Jack Wood: Driver, No. 51 Eberlestock Chevrolet
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Overview:
Event: North Carolina Education Lottery 200, Race 11 of 23, 134 Laps – 30/30/74; 201 Miles
Location: Charlotte Motor Speedway (1.5-mile, quad-oval)
Date/Broadcast: May 26, 2023, at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
Get to Know Jack:
Jack Wood will make his fourth start for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) behind the wheel of the No. 51 Eberlestock Chevrolet in Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Wood has finished inside the top 10 in two of his first three Truck Series starts this season, including recording a career-best ninth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in his most recent outing. Wood has two prior Truck Series starts at Charlotte, with a best result of 15th coming in the 2021 event.
Wood, who will make a total of 13 Truck Series starts this season, will be behind the wheel of the No. 51 Silverado for the next four events on the schedule including Friday night. The first three events are all part of the 2023 Triple Truck Challenge in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. For the races at Charlotte, World Wide Technology Raceway and Nashville Superspeedway only points earning drivers in the Truck Series are eligible to participate in those events, with each event having extra money on the line. If a driver wins one of the three races they will earn a $50,000 bonus, if they win two of the three races, they will earn a $150,000 bonus and if the same driver is able to win all three races, they will earn a $500,000 bonus. In its four year history, no driver has won all three races.
Eberlestock, an outdoor apparel and tactical gear company, will be the primary sponsor on Wood’s Chevrolet Friday night at Charlotte. As part of the NASCAR Salutes program The No. 51 Silverado will be sporting a special patriotic paint scheme with a black and white American-flag on the rear quarter panels and bedtop. The truck will have associate sponsorship from the Green Beret Foundation and Montana Knife Company. Wood will be wearing a specially painted Eberlestock/Green Beret Foundation helmet that fans will have a chance to enter to win after he uses it in the race.
From their original roots in the radical design of Olympic class biathlon racing rifles to current projects, Eberlestock has shown the world how much performance should be expected of outdoor gear. They have always been a pioneer and a leader, not a follower. For the hunter, the tactical operator, the shooting sports, or the hardcore adventure outdoorsman, they invite you to explore our current designs. You’ll find something that you can really use — use it hard, and use it well. And they’ll be excited to show you what’s around the next corner. Check them out at www.eberlestock.com.
Wood will be pulling double duty on Friday, competing in the ARCA Menards Series event in the No. 6 for Rev Racing prior to the Truck Series race. The California native has one top five and three top-10 finishes with an average result of 11.8 across four starts with Rev Racing this season and currently ranks third in the point standings, 14 points behind Jesse Love. He has one prior ARCA start at Charlotte, a sixth-place finish in 2021. In addition to his part-time schedules in the Truck and ARCA Series, Wood has been running a limited schedule in the TA2 Series. Wood captured the pole and brought home the victory at Sonoma Raceway in late April.
Veteran crew chief Brian Pattie is calling the shots for the No. 51 team this year in his first season at KBM after spending the last 14 seasons atop the pit box in the NASCAR Cup Series. It took the veteran signal caller just two races to get his first win at KBM, winning with KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In the Cup Series, his drivers produced six wins, nine poles, 57 top-five and 131 top-10 finishes across 528 starts. In 2012, he guided Clint Bowyer to three victories and a runner-up finish in the Cup Series championship standings. In 2017, he guided Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to two wins and a berth in the playoffs. The Florida native has also recorded 11 wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and he now has two wins as a crew chief in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Friday night will be Pattie’s first time atop the pit box for a Truck Series race at Charlotte. He won the fall Cup Series race at Charlotte in 2012 with Bowyer. He also crew chiefed 14 races at Charlotte in the Xfinity Series, with a best result of second coming with Kyle Busch in 2003.
The No. 51 team currently leads the Craftsman Truck Series owner’s point standings by 13 tallies over the No. 11 team. Over the first 10 races, they have recorded one win, one pole, 163 laps led, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 7.6. After Wood finishes his four-race stretch, Kyle Busch will return to the No. 51 Silverado at Pocono Raceway.
Jack Wood, Driver Q&A:
Are you looking forward to getting back behind the wheel at Charlotte after recently having a break in your Truck Series schedule?
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to Charlotte. I think more so than any place that I’ve raced at this year it is more of a driver’s race track — it’s easier to gain and lose track position. It should be a better race for us. Having this break on my schedule since Texas I’ve been able to take advantage of being behind the scenes and seeing how the crew chief and the team operate and I think that will help improve our communication moving forward. We’ll be better now than we were before and I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be a busy day Friday as I’m doing double duty running the ARCA Race as well. With being out of the truck for a while running that race will help me knock some of the rust off and I’ll have more track time than most of the guys in the Truck Series. I’m just going to have to be on point with understanding the two different balances of the vehicles and not getting the driving styles mixed up between the two of them.”
Talk about the paint scheme you are running as part of NASCAR Salutes.
“It’s exciting to have Eberlestock back on the truck for a second time this year, this time with the Green Beret Foundation as well as Montana Knife Company as associate partners. The paint scheme turned out really cool. This weekend is a big one for our country and especially the sport of NASCAR. It’ll be exciting to have them there and to honor those that made the ultimate sacrifice. My helmet also has a special scheme — stay tuned to my social channels as we are going to be doing a special giveaway and some other cool stuff.”
Jack Wood Career Highlights:
- Has produced three top-10 finishes across 38 career starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Posted a series-best ninth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in April.
- Has compiled 14 laps led, two top-five and seven top-10 finishes across 13 career ARCA Menards Series events.
- Has totaled two top-five and seven top-10 finishes across 11 career starts in the ARCA Menards West Series.
- Compiled one top-five and three top-10 finishes across 24 starts in the SRL Spears Southwest Tour from 2017 to 2021.
- Jack Wood’s No. 51 Chevrolet Silverado RST:
KBM-69: The No. 51 Eberlestock team will unload KBM-69 for Friday night’s race at Charlotte. KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch drove this chassis to a seventh-place finish in last year’s Truck Series race at Charlotte. Across seven starts, KBM-69 has recorded a best result of second twice, both at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Busch (2021 and 2022).
KBM-69 Performance Profile:
KBM Notes of Interest:
- Across 36 starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway, KBM drivers have earned seven wins, three poles, 15 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 9.6 and an average finish of 8.7. John Hunter Nemechek picked up KBM’s most recent Charlotte victory in 2021. Prior to that, owner-driver Kyle Busch had collected all six of his organization’s wins (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2018).
- KBM holds the Craftsman Truck Series records for most career wins (99) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway last year, Corey Heim became the 18th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
- With 40 victories, the No. 51 is the winningest number in KBM’s Truck Series fleet.
