Wood Brothers Racing Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BRISTOL, Tenn. – Speeding penalties, handling issues, and mechanical problems. The four drivers that saw their NASCAR Cup Series Playoff hopes dashed Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway had it all. Ty Gibbs was the first driver to end the night on the outside looking in, having watched his six-point advantage that he came into the weekend with erased early on with a pit road speeding penalty on Lap 133. The penalty dropped him to the tail end of the field and with track position beingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – This one has been a long time coming. Harrison Burton, driving the famous No. 21 Ford for the Wood Brothers, took matters into his own hands in overtime Saturday night at Daytona, powering his way into the lead on the final lap and holding off the charge of Kyle Busch to claim his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory and punch his ticket into the Playoffs. The win also marks the 100th career win for the legendary Wood Brothers team, which hasRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer It’s never an ideal way to kick off a NASCAR season when a driver’s Daytona 500 ends in less than 10 laps. The case was proven on Monday when a Lap 5 crash collected seven drivers in the tri-oval, ending a few of their days and their dream of hoisting the Harley J. Earl Trophy. Of those involved were former Daytona 500 winners Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon, as well as Daytona 500 rookie Carson Hocevar. Also involved were Ryan Preece, Kaz Grala, John Hunter Nemechek,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – When all of the dust settled at the end of Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard, a trio of NASCAR Cup Series rookies drove like veterans to bring home a top-five finish. For all three of the rookies — Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, and Todd Gilliland — it came down to being in the right place at the right time on the final restart as the race on the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course was pushed into overtime. The feat by Cindric, Burton,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Days before the 64th running of the Daytona 500, rookie Harrison Burton was put through the paces during a flight with the Air Force Thunderbirds. On Sunday afternoon, he was airborne again. This time it wasn’t an Air Force F-16 that was taking flight, it was his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang. As the field powered its way through Turn 2 on lap 64, a bump from Brad Keselowski turned Burton’s car sideways, causing him to slide down the bankingRead More

By Reid Spencer and Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service New Next Gen race car means radically different approach to pit stops DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Pit stops in the Daytona 500 will be fundamentally different this year—just ask Ricky Stenhouse Jr. It’s not just because the new NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen cars have gone to a single center lug instead of five lug nuts to secure each tire. And it’s not just because the fuel cell capacity has increased roughly eight percent to 20 gallons, increasing the time necessaryRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer NASCAR Xfinity Series standouts Austin Cindric and Harrison Burton will be competing for Cup Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2022. While Cindric was already confirmed to make the move up months ago, he’ll no longer be driving for Wood Brothers Racing. Instead, he’ll join Team Penske in their flagship No. 2 Ford Mustang with Discount Tire being a primary sponsor. “Throughout my NASCAR career, I’ve grown a lot as a driver and an individual,” said Cindric in a press release. “There are so manyRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Both Matt DiBenedetto and Wood Brothers Racing are entering the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season with mesmerizing confidence and ready to win races. There’s a catch, it’ll be their final season together as Austin Cindric will take over the No. 21 Ford Mustang in 2022. Momentum is on his side as his mental strength was strengthened following a run of four top-10s in the last seven races of 2020, highlighted with a runner-up finish at Las Vegas. The popular veteran openly expressed he’s in hisRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Just when you thought this week’s NASCAR news was done, think again. This time, it impacts the future of three Ford drivers as Thursday’s announcements gets us a step closer of finishing out the silly season puzzle. Matt DiBenedetto will stay with the Wood Brothers for only one more season as Xfinity Series star Austin Cindric will make the move to the Cup Series in 2022. Therefore, Cindric will stay in the second division with Team Penske as he signed a multi-year deal. Finally, ClintRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Bristol Motor Speedway hosted the first elimination race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on Saturday night, marking the end of the road for four drivers and their championship aspirations. Several drivers entered the night within striking distance of the top-12 in points, but when the checkered flag fell Cole Custer, William Byron, Matt DiBenedetto, and Ryan Blaney would be the unlucky drivers to get the axe. All four came into the Bristol Night Race with ground to make up in the points battle, butRead More