(Photos by Joe Grippo) – The Wood Brothers team is one on that even the most casual NASCAR fans (like us) know and respect. From their success on the track with drivers like David Pearson to their pioneering approach to how pit stops should be run, and innovations in racing technology, the Wood Brothers are a huge part of making NASCAR the biggest racing series in American today. As a dedicated Ford team, it is no surprise that Joe Grippo took the opportunity to visit the Wood Brothers museum on his recent trip down to Charlotte.

Like the Petty Museum, there’s wall to wall parts, engines, history, and race cars. The one thing we comfort ourselves in with places like this is the fact that it shows that hot rodders and racers in general are all pack rats…just like us. Now, let’s be honest. The Wood Brothers stuff is historically significant and our junk is…junk but we’re at least on the same wavelength. Looking through this gallery that Joe shot is like taking a trip back in time to the days of pit boards, bloody knuckles, and hand signals between drivers and crews. There were not computers, no radios, and tuning changes were made with shorts bursts every time a car came in.

Taking nothing away from the awesome NASCAR teams of today (and the Wood Brothers are still out there) but the old days are fascinating because it was much more of a black art than a science like the sport has evolved into. In that era, the Wood Brothers were at the top of their game and most everyone else was playing second fiddle.

HIT THE LINK BELOW TO SEE JOE’S PHOTOS FROM THE WOOD BROTHERS MUSEUM –