When Harrison Burton first joined the Wood Brothers ahead of the 2022 season, one word was on his mind: legacy. “It’s definitely a cool opportunity and a big responsibility to carry on that legacy, and do it the right way. That’s not lost on me,” he said before the season began.“I’ve always put that same pressure on myself to perform and do well."
If you're not steeped in NASCAR history, Burton's talk about feeling pressure to perform while driving the No. 21 car would have sounded a bit strange. Wood Brothers Racing appears to be just another single-car team that somehow nabs a rare win every decade or so. But, like Williams in Formula 1, it's a team that's left tire marks all over the sport's history books.
Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest existing team in NASCAR — they ran their first Cup race in 1953, with Glen Wood driving a Lincoln that had a No. 21 painted across the door. He founded the team alongside brothers Leonard, Delano, and Ray Lee, and together they built one of the sport's most enduring presences.
While iconic organizations such as Petty Enterprises, Yates Racing, and Junior Johnson & Associates have fallen by the wayside, Wood Brothers remains. Even as fellow Ford team Stewart-Haas Racing -- once a powerhouse in NASCAR -- prepares to close up shop at the end of the 2024 Cup season, the Wood Brothers show so signs of slowing down.
The first of many
In 1960, Glen himself delivered the team its first Cup win, leading every lap from pole position at Bowman Gray Stadium. Over time, the wins started flooding in, and the red-and-white No. 21 became nearly as well-known as the Petty blue No. 43 on the track. NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson racked up 43 of the team's 100 race wins, including 11 in a single season in 1973. Wood Brothers Racing took its first Daytona 500 checkered flag in 1968, with Tiny Lund behind the wheel; the team won its fifth (and most recent) Daytona 500 in 2011 with then-rookie Trevor Bayne.
Life in NASCAR's Cup series is hard for a one-car team. It took Harrison Burton's chaotic last-lap mad dash for Woods Brothers to reach 100, with Ryan Blaney having notched the team's 99th victory back in 2017, at Pocono. Wood Brothers Racing hasn't enjoyed a multi-win season since 1981, and has only earned three Cup victories in the 21st century.
The Great Recession nearly spelled the end of the historic race team. Wood Brothers was forced to run a part-time schedule from 2007 through 2015 just to keep the doors open. Since those uncertain days, the team's aligned with Team Penske, offering enough support to help WBR make the playoffs three times — including, now, the 2024 season.
Even still, recent success has been hard for the organization to find. Since Blaney was promoted to the No. 12 Penske ride, Wood Brothers Racing has hopscotched from drivers Paul Menard to Matt DiBenedetto and, the past three seasons, Harrison Burton with little to show for it. Before capturing the checkered flag at Daytona, they sat 34th in the championship standings, counting only one top-ten this year.
“We need to be better. There’s no secret in that,” said Wood Brothers team president Jon Wood just one month ago. “This is a business that’s based on chemistry and it’s a sport that’s based on results and, right now, we’re just not having those results."
When Harrison Burton crossed the finish line and earned that milestone victory for the team, he inked himself into the record books. He joins Ryan Blaney (2017), Trevor Bayne (2011), Elliott Sadler (2001), Dale Jarrett (1991), Kyle Petty (1986), Tiny Lund (1963), and Glen Wood himself (1960) as the drivers who have earned their first career victory with the Wood Brothers. A dozen NASCAR Hall of Famers have driven for the Wood Brothers over the years, as well as legends known far beyond the realm of stock car racing, such as A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney.
The Wood Brothers also revolutionized pitstops, which, along with fast cars, became a key element to their success on track. The team actually joined up with Jim Clark and pitted his car en route to winning the 1965 Indianapolis 500. It's a race team oozing with history and respected by all, whether it's winning or running 30th. Woods Brothers have earned that.
After last Sunday, Burton spoke openly about crying during the cool-down lap of his win. His situation was a microcosm of Wood Brothers Racing's reality: the team hadn't renewed Burton's contract past this season, which means the driver has no ride for 2025. Behind the team's bright moments are some tough realities. But that makes the wins feel that much more special. (Not to mention, the money earned from making the playoffs will go a long way to bolstering the organization — and maybe shrinking the gap between now and win number 101.)
“This is beyond words,” remarked Eddie Wood, CEO and co-owner of the team after Burton's big Daytona. “This has been such a long time coming, the hundredth win. We’ve been with Motorcraft Quick Lane and Ford Performance for over twenty years and you just can’t put that into words. Edsel Ford, all his family; Jim Farley... there's just so many people in our world to make this happen. It’s just unbelievable.”
Even if it's not been easy the last few decades, Wood Brothers Racing — the longest-running team in NASCAR history — still has the ability to make the unbelievable happen.
Driver wins in Wood Brothers Racing history
| Driver | Race wins |
| David Pearson | 43 |
| Cale Yarborough | 13 |
| Neil Bonnett | 9 |
| Marvin Panch | 8 |
| A.J. Foyt | 5 |
| Glen Wood | 4 |
| Dan Gurney | 4 |
| Speedy Thompson | 2 |
| Kyle Petty | 2 |
| Tiny Lund | 1 |
| Curtis Turner | 1 |
| Donnie Allison | 1 |
| Buddy Baker | 1 |
| Dale Jarrett | 1 |
| Morgan Shepherd | 1 |
| Elliott Sadler | 1 |
| Trevor Bayne | 1 |
| Ryan Blaney | 1 |
| Harrison Burton | 1 |
