The Cool Down Lap: Bayne’s victory connects NASCAR’s past with its future

The Cool Down Lap: Bayne’s victory connects NASCAR’s past with its future

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(February 21, 2011)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Pay attention.
What you saw Sunday at Daytona International Speedway was a rare watershed moment, the completion of an unbroken circle, the connection of NASCAR’s past with its future.
Some of the connections are obvious. Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne, barely 20 and in his own words, “just a kid,” drove the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Ford to the win. The car’s paint scheme was the spitting image of the one that graced the No. 21 Mercury that David Pearson coaxed across the finish line after he and Richard Petty wrecked on the final lap of the 1976 Daytona 500.
Before Bayne took the checkered flag and ended a 10-year drought for NASCAR’s oldest operating race team, Pearson had given the Wood Brothers their last Daytona 500 victory in that 1976 race. Pearson was at Daytona for the start of Sunday’s race, as a member of the 2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class.
Bayne is a Sprint Cup rookie. The Daytona 500 was his second race in the series. The Wood Brothers are older than old school. They are one-room schoolhouse. Founding fathers Glen and Leonard Wood started building Cup cars in Stuart, Va., in 1953, for a succession of talented drivers. Now Glen’s sons, Eddie and Len Wood, run the team.
“I was born in the country, and somebody once told me ‘You just don’t get above your rating,’ ” said Glen Wood, who will turn 86 in July. “I’ve tried to remain who I am. I came from a small town, and I don’t reckon they expected us to be uppity or biggity—is that a word?—I used to hear that when I was a kid. But this is a proud moment for the Wood Brothers.”
Eddie Wood’s wife, Carol, had left the track with 45 laps left in Sunday’s race. She was driving through Brunswick, Ga., listening to the race on the radio, when Bayne crossed the finish line. She turned around and headed back to Daytona.
Under normal circumstances, Eddie would have sent his clothes back with Carol, but nothing about this weekend was normal. Eddie kept his clothes in Daytona.
“For some reason, I knew I was going to spend Sunday night here,” said Eddie, who may be the most superstitious person in the Cup garage. “I didn’t know why, but I knew I was going to spend the night.”
Old habits die hard. Eddie and Len Wood left the track at 10 p.m. Sunday after the teardown and inspection of the winning car and headed for Steak & Shake, where they once ate 38 consecutive meals.
Bayne celebrated at BJ’s, a restaurant right across Speedway Boulevard from Turn 1, with his parents and his crew. Bayne’s parents, Rocky and Stephanie, had watched the race from nosebleed seats in the Turn 1 grandstand, then hustled to victory lane for the celebration.
Televisions in the back room where the Bayne’s dinner took place trumpeted news of his 500 win. Bayne watched the highlights with fascination, but every time one of his interviews appeared on screen, or a fellow driver or commentator began praising his accomplishments, Bayne lowered his eyes and began reading text messages on his phone.
His humility matched that of the team that gave him the winning car.
Crew chief Donnie Wingo was there, quietly enjoying the fruits of a 30-year quest to win the 500. Wingo, Bayne and Pearson all were born in Spartanburg, S.C. Bayne and Wingo’s children were born at the same hospital.
The connection extends to driving styles, at least for this race. Bayne approached the 500 the way Pearson would have.
“He (Pearson) talked to Trevor some, told him things to do, and said, ‘Just be careful,’ ” Glen Wood said. “That was a key to David’s success. He could sort of fall back and do what he wanted to, and all of a sudden they’d look in the mirror, and here he comes.”
Trevor Bayne never raced against Dale Earnhardt. He was one day shy of his 10th birthday when Earnhardt died in the 2001 Daytona 500.
Nevertheless, there’s a connection.
After the race, Bayne’s business manager saw a man—an Earnhardt fan—weeping on pit road.
“He was absolutely bawling,” she said. “He said, ‘It’s been 10 years, but I’ve found my driver.’ ”