August 18, 2011
The Wood Brothers No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion will have a new look this weekend at Michigan International Speedway, thanks to a seven-year-old girl who seems to have a liking for the styles of a bygone era.
The tie-dyed paint scheme that the No. 21 Ford Fusion will carry in this weekend’s Pure Michigan 400 was designed by Katie Hahn from Nebraska. Her design also will be represented in the firesuit worn by Trevor Bayne and in the shirts worn by the Wood Brothers crew.
The paint scheme and accompanying promotions are intended to raise awareness and funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the charity of choice for Ford’s Customer Service Division and its Motorcraft and Quick Lane brands, the colors of which normally appear on the No. 21 Ford Fusion.
The rest of the car was prepared in a more traditional manner, with crew chief Donnie Wingo leading the way as the crew tuned the moving parts under the hood.
Wingo said this particular Ford Fusion is the same chassis that was used in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
Ironically, the Woodstock music festival, where tie-dyed attire was all the rage, was held in the summer of 1969. That was the same summer when the first NASCAR race was run at Michigan. Two members of the current class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Cale Yarborough and his car owner Glen Wood, teamed up to win that inaugural race.
Wingo said he’s looking for a good finish this weekend as well, with Bayne returning to a track where he’s already raced once this year. He said he and the team should be able to build on what they learned at Michigan in June.
“At Michigan you can go off your notes from the first race,” Wingo said. “I think we’ll qualify OK and also get the car tuned better for the race.”
Bayne and the Woods will have to make the race on speed. Because of their part-time schedule, they’re not among the top 35 in car owner points and therefore not guaranteed a starting spot.
There also are no guarantees lately about how the race will go. There have been 15 different winners this year, and five of them, including the Daytona 500-winning Bayne, are first-time winners.
With the way Sprint Cup races have been playing out of late, Wingo’s decisions on the pit box are almost as important as Bayne’s behind the wheel.
“It seems like 75 percent of the races this year have come down to fuel mileage,” he said. “That will be in the back of my mind during the race, and since we’re not running for points, we’re in a position to gamble more than some of the other guys.”
He said that means he’ll likely have Bayne in fuel-conservation mode as soon as he makes his final pit stop. And Wingo said Ford teams all have made progress in recent weeks when it comes to fuel mileage.
But, he said, other factors besides fuel mileage could determine the outcome.
“It’s just how you play your strategy at the end of the race,” he said.
Team co-owner Eddie Wood, as always, is proud to be representing Ford Motor Company at the auto maker’s home track and The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation as well. “It’s an honor to be representing JDRF; it’s such a worthy charity.”
Ford leads all manufacturers with 31 Sprint Cup victories at Michigan, and the Wood Brothers and fellow Ford owner Jack Roush are tied for most Michigan victories by a car owner with 11 apiece.
Qualifying for the Pure Michigan 400 is set for Friday at 3:40 p.m. Sunday’s 400-mile race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 1 p.m. with TV coverage on ESPN.
