Kenny Bruce: Struggling Woods vow to 'keep going'
By Kenny Bruce - Assistant Managing Editor
Sunday, March 16, 2008
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COMMENTARY
BRISTOL, Tenn. – If Eddie Wood played professional football, chances are his jersey number would be 35.
It’s been that kind of year already, even though NASCAR’s 2008 Sprint Cup Series season will be only five races old after the completion of the Food City 500 today at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Wood Brothers Racing, the company founded by Eddie’s father, Glen, and uncle Leonard, is one of the oldest in the sport. It has fielded cars for some of the best drivers to ever slide behind a wheel. It has won races, sat on poles, set the standard for Ford Motor Company. And earned millions of dollars.
If history indeed repeats itself, Wood can’t wait. Because right now, in a sport that consists of ups and downs and celebrations and disappointments, Wood Brothers Racing is riding out a wave of disappointment.
When rain forced officials to cancel qualifying at Bristol, the Wood Brothers team packed up and headed home. Outside the top 35 in owner points, it has made just one race thus far in 2008. And in yet another chapter of “What could possibly go wrong this time,” the team missed because of a driver swap before the race weekend.
Had Bill Elliott, who is slated to drive in the majority of the races this year for the team, been the driver of record at BMS, he would have made the lineup based on his status as a former champion. Instead, Jeff Green never got a chance to see if he could put the familiar No. 21 in the field.
The Wood Brothers aren’t the only ones feeling the sting when weather locks in the field. But like those others outside the top 35, team members understand how the game is played. There’s no complaining, no whining about a rule that’s seen by many on the outside as cruel and unusual.
“Everything,” Wood says, “is about points. Every time I turn around, I see the number 35. I would guess I probably explain that top-35 [rule] 10 times a day to people. Our whole world is top-35 now.”
For some teams, the concern over making the field for Cup races will ease, at least temporarily, after this week. For the first five races, owner points from 2007 were used to guarantee positions in the top 35. Going forward, the 2008 points will be in effect. Guys like Brian Vickers and David Reutimann, who have had to race their way into the field each week, will get at least a temporary reprieve, thanks to their current position in the point standings.
Others, such as Dave Blaney, Dario Franchitti, Regan Smith and Kyle Petty, aren’t as fortunate, lingering just outside the top 35.
Talk surfaces about how much longer some teams will stick around given their individual situations. The Wood Brothers name comes up often these days. But Wood says his family’s team will continue on, just as it has for the past 50-plus years.
“That’s all you can do,” he says. “It’s hard. It’s hard for anybody, I don’t care ... it’s hard for Rick Hendrick. Everything about this business is hard. If you’re having success it’s hard and if you’re struggling it’s hard. I’m not really sure why we do this.
“Racing’s what we do. We just keep going.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Bill Elliott
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