Midstate Vintage Stock Car Club

Gordie Wood is a Lifetime Member of the MVSCC.
Gordie has been a valuable source of cheap entertainment for club members.
He has raced for many years in the central NY area and his reputation preceeds
him. One of his cars can be found in the Weedsport DIRT Museum as he was
inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Gordie is NEVER found without his best friend (and the Club's) Stormy.
His nephew, Joey Edgbert also races with the club.
Click here to seeGordie's nephew - Joey Edgbert 11W

More driver/owner information below.

Stormy - the loyal Club Mascot

Car	Engine	Favorite Track	Hobbies	Sponsors	Crew Members
1936 Plymouth Coupe	250 Chevy	Syracuse	Camping and Racing	Arby's of Weedsport,Performance Auto, Bibbons Polaris and Updykes Auto.	Joey and Marsha Edgbert(mom) and Kaylee Murray

More about Gordie Wood

This week's article was written by Michael Sweet and Shirley Morden - Not enough can be said about the driver of the 1936 Plymouth coupe modified #96, Gordon Henry Wood (Woody). Born January 26th, 1936 in Rome, NY, he came from a family of racers. His father Charles raced in the 20's at Rome, and his mother Thelma, actually raced a '47 Kaiser in the powder puff races at Weedsport. Gordie started his racing career in 1957 at Cayuga County Fairgrounds in Weedsport, where he was awarded 'Most Improved Driver', as well as, voted 'Most Popular Driver'. Not a bad way for this Hall of Famer to begin his illustrious career, where by the way, Glenn Donnelly requested Gordie's 1936 Modified stock car be placed in the DIRT Museum and Hall of Fame. In 1957 and 1958 Gordie expanded his travel to Waterloo, which was a 5/8th mile horse track. He held the track record there at 26 seconds, then added another track record at Lancaster in 1960 as well. He had been hit by the racing bug heavy, as he could also be found racing at Brewerton, Fulton, Canandaigua, Lafayette and the Moody mile. Gordie Wood represented what stock car racing was all about during that era. He would build his own car, flat tow it from his garage to each track, all across the state of NY, race the car, fix the car and flat tow it back home. In 1963 Wayne Pettifer hired Gordie to drive the #100. Although Gordie ran a flathead engine, he was able to hold his own when he ventured off to run Middletown, NY where overhead cam motors were the hotter setup. In the early sixties, Gordie recalls running Middletown , starting last and finishing 6th in a flathead. In 1966 he left the 100 car and returned to his own car, the infamous red and white number 96. No matter what size track he raced on, he could set the car up to run in the top five except, for the Moody mile where he was only teased with top 10 finishes. There were some very scary moments along the way, one of which can be seen at the www.o-graham.com website. In 1966, The Fulton 200 was a 100 lap race. Gordie wanted to make sure he had enough fuel to finish the race and like most other racers back then, he used a 55 gallon drum filled with gas in the back of his car. During the race, Gordie was involved in a fiery crash with Lee Osborne and Bob Sweeney. That crash ended with Gordie rolling violently. That nasty 'V-flip', as they say, ended Gordie's short, but award filled, nine year racing career. Thankfully, he survived, but had several surgeries on his neck and was told he could never race again. Cars were not built in those days as safe as they are now. Gordie's accident would have turned out differently had tech. inspections been done back then and if more safety rules were in place. Today, safety rules have evolved greatly. Remember the next time you grunt and groan while doing up your neck brace or curse the minor task of doing up your belts tightly, accidents like this are exactly why these rules are in place. With racing still on his mind, he returned after a 30 year hiatus, joining the Midstate Vintage Stock Car Club. Of course, having to walk by all of his trophies, awards and pictures that grace his livingroom everyday helped! His nephew Joey Edgbert and niece Kaylee Murray were his pit crew. Joey has since got a ride (but is toying with the idea of becoming his pit crew once again), so Gordie's sister Marsha, Shirley and Ken Morden are his pit crew. Along with his strong family ties, the friends he has met and the fun he has had with the MVSCC say it all for Gordie. He enjoys racing once again. He recalls one special race at Spencer Speedway in the late 90's when he raced side by side with his good friend, the late Doc Erin Smith. Lap after lap they duked it out, with Gordie ending up the victor. Let me tell you, the fans were on their feet for the finish. Quite an accomplishment as Doc, 10 year his junior, was on top of his game at every track. It also showed that Gordie still has 'it'! Gordie was awarded Lifetime Member status in 2002 by the MVSCC, partly because of his racing, but mostly because Gordie Wood has been a source of entertainment and fun . One story, members recall, happened at Canandaigua. A gentleman stopped by to see the #96 car as it reminded him of a car he had watched when he was a child. He stopped to ask if he was indeed Gordie Wood. He nodded yes and at that, the man began to tell him that he remembered vividly that night in the late 50's, that he was taken for a kiddie ride in the #96. Of course implying age and knowing Gordie's sense of humor, he retorted "Get the hell away from me!" Anyone who knows Gordie 'the Dude' Wood knows that he is always joking, often in a serious manner. Another member favorite was when he was told about Viagra by his doctor; he decided to see if it would keep his tires from going flat!!! You will never leave the track with out laughing hysterically when the Dude is around. Make sure when attending one of our shows to stop by and say hello to this true racer, but watch out, you just never know when he is being serious!