With a new generation comes a new driver for NASCAR’s oldest team. Few would argue that Wood Brothers Racing, founded in 1950, doesn’t need a fresh start.
Once a premier team feared by competitors, it has become nothing more than an old scarecrow leaning in a dead field. Earlier this season management of the team was handed over to the next generation. Jon Wood, Jordan Wood Hicks, and Keven Wood took over the family business from Eddie and Len Wood.
Those fresh new faces may have given the organization an optimistic outlook, sadly, however, it’s almost like trying to put more stuffing in the old scarecrow, or lipstick on a pig. The most important product for the Wood Brothers, results on the track, still have not turned that dead field green.
The last win for the No. 21 car came in 2017 at Pocono with then-driver Ryan Blaney. Blaney went on to bigger and better things with Team Penske, the organization that shares an alliance with the Wood Brothers. The Wood Brothers tried a succession of drivers landing on young prospect Harrison Burton in 2022.
That young driver’s results haven’t exactly set the world on fire. In his 91 starts with the team, Burton, himself a second-generation driver, has just 1 top-five and 5 top-10 finishes.
Now Burton, who is just 24, will need to find a new home starting next season. Instead, it will be Josh Berry in the No. 21 Ford starting with the season opening Daytona 500 next February. The driver who was forced to search for a new ride when Stewart-Haas Racing announced their demise at the end of the year, has 2 top-five, and 4 top-10s and has led 70 laps in only 19 races this season.
“When you think of the history and legacy of NASCAR, it’s hard to not think of the Wood Brothers and the incredible impact they’ve made on the sport. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a small part of carrying on that legacy,” said Berry. “To be able to add my name to the list of drivers who have piloted the iconic No. 21 is something I don’t take lightly.”
Indeed, the list of drivers who have piloted cars for the team reads like a who’s-who of racing legends. It’s a list that includes A.J. Foyt, David Pearson, and Buddy Baker.
“Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of working with a multitude of successful drivers, and now having the opportunity to add Josh Berry to that list is a significant milestone for our team,” said Jon Wood, the new president of Wood Brothers Racing. “Josh brings a wealth of talent and determination, evident thorough his success in every level of competition, from grassroots NASCAR to present day. He fits the values of our team, and we believe that with Josh behind the wheel, we will achieve great things together on the track.”
The team has been aching to score that 100th win since 2017. But only time will tell if the move to a new driver, and the next generation of family running the team, will sow the seeds that will turn the dead field green once again.
“We need to be better. There’s no secret in that,” Jon Wood said. “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. If Harrison shares some of the responsibility, if it’s on us, we’re not pointing fingers. We’re not here to say this one is at fault or that one is at fault, we’re just not where we need to be. Finding that right chemistry and balance to have those results in performance, that’s what we’re looking for.”
