Car Number Histories: No. 21

ATLANTA -- The association between the No. 21 and the Wood Brothers doesn't go all the way back to NASCAR's beginnings, but it's close.

The Woods have prepared cars bearing that numeral for over 40 years, ever since Glen Wood drove a No. 21 Lincoln at Raleigh in 1953. Since then, some of the greatest names in the sport have slid behind the steering wheel of the No. 21.

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In 1949, Bobby Greene and Lloyd Moore shared the numeral, with Moore finishing sixth at Pittsburgh.

The next season, both Tim Flock and Harold Kite put Lincolns in the winner's circle. Flock won at Charlotte while Kite triumphed on the beach course at Daytona.

Dick Rathmann's Hudson was third at Langhorne in 1951, while Jim Delaney drove a Ford six times that season, with a best of fifth at Morristown.

Speedy Thompson and Johnny Gouveia had one race each in the No. 21 in 1952, while Neil Roberts finished 15th in a Chrysler in the 1953 Southern 500.

Laird Bruner drove an Oldsmobile in 19 races the next season, finishing 14th in the final standings, thanks to a fifth-place finish at Sharon.

Bud Rackley made his lone NASCAR start in the 1956 Southern 500, finishing 63rd.

Wood returned to the No. 21 in 1956 -- for just one race at Martinsville. Gene Bergin drove a Dodge at Darlington, finishing 36th in the Labor Day classic.

In 1957, George Green was 17th at Shelby before Wood returned for four races, finishing sixth at Raleigh. He also drove the No. 712 and No. 112 that season. Jimmy Massey also posted a top-10 finish at North Wilkesboro for the Woods.

The Woods followed a unique strategy with few exceptions for nearly 30 years: multiple drivers and only selected races. The No. 21 didn't run the full NASCAR season until Kyle Petty drove 28 races in 1985.

Massey and Wood split driving duties with Curtis Turner in 1958, while Johnny Beauchamp, Larry Frank and Junior Johnson added their names to the roster in 1959.

That strategy began to pay off in victories, if not championships, starting in 1960 when Speedy Thompson won at Charlotte and Richmond and Wood added three more wins. They were two of eight drivers, including Fred Herb and Bob Welborn, who shared the ride for 15 races that season.

Banjo Matthews was added for one race in 1961, while Wood finished second twice at Winston-Salem that season in six starts.

In 1962, the Woods went exclusively with Marvin Panch who had five top-threes but no wins. So they went back to driver-by-committee the next season, putting Tommy Irwin, Fred Lorenzen, Tiny Lund, Dave MacDonald, Panch and Wood in the seat.

	Ricky Rudd drove the No. 21 in 2003. Credit: Autostock

Lund won the 1963 Daytona 500, while Panch visited Victory Lane at North Wilkesboro and Wood at Winston-Salem.

Road racer Dan Gurney began his association with the Woods in 1964. Driving a No. 121, Gurney won races at Riverside over three consecutive seasons. Open-wheel legend A.J. Foyt won the Firecracker 400 for the Woods in 1964, while Panch was victorious at Winston-Salem, Weaverville and North Wilkesboro.

Cale Yarborough added his name to the roster in 1966, running five races for the Woods, then becoming the team's primary driver for the next four seasons. Yarborough posted 13 wins, including the 1968 Daytona 500 and Southern 500.

That same season, Turner drove a No. 41 Wood Brothers car at Hickory, finishing second.

In 1967, Gurney handed the Riverside driving duties to Parnelli Jones, who drove the Wood Brothers No. 115 into the winner's circle. Earl Balmer also drove one race that season.

The next season, Gurney returned to Riverside and won for the fourth time while Yarborough picked up six victories in just 20 starts.

Swede Savage drove a No. 41 for the Woods in the 1969 Daytona 500, finishing 36th.

In 1971, Foyt ran four races for the Woods, winning the pole in each, finishing second in his Daytona qualifier, third in the Daytona 500 and winning at Ontario and Atlanta. Donnie Allison added five more poles in 11 starts, with a win at Talladega.

The next season, Foyt shared the ride with David Pearson, who came over from the No. 17. The two combined for eight wins and seven poles in 19 starts, with Foyt capturing the 1972 Daytona 500.

Pearson then became the team's primary driver for the rest of the decade, winning 43 races during that span. He won 11 of the 18 races he entered in 1973, including five straight and nine of 10.

Pearson followed that up with 11 poles and seven wins in 19 races in 1974, three more victories in 1975 and capped a 10-win season in 1976 with a thrilling last-turn crash with Richard Petty to win in the Daytona 500.

Pearson and the Woods went their separate ways midway through the 1979 season, with Neil Bonnett taking over for the next four years. He won nine times, including the 1981 Southern 500.

Buddy Baker moved into the ride for two years starting in 1983 and won the Firecracker 400 at Daytona that season. Open-wheel star Bobby Rahal drove the No. 21 once at Riverside.

In 1985, the Wood Brothers switched to No. 7 and put Kyle Petty in the car. David Pearson returned to the No. 21 for 14 races over a two- year span. In addition, Rick Wilson and Larry Pearson drove the No. 21

The Woods went back to the No. 21 with Petty at the wheel in 1987, and he responded with a win in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, one of 14 top-10 finishes that left him seventh in the final standings. Petty dropped to 13th in the points the next season and moved to the No. 42 for 1989

Bonnett returned to the ride, running 31 times over the next two seasons with 11 top-10s but was injured twice. Tommy Ellis ran three races for Bonnett in 1989. When Bonnett was severely injured at Darlington in 1990, Dale Jarrett took over for the rest of the season, then ran the entire series in 1991, winning at Michigan.

Morgan Shepherd's stint in the No. 21 started off with a runner-up finish in the 1992 Daytona 500 and 14th in the points. Shepherd improved to seventh the next season, including a victory at Atlanta.

Shepherd was winless in 1994, but 16 top-10 finishes moved him up to sixth in the final standings. He dropped to 13th in the points in 1995 and moved to the No. 75 while the Woods hired Michael Waltrip for 1996.

Waltrip posted solid top-20 finishes in the standings over the next three seasons, but only one top-five in 95 starts.

The Woods then selected Elliott Sadler as their driver in 1999. In his four seasons in the No. 21, Sadler posted four top-fives and 11 top-10s, including a victory at Bristol.

Ricky Rudd then slid into the driver's seat, starting in 2003. His best of four top-five finishes was a second at Loudon.