. McSwain, a devoutly religious man and the father of two young children, decided last year that he wanted to get off the crew chief treadmill and the savage grind of 38 races per year and day after day of testing. To that end, he’s become something of a jack-of-all-trades, doing some media work – he’s looking for more – auctioning memorabilia on eBay and other odds and ends. “I’m doing a little bit of everything, anything I can do to generate income,” said McSwain. “I’m in the process of building a tire store and front-end alignment shop in Dallas, N.C. I’ve been doing a little bit of TV stuff, some one-off shows, some fill-in work. … Anything I can do to generate enough income to stay home with my family.” McSwain was optimistic about the next phase of his life. “It’s a big, old world, there’s a lot of opportunities out there,” he said. “I started in this business at the bottom, so I’ll start my next venture at the bottom.”(SPEED)(2-17-2008) Comment here
- Elliott to retire for good at end of 2008: After 33 years on the NASCAR trail, Dawsonville's Bill Elliott is ready to head down another path. #21-Elliott, who did not finish high enough in Thursday's 150-mile qualifier to start Sunday's Daytona 500, said 2008 will be his last year as a Sprint Cup driver. "I've thoroughly enjoyed it, but it's time to move on and let this other generation have it," Elliott said. "I just feel like it's good to let everyone know what my thinking is. I've kind of put it off and rolled with the flow these last few years, but it's time. It's time to go do something different." He said he'll continue to drive the #21 Wood Brothers Ford on a part-time basis as he had planned, but if the Woods' other drivers, Marcos Ambrose and Jon Wood, seem ready to take on a larger role, he might cut short his planned 17-race schedule. "Ambrose might fall into place, or Jon might fall into place, and that would be what the Woods need to do to make the next step," he said. Another young racer is figuring into Elliott's decision, too —- his 12-year-old son Chase, who is rapidly developing into a formidable competitor in the Bandolero racing series. Traveling to Chase's races and also competing in Cup races has proved to be a logistical nightmare. "Last summer, I'd go race with Chase on Thursday night, then I'd pick up and go to wherever the Cup race was," Elliott said. "The earliest I got anywhere was 10 p.m., and it could be up to 4 in the morning to get where I was going, depending on when we raced. That's crazy." As a full-time driver, Elliott won 44 Cup races, 55 poles and the 1988 championship, but since going to part-time status after the 2003 season, he has had just one top-10 finish, at Indianapolis in 2004. Still, he has no regrets about the latter part of his career.(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)(2-15-2008) Comment here
- Woods miss 500 field: The Wood Brothers [#21 Ford] will not compete in the Daytona 500 for the first time since 1962 after Bill Elliott failed to advance through his qualifying race Thursday at Daytona International Speedway. "I don't think there are words that can describe it, but that's life,'' Elliott said. "There will be days like this." Sunday's 50th Daytona 500 will be only the third time the Wood Brothers have not been a part of this race. Co-owner Eddie Wood said he'll remain for the race but admits he'll likely have a hollow feeling. "I don't know what that'll feel like [not to be in the 500]. I'm sure it's going to be bad,'' he said.(Roanoke Times)(2-15-2008) Comment here
- Jon Wood appears in Air Force driving safety video: The Sprint Cup Series driver of the Air Force-sponsored #21 Ford recently appeared in a public service announcement video on driving safety. In the 1.5 minute production, Jon Wood emphasizes the use of seat belts, observing speed limits, and not driving after drinking.
Mr. Wood, the third-generation member of the Wood Brothers Racing family, progressed through the ranks of karts and late-model stock cars to the Craftsman Truck Series, where he won races for Roush Racing. He moved to the Busch Series for the current family conglomerate, Wood Brothers/JTG Racing, and in 2007 made his long-anticipated Nextel Cup debut in the #21 Wood Brothers Ford.(Air Force Link)(2-1-2008)
- Motorcraft, Elliott and Wood Brothers team up in 2008: Three longtime Ford Motor Company icons are teaming up again in 2008: The Motorcraft brand, Bill Elliott
and the Wood Brothers. Motorcraft, a Ford Motor Company brand of automotive parts ranging from filters and spark plugs to engines and transmissions, will be the primary sponsor on the famed Wood Brothers #21 Sprint Cup Ford Fusion for eight races, beginning in April at Texas and culminating with the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Motorcraft brand will also be an associate sponsor for all other 2008 NASCAR events. Bill Elliott is scheduled to be the driver for all of Motorcraft's races. Elliott, Motorcraft and the Wood Brothers first joined forces last season. Motorcraft first sponsored Wood Brothers Racing in 2001. The Wood Brothers are acknowledged pioneers in the sport of stock-car racing, and have earned 96 wins in over 50 years of NASCAR competition - second most in Ford Racing history. The 2008 Motorcraft Primary Sponsor Sprint Cup Schedule: Texas on April 6, Phoenix on April 12, Michigan on June 15, Indy on July 27, Bristol on Aug 23, New Hampshire on Sept 14, Talladega on Oct and Homestead-Miami on Nov 16. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.(PCGCampbell/Ford PR)(1-24-2008) Comment here
- Elliott to run the #21 at Daytona..after that? UPDATE 2 17 races: Wood Brothers Racing is set to announce driver and sponsor information regarding their #21 Sprint Cup entry for the 2008 Daytona Speedweeks events. Veteran driver Bill Elliott has agreed to once again serve as the driver of the #21 Ford Fusion in this year's opening event. The team will test with Elliott on January 14-16th of this month. He will compete in all Speedweeks events, which will include the February 9th Bud Shootout, the Gatorade Duels-and the 50th running of the Daytona 500 on February 17th. For the Daytona 500 event, the team will have primary sponsorship from McKee Foods, Little Debbie Snack Cakes Brand. Associate sponsors for this event will again be the United States Air Force and Ford Motor Company's Motorcraft Brand. Crew Chief Gene Nead will lead all efforts in the Sprint Cup Series.(Wood Brothers/JTG Racing PR), no word on other driver schedules for the team such as Ken Schrader. Marcos Ambrose is scheduled to run 12 races, no schedule announced yet.(1-4-2008)
UPDATE: Bill Elliott will drive the Wood Brothers' #21 at Daytona before eventually turning the team's entry over to Marcos Ambrose and Jon Wood for most of the races. "I'd just as soon run a good bit at the start and then let Ambrose and Jon run as time goes on here," said Elliott. "I kind of like that plan. Let's get started and run a little bit. Really, it's a perfect world for me, and I can't argue with it."(Gaston Gazette)(1-20-2008)
UPDATE 2: per billelliott.com, it shows Bill Elliott's 2008 planned Cup schedule in the #21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford. Seventeen races, including the 2008 Budweiser Shootout along with the Daytona 500, then California [2/24]; Atlanta [3/9]; Bristol [3/16]; Texas [4/6]; Phoenix [4/12]; Darlington [5/10]; Pocono [6/8]; Michigan [6/15]; Chicago [7/12]; Indianapolis [7/27]; Bristol [8/23]; New Hampshire [9/14]; Kansas [9/28]; Charlotte [10/11] and Homestead [11/16].(1-21-2008) Comment here
- Wood Brothers, JTG Split Stock-Car Operation: Wood Brothers Racing and JTG Racing have changed their business model, but the two are still working together in a marketing and technological partnership, JTG Racing owner Tad Geschickter said Saturday afternoon. Geschickter will still be responsible for finding sponsorships for both the teams he owns and the Wood Brothers teams. The teams will have separate directors of competition and separate budgets. The Wood Brothers will field the #21 Sprint Cup Ford (with multiple drivers likely including Ken Schrader, Jon Wood and Marcos Ambrose [......and Bill Elliott]) and the #21 truck with Jon and Keven Wood in the seat. JTG Racing will field a Cup car in four races for Ambrose as well as Nationwide Series cars for Ambrose (#59) and Kelly Bires (#47) and a truck for Scott Lagasse Jr. (#20). Geschickter said that he changed crew chiefs for Ambrose in the Nationwide Series as Walter Giles (a fellow Australian to Ambrose) has come over from his position as director for race engineering at DEI.(SceneDaily.com)
AND This season, the two organizations will continue to work out of a 120,000-square-foot shop in Harrisburg, N.C., that currently houses pairs of teams in Cup, Nationwide and the Truck Series. [Bill] Elliott will test the #21 car Monday-Wednesday at Daytona and compete in all Speedweeks events that car will contest, including the Feb. 9 Bud Shootout, the Gatorade Duel qualifying race on Feb. 14 and the 50th running of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17. The team has sponsorship for nine Cup races from the U.S. Air Force, with Jon Wood driving; and for 14 weekends from the Little Debbie brand of snack cakes. Little Debbie will be on the car for the Daytona 500, but Tasmanian Marcos Ambrose will be the primary driver of the #21 in the other Little Debbie races. Elliott will drive the #21's other Cup races, with most of their sponsorship in place, Eddie Wood said. He said the team had primary sponsorship available for six races. Geschickter said Ambrose would also drive four races in JTG Racing's #47 Little Debbie Sprint Cup car, at Indianapolis, Kansas, Atlanta and Homestead.(NASCAR.com)(1-13-2008)
- Air Force returns to the #21 in 2008, Wood to drive: Wood Brothers Racing announced the United States Air Force will not only be the primary sponsor for nine Sprint Cup Series races in 2008, but will also play a role in the Wood Brothers' upcoming campaign in the Craftsman Truck Series as an associate sponsor. The United States Air Force is entering its eighth year of marketing, recruiting and sponsorship of the Wood Brothers' family-based team. Third-generation drivers-and cousins-Jon Wood and Keven Wood will share the Wood Brothers Racing #21 Ford F-150 entry in the Craftsman Truck Series for the 2008 season. Jon is the 26-year-old son of Eddie Wood; Keven is the 23-year-old son of Len Wood. Jon Wood is anxious to get back to racing after the off-season break. "I'm very enthusiastic about this year's schedule as I will be representing the United States Air Force in both the Sprint Cup Series and Craftsman Truck Series," said Jon, a two-time winner in the Truck Series. "It'll be a lot of fun to share time with Keven in the truck because it's something we've always known would happen-and now it's here." Jon and Keven are grandchildren of Glen Wood, who founded the team in 1950 and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. Crew chief Gene Nead will lead the efforts of the #21 Ford Fusion in the Sprint Cup Series. John Monsam will return as the crew chief for the #21 F-150 in the Craftsman Truck Series.(Wood Brothers Racing PR)(1-11-2008)
- Little Debbie Renews with Wood Brothers: Wood Brothers Racing and JTG Racing announced that McKee Foods Little Debbie Snack Cakes brand will be returning as a primary sponsor [of the #21 Ford] in a newly-signed two-year deal. This agreement extends and builds upon a previous two-year relationship with the Collegedale, Tennessee Company. Little Debbie will serve as the primary sponsor for 18 Sprint Cup events in the 2008 season and again in the 2009 season. Up-and-coming Busch Series superstar Marcos Ambrose will take over as the face of the company’s NASCAR efforts in twelve of the eighteen races, beginning in Sonoma, CA in June, 2008. Additional driver lineups for the remaining six Little Debbie events will be announced at a later date—as will other sponsor/driver combinations for the new year. Ambrose will serve as a pitchman for all of the company’s snack cake brands, appearing in all point of sale (POS) materials and related items.(Wood Brothers/JTG Racing PR)(11-20-2007)
- McSwain looking for crew chief gig? hearing that Michael 'Fatback' McSwain, who recently stepped down as the crew chief of the #21 Wood Brothers Ford, is looking for a crew chief job in the Cup, Busch or Truck Series for the 2008 season after a business opportunity he had in place for next year fell apart in the eleventh hour.(11-8-2007)
- New Sponsor for Wood Bros. at Texas: The Wood Brothers team will be bringing a brand new sponsor on board this weekend in Delimex, an authentic brand of frozen Mexican Cuisine under the H.J. Heinz banner. This will mark the second of three events in which a Heinz-backed brand will adorn the legendary # 21 car on the race track.(Wood Brothers / JTG Racing PR)(10-30-2007)
- Nead debuts for the #21 team: With the #21 Wood Brothers/JTG race team just outside the top-35 in points headed into this weekend’s event, Bill Elliott returned behind the wheel to greet a brand new primary sponsor, H.J. Heinz. During a special Thursday night edition of Nextel Cup qualifying, Elliott put the #21 Heinz Ore-Ida Ford 35th in the field for the running of the Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Also new to the team this week, Gene Nead stepped in as crew chief to lead the organization’s efforts for the remainder of the year. Elliott finished 35th [and the team fell to 109 pts behind 35th in owners pts](Wood Brothers/JTG Racing PR)(10-15-2007)
