The Wood Brothers and Darlington Raceway are both legendary names in the sport of NASCAR. Starting their respective operations in 1950, they have been tied together in the sport’s lore from the very beginning.
By earning his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, Ryan Blaney has continued that legacy for the famed team owners, giving them their 99th career Monster Energy Series win.
Of those 99 victories, eight have come on the historic high banks of the egg-shaped oval that is Darlington Raceway. Those eight wins came with three of NASCAR’s most recognizable stars, Cale Yarborough (from nearby Timmonsville, S.C.), David Pearson (Spartanburg, S.C.) and Neil Bonnett.
“Congratulations to Ryan Blaney and the Wood Brothers on a well-deserved win at Pocono,” said Darlington Raceway President Kerry Tharp. “We are excited to have Blaney and the Wood Brothers back here on Labor Day weekend as they are always strong supporters of our throwback platform. It’s a great story that Darlington Raceway and the Wood Brothers were both founded in 1950, and to this day, continue to rewrite the history of the sport in 2017.”
Wood Brothers Wins at Darlington Raceway
- 1968 – Cale Yarborough, Southern 500
- 1972 – David Pearson, Spring race winner
- 1973 – David Pearson, Spring race winner
- 1974 – David Pearson, Spring race winner
- 1976 – David Pearson, Spring race and Southern 500 winner
- 1977 – David Pearson, Southern 500
- 1981 – Neil Bonnett, Southern 500
Returning to Darlington on Labor Day weekend, Blaney and the Wood Brothers are looking to take the famed No. 21 car back to Gatorade Victory Lane, following in the steps of Yarborough, Pearson and Bonnett.
Blaney will be behind the wheel of a special throwback paint scheme at Darlington honoring former Wood Brothers driver and current NBC Sports analyst Kyle Petty, who drove for the Woods from 1985-88.
“It’s great to see Ryan Blaney get his first career Monster Energy Series win, but I don’t think he’s done winning races this season,” Tharp said. “There’s a very good chance Blaney could pull off a win in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 and add to the Wood Brothers’ already stellar career at our historic track.”
Darlington Raceway PR
