Wood Brothers has decades in the business with championships and legendary drivers, plus its founders in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Yeah, it seems like a slap in the face for the organization not to be granted a berth in each and every Sprint Cup race of 2016.
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Truth is, NASCAR got it right. Or at least got it right under ground rules it established for the charter system.
Here’s the central issue: Woods Brothers hasn’t run a full-time car in Sprint Cup in a decade. And charters went to teams that presented themselves 36 times a season over the past three years.
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There’s a lot to the charter system that reeks of power, of the mighty deciding to give itself a sure thing, a fatter slice of the monetary pie. Isn’t that what America is all about these days?
There’s a statement in the accompanying video that says a lot about Wood Brothers as an organization and the sportsmanship of the people involved.
Pointing out the words of driver Ryan Blaney on Twitter, Len Wood said this:
Seniority counts for something. It should count for more than money can buy. Money and power and the accumulations of them — and the never-ending addiction they engender that feeds the beast called More — are far too dominant. But it’s NASCAR’s game, and the teams with the biggest stakes are calling the shots.
Look, Wood Brothers could have done what a number of back marker teams did. It could have trucked a car to every track during the past three seasons, made an attempt and earned a charter. It didn’t; no problem.
Now, Wood Brothers accepts its future, which includes a full-time team again with the driver with enormous potential. Blaney can succeed in the No. 21 car, making the field week after week, by being good. That’s a worthy challenge to accept. It would be foolish to bet against this driver and his team.
And that’s what you want.
