06.14
One of the reasons the Wood Brothers have endured for 60 years in the tough business of NASCAR racing is their ability to keep their heads held high and their focus on the future even when race day results don’t meet their expectations. Bill Elliott drove the team’s FordParts.com Ford Fusion to a 29th-place finish in Sunday’s Heluva Good Sour Cream Dip 400 at Michigan International Speedway, which was far from the Woods’ and Elliott’s usual standards for Michigan. But team co-owners Eddie and Len Wood still were able to find bright spots as they looked forward to applying the lessons learned at Michigan to the car they’ll run at Chicagoland Speedway on July 10.
For starters, the Wood Brothers crew was able to file away some valuable data on the suspension of their car, particularly in regards to the rear sway bar. After struggling with a loose-into-the-turns condition for much of the race, the crew unhooked the rear sway bar, and the car’s performance improved dramatically. “We started 35th on that last restart and were able to drive up to 29th,” Eddie Wood said. “We weren’t running race-leading speeds, but we were a lot faster.” The chassis lessons learned on race days are invaluable, since NASCAR doesn’t allow testing at tracks where the sanctioning body’s major series compete.
The only other way to fine-tune set-ups is through computer simulation, and gathering good data for simulation is particularly difficult regarding the rear sway bar. “The simulation package we use isn’t modeling the rear bar correctly. We had the same issues at Charlotte two weeks ago. Unless we develop more confidence in it, we may not use the rear bar at Chicago.” Wood said.
The Woods also were encouraged by the performance of their over-the-wall pit crew, which churned out consistently good stops throughout the race. “It looks like we were back on track there,” Wood said.
The new FR9 Ford engine offered another check mark on the positive side of the ledger. The Woods have run the FR9 all season, but it was under the hoods of all the Ford entries this weekend. It was no surprise to the Woods that the FR9 cranked out horsepower without a problem in all the Fusions, including the No. 21. “The engine performed really well,” Wood said. “It ran cool all day with a lot of tape on the grille.”
CINDY where can I buy a 1/24 diecast of the car Bill ran at Michigan with the FordParts.com paint scheme!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You will have the call the Wood Brother’s shop and ask Kim Hall. She decides what to order for the Woods. I don’t know if that is in the works or not. Sorry.
Cindy,
Any chance Bill and the Petty clan might join up for another ride in the 9? I know it is a bit of a stretch but seems like Bill just needs a good car. Nothing at all against the Wood Brothers but the 21 just doesn’t seem to have what it takes.
Just me rambling but it would be great at least from a fan point of view….
Tom
As much as I love the idea of Bill in the # 9 Ford again, I don’t believe that this would be a good deal.
How good will the # 9 team be without Kenny Francis and half of the other guys?
“How good will the # 9 team be without Kenny Francis and half of the other guys?”
100% better than the #21 team.
Hey chris.
WHo was the man that worked with Kenny Francis before Kasey? Bill Elliott! So I’d say Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne is doing just fine with Bill’s old engineers and crew chiefs. Didn’t I Just hear Kasey compliment all the help with the lines on the track and knolwedge Bill gave him. I did! You can’t compare a part time team to a full funded team. They are doing just fine with what they have to work with, Bill and the Woods Bothers. I’d like to thank Bill for driving the Woods Bro Car.
This is not the way I would prefer to see Bill end his driving career in Sprint Cup. I think alot of other Elliott fans feel the same way. I just wish he could get better results with all the work everyone is doing on the #21 team. Oh how I yern for the “good ole days.” I will always be an Elloitt fan, regardless of what the outcome of a race is!
The common thread in all the posts on every article on this website, is we all want Bill to do well. I’m sure Bill wants Bill to do well! But I respect his commitment to the Wood Brothers and trying help that program get better. I doubt anyone is content with being down in the running order, but we all should know hard work doesn’t always produce great results. So, would I like to see Bill back in the “9″? You bet I would. Do I respect and appreciate Bill’s commitment to the Woods and the “21″? You bet I do!
PS.. Do you think Mrs.#24 or Mrs.#48 or any other Mrs. in the garage takes the time to answer fans? I doubt it, thanks Cindy!
hey guys bill is doing what he loves he will be back full time in the cup series bill hade his days in the sun chase will get his days in the sun in the near future like father like son . good luck to the elliotts
Regardless of the finishing results, its really nice to see bill enjoying being at the race track and they are fast That wasn’t the case a couple of years ago. Keep up the good work!
glenn mullen. bill had mike ford for at least the last 2 years in the 9 car. francis the 19. 21 team definitley needs help. i wish them well but not going to do well in the 21 unless there is a merge.
have been a long time fan of bills, first win 1983 that was the first race i watched,
is there a chance that bill could get the #9 back?