Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest continuously operating team in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup competition, with 97 series wins including 72 on super speedways and 12 victories at Daytona. But, it all started in Buffalo Ridge, Virginia in 1949 with Glen as the driver and Leonard as chief mechanic.
The brothers first gained recognition with lightning-fast tune-ups and tire-changes on pit road, and are credited by many as the “inventors” of the modern day pit stop.
After dozens of wins on short tracks and four Winston Cup victories, Glen retired from the driver’s seat and Wood Brothers Racing began a tradition that over the years included some of the greatest names in auto racing, including 18 of NASCAR’s top 50 drivers. Wood Brothers Racing has featured drivers like Curtis Turner, Junior Johnson, A.J. Foyt, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Neil Bonnett, Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney, Buddy Baker, Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd.
During one 14-year stretch (1970-83), Wood Brothers won at least one super speedway race every year. In 1973, the team dominated with 11 victories out of 18 races entered.
Only one racing team, Petty Enterprises, has had more NASCAR Winston / NEXTEL Cup starts. In its more than 50 years of racing, Wood Brothers Racing has become the winningest Ford racing team, and ranks fourth among the top all-time in NASCAR history.
The business started out as a family venture and is still true to the same values. The company now is run by Glen’s sons Eddie and Len and his daughter Kim who are all now co-owners.
In 2005, Glenn and Leonard received the prestigious Smokey Yunick Award for lifelong contributions to the motorsports industry. Glenn Wood was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 2001 and became a member of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2002. Leonard Wood received the Golden Wrench award from the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2001.