Apr. 1-Stuart,VA. Race fans lined up out the door of the Wood Brothers Racing Museum in Stuart for hours on end Friday night, seeking autographs and handshakes from the Wood Brothers Racing Team and Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne.

Fan pleasers 4,000 turn out to meet Woods, Bayne Reference: www.martinsvillebulletin.com George Tyson of Pennsylvania bought a rear panel from a Wood Brothers race car on eBay. On Friday, he took it to the Wood Brothers Museum in Stuart where it was autographed by Leonard Wood (center) while Glen Wood (right) signed his hat. See more coverage of the event and this weekend’s racing action sports. (Bulletin photo by Mike Wray) More Photos Sunday, April 3, 2011 By PAUL MONTANA - Bulletin Staff Writer Race fans lined up out the door of the Wood Brothers Racing Museum in Stuart for hours on end Friday night, seeking autographs and handshakes from the Wood Brothers Racing Team and Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne. The free event was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and last two hours, but 4,000 fans turned out — many more than anyone on the Wood Brothers Racing team expected — and the doors remained open until the last autograph was signed at midnight. “It ended up lasting hours longer than we thought,� Bayne said Saturday. “It’s awesome to see the hometown support here.� Seated at tables inside the museum were Bayne, his crew chief Donnie Wingo and eight members of the Wood family: Glen, Leonard, Ray Lee, Crystal, Kim, Eddie and Len. The members of the original Wood Brothers Racing team founded in 1950 are brothers Glen (driver), Leonard (crew chief), Ray Lee (tire changer) and Delano (jackman). Delano Wood was not present Friday. It was the first time the original team had been together in a race setting since 1965, Eddie Wood stated in an earlier news release. He added that the event was his generation’s way of recognizing family members, friends and fans who have stood by the team through the years. With Bayne at the wheel, Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team in NASCAR. Crystal Wood, Glen’s wife, sat with the brothers at one table. Kim and Eddie Wood, Glen’s children, and Bayne and Wingo sat at other tables. They all signed autographs for every fan who came to the event. “This is very rewarding,� Leonard Wood said Friday. “You’d hate to have an event that nobody would show up.� Judging from the lines of enthusiastic fans that stretched across the street from the museum for several hours, the session was a hit. Bayne, Wingo and the Woods had cards and pens ready for unprepared autograph seekers, but many fans had special requests. Some brought hats, and some purchased old pictures of the Wood brothers and their races. George Tyson of Pennsylvania went several steps further. He had bought a rear panel of a Wood Brothers race car on eBay and he brought it to the Stuart museum to have it autographed. Leonard Wood gladly obliged as Glen Wood signed Tyson’s hat. The fan and media craze after Bayne’s win at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20 has not died down. But Leonard Wood said he doesn’t mind. “That’s what you’re in this business for, to win,� said Wood, whose pit stop innovations gave the Wood Brothers a competitive edge in NASCAR for years. “If you get to where you don’t care, that winning don’t excite you, then you’re in the wrong business.� Bayne, who won at Daytona International Speedway the day after his 20th birthday, became the youngest driver to ever win there. It also was the fifth win at Daytona and 98th victory for the Wood Brothers in what now is known as the Sprint Cup Series, but it was their first checkered flag since 2001. The win was Bayne’s first trip to Victory Lane in any NASCAR series, and it made him an instant celebrity. He has appeared on “more shows than I can remember,� Bayne said, including Good Morning America, Lopez Tonight, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, American Idol and The Daily Habit. “It’s been wild,� Bayne said Friday. “But it’s just kind of going through the motions now. You kind of know pretty much what they expect. It’s fun.� “Trevor has handled it really well,� said Rocky Bayne, Trevor’s father, on Friday. “Outside of his appearances and stuff, he’s still the same kid. He still wants to do the same things — wakeboarding, shooting basketball. Whatever it is, he’s still the same kid.� Also at the Museum on Friday was Jack Roush, founder and co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing (RFN). Bayne drives for RFR in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series. Bayne will race in today’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500. He qualified 25th on speed. Source: Martinsville Bulletin Photo credits: Tom Bishop