Wood Family Visits Restoration Site in Daytona of 50 Year Old Lorenzen Ford (Maybe?)
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That's good news, Jim. Sounded like Leonard Wood was withholding judgement.
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Wood Family Visits Restoration Site in Daytona of 50 Year Old Lorenzen Ford (Maybe?)
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Wood family checks out relics
Leonard Wood, left, and nephew Eddie Wood look over the Ford that took Fred Lorenzen to second place in the 1963 Daytona 500 on Monday in Daytona Beach.
Daytona Beach News-Journal
By GODWIN KELLY, Motorsports Editor
February 21, 2012 12:05 AM
DAYTONA BEACH -- Two generations from Wood Brothers Racing examined a couple of 50-year-old stock cars Monday, then praised the people who are trying to save rolling NASCAR history.
Glen and Leonard Wood, who started the race team in the early 1950s, and Glen's sons, Eddie and Len, spent two hours in a private garage examining two Fords, which are overseen by Eric Gill.
Gill is part of the American Stock Car Preservation Society. Its mission is to preserve a history of racing unique to this country.
Gill and other members of ASCPS were delighted to have the Wood family offer their input. There was no racing Monday at Daytona International Speedway.
"It's a real high because an inanimate object, no how important, is nothing more than a reflection of the people who built it," said Gill, who specializes as a Chevy Corvette historian.
Leonard Wood, who continues to work in the family's race shop, said he enjoys examining older race cars and appreciates the efforts of people and groups to keep these relics from being destroyed.
"We've seen a lot of interest with people trying to find an original and restore cars," Leonard said. "It brings back old memories just to talk to people about it.
"Fifty years ago, well, it's hard to say if this is the real thing or not. You can't be sure."
The Holman-Moody and Ford paperwork shows that one of the two 1963 Fords housed in the local shop is likely the car that carried Fred Lorenzen to a second-place, 500 finish in '63.
A photo taken three weeks after the 1963 Daytona 500 of the vehicle identification number in the door jamb of Lorenzen's car matches internal documents kept by Ford and its NASCAR race team.
The two cars, one with a '64 body, have been paired and sold together three times.
"It's certainly nice to see people with the motivation to rebuild something to its original condition," said Leonard Wood. "This brought back memories of when Tiny Lund won the Daytona 500 in our race car in 1963. That was an exciting day."
Eddie and Len Wood have carried the Wood Brothers Racing tradition into the modern era.
They built the No. 21 WBR Ford that Trevor Bayne wheeled to victory in last year's Daytona 500.
"I haven't paid much attention to it (race history) until Dad got inducted in the NASCAR Hall of Fame," Eddie said. "That got it started for us. Everything that is old, I want to know about it.
"I admire people who have the patience to dig into this stuff, because it's really, really hard. We've done a lot of research with photos in our archive. We probably have 4,000 images."
The Woods plan to send Bayne's 500 winner to the Henry Ford Museum with all its original parts, including confetti that stuck to the Ford during last year's Victory Lane celebration.
The No. 21 will be removed from an exhibit Sunday morning and replaced by the car that wins this weekend's race. The No. 21 will be put on display a few days in the Woods' hometown of Stuart, Va., then in Charlotte before heading to Dearborn, Mich.
"It will be exactly the same car you saw win the race," Eddie said. "We aren't even going to take a rag to it."
updated by @dave-fulton: 04/01/17 11:33:44PM
NASCAR Concussion Policy
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With all the talk and attention on concussions, their identification, and restricting play in the NFL this season, NASCAR is publicly reiterating its policy on potential concussions.To the credit of the racetracks, many of the infield care centers are staffed with outstanding medical personnel. When I was at Richmond, our center was staffed by some of the area's top neurosurgeons and staff from Class I trauma centers and there were detailed plans for transportation to the best medical centers for purpose of a particular need.
Things have come a long ways from the old ambulance at Talladega that contained no medical equipment. I really and truly believe that in this endeavor NASCAR has tried its best to bring all tracks up to acceptable standards of care.
Feb 21, 4:11 PM EST
NASCAR officials confident in concussion policy
By CHRIS JENKINS
AP Sports Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Since the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001, NASCAR has taken sweeping steps to reduce the risk of head injuries. And when a driver does get hurt, NASCAR officials have established more comprehensive protocols to identify, track and treat concussions.
While NASCAR officials are proud of the progress they've made on safety, they know nothing is guaranteed at 200 mph.
"It's an inherently dangerous sport," said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's senior vice president of racing operations. "We've got to be the best, on the front end and, we think, on the back end."
Under NASCAR's policy, any driver who is involved in a significant crash must go to the infield medical center. Even drivers who are able to drive their wrecked cars back to the garage area may be ordered to get checked out.
"If you hit the wall, you can probably bet you're going to be at the care center," O'Donnell said. "We're not the most popular people all the time."
Once at the medical center, the driver will be checked for signs of a concussion as a standard procedure. If members of the track's medical crew suspect a concussion, the driver will be sent to a local hospital.
Before a concussed driver can race again, he or she must be cleared by a neurosurgeon with at least five years' experience with sports-related head injuries.
"So that neurosurgeon is the ultimate go/no go in terms of coming back to competition," O'Donnell said.
Information from a crash data recorder on board each car is analyzed, and wrecked cars often are brought back to NASCAR's research and development center for examination. If NASCAR safety experts notice anything wrong with the car that might have contributed to an injury, they can sit down with the driver's team to advise them on potential safety improvements.
The next step for NASCAR could be the use of baseline cognitive testing, something that is optional for drivers now. O'Donnell said officials still may consider making it mandatory.
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
Earnhardt Senior Had a Female Daytona 500 Teammate in 1980
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80+ cars tried to make that 1980 Daytona 500 field, a far cry from the 49 cars this year and a sign of the changing times.
Earnhardt Senior Had a Female Daytona 500 Teammate in 1980
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A lot of folks forget that the 11th place finish Janet Guthrie posted in the 1980 Daytona 500 came as a teammate to Dale Earnhardt, Senior.
Janet was in the Rod Osterlund #82 Chevy for her 11th place effort.
Earnhardt was in the # 2 Rod Osterlund Oldsmobile and finished 4th.
Janet was sponsored by TEXACO... you remember.... "You can trust your car to the GAL who wears the Star....!"
A little pre-Danica Daytona distaff trivia.
Billy Hagan's #44 Stratagraph mount driven by Terry Labonte leads the two Rod Osterlund cars of Dale Earnhardt (#2 with yellow helmet leaning into safety net) and Janet Guthrie (#82) in the 1980 Daytona 500.
updated by @dave-fulton: 08/31/20 12:59:50PM
No Bones About It - Daytona is Reaching
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Wait, Legend...... I hate to publicly correct you (as you did me on RTH last night, lol), BUT - NONE of those other folks who have "earned" the Honorary positions at the "World Center of Speed" for the "Great American Race" have ever seen a Daytona 500. Correct me again, now, if I am wrong.
You & TMC can be somewhat comforted by the fact that it is your knowledge and zealous dedication to preserving the history of stock car racing that precludes either of you gaining the notoriety of an "Honorary" position at Daytona.
Just remember that you both have honored places with we "true believers" here at this forum.
No Bones About It - Daytona is Reaching
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Do the two of you promise to behave if you are allowed to ride together?!
No Bones About It - Daytona is Reaching
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I think we should see if we can't get our own Tim Leeming named an "Honorary Legend" and put him in a big ole Plymouth in the Daytona 500 parade of cars in front of the field. What do you think?