DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Five weeks after the death of Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs, the driver he discovered won the Daytona 500 for the second time.
Continue readingDenny Hamlin Gets Emotional Second Daytona 500 Victory
Tag Archives: Glen Wood
Wood Brothers Racing Enters Partnership with Archie St. Hilaire, Secures Charter for 2018 and Beyond
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Long-term partnership ensures guaranteed starting position, stability for historic No. 21 Ford
Wood Brothers Racing today announced a long-term partnership with Archie St. Hilaire, owner of Go FAS Racing. The agreement grants full operating control of one of the 36 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Charters to the Wood Brothers and its iconic No. 21 Ford. Continue reading
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Preview
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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams are revving up for the first race in the Round of 12 at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500 on Sunday, October 8th at 2 pm ET. Coverage starts at 1 pm ET on NBC with radio coverage available on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Continue reading
Stock Car Racing Pioneer Raymond Parks Set the Standard During NASCAR’s Early Era
1949: NASCAR’s first “Super Team,” consisted of car owner Raymond Parks (L), mechanic Red Vogt (C) and driver Red Byron (R). The trio captured the first-ever NASCAR title, the 1948 Modified championship, then went on this year to take home the first NASCAR Cup championship.
Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images
As one of early stock car racing’s most successful car owners, it is appropriate that Raymond Parks captured the first two championships offered by the fledgling National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, an organization Parks helped form in 1947.
Parks and his driver, Red Byron, won NASCAR’s modified title in 1948. The pair, along with mechanic Red Vogt, became the sanctioning body’s 1949 Strictly Stock champions – the initial season of what is now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
The Dawson County, Georgia, native and his racing team were gone from NASCAR after 1955, winning just twice. But Parks, who died in 2010 at the age of 96, was seen as one of the sport’s seminal figures and a visionary.
“He set the standard. Mr. Parks brought the sport class,” said NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty in a speedwaymedia.com interview shortly after Parks’ death. “It took people like Mr. Parks to lay the foundation we’re living off of.
“And without him, we wouldn’t have the history we have and we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Parks’ contributions will be celebrated Jan. 20 in Charlotte, North Carolina, when he will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN). His fellow inductees among the Hall’s Class of 2017 are Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Mark Martin and Benny Parsons. Continue reading
Burton, Stewart, Truex Jr and Wood Brothers Among NASCAR Stars Receiving Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame Honors
Photo – Getty Images
Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran driver Jeff Burton added another milestone to his list of accomplishments at Texas Motor Speedway.
Burton, the speedway’s inaugural Sprint Cup Series winner in 1997 and the first driver with multiple Cup victories at the 1.5-mile speedway with his second victory in 2007, became the 18th member of the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame during a special induction ceremony Thursday evening at The Speedway Club.
“It’s an honor to be part of this,” Burton said of his induction into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame. “I will always appreciate it. For the 20 years I have given, it was a hell of a ride and I enjoyed it. It was a great honor to be able to do it. I wouldn’t change anything about my career. A few more wins we’d like to have but nonetheless, I loved my career. I did it the way I wanted to do it. But the fact I even had a chance to do it was incredible.”
Burton highlighted a star-studded list of individuals honored on the evening that included three-time Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart, legendary NASCAR owners Glen and Leonard Wood, 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship contender Martin Truex Jr. and 2015 Camping World Truck Series champion Erik Jones.
Stewart, a key contributor to Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas Chapter, was awarded the Major General Thomas Sadler Award. The award recognizes individuals who have helped carry out the mission of Speedway Children’s Charities.
Stewart’s role as host of “Smoke Show” Fantasy Driving School and his generosity of donating his parade lap for auctions has helped Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas Chapter raise more than $1.5 million. Stewart, still recovering from a severe back injury following an ATV accident in January, attended the event and humbly accepted the award.
“When I joined the Cup Series in 1999, it didn’t take long to realize that NASCAR is all about families and giving back,” Stewart said. “That’s something that I have really respected from day one with our sport; how active all the drivers are. That’s something with this being my last year that is probably one of the one things I have respected is how much they (drivers) give back to their communities.”
Truex Jr. received the Texas Motor Speedway Sportsmanship Award. His spectacular 2015 season came on the heels of having to help his longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex battle Stage III ovarian cancer. Even in the face of hard times, Truex Jr. excelled as he posted a career season with new highs for top fives, top tens and a spot in the Championship Round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Off the track Truex Jr. has continued to play a role in helping end cancer through his work with the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to help support underfunded cancer initiatives and assists the individuals families affected by them.
“Perspective is a wonderful thing,” Truex Jr. said. “I learned a lot through Sherry, from her going through her battles on truly what is important in life. I’ve very, very proud to be driving racecars for a living, but I’m also very proud of what we’ve been able to give back to our community. And to people around us that we love, and most importantly to the causes that we believe that our near and dear to our hearts.”
Jones was recognized as Texas Motor Speedway’s Racer of the Year for his breakout performances at the speedway last year. He earned his first career NASCAR XFINITY Series victory during last April’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300, defeating the likes of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin. He followed up his career milestone with a victory in the WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 Camping World Truck Series race that ultimately propelled him to his first truck series championship.
Brothers Glen and Leonard Wood were recognized for their contributions to motorsports with the Bruton Smith Legend Award. The brothers who formed the legendary Wood Brothers Racing have remained a staple in the sport, holding the distinction as the oldest, active team in NASCAR at 66 years and counting.
TMS Media Relations