NASCAR: Wood Brothers Racing receive charter for 2018 season

By Brandon Butler | Jan 15, 2018

MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 10: Ryan Blaney drives the #21 Wood Brothers Ford during testing for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

With their partnership with Go Fas Racing, Wood Brothers Racing have received a charter to be able to compete this upcoming NASCAR season and beyond.

As part of their renewed partnership with Go Fas Racing, Wood Brothers Racing have received a charter to compete in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season.

After having moderate success with Ryan Blaney in the #21 Ford during 2017, which included their #99th victory in team history at the June race at Pocono, Wood Brothers Racing are shaping up to have even more success with Paul Menard in 2018.

Questions were raised about the team’s future after the season ended due to them not having a guaranteed charter going into 2018. They leased their 2017 charter from Go Fas Racing. However, thanks to their partnership with Archie St. Hilaire, the owner of Go Fas Racing, those days of financial and structural instability appear to be behind them.

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Today, the team announced a continued partnership with St. Hilaire that allows the veteran Menard to compete in the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series season and beyond by controlling their charter.

The team have been known to have stability issues that keep them running with minimal sponsorship through the years, even as they won the 2011 Daytona 500 with Trevor Bayne. Ford and Motorcraft have been the catalysts keeping the team alive, but Ryan Blaney would be the driver to get the team back on track. Since Blaney’s arrival, they have had a technical alliance with Team Penske that continues into the 2018 season.

To see Wood Brothers Racing having success in NASCAR’s top series is not only a good thing, but it is quite refreshing to see. When you see the oldest team in NASCAR competing like you saw back in the 1970s and mid-80s, it’s exciting and again, refreshing.

Paul Menard was announced as the new driver for the #21 Ford after announcing his exit from Richard Childress Racing after the 2017 season. Team Penske announced a deal that involved the partnership of sponsor Menards where Ryan Blaney would move from the #21 to Team Penske’s newly announced third team, the #12 Ford with Menards sponsorship. In exchange, Team Penske would continue their partnership with the #21 and see Menard take over the seat.

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After having a year which they had up and down success, Leonard and Glenn Wood now have the stability and backing they have been needing for a very long time. Their success plus the technical alliance they share with Team Penske will ultimately make them a team to watch this coming season.