No. 21 has impressive list of drivers fill its seat
Wood Brothers dominate the number's rich Cup history
June 12, 2009
Bill Elliott, in the No. 21 Ford, fielded by Wood Brothers Racing. That one line has it all: Legendary driver, legendary team -- and a legendary number.
The number has visited Victory Lane 90 times in Cup Series competition, a total shared among 17 drivers. No other car number has had so many different winners.
Arguably, no other car number has had so many great drivers behind the wheel.
David Pearson,
Cale Yarborough, Buddy Baker, A.J. Foyt, Tim Flock, Marvin Panch and
Curtis Turner all drove the 21. Pearson had the most victories in the ride, 43, that total coming in 157 starts, another high for the 21.
Elliott is the latest of the greatest to take over the No. 21, albeit in a limited role. Both Elliott and the Wood Brothers compete part-time these days.
In 1969, Yarborough was in the No. 21 and won the track's first Cup event. Pearson had eight MIS wins in the 21 during the 1970s. Dale Jarrett drove the 21 in '91 at MIS, capturing his very first Cup win. And then there's Elliott, with seven MIS wins in his storied career, although none came driving the 21.
The
Wood Brothers first fielded the No. 21 in 1953, with team founder Glen Wood in the seat.
"Somehow along the way we ended up with 21," said Glen's son Len, now a part-owner of the team. "The story goes that there was somebody from South Carolina who had 21 and it was really running fast, so we numbered our car 21 in hopes it would be fast as well.
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