Wood Brothers Racing returned to a spirited welcome this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
The pedestrian tunnel leading into the infield and garage area was lined with two dozen life-size images saluting the longtime connection between NASCAR’s oldest track and its oldest team.
"Seeing all the photos in the tunnel walking in here was really cool,” said Josh Berry, who joined the team to drive the No. 21 Ford this season. “Obviously, they’re really close by, so it’s a home race. So we’re going to try to do our best to have a good weekend.”
Wood Brothers Racing was founded in Stuart, a mountain town about 30 minutes west of Martinsville Speedway. The 0.526-mile oval is where the team made its NASCAR Cup Series debut May 17, 1953.
And the tunnel tribute is especially fitting this year because Wood Brothers Racing recently earned its 101st career victory while celebrating its 75th anniversary.
Berry’s victory March 16 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway qualified the team for the playoffs months earlier than the team’s three previous appearances in NASCAR’s postseason.
With victories in consecutive Cup seasons for the first time since 1986-87, the Wood Brothers Racing renaissance has been the most popular storyline in NASCAR’s premier series this season.
Berry, a 34-year-old in his second year in the Cup, is the 20th winner for Wood Brothers Racing, whose all-star roster transcends the series by including A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney alongside NASCAR greats David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Curtis Turner.
But as NASCAR grew more corporate, the homespun atmosphere remained with the family run team that has been handed down through three generations of leadership. While its racing operations were relocated to the Charlotte area 20 years ago, Wood Brothers Racing still maintains its museum in Stuart, which annually draws thousands of race fans who make pilgrimages to the remote outpost in southwest Virginia.
Ryan Blaney earned his first victory for WBR in 2017 before leaving for Team Penske the next year. The 2023 Cup champion was touched when team CEO Eddie Wood pulled him aside to tell him he always would be part of their family.
"They’re just open-armed people,” Blaney said. “If you were working with them for a day or 30 years, you’re part of the Wood family. I think that’s why they’ve been around for 75 years is just because they’re great people who have been revolutionary in the sport and also have molded with the times and don’t burn any bridges. Everyone wants to work with those guys.
“I have a lot of fond memories with them. It was pretty neat just to be in their presence and be racing for a team that has meant so much to the sport and the sport so much to their family as well. No one is going to be around for 75 years if they don’t really care about what they do and don’t love it with a passion.”
The last five victories for Wood Brothers Racing also have featured first-time winners: Berry, Harrison Burton (2024), Blaney, Trevor Bayne (2011) and Elliott Sadler (2001).
While it’s been billed as a launching pad to stardom, Wood Brothers Racing would like to establish a reputation as a team that can keep drivers and contend for a championship. The team’s cars largely are prepared by powerhouse Team Penske, which also provides engineering and technical support.
Wood Brothers Racing president Jon Wood gets annoyed having to prove his team has autonomy in determining its success.
“When we suck, it’s our fault, but when we do good, we had nothing to do with it,” Wood said after Berry’s Vegas win. “It’s 100% Penske or something.
"I think that’s a frustrating part. These are our guys that are doing this. We sat in a room and debated who our next driver would be for 2025. It’s Josh Berry. Those are decisions that we made collectively. It’s our race team and our decision.”
Its resurgence could be validated by Sunday’s 400-lap race at the paper clip-shaped short track. Though Wood Brothers Racing earned its first pole position at Martinsville in October 1958, the team has only two wins there (none since Pearson in April 1973) despite more starts (127) than any other track.
It’s been 24 years since the team’s most recent short-track win, but Berry has won countless stock-car races at similar bullrings around the South — and Blaney has won the past two fall races at Martinsville.
“Obviously, Team Penske cars are always good here,” Berry said. “I love coming here and feel it should be a good opportunity for us.”
On the pole
Christopher Bell, who leads the Cup Series with three victories in the first six races, earned his first pole in 2025 and the 14th of his career. Chase Elliott will start second, followed by Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson and five-time Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin.
Engine trouble
After nearly seven years without an engine failure, the powerplant in Blaney's No. 12 Ford has let go twice in the past three weeks at Phoenix Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Blaney said Roush Yates Engines has determined the root causes were unrelated.
“We knew why the one at Phoenix happened,” Blaney said. “I think we’ve got our arms around why this one at Miami happened, and hopefully we’ve taken the correct procedures to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Odds and ends
Blaney (+375) is the BetMGM Sportsbook favorite, followed by Larson (+575), Elliott (+700) and Hamlin (+750). … Hendrick Motorsports holds the all-time win record for a single track with 29 victories at Martinsville (including five of the past eight races).
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Nate Ryan, The Associated Press
