When Jon Wood was named team president of Wood Brothers Racing in April, it might not have seemed like a major surprise to outsiders. After all, the 42-year-old was part of the racing family’s third-generation trio (Jon, his sister, Jordan Hicks, and his cousin, Keven Wood) and a man with 208 NASCAR national series starts (including two Truck Series victories) to his name.
To outsiders, Jon Wood’s appointment as team president of Wood Brothers Racing in April may not have come as a huge surprise. Ultimately, the 42-year-old belonged to the third generation of the racing family, which also included his sister Jordan Hicks and relative Keven Wood. He has 208 NASCAR national series appearances under his belt, including two Truck Series victories.
Jon was surprised by the choice, though. As the team’s second generation of owners, Eddie and Len Wood, had long since succeeded NASCAR Hall of Famers Leonard and Glen Wood in leading the team, Jon had long been a quiet member of the six-person ownership group, doing much of his work behind the scenes. He is leading the company in a more prominent role now that his father and uncle are still involved.
This interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
I’m sure you probably thought at some point you’d be in this position you’re in now, and…
Nope.
Oh, OK. I guess I shouldn’t assume then.
Our race team’s survival and one of its structural flaws stem from the fact that it is centered on my uncle Len and my father Eddie. Only they are involved. My concern has always been how I would handle the relationship aspect if something were to happen to them. I am capable of managing a race team and other aspects of racing. However, the aspect of our relationship that sustains us and is valued by others is primarily centered around my dad and Len.
It was shocking, the promotion. I had always wanted my father to simply remark that my sister, cousin Keven, and I do a lot of work in public. Say something like, “All right, they are now a part of the ownership structure and they are doing what we do,” in a news release. “Well, just give me time,” he replies. I will manage to make it work. This is what he had in mind, though I was not fully aware of it at the time.
“All right, I talked to Len about it, and we are going to redo everything and name you as president,” he says in February or March of that year. “Say that one more time?” I ask. I so received more than I had anticipated, but it came slowly and caught me off guard.
It wasn’t something where I just said, “Give me a title so I can prance around.” I just wanted people to know I’m not just a social media/PR person and when I go somewhere with you guys, we’re the owners. But it just never really happened. And then all of a sudden, it happened times 10.
I’m trying to put myself in your shoes. You get this title, and you want to make it your own, but they’re still around. You don’t want to disrupt things too much, but you also want to start shaping it in the way you need to go forward. How do you start balancing those things? Change is hard, but change is also necessary.
It is working what they are doing to keep our team alive. Though we are six months away from celebrating our 75th anniversary, I do not want to change anything; instead, I want to support our growth. Not even close to that is anyone. You have to have done something well at some point to have made it that far. Not only are you fortunate. Everything they attempt is successful.
I have made an effort to imitate and duplicate it, but it is just the way the two of them interact. I understand how to manage things, but I have no idea how to win others around to your point of view. I could grasp it better and be able to accomplish it if I could describe it.
So if they’re still doing a lot of what they were doing before and gradually giving you more duties, how do you decide when it’s the right time to take on those responsibilities?
It is more about when they extend an invitation for me to participate in those decision-making processes. Six months later, they are still the same individuals, right? We have all worked together to manage this race team for the past five or ten years; we are just now catching up on renaming and acknowledging it.
For a moment, let us go back to the days of Richard Petty Motorsports as a race team. You would assume Richard was the team’s manager if you did not know any different, right? But if you looked closely enough, you would discover that he was serving as an ambassador. Other people were in charge of other things. With us, it is been similar, but in the opposite order. I was there doing things as well, but Eddie and Len were renowned for running things, and they still did.
You just went through the driver change process, signing Josh Berry to replace Harrison Burton for next season. How much of that decision was theirs, how much was yours, and how much was Team Penske (the Woods’ technical alliance partner)?
Many people are unclear about the nature of our partnership with Team Penske. It seems that some individuals still believe that Roger owns our charter, or at least a portion of it—something I was unaware of until about a month ago. That is wholly our property. We are six people and we are all related. That thing is wholly owned by us, no conditions attached.
It is well known that Penske is active in the competition. However, if people perceive them that way, it is because we needed sponsorship to cover half of our season, and we were fortunate to have partners who had drivers available to cover that for us. This is why it has appeared as though they have handled things for us. However, that was not because Penske oversaw it.
similar to Paul Menard. Paul desired to leave Richard Childress Racing and attempt something new, but Penske did not have a team available. Yes, we did. Thus, Paul’s assistance and Menards’ sponsorship were beneficial to us. Sometimes it appears as though Penske has simply given us a driver, but that was not the case.
Since the Josh Berry arrangement is not about money, we were fully involved in the driver hunt from the beginning to the end. When Chase Briscoe spoke at the Joe Gibbs Racing press conference and said that they were the only team that had not asked him to bring money, there was some misinformation. That is untrue. I am not sure if he dreamed something or simply forgot. This is not a criticism of me; perhaps he simply assumed that we did.
However, we just recruited a guy who had none as evidence. There is none up front, but he might bring some later. Why did we do this, then, if we were in need of money and acting desperate?
Why are you in a position now where you don’t need to ask drivers for money, but you needed drivers with at least some sponsorship before?
It is an excellent question, and I am not really sure how to respond to it. We are expected to receive more funding as part of the ongoing charter renewal process. I will not claim that will account for the whole disparity. Although we have not talked about it yet, it will probably resolve itself.
Crew chief Rodney Childers had publicly said he wanted to remain as a pair with Josh Berry, but you signed Berry and Rodney went to Spire Motorsports. His comments indicated you weren’t in a position to make a crew chief hire for Berry yet, and he took the sure thing. Are there any regrets on that, or was it just not going to happen?
Team Penske employs some very, really, really wonderful folks. Furthermore, Josh has every reason to be just as good as the 12, 2, and 22 (the Team Penske cars) if we look within for a crew chief. There is not any at all. He is free to take it.
The fact that the driver is usually the focus of these announcements is a little puzzling. Such as “Wow, you really chose that driver” or “Well done, you really chose that driver.” On the other hand, this time, the response was, “Okay, you did what we expected you to do, but why did not you hire Rodney?” The day we made the announcement, Rodney’s name was trending (on X), but Josh’s name wasn’t, in my opinion.
So it was like, “Why is there so much interest suddenly in a crew chief when there are good people to pull from who will be in that spot?” Rodney is super talented; I’m not taking away from his abilities. It’s just puzzling that it was only about that without giving somebody else an opportunity. Like, give him half a season in ’25, and if we suck, then say, “OK, should have had Rodney.” But just wait and see what happens first.
So, just to reiterate, do you feel like you have all the resources you need to run as well as the other Team Penske cars? There’s nothing holding you back that you don’t have?
There is nothing at all. It would be excellent if we could display what we spend on pit crew and motors through our books. Therefore, there is no reason why we can not outperform the other three cars.
I feel like I am being a little unfaithful to Harrison when I remark that we should be doing better. Perhaps we are to blame today. I am not sure. That will not be known until we implement this modification and observe the results. Harrison could leave the house, get into a different automobile, and beat us every week. And yes, we acknowledge that it was our fault if he does. But as of today, we are unsure. No research has been done on that variable.
So maybe next year we will be better. However, I also hope that starting this weekend, we will get better and that something clicks.
You’ve been in these meetings with the charter negotiations and the team owner council and you’ve seen how this all works. From an ownership perspective, are you comfortable regarding how negotiations with NASCAR are going? Are you going to be happy with whatever agreement ends up being hammered out?
Even with the best deals that are hammered out, everyone is left feeling a little irritated. However, everyone leaves with the impression that they have enough to be content with. It seems likely that we will reach that stage. While some people do, there are also those who don’t.
Ultimately, the well-being of the teams impacts the timely delivery of the product. I am sure Jim (France) is astute enough to realize that more healthy teams could result in more than 16 winners, as was the case in the inaugural Next Gen season. That is excellent. Why then would he not desire that? When all is said and done, he will want us to be in an environment that allows us to flourish.
While we do not have to acquire yachts, aircraft, and other luxury items overnight, we do need to be in a position where we can live a little bit more sustainably. And in the end, I believe it will succeed. It has taken an extremely long period. However, with fifteen distinct owners and thirty-six distinct charters, each demands something unique. NASCAR is looking for something unique. It is difficult to arrive there fast.
What is your vision for Wood Brothers Racing? Obviously, you want to continue what your family has started, but what touches do you want to have where people will say, “Oh, that’s Jon’s fingerprints on this” in the future?
It’s funny how the little things that get said leave the most lasting impact. We were at a meeting (last month) and (Legacy Motor Club CEO) Cal Wells, just in conversation, says, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying. And I think we all know that.” It kind of struck me: OK, if we just keep floating along and just doing the same things, we’re not growing. And if not growing means dying, we need to be doing something to be growing.
That has remained with me. I now see things from a different angle, which is that you should always keep that in mind while making decisions, even if it means taking more risks or spending more money. Whatever it is, we must continue to develop.
Although Cal had not intended for it to be that way, it was really insightful. He spoke as though it were common knowledge. However, I say, “Okay. We are not larger, nor are we worse. Therefore, we must consider that.
Top photo: AP Photo/Terry Renna
