Bob Pockrass
FOX Motorsports Insider
DEARBORN, Mich. — Leonard Wood jokes about a comment from a member of the Lotus crew about what he first thought about his NASCAR pit crew from Virginia when they came to Indianapolis 60 years ago to pit the Indianapolis 500 car for Jim Clark.
“As slow as we talked, he said he sure hoped we pitted fast,” Wood said about a quip from the English mechanic.
The Woods made history with their ability to quickly fuel the car. Clark ran the race on the same set of tires and went to victory lane to celebrate the Indy 500 win. It remains one of the most memorable moments of NASCAR’s most storied active team as they filled the car with fuel in about 17 to 19 seconds, which was extremely quick at the time.
And where does this rank in the Wood Brothers’ history, which includes legendary wins by David Pearson, AJ Foyt and Dan Gurney?
“I rate it right up at the top,” Leonard Wood said. “It was the most rewarding thing we had ever done.”
Memories of that big victory 60 years ago flooded back to Wood as the team unveiled its scheme for the throwback race April 6 at Darlington Raceway as the Indy 500-winning car sat beside the Darlington car at the Henry Ford Museum. That’s where the 500 car is permanently on display.
“What Darlington is is a celebration of not only NASCAR’s past but just motorsports’ past,” said Jon Wood, Leonard’s grandson and current president of the race team. “And I think we’ve been close-minded to stick with just stock-car throwbacks.
“So this was a fun one, and I think it celebrates all different disciplines of motorsports and branches out more international than we have done in the past.”
The Wood Brothers have won 101 Cup races, the latest coming Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as Josh Berry earned his first career Cup win.
“It’s a great way for us to give a little back and remind people of how we got here and give guys like the Wood Brothers the opportunity to tell these amazing stories,” Berry said.
“I’ve been getting [to hear] them one after another and I was lucky enough Sunday to add a little bit to that.”
As Berry talked about being excited about what he accomplished last week, the NASCAR Hall of Famer Leonard Wood talked about being excited about what he helped accomplish 60 years ago.
“I just remember we gained the most fame in the shortest amount of time we ever did,” Leonard Wood said. “I remember it just like yesterday. It was just so much fun to work with Jim Clark and hear the engine. The engine sounded so powerful and sounded so great.”
The 90-year-old Leonard Wood was known as one of the greatest mechanical minds in NASCAR history. He continues to build and tinker with parts and pieces even today.
“We wondered if the English crew was going to accept us. We didn’t know how they were going to but they made us feel immediately like we were a part of the team,” Wood said. “They were so proud of us being there.”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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