Wood ready for more races with family-owned Cup team
By SceneDaily Staff
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
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David Griffin / NASCAR Scene
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CONCORD, N.C. – A rejuvenated Jon Wood says he’s thrilled to be taking a larger role on the Wood Brothers Racing team's NASCAR Sprint Cup driving schedule.
The 26-year-old Wood says he is scheduled to drive the car in the upcoming races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway and Pocono Raceway.
Bill Elliott will drive for the team this weekend at Darlington Raceway, but Wood has been at Lowe’s this week participating in the NASCAR test session. He says he’s not eligible to compete in the all-star race there, but he will be running his Craftsman Truck Series entry at the track as part of his full-time effort in that series.
Wood raced with the Wood Brothers Cup team at Talladega Superspeedway and was in the car when it failed to make the field at Richmond last weekend. He’s also been testing quite a bit for the team and says that all of that has boosted his confidence and dedication.
“I tell you this, and this has been a big eye-opener for me in the past two weeks, it’s very difficult to maintain interest – first off when you can’t pay attention to anything like I can’t – but it’s very tough to maintain focus and interest in something that you really have no involvement in,” he said Tuesday at Lowe’s. “And now that I’m getting the calls to go do the testing, I’m getting the calls to go drive the car whenever the opportunity arises… That’s all it took for me to jump in, and the next thing I know, subconsciously and without effort, I’m showing up at the shop every day early, for me. I can’t believe the change in attitude that I’ve had without being told, ‘Act like you’re interested.’ I really am.
“It took being involved, and it took a call from the crew chief saying we want you to do it, to turn all that around. I guess it’s maybe a low self-esteem, I guess maybe frustration, but I’m more eager than ever now and I can’t wait.”
Wood said that the change came almost literally overnight. After he participated in a recent Ford test at Iowa Speedway, he says that the crew chief told car owner (and Wood’s father) Eddie Wood that the young driver deserved a chance. Earlier this season, Wood opted not to compete at Vegas in an effort to put a more experienced driver behind the wheel.
Now, he’s been in the car a couple of weekends and is preparing for three races for which NASCAR has scheduled test sessions, so he’s gained confidence in both his input into the team and his ability to gain solid results with it.
He also thinks that the team has improved in the time since he made that decision.
“Since then, things have gotten a lot better with the cars,” he said. “We’ve weeded out some negativity within the upper management of that race team, and the new crew chief has been superb. It’s made me want to literally get on my knees and beg to drive each week.”
Wood says that while he’s heard the complaints about NASCAR’s new model Sprint Cup car, he feels completely comfortable in it.
He compares it to the trucks he’s currently driving and says that people underestimate the similarities between the new car and those
truck. He says the only major difference is horsepower.
That, combined with a car problem the team found following qualifying at Richmond, has also boosted Wood’s morale.
“I actually was speaking with my car owner, I meant my dad, last week after Richmond and the outcome of that weekend, and the fact that we missed that race is not a true depiction of what our race team is capable of right now,” Wood said, pointing out the team later found an issue with the car. He felt a mixed reaction to that discovery. “… It was something I didn’t want to find out. I actually wanted to say, ‘OK, I’m just not good enough, I just give up’ without literally meaning that. Then again, I wanted something to be wrong so I could say, ‘OK, here’s what happened and here’s why.’ And sure enough, that was the result. That one’s behind me."
Now, he’s looking ahead to Charlotte.
With his team well outside the top 35 in owner points, it most likely will remain there, and Wood will have to make the field for the May 25 Coca-Cola 600 based on speed. While his times in testing haven’t topped the charts, he says that’s because the team is working on a variety of things and no indication of how well it can perform when the race weekend arrives.
So as he prepares for the second day of testing today, Wood says he is confident both in his team and in his ability to make the field for his next race.
“We took our time yesterday and ran through a lot of things that we needed to do and get out of the way that wouldn’t show on the stopwatch,” Wood said. “So I feel very comfortable.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Jon Wood
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