STUART, Va. – Patchwork 250 is a new initiative from WSLS 10 that tells Virginia’s story, one piece at a time. Like a quilt made of many patches, every person, story, and tradition adds something special to our history. Join us as we celebrate 250 years by sharing the stories that make our region unique, one patch at a time.
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“I wanted to do everything for the Wood Brothers that I could,” said Harrison Burton, a former Wood Brothers Driver. “They’ve given me an amazing opportunity in life, and to get them 100 on my way out is amazing.”
In their 76th season, Wood Brothers Racing, of Stuart, Virginia, pairs longevity and success like a good driver and crew chief.
They stand as the longest-running active NASCAR team in the sport, dating back to 1950. The combination has delivered 101 trips to Victory Lane.
“We’re into now, three generations ... Really, now four generations of growing something that started off as a hobby,” said Wood Brothers Racing co-owner Len Wood.
The original championship combination included Len’s father, Glen, a NASCAR Hall of Famer. He founded the team and is remembered as both a remarkable driver and a visionary team owner.
His brother Leonard, also a Hall of Famer, served as head mechanic, crew chief and chief engine builder. Leonard almost single-handedly revolutionized what is now known as the modern pit stop.
“I think of how I want to design something,” Leonard explained. “I think about it. When a problem arises, a thought comes to my head on how to fix it.”
Like a Cup car getting late-race adjustments, the Wood Brothers never stopped adapting.
Current co-owner Eddie Wood, Glen’s oldest son, learned the business from a star-studded family and some of the greats who drove the iconic No. 21 Car to the checkered flag.
“The really cool thing about it is as a kid, I got to know and was around the guys that were - they’re Hall of Famers now,” Eddie Wood said. “I didn’t think about it then, of course. But now you look back, you’re really fortunate to have been around those guys.”
Despite the wrenches now being turned in Mooresville, North Carolina, alongside the rest of NASCAR, the team, the family and the emotional ties are still running wide open in Patrick County and Stuart, Virginia.
“The company has always been a Virginia company. Still is, even though we race out of Mooresville, North Carolina,” Len said. “We still have our homes here. We’re Virginia people. Everything about us. We take pride in that. We take pride in Stuart, Virginia, where we’re from.”
While pointing to the countless pictures displayed throughout the Wood Brothers Racing Museum, Eddie explained that each photo is worth a thousand words.
“Every picture, I can tell you a story that I’ve been told, or I actually lived it,” he said.
From nearby Martinsville Speedway to the birthplace of speed, the family from Stuart, Virginia, is forever a piece of the Commonwealth’s rich racing history.
Want to discover more stories that make Virginia unique? Visit the Patchwork 250 page to explore the full quilt of our region’s history, one patch at a time.