Racing fans have got it good. I could point out a number of facts that would support that statement, but the first that comes to my mind is the accessibility of the stars of our sport, the drivers. In sprint car racing that is especially true. After sitting in the stands and cheering our favorites toward Victory Lane, we are most often afforded the opportunity to dash into the pits post-race and shake the hands of the drivers who have just competed. The car haulers quickly become surrounded by fans looking for autographs and reporters looking for quotes.
After many such visits to post-race pit rows, I have found myself becoming more likely to deviate from the crowd and head not for the rigs of the Kinsers or Swindells, but instead toward those of the less famous and/or successful teams.
I find it possible in many instances to walk right into the midst of these drivers and their teams and talk one-on-one with them at length about the night's trials and tribulations. This has led to many valuable post-race war stories and opened my eyes on more than one occasion to an interesting personality. One of those personalities is Danny Wood.
Elder Rookie
I first met Wood at Cedar Lake Speedway in Wisconsin during his rookie season of 2000. There was a slight fascination with Wood because he was contending for the World of Outlaws Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year award at the age of 42. He was also driving a car that closely resembled a giant Pepsi can, although he received very little support from that company.
The 21w car ran the same paint scheme as that of the No. 24 Chevrolet that Jeff Gordon was running in the NASCAR Busch Series. And Wood was running well, heavily benefiting Pepsi on a nationally televised circuit. I wondered, as I approached his trailer to meet him for the first time, whether the idea of giving so much and receiving so little in return would be grating on him just as the cost of following the entire World of Outlaws trail must be grating on his wallet.
My questions were answered immediately as the elder rookie came into view. He was signing an autograph on the ramp of his trailer and smiling like he had just won the race. He hadn't even finished in the Top 10, but you would never have known it. He smiled happily as we shook hands. We talked about the race, and I was amazed to see that he seemed to smile even more broadly as he described the way the track had tricked him that night.
"I completely missed the setup," he beamed. He stared at the ground as I asked him about the fact that he had taken a strong lead in the running for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year award. "The guy I was running neck-and-neck with had to leave the series," he explained.
I have grown accustomed to drivers, and athletes in general, quickly redirecting praise so that any idea about them having an overgrown ego may be quickly dissolved. But Wood didn't seem to be redirecting anything. He was just telling the truth. He was out on the World of Outlaws circuit having the time of his life.
He had relished the "battle" for the rookie of the year award and was saddened by the fact that the battle was over. He was working hard and losing battles to his competitors, and to the tracks themselves, on a nightly basis; but he was having a great time, and winning a few battles in the process.
I enjoyed our talk so much that I realized hours later while driving home from the track that I hadn't even broached the subject of his sponsorship, or lack thereof, from Pepsi. It was a question, I reasoned, that I hadn't needed to ask. There was obviously very little bothering Danny Wood. He was enjoying himself immensely.