Posted on February 11, 2008

Elliott and the Woods, not a match made in Heaven

by Ben Gunby About The Author	Email   Print

Sad doesn't even begin to describe the marriage between Bill Elliott and the Wood Brothers. Well, perhaps it does begin to describe it, but that's it, it only begins the depressing description of the combination of these two Ford legends.

There comes a time when you just need to hang it up, and the time has come for both. Unfortunately neither seems ready to do that just yet, but even more unfortunate is that they've pinned their hopes of resurgence on each other. Two fading stars don't equal a new bright star. I'm a lifelong Bill Elliott fan; my passionate following of Bill Elliott surpasses that of the passion in which I follow all of my other favorite sports teams. That perhaps contributes to why it is so painful to watch him limp around these racetracks with no hope of contending. It's not like I can just ignore him though, he's my favorite driver, ever, period. So if he's on the track, I'm going to subject myself to the anguish of watching him struggle. It's something I can't turn away from, as is probably the case with most of Elliott's fans.

In addition to the Elliott fans, NASCAR fans in general don't want to have to watch one of the sports true legends see his legacy diminished with each and every poor performance on the racetrack. While the older NASCAR fans can still remember and appreciate Elliott for all he did accomplish, the same cannot be said of the newer fans. These newer fans now only attribute the name Elliott to someone who runs around in the back of the field, if they even make the race. That's no way for one of the sports greatest drivers ever to be known. It's no way for the sports most popular driver to leave the sport he helped carry to the limelight. Beyond just being an Elliott fan, I, as most NASCAR fans, am a fan of the Wood Brothers. How can you not? They've had one legendary name after another written above the door on their racecars through their history. They've won races, lots of races, and lots of big races. Yet here they are, barely even making races and being nothing but an afterthought when they do. As the case with Elliott, the new fans that see the Wood Brothers don't think of them as a legendary race team. They don't see the 21 and equate it with great success. They see the 21 and hear the name Wood Brothers and think of one of the worst, least productive race teams in the entire garage area. That just doesn't seem right.

All NASCAR fans that have been around the sport more than just a handful of years hate seeing what's become of the Wood Brothers. Junior Johnson wisely left the sport before he became too much of an afterthought. After a couple of down years, Johnson realized his time had come; the sport was passing him by.

So instead of limping around uncompetitive, Johnson left the sport. Bud Moore followed a similar pattern, as has Robert Yates (though the Yates name still lives on through his son). These teams struggled for a couple of years, saw the writing on the wall, and got the heck out of dodge. The Woods unfortunately did not follow suit. They haven't won a race since 1993, and there is no sign that that will change anytime soon. I'd love nothing more than for the marriage between two of the sports most famous names to warrant one last glorious ride into the sunset.

However, it's not going to happen. What has happened is painful for NASCAR fans to have to endure. Both are done, and before embarrassing themselves any further, they need to just walk away. While they haven't yet officially failed to qualify for next Sunday's race, the odds of them making the Daytona 500 are about the same as the odds of the Miami Heat winning the NBA title this year. Maybe the failure to qualify for this race might be the push they need to realize it's time to walk away, for good.

You can contact Ben at bengunby@speedwaymedia.com

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