The No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team is headed home this weekend to compete in the Xfinity 500 at historic Martinsville Speedway.
The venerable half-mile oval, which hosted its first NASCAR Cup Series race in 1949, is the home track of the Wood Brothers, who are from nearby Stuart, Va.
The Woods, who made their Martinsville debut in 1953 with the late team founder Glenn Wood at the wheel of a Lincoln, will be making their 125th Cup start there this weekend.
Martinsville also is home turf for crew chief Jeremy Bullins, who is from Walnut Cove, a North Carolina town just south of the speedway.
Driver Harrison Burton is a North Carolina native but his parents are from South Boston, Va., which is about an hour’s drive east of Martinsville.
Bullins said there are few venues on the Cup circuit as near to his heart as Martinsville Speedway.
“To say I love racing at Martinsville is an understatement,” Bullins said. “I grew up near the track, just into North Carolina, so it’s my home track on the circuit, and my dad used to take me to races there when I was young.
“I look forward to it every time and can’t wait to be back there with the 21 car.”
Bullins said he’s encouraged about the team’s prospects this weekend, especially considering Burton’s past results at Martinsville. He won an Xfinity Series race there in the fall of 2020 and sat on the pole and finished seventh the following spring.
“Harrison has had some strong runs there and grew up with a lot of short track racing in his background,” Bullins said. “We have some new variables this week with Goodyear bringing a new tire since the spring race.
“Qualifying is going to be super important, so we will work hard to get a good starting spot and try to keep our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford up front all day.”
Practice at Martinsville is set for Saturday at 12:35 p.m. Eastern Time and will be followed by qualifying at 1:20. USA Network will carry the TV broadcast.
Sunday’s 500-lap race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 2 p.m., with TV coverage on NBC.
Stage breaks are planned for Laps 130 and 260.
WBR PR
