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Memorable drivers of the No. 21 through the years
By Zack Albert | Published: 10 Sep, 2019 23
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Matt DiBenedetto will drive the iconic Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford next year. The list of drivers who have piloted this car is long, one full of NASCAR Hall of Famers and larger-than-life figures. Read on to see the company DiBenedetto will join.
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Even in the earliest days of Glen Wood's driving career in NASCAR's Modified Division, the number 21 has been near synonymous with the team's success.
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Wood kicks up sand during the 1957 race for the former NASCAR Convertible Division on the old beach-road course at Daytona International Speedway.
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Jimmy Massey wheels the No. 21 to the high side of Buck Baker (87) with Dick Joslin in pursuit during a qualifying race at Daytona in 1960.
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Tiny Lund (left) and Wood stand alongside the No. 21 Ford Galaxie that Lund drove to victory in the 1963 Daytona 500. Lund substituted for the injured Marvin Panch, scoring the first of five premier series wins in his career.
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Panch was back for the 1964 season in this No. 21 Ford entry. Eight of his 17 victories carried the No. 21.
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Cale Yarborough poses with the 1969 Mercury Cyclone out of the Wood Brothers' stables before the Firecracker 400 at Daytona. Yarborough scored 13 of his 83 career wins driving the No. 21.
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Donnie Allison crouches near his Wood Brothers Mercury at Rockingham in 1971. Allison won 10 times in NASCAR's top division, but just once in the No. 21.
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Occasional NASCAR entrant A.J. Foyt wheeled this No. 21 Mercury to victory in the 1972 Daytona 500. Of Foyt's seven NASCAR wins, four came driving the Wood Brothers' No. 21.
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David Pearson with the Purolator Mercury he would drive to victory in the 1976 Daytona 500. Pearson won 105 times in NASCAR's premier series, notching 43 of those during his tenure with the Wood Brothers.
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Neil Bonnett and his winning Wood Brothers team at the 1981 pit crew competition in Rockingham, North Carolina. Bonnett won nine times for the Wood Brothers from 1979-82.
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Buddy Baker's No. 21 Ford Thunderbird battles with Dale Earnhardt's No. 3 during the 1984 Talladega 500. Baker spent two seasons with the Wood Brothers (1983-84), scoring his lone win in the No. 21 at Daytona in July 1983.
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Kyle Petty charges the No. 21 Ford inside of Lake Speed's No. 83 Oldsmobile in the 1988 season. Petty scored two of his eight career wins with the Wood Brothers -- his first in a car carrying No. 7, the other in the famed No. 21.
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Dale Jarrett piloted the No. 21 Thunderbird for the Wood Brothers from 1990-91. His first Cup Series win came with the legendary team at Michigan International Speedway.
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Morgan Shepherd made his final ride for the Wood Brothers at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the 1995 finale. His car carried dual sponsorship, with the James Bond film "Goldeneye" on board.
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Michael Waltrip drove for the Wood Brothers from 1996-98. Here he campaigns the new Taurus model, introduced for the 1998 NASCAR season.
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The Taurus received some front-end tweaks during its run in NASCAR, and Elliott Sadler puts the new-look car through its paces in the 2000 season. Sadler has three victories in NASCAR's top series, his first coming with the Wood Brothers in 2001.
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Ricky Rudd drove for several legendary car owners during his career, and that list includes the Wood Brothers from 2003-05.
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The U.S. Air Force joined the Wood Brothers' sponsorship lineup in the 2000s, with a new look for the Ken Schrader entry in 2006. That year also marked the debut of the Ford Fusion, which continues as the automaker's model for NASCAR to this day.
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Bill Elliott competed part time for the Wood Brothers in the twilight of his career. Here, he makes a pit stop at Michigan in 2010, when he made 12 starts in the team's No. 21.
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Trevor Bayne's No. 21 Ford Fusion heads through the garage at Daytona ahead of the 2011 season opener. The Daytona 500 that year marked a breakthrough for Bayne, who was with the No. 21 team until the 2014 season.
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Ford's new Generation-6 Fusion proved to be a capable entry in NASCAR, and Ryan Blaney was a master in scoring his first victory on June 11, 2017, at Pocono Raceway. Blaney joined the team in 2015, and the Wood Brothers returned to a full-time schedule the next year.
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In his second season with Wood Brothers Racing, Paul Menard currently pilots the famed No. 21 after moving from Richard Childress Racing in 2018. He will retire from full-time competition after the 2019 season.