DEARBORN, Mich. – Ford will honor the late Glenn Wood, Wood Brothers Racing’s patriarch and NASCAR Hall of Famer, with a special tribute paint scheme on the No. 21 Ford Mustang this week at Darlington Raceway.
The paint scheme will cap a weekend of Ford activities. A special Wood Brothers documentary will air on 6 p.m. ET Friday and 4 p.m. ET Sunday on NBCSN. On Sunday, Edsel B. Ford II, his sons Henry III and Albert, NASCAR Hall of Famer Leonard Wood, who has been with the team since its inception, and team co-owner Eddie Wood will make a parade lap in Ford vehicles before the green flag drops. Edsel Ford will drive the Ford Mustang GT500 pace car, while his sons and Leonard will drive four fan-chosen vintage Mustangs.
“The relationship that’s developed between the Wood Brothers and Ford through the years is so important to us,” said Jasmine Pendleton, Marketing Manager, FCSD. “We wanted to make sure we honored Glenn in an appropriate manner when the time was right, and with all the success he had at Darlington it just made sense for us to do this as part of the throwback weekend.”
Wood Brothers Racing, which originated in Stuart, Va. was founded by Glenn and aided by his brother Leonard, in 1950. Glenn’s sons, Eddie and Len, along with daughter Kim, have led the team since the 1980s. Together they have combined to produce 99 wins over seven decades. Paul Menard is the current driver of the No. 21 Ford Mustang – one of many great names who have been in the seat.
The inspiration for this tribute paint scheme is the 1957 Ford Sunliner Glenn raced – a car that was used by Ford Motor Company for endurance testing and destined to be scrapped. The success of the car set Wood Brothers Racing off on the path that now sees it as the longest active race team in NASCAR.
“It means a lot to me, obviously, because it’s honoring our Dad. I was five years old during the convertible days, when they raced that car, so it means a lot to see us race in the same colors now,” Eddie Wood said. “That car was special to our Dad and Leonard because they had a lot of success there and that’s what got them started where we are now.”