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Wood Brothers Back On Track

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 7, 2009

Updated: 03/07/2009 12:45 am

New Names Hit Trucks Top 10

Two races into the season, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings include a couple of unfamiliar names among the top five drivers.

Timothy Peters and T.J. Bell are off to a surprisingly strong start.

"Being in the top-10 in points with those veterans means everything in the world to me, especially with our budget and where our shop is," said Peters, a 28-year-old driver who is fourth in the points.

His team has two full-time employees - himself and his crew chief - and is run out of a friend's home garage.

"It speaks volumes for us and I'm just proud we've accomplished a lot with less than a lot of other guys," Peters added.

"I'd like to think we can continue our performance and top-10s and maybe those will turn into a top-five or a win," Peters said. "We made a big splash and we want to continue that momentum, but our main goal is finding that almighty dollar to keep us going all year long."

Bell, tied for fifth with three-time series champion Ron Hornaday Jr., is just as excited about his start - and also worrying about finding more money.

The Wood Brothers team ends its two-week hiatus with Bill Elliott attempting to qualify the team's famed No. 21 Ford for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The pioneer NASCAR team has chosen to run only a partial schedule this season.

After Elliott finished 23rd in the season-opening Daytona 500, the team skipped the races at California and Las Vegas, getting ready for Atlanta, where the Woods have a record 12 wins - the last with Morgan Shepherd in 1993.

After failing to make the Daytona race a year ago, team co-owner Eddie Wood said running it this year was good for the team but yielded mixed results, especially since it was shortened by rain.

"We didn't need it to rain," Wood said. "The way our car was and the way our pit strategy worked out, we needed about 15 or 20 more laps, at least.

"All the work that went into that paid off. The same amount of effort has gone into Atlanta, and will go into every race we run."

Brawn To Take Ownership

Honda reached an agreement to pass the ownership of its Formula One team to Ross Brawn.

The former Honda team principal assumed control of Brawn GP immediately, and confirmed Jenson Button and Rubens Barichello as its drivers for 2009.

Honda will take part in preseason tests in Spain at Barcelona and Jerez before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 29, where the grid will feature 20 cars.

The new F1 team also confirmed that it would be using McLaren Mercedes engines after securing a partnership.

Financial details of the buyout were not revealed.

Tribune wires

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