Ford Performance NSCS Notes and Quotes
2016 Charlotte Media Tour
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Wood Brothers Racing will be running a full NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule for the first time since 2008. The team spoke about that topic as part of Wednesday’s Charlotte Media Tour at the Ford Technical Center.
WOOD BROTHERS MEDIA SESSION:
LEN WOOD, Co-Owner, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion – WHERE DO YOU SEE THIS LANDING, GOING FULL-TIME RACING FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2008? “I’d like to think that we could be in Victory Circle reasonably soon, maybe the Daytona 500. That’s one of our favorite races, but I think building on our performance last year, some of our best races we were fourth and seventh, things like that, build on some more of those. I’m looking forward to going back to some of the tracks we haven’t been to for a while like Atlanta, Martinsville – I really love road courses and things like that, places that present an opportunity that’s a little different, even like a Pocono. Anything can happen at a Pocono or a road course, so that’s what I’m looking for.”
EDDIE WOOD, Co-Owner, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion – “I kind of feel the same way. We’re gonna be able to go back to some race tracks that we raced in years past and I’m really excited about that. You look back at last year, it was kind of a building year for us. We had speed at most everywhere we raced and I think that will carry on. I hope we can run consistently in the top 15 and when you do that, all of a sudden you can run in the top 10 and that builds to the top 5, and you can get in a position to win a race or two. I’m like Len, I’m looking forward to the road races and looking forward to the short tracks. I’m just looking forward to being back every week. I’d just like to thank Ford Motor Company and all the guys that pulled it all together for us – Motorcraft and Quick Lane. It was quite a feat to do it and we just really appreciate it.”
JEREMY BULLINS, Crew Chief – No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion – BESIDES THE DIFFERENCE IN COMPETITION LEVEL, HOW WILL A FULL-TIME CUP SEASON BE DIFFERENT THAN A FULL-TIME XFINITY SCHEDULE? “I think that’s the obvious answer is the competition. When we were having success in the XFINITY Series there were usually two or three teams that separated themselves and on Sunday there are 30 teams that can win a race on most weeks, so I think that’s the cool part. That’s what we enjoy and at the end of the year when we started getting a good direction and top 10s you get excited about where you’re headed and I feel like the other cool part for me is I enjoy the strategy side of the Cup deal a little bit more. With the XFINITY deal you’re sometimes limited on sets of tires and things like that, so it dictates your strategy a little bit, so, for me, the strategy part is a little more fun on the Cup side. It’s fun racing and we’re looking forward to it.”
RYAN BLANEY – No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion – YOU’RE FULL-TIME IN THE CUP SERIES NOW. WHAT’S IT LIKE FOR YOU TO HAVE THIS CHANCE? “It’s every young racer’s dream, especially me growing up watching my dad do it for so long, and being at the race track ever since I can remember. That’s what I look up to doing, that’s what I looked forward to doing. That’s the ultimate goal. I personally have been very fortunate throughout my whole racing career to have a dad that’s provided me with some great stuff to drive, which opens doors like it did in 2012 with the BKR team and then Penske and now over here with the Wood Brothers. It’s really neat and it’s all happened so fast. A lot of people have been involved with it, whether it’s Ford or Raj or Dave, they’ve been a huge, huge part of it and this doesn’t happen without them, so we can’t thank them enough, but I’ve said since November last year when we announced it that all I can really say is I’m excited to get racing. It’s been a long off-season just trying to prepare the best we can and we’re just ready to get out there. I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”
Q&A SESSION
JEREMY BULLINS CONTINUED – CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE LOW DOWNFORCE PACKAGE? IS IT DIFFERENT TO SET UP THE CAR COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS RULES? “It’s an opportunity, it’s a challenge, it’s all those things. I think the good thing about it is the races and tests that we attended last year using that package seemed to fit us really well as a team, so we’re looking forward to it. We feel like it’s only gonna make us stronger. We felt like we had speed at Kentucky, but we got rained out before qualifying. We’re really looking forward to getting started. The couple of tests we were able to go to last season, we swapped over to this package as close as we could get it and felt like it was positive for us and fits Ryan’s style really well. For us, when your driver likes what it feels like, it makes it a lot easier to set the car up, so I think it will be a positive for us and we’re looking forward to it.”
EDDIE WOOD CONTINUED – WHAT WAS IT LIKE TELLING GLEN AND LEONARD YOU WERE GOING BACK FULL-TIME? “It was pretty big for them as well. Our dad, he’s 90 now so the only race he really goes to is usually the 500 (Daytona 500), so being able to see his car race every week is a pretty big thing for him, as well as our mom. Leonard, he still goes to the race track with us. He’s 81, but he still works every day and goes to the race track with us every week, so they’re really excited about it too because when you stop racing full-time it’s like, ‘Yeah, ok, you were at home or whatever,’ but it never felt like. It just felt like you were supposed to be doing something else. You’re just not supposed to be at home when everybody else is racing, so this is just a great opportunity for us.”
LEN WOOD CONTINUED – YOU WERE ABLE TO FINE-TUNE A LOT OF CARS BY NOT RUNNING THE FULL SCHEDULE. OTHER THAN YOUR SANITY, DO YOU LOSE ANYTHING FROM A COMPETITIVE STANDPOINT GOING BACK FULL-TIME? “I think with Team Penske helping us that has kind of been a non-issue of whether we’re there each week or not. Ryan, it would probably affect him more – the driving and getting more experience at different places and things like that. He’s run the XFINITY Series and the Truck Series, so losing our mind on travel and stuff like that, maybe. Otherwise, it’s pretty much under control right now.”
RYAN BLANEY CONTINUED – WHAT’S GONE INTO GETTING ALL THE PIECES BACK INTO PLACE SO THIS WORKS OUT THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE FOR THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION? “Yeah, it’s a big jump to get back used to it, especially when you go full-time in the Cup Series. You race so often and there are so many weekends that you’re gone, and a lot more time goes into it. I didn’t race anything full-time last year, but doing the Truck Series full-time in ’13 and ’14 you get a little taste of it, but you’re still lacking 14 races, compared to the Cup side. Personally, for me, it’s a lot more work. There’s a lot more that goes into it, and really on all sides, too. It’s a big jump, but they said it perfect. With the Penske organization helping us out, I feel like we’re doing a really good job in balancing between the Wood Brothers and the Penske team. I feel like we work really well together and I think that’s gonna really help us in going back full-time and kind of getting that production side done with that.”
EDDIE WOOD CONTINUED – HOW MANY OF THE 36 RACES WILL WE SEE MOTORCRAFT ON THE CAR?
“They’re still working on that. I know for a minimum it will be 12 races, just like it’s been in the past. As we said at Homestead when we announced this, we’re also trying to get other partners involved with other races to help make it all work for everyone. That’s kind of an ongoing work in progress. I’m like you, I’m really partial to the red and white, but if someone comes up and they need it to be pink or purple, that’s fine with us as long as we can go to the race track.”
RYAN BLANEY CONTINUED – IS THERE MUCH DIFFERENCE IN HOW YOU PREPARE FOR A LONG FULL-TIME SEASON? HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING OUT PHYSICALLY DURING THE OFF-SEASON? “You do a bunch of stuff in the off-season to kind of prepare you for that. They are a lot longer races than what I was used to doing full-time. You’re doing 400 to 500-mile races instead of 200 in the Truck Series, so that’s a big change, but I think we do a lot. The Penske program has a great physical program that they can use for their over-the-wall guys that we utilize as well. I kind of have my own personal thing, but I’m 22. I should be OK. Hopefully, I don’t fall out of the seat (laughing). I should be good. You’ve got to ask my dad that question. He’s gonna be racing about 40 sprint car races and he might fall out of the seat. He’s old now (laughter).”
YOU’VE MOVED UP QUICKLY FOR YOUR AGE. WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO THIS POINT AND WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST ASSET? “The biggest challenge is just the competition level in the Cup Series. It’s so large and Jeremy said it perfect. On the XFINITY side we always had a great program over there and we still do. We have great cars and great people and you can go out and run top-5 every week, I feel like. It’s a disappointment when you don’t, but you come over the Cup side and there are 30 cars that can win every single week, I feel like. It’s a good day for us last year when we could run top-15. Obviously, we want to improve on that, but there is some more personal gain it’s just the competition is so much higher and that’s why it’s the Cup Series is people deserve to be there and we’re lucky enough to be there and be racing on Sundays. It’s a big step, for sure, but we’re gonna do the best we can and we’re putting as much effort and time and preparation as needed to go out on Sundays and try to compete.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH WOOD BROTHERS RACING SO FAR? DID YOU FEEL INTIMIDATED WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED? “When you grow up around the sport watching my dad like I did you always hear the big teams and who has been around for a long time. You can never forget the Wood Brothers because they’ve been around now for 66 years. That’s something that you always look up to and when I was growing up Bill Elliott was driving for them and (Ken) Schrader, so those were the guys as I was starting to race I noticed in that car. It’s just cool to have such a historic team to be driving for, and they’re such great people. They’ve been amazing to me and my family and we’re just racers. I think that’s what bonds us so well. They grew up racing and it’s all they cared about, and that’s really all I knew growing up. That’s all we care about right now, and the same with Jeremy, so I think that’s what makes it a really good bond between all of the parties involved in this. It’s just incredible and it’s nice to have them out at the race track and hopefully we can keep doing it for a long time.”
