Jon Wood is scheduled to return to the NASCAR Nextel Cup ranks for the Sept. 30 race at Kansas Speedway. Wood has been competing for the team in the Craftsman Truck Series, but will make his return to the Cup series for this event. Wood drove for the Wood Brothers in the #21 Cup Ford at Las Vegas earlier this season. He originally planned to run the full Busch Series schedule and compete in more races in the #21, but was sidelined with health issues before returning to the truck series. “We’re going to run two cars at Kansas … – Jon will be in one with Sunbelt Snacks on it, and I’m guessing that Bill Elliott will be in the other with Little Debbie’s,” team co-owner Len Wood said. Gene Nead, who parted company with Robby Gordon Motorsports Monday, will be the crew chief for the car. Nead started with the Wood Brothers team on Thursday. He and team co-owner Eddie Wood have known one another for a long time and had talked in the past about doing some work together in the Busch Series. Len Wood said that the team is also testing the car of tomorrow on Tuesday, and Nead will lead that effort. “Him being able to come on now and start I think will be a benefit for next year,” he said. “We have not had the best COTs – it’s supposed to be equal and all that, but somehow they are not equal. Hopefully he can help us get turned around on that too. And [crew chief Michael McSwain] can focus on running the rest of the races.”(SceneDaily.com)(9-21-2007) UPDATE: Jon Wood will be behind the wheel of the #21 at Kansas next week, where he’ll make his 2nd Nextel Cup start [he made his debut in the #21 at Las Vegas in March]. Regardless of how Ken Schrader fares Sunday at Dover, the team cannot fall out of the top 35 [since #22-Dave Blaney missed the race and is 36th in owners pts]. Turning the wrenches for Wood next weekend will be Gene Nead, who recently separated from Robby Gordon Motorsports, and is expected to replace Michael Fatback McSwain next season. At Kansas, the team will run a second car [#47 Ford] for Bill Elliott, who would make the race based on his past-champion’s provisional.(Ford Racing with corrections made)(9-22-2007) UPDATE 2: The Wood Brothers/JTG race team has announced that next week, the team will indeed enter two cars on the entry list for the Lifelock 400 Nextel Cup Event at Kansas. The team would like to clarify that the #47 McKee Foods Ford will be driven by Jon Wood, who is set to make his second career Nextel Cup start in 2007. The #47 Ford will have Gene Nead calling the shots from the pit box. McKee Foods is the parent company of the Little Debbie brand of snack cakes. The #21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion will be driven by Bill Elliott, with Michael Fatback McSwain continuing his duties as crew chief for the team.(Wood Brothers PR)(9-23-2007)
