Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR
The oldest living member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame has died.
Glen Wood, a champion racer who was inducted into the organization back in 2012, died on Friday morning, according to the Wood Brothers Racing organization — the company he co-founded alongside his brother, Leonard. He was 93.
“It’s with profound sadness that we mourn the passing of team founder and family patriarch Glen Wood this morning,” they wrote on Twitter. “We want to thank family, friends, our small-town Virginia community of Patrick County, as well as everyone in the NASCAR community for their unwavering support.”
“We’re still working on the funeral arrangements but it will be private family service,” they added, in a separate tweet.
Wood, a Virginia native,caught the racing bug as a childwhen he traveled to Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1947 to watch a race on an old beach-road course, NASCAR reported. He would spend the next 71 years traveling to Daytona Beach each year, his last visit there being in 2018, according to NASCAR.
Wood Brothers Racing was founded in 1950. The organization has 99 victories under its belt — and still competes, now in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR reported.
Glen Wood in the early 1950s.ISC Archives via Getty
Glen Wood (left) and his brother Leonard.ISC Archives via Getty
Four of their wins came from Wood himself, who earned the title of “Master of the Madhouse” for his continued success in the Modified Division of NASCAR’s top series at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, NASCAR reported. He was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998 (a total of 20 of the other people on that list were Wood Brothers Racing drivers).
Though Wood retired from driving in 1964, his mark on the industry only grew as team owner — during which, according to NASCAR, he employed famed drivers including Cale Yarborough, A.J. Foyt, David Pearson, and Curtis Turner.
Most notably, the Wood Brothers introduced the choreographed pit stop, which modernized how cars were serviced, NASCAR reported.
In the wake of Wood’s death, the NASCAR community mourned their loss.
“In every way, Glen Wood was an original,” Jim France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “In building the famed Wood Brothers Racing at the very beginnings of our sport, Glen laid a foundation for NASCAR excellence that remains to this day. As both a driver and a team owner, he was, and always will be, the gold standard. But personally, even more significant than his exemplary on-track record, he was a true gentleman and a close confidant to my father, mother and brother. On behalf of the France family and all of NASCAR, I send my condolences to the entire Wood family for the loss of a NASCAR giant.”
“Glen Wood sure lived a full life, a remarkable journey,” tweeted Dale Earnhardt, Jr. “His contributions to motorsports are tough to measure. My thoughts are with my dear friend, his brother Leonard and the rest of the family.”
source: people.com
