Glen Wood, NASCAR Hall of Famer, Dies at 93

By Toby Christie     

The co-founder of Wood Brothers Racing, Glen Wood has passed away at the age of 93. The news was broken by the race team’s Social media channels on Friday morning.

It’s with profound sadness that we mourn the passing of team founder and family patriarch Glen Wood this morning. We want to thank family, friends, our small-town Virginia community of Patrick County, as well as everyone in the NASCAR community for their unwavering support. pic.twitter.com/vadN1NKgTV

— Wood Brothers Racing (@woodbrothers21) January 18, 2019

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Wood among with his brother Leonard founded one of the most storied race teams in NASCAR history in 1953. Although, they haven’t always ran the full schedule, no team has been in existence in NASCAR longer than the Wood Brothers.

In 65 years on the track, Wood Brothers Racing has accrued 99 victories in the premier series of NASCAR.

Among the notable drivers for the team over the years are: Curtis Turner, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, A.J. Foyt, Neil Bonnett, Dale Jarrett and Ryan Blaney just to name a few.

It was Wood Brothers Racing and driver David Pearson who were the key rival to Richard Petty in the 1970s.

Had it not been for the ultra-fast No. 21 team and their driver, it is conceivable that Petty could have won nearly 300 Cup Series races.

Paul Menard will look to bring the organization it’s 100th victory in 2019. All of the Wood Brothers Racing team’s success has come with unwavering loyalty to Ford.

“This is a difficult day for all of us at Ford Motor Company. Glen Wood was the founding patriarch of the oldest continuously operating NASCAR Cup Series team and we consider Wood Brothers Racing a part of our family, the Ford Family,” Edsel B. Ford II said in a statement. “The Wood Brothers race team, by any measure, has been one of the most successful racing operations in the history of NASCAR. Most importantly for our company, Glen and his family have remained loyal to Ford throughout their 69-year history.

“Glen was an innovator who, along with his family, changed the sport itself.  But, more importantly, he was a true Southern gentleman who was quick with a smile and a handshake and he was a man of his word.   I will cherish the memories of our chats in the NASCAR garage, at their race shop in Mooresville or the racing museum in Stuart.  My most memorable moment with Glen was with he and his family in the #21 pit box watching Trevor Bayne win the 2011 Daytona 500 and the celebration that followed in victory lane.”

Although, known more for his leadership of Wood Brothers Racing, Wood was also a great driver. In fact, he was named one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers in 1998.

Driving a part-time schedule from 1953 to 1964, Wood won four NASCAR Grand National — now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series — races. Additionally, Wood won five races in NASCAR’s short-lived Convertible Series.

Wood was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2002 and he was also inducted in the 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class.

NASCAR loses a bridge to it’s past with the passing of Wood, and the Wood family loses their patriarch.

According to a tweet from the team, funeral arrangements will be made soon, and the service will be a private family service.