One eye on the front, and the other on a pack of hungry championship-hopeful drivers.
That’s the situation Wood Brothers Racing and its driver Trevor Bayne face this weekend in the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, Oct. 19.
Bayne and his famed No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion expect to be one of the front-runners, but he’ll also be surrounded by a pack of aggressive Chase drivers looking to move on in the last race of the Eliminator Round of the playoffs.
“I think you give everyone respect, Chase or not,” said Bayne explaining how he plans to navigate the superspeedway on Sunday. “With this new format though, it’s going to be a wild race and I will definitely be conscious of who I’m racing around while trying to give everyone as much room as possible.”
The team’s optimism is well-founded. In the May race at the historic Alabama oval, Bayne started 23rd and fell toward the rear of the field before ultimately fighting his way to the front. He led six laps and had one of the stronger cars on the track before he was an innocent victim in a multi-car accident in lap 136 and ended up finishing 41st.
“I am definitely ready to get to Talladega with the Wood Brothers this weekend,” Bayne said. “Racing at Talladega has always been intense and has always been a place where we have excelled. I’m sure this weekend will be even more intense since it is a Chase race and there are several drivers who have a lot on the line. So hopefully we will be able to keep our nose clean and be able to get out of Talladega with a great finish. It’ll be exciting.”
Eddie Wood, co-owner of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion, looks forward to again fielding another strong car for Talladega. The team excels at the superspeedway events.
“This is a brand-new car, but I fully expect to be close to the front this time, too,” Wood said.
Asked if this race has any special meaning, Wood responded, “Any time you win at Talladega, it’s big, but we treat every race like it’s the biggest race of the year in terms of preparation.
“Every new car we build goes into the wind tunnel,” he continued. “(Crew Chief) Donnie (Wingo) and the guys are mostly working on race set up since qualifying is now group qualifying. You don’t have special transmissions and gears and hubs like you would to run two laps. You’re pretty much ready to race when you qualify.”
In the 1970s, the Wood Brothers were more than ready when they came to Talladega. Between 1971 and 1975, they won four times (all spring Winston 500 races), finished second twice and third once. Three wins came with David Pearson behind the wheel and one with Donnie Allison driving.
“A lot of them came down to Richard Petty and David Pearson or Buddy Baker and David Pearson,” Wood recalls. “There were a handful of guys who were always fast at Talladega. Those races were always special.
“We won there with Neil Bonnett in August 1980 on a late-race re-start with three guys: Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt (Sr.) and Benny Parsons,” said Wood, recalling his team’s most recent trip to Talladega’s victory lane.
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