DARLINGTON, S.C. (April 2, 2025) – Darlington Raceway announced today that the family of the Wood Brothers Racing team will serve as the Grand Marshals for the Goodyear 400 this Sunday. Celebrating their 75th anniversary alongside the Track Too Tough to Tame, the pioneer team of the NASCAR Cup Series will say the most famous words in motorsports ahead of the main event of The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR.
“As we celebrate 75 years of racing at The Lady in Black, its only right we also recognize the same achievement for one of the most storied teams in our sport’s history with the Wood Brothers,” said Darlington Raceway President Josh Harris. “Few organizations have garnered as much success throughout NASCAR, and particularly at Darlington Raceway. We’re grateful to celebrate each other and fire off the Goodyear 400 with a family of legends.”
Since their first of 104 starts at Darlington in the spring of 1961, the Wood Brothers stand as one of the most successful organizations to have ever competed at the 1.366-mile venue. The team has amassed a total of eight wins across three drivers in three different decades. David Pearson, a native of Spartanburg, S.C., captured four of those wins in the track’s spring event in 1972 (his first start for the team), 1973, 1974, and 1976 along with two Southern 500 victories coming in 1976 and 1977. Fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer and Timmonsville, S.C. native Cale Yarborough scored one Southern 500 win for the Wood Brothers in 1968 while Neil Bonnett notched the team’s most recent win at Darlington in 1981.
Wood Brothers Racing, founded in 1950 from Stuart, Va., sits as the oldest active team in NASCAR while holding one of the winningest resumes in the sport’s history. The organization currently sits at 101 total wins after Josh Berry’s victory earlier this year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. They have been accustomed to visiting Victory Lane across eight decades while winning 120 pole awards in the process. A grand total of 22 of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers have at one point driven for the famed team.
Founder, owner, and former driver Glen Wood began working alongside his brothers Leonard, Delano, Clay and Ray Lee building race cars under a giant beech tree on the family homestead in Buffalo Ridge, Va. His son’s Eddie and Len have taken over as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the team, respectively, while their younger sister Kim serves as the Chief Financial Officer. Eddie’s son Jon Wood was named Team President in 2024, and his daughter Jordan Hicks works as the Chief Marketing Officer. Len’s son Kevin Wood is the Team Executive Vice President and ensures the No. 21 Ford is ready for competition each Sunday.
Darlington Raceway’s 75th Anniversary season races into high gear Saturday and Sunday with The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR. Drivers and teams will pay tribute to the rich heritage of NASCAR with throwback paint schemes and uniforms that will invoke Too Tough to Tame memories of days gone by. Action begins Saturday with the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200. It concludes Sunday with the NASCAR Cup Series’ Goodyear 400.
NASCAR fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets while supplies last at 866-459-7223 or online at darlingtonraceway.com.
About Darlington Raceway
Darlington Raceway, nicknamed The Lady in Black and the Track Too Tough To Tame, is home to the award-winning Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR and annually hosts two NASCAR Cup Series race weekends, along with the NASCAR Xfinity Series and/or NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. Opening in 1950, Darlington Raceway is “A NASCAR Tradition” and NASCAR’s original superspeedway with its famed 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval, challenging the sports best in one of the most iconic NASCAR races, the Southern 500®. For more information about Darlington Raceway, visit darlingtonraceway.com. Stay connected to Darlington Raceway on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the NASCAR Tracks App.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Series, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Euro Series, NASCAR Mexico Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in five cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 11 countries and more than 30 U.S. states.
For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X and Facebook.
Source: Darlington Raceway | NASCAR Communications
