Technical partnerships are a well-known aspect of NASCAR. Smaller teams often rely on larger teams for support, using their cars, technology, and expertise to remain competitive. This is true for Wood Brothers Racing and Team Penske. However, when the Wood Brothers only managed two top-five finishes over three years, not many people noticed the connection between the two teams. After all, Penske won the championship during all those seasons, while the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 car seemed to struggle.
The problem was that the No. 21 car was built and put together alongside the cars of Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney—cars that could lead laps and secure wins. So, why weren’t the Wood Brothers able to achieve victories? In August 2024, team president Jon Wood stated that there was “absolutely nothing” stopping them from winning. “There’s no reason we can’t perform as well as those other three cars.” It seems he was correct!
On Sunday, Josh Berry not only celebrated his first NASCAR Cup Series victory but also brought the Wood Brothers to victory lane at a 1.5-mile track for the first time since 1993. Interestingly, this marked their second top-five finish in just a few weeks after their driver finished in fourth place. With this recent success, it now seems fashionable to connect Penske and the Wood Brothers, a sentiment that Denny Hamlin has also shared.
Denny Hamlin shared his thoughts on the Actions Detrimental podcast, saying, “The Wood Brothers have the Charter, but I’m not sure their employees are happy. If you see them at the racetrack, they mostly seem to be Penske workers, people we recognize as part of Penske. We often blame the 21 car’s struggles on Penske’s development team, thinking they won’t perform well. We say things like, ‘They’re just getting people ready for their main cars’ or ‘They made a deal with the Wood Brothers to run that car from their shop and help them out.’ I’m sure there’s some financial agreement in place.”
Hamlin admitted, “But when things are going well, we quickly give credit to Penske, right? I’ve thought that way too, wondering how it’s possible that, even if it is just Penske’s development team—which I’m not sure about—they could be so off for so long. It makes you think about the worst Penske car on any weekend. Now it feels like this car is just like the others coming from that shop, matching the speed of the 2, 12, and 22 cars.”
Let’s take a trip back in time. Since 2015, the Wood Brothers and Penske have been working together. WBR owns the charter, but the car is built at Penske’s shop. Most of the team working on it is from Penske—Penske crew, Penske technicians, Penske everything. Drivers like Ryan Blaney have made good use of the No. 21, winning at Pocono in 2017 before he switched to Penske’s No. 12. Since then, it has been challenging.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought back memories when he talked about “The Viagra Car” from NASCAR’s past. Paul Menard, Matt DiBenedetto, and Harrison Burton all took turns driving it, but it rarely made a big impact. Although Burton won at Daytona last year, it was more about luck than speed. In many races, it couldn’t keep up with Penske’s top cars, leading some to think it was just a test vehicle for Penske’s real stars. Then came Josh Berry. He has performed well in the Xfinity Series under Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s guidance. Another idea is that Penske might have made some changes. They appointed Miles Stanley, a former Penske engineer who has helped win championships, as the crew chief. This is significant. Perhaps they are now giving the No. 21 more support, treating it like a genuine Penske car instead of just an experiment.
Denny Hamlin has noticed these changes. He remarked, “I saw it in practice in Phoenix. Wow, the #21 car is impressive.”
We’re still trying to figure out Josh Berry’s sudden improvement, and so is everyone else. When things are going poorly, people claim that Penske doesn’t care. But when things go well, we credit it all to Penske, which has caused some frustration. On Sunday, Jon Wood talked about this idea and said, “That’s a frustrating part. These are our guys doing this. We sat down together and discussed who our next driver would be for 2025. It’s Josh Berry. Those are choices we made as a group. It’s our race team, and it’s our decision.”
What do you think:
Is Josh Berry’s success just a lucky break, or has Penske finally given the Wood Brothers the real support they need?
Do you have an interesting opinion?
No matter what, we need to pay attention because this change is significant, and there are many questions to answer. Also, when Hamlin talks about WBR and Penske, it reminds us that he co-owns 23XI Racing, which made it to the championship 4 in 2024, thanks to the team he drives for, Joe Gibbs Racing. However, these partnerships can sometimes keep a team in the background, overshadowed by the stronger team they are linked to. Still, Hamlin’s own team has recently made some big moves in Vegas.
Denny Hamlin leaves Las Vegas with a lot of cash and maybe a new sponsor!
Denny Hamlin had quite an eventful weekend in Vegas, filled with thrilling highs and some tough lows. On Friday night, he decided to try his luck at the slots and hit a massive jackpot of $126,150. He jumped out of his seat, shouting with excitement, completely amazed. The next day, he continued his winning streak, bringing in another $85,825, which pushed his total winnings over $200,000. He even shared a picture on Instagram with a cheeky grin. But by Sunday, Hamlin’s mood took a sharp turn.
At the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he was driving his No. 11 Toyota aggressively until a speeding penalty in the pit area forced him to the back of the pack. That was a tough blow. He fought hard to recover but ended up finishing in 25th place. After all that luck at the casinos, you’d expect a better race result. Still, he remains in 12th place in the Cup standings, so he hasn’t fallen too far. However, off the track, this season has been rough for him, until recently when JGR showed a glimmer of hope.
FedEx, his sponsor for 19 years since 2005, decided to withdraw after supporting him for 13 races in 2024. Then Mavis Tires and Brakes, who came on board for eight races last year, also pulled out. That’s two significant losses. Hamlin has been open about his worries—at the 2025 Cook Out Clash, he mentioned, “Is it concerning for me? Maybe a little, but it’s probably more concerning for JGR.” You can hear the concern in his voice, and it’s hard not to sympathize with him. But there’s still some hope:
Joe Gibbs Racing might have some good news ahead. According to Adam Stern from Sports Business Journal, Progressive Insurance could become a main sponsor for 2025. While it’s not confirmed, JGR is a strong contender. Progressive hasn’t sponsored a car since Ryan Newman raced twice in 2020, so this could be significant. Additionally, JGR has secured National Debt Relief, King’s Hawaiian, and AMPM to join their returning sponsors, SportClips and Yahoo. Denny Hamlin has been racing in NASCAR for 21 years, and he’s still pushing forward. It seems that his time at JGR is far from over. What are your thoughts?
