Jon Wood is making his way up the ladder from the Craftsman Truck Series into the Busch Series. The former driver of the #50 Roush Racing Ford truck will be joining Stacy Compton and Robert Pressley, driving Fords for the ST Motorsports team.
Jon is the grandson of NASCAR pioneer and legend Glen Wood and son of Cup team owner Eddie Wood, of the infamous Wood Brothers Racing team. The 23 year-old Wood has been driving a Truck for Roush Racing for four seasons, and is well deserving of the move up the ladder. It's kind of surprising that he isn't moving up the ladder within the Roush organization, but there are only so many available rides to be had and Jon was in Roush's #2 truck behind Carl Edwards.
Wood had two Truck Series victories last season, at Martinsville and Kansas, and finished the 2004 season 15th in the driver's point's standings. Although Wood's two top five finishes, and six top ten finishes out of 25 Truck Series events in 2004 weren't anything to write home to mother about, he hopes for a smooth transition leading to success in the Busch Series cars.
Kyle Busch set rookie records on the way to capturing the 2004 Busch Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award. He may have come up short in winning the championship, but second place isn't anything to scoff at in your first season. Here are the rookie records Kyle Busch set this season:
- Most pole positions
- Most races led (20)
- Most laps led (1,101)
- Most championship points (4,773)
- Highest point's finish (2nd)
He also tied Greg Biffle for two more rookie records:
- Most victories (5)
- Most top ten finishes (21)
Kyle had a rough time competing for the championship, and reprimanded himself throughout the season for falling short of his championship goal for Hendrick Motorsports, but all in all, he had the best Busch Series season ever for a rookie, so he's had to take consolation for that fact.
Hendrick Motorsports is very proud of his accomplishments, enough to promote him up to the Cup Series for the 2005 season! As a result, he'll be competing for the Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award, and will probably win it if he keeps up his aggressive and mature driving style. Yes, he's made rookie mistakes, but he's also had the foresight to hold back and drive like a veteran at times when most rookies would charge in recklessly and end their day wrecked against the wall.
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