When Eddie Wood announced during post-race celebrations Sunday night that Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne would race at Martinsville Speedway this spring, it marked the latest chapter in the longest-running team-track relationship in the sport.
Fifty-eight years ago in 1952 Glen Wood, founder of the famed Wood Brothers Racing Team, combined with Curtis Turner to win a Team Sportsman Race at Martinsville. That was a year before Lee Petty notched his first Martinsville victory for his famous racing family.
“It really makes us feel good that the Wood Brothers quickly decided to add us to their schedule,” said Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell. “Glen, Leonard, Eddie, Len, Bernice … the whole family are such good friends of ours. My grandfather (track founder H. Clay Earles) had a great relationship with Glen and Leonard and I’ve been around Eddie and Len since we were all kids. It’s going to be a fun weekend to have them here.”
Twenty-year-old Bayne shocked the racing world with his win in the Daytona 500 Sunday. Bayne and the Wood Brothers had planned on running a 17-race schedule that did not include Martinsville. When asked after the race if that schedule was expanding, Eddie Wood immediately said the team was adding the Martinsville spring race, the Goody’s Fast Relief 500.
Adding Martinsville’s historic oval to their schedule is nothing new for the Wood Brothers. Back in their heyday, when they won the bulk of their 98 Sprint Cup victories, Martinsville was typically the only short track on their selective schedule as they concentrated on longer tracks. That decision was based mostly on location. The Wood Brothers’ hometown of Stuart is less than a half-hour from the track. It was also based on pretty good runs.
Glen had two Martinsville wins as a driver, adding a Modified victory to his Martinsville resume in 1960. Cale Yarborough captured the Virginia 500 in 1968 and David Pearson won the same race in 1973. Wood Brothers drivers have also won several poles at Martinsville.
The Goody’s Fast Relief 500 will mark Bayne’s first visit to Martinsville Speedway. That shouldn’t be a huge problem.
“The young man is really talented,” said Campbell. “Combine that with the Wood Brothers history and knowledge here, and they’ll run just fine.”
Martinsville PR
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