July 11, 2000
By Jimmy Robertson
A Virginia-born race car driver, a Virginia-based NASCAR racing team and a Virginia school. Sounds like the makings of a perfect marriage.
That was the thinking when Virginia Tech officials and the Wood Brothers Racing Team unveiled the No. 21 Citgo Ford car at a press conference on July 11th at the University Bookstore. The car, owned by the Wood Brothers, was complete with Virginia Tech logos, the Tech colors, and of course, the school's mascot, the HokieBird. The car will be driven by Elliott Sadler at the Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 on Sept. 9 at the Richmond International Speedway.
The arrangement was actually the brainstorm of officials at Roush Racing, owned by Jack Roush. Roush owns such cars at the No. 99 Exide Batteries car driven by Jeff Burton and the No. 6 Valvoline car driven by Mark Martin, but he and the Wood Brothers have agreed to a deal which will allow the Wood Brothers to use Roush engines and to do some testing for Roush.
The association with Tech, though, makes perfect sense for the Wood Brothers. Tech got the attention of the nation after completing its best football season ever, going 11-1 and losing in the national championship game to Florida State. Meanwhile, the Wood Brothers are based in nearby Stuart, Va. - an hour's drive from Blacksburg - and Sadler lives in Emporia, Va., which is an area filled with Tech alumni.
"We're honored to be associated with this," car owner Eddie Wood said. "People are going to find out what Virginia Tech's about and they're going to find out what Wood Brothers Racing is about.
"You know, there's a saying that 'Virginia is for lovers.' We want to change that to 'Virginia is for winners.'"
The Wood Brothers haven't done a lot of winning lately, at least not as much as they did during the glory years in the 70s and early 80s. But they did win The Winston all-star race in 1998 in Charlotte with Michael Waltrip as the driver and now with Sadler, they've got a young driver with a ton of potential. In fact, last year - Sadler's first with the team - he finished 24th in points after being in 38th place at the halfway point of the season. This season, he has endured struggles, but recently came in 16th place at the most recent race in Loudon, N.H.
Now with his association with Tech, Sadler has become a hometown hero.
"My phone's been ringing off the hook," Sadler said. "There's so many Tech alumni in that area and I've been a big Tech fan myself. We followed those games this past year, the Syracuse game, the West Virginia game and then we had a big get-together to watch the bowl game.
"Wood Brothers Racing and Tech is a great combination and I look forward to representing both well at Richmond."
Coincidentally, Sadler plans on taking the money he gets from the race - no matter where he finishes - and writing a check back to Virginia Tech to be put into the school's general scholarship fund.
"It's great to give something back," Sadler said. "It's always good to help young kids go to college."
