JON WOOD QUALIFIES AT TALLADEGA, RACES AT KANSAS

JON WOOD – No. 21 Little Debbie Snack Cakes Ford Fusion – “I’m going to stop by my motorhome and then to the airport. I’m taking my dad, my mom, my spotter – all of the necessary people that you need, and then I’m going to Kansas. Hopefully, in time to make it for the race. I feel pretty good about it. I did get a fairly early draw today. Every single car counts. That’s five minutes you have to wait per car, but getting to go out early is a huge plus for us. The first and foremost thing, obviously, was to qualify the car in and then Kansas. So far, we’ve been able to accomplish everything that we set out to do.” 

EDDIE WOOD – co-owner, No. 21 Little Debbie Snack Cakes Ford Fusion – “The plan is as soon as Jon makes his qualifying lap to hope over to the airport, which, fortunately, is right here behind the race track. We’ll get on the plane and then it’ll take about an hour-and-a-half. We’re going to fly into Kansas City downtown, which is 20 miles from the race track. Unless we run into some unforeseen factor, we should be just fine.”

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HAD TO TRAVEL LIKE THIS? “I used to leave wherever the Cup race was and then go to his Truck race or Busch race. He’s not really had to do this – I’m sure he has, but I just can’t recall it. To do this, you just have to make sure you’ve got all your stuff ready when you’re ready to go. You can’t, ‘Oh, I forgot this.’ You’ve got to plan it out and know exactly where you’re going to land, know exactly where you’re going, have your car ready, all of that stuff. We’re not doing the helicopter escort deal. We’ll have a car sitting there, waiting for us today. Michael Waltrip’s actually going with us because he’s working on TV with Speed Channel.”

ALL HE NEEDS TO DO IS SHOW UP? THE TRUCK IS READY FOR HIM? “Brandon Whitt practiced and qualified. He’s about the same size as Jon, and I think they had to move the steering wheel just a little bit. So, as far as that goes, it should be fine.” 

IS JON TRANSPORTING HIS HELMET OR ANY EQUIPMENT? “No, the helmet and everything else is already there. All he has to do is get there, get out of the car and get in the truck.”