The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/29/08
Rutledge Wood of Senoia is best known for being the "fun guy" on the Speed Channel broadcasts of NASCAR racing. His job is to take viewers behind the scenes to show the lighter side of the sport. The matters on the track and the technical aspects of the sport are off his beat.
But the truth is that Wood is as passionate about cars — or maybe more so — than any of his broadcast peers.
 Frank Niemeir / AJC | ||
| Speed Channel personality Rutledge Wood with his 300-horsepower sports car in Newnan. | ||
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By his count, in the 12 years he's been driving, he's had 36 cars, everything from fixer-upper clunkers to a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI that would be more at home in a rally race than a NASCAR contest. It's rare for him to have fewer than three or four vehicles at any one time.
Rutledge's father Bill Wood, a car enthusiast himself, said that from the time his son was old enough to ride a motor scooter he had a passion for things mechanical. And since Rutledge's grandfather was an International Harvester dealer and NAPA jobber in Moriarty, N.M., the automotive genes run deep.
"He learned early on how to change the points and do other repairs," said Bill Wood. "He's a very intuitive and self-taught mechanic, and he's able to accomplish a lot with relatively few tools."
Wood's passion for things automotive — and his knack for bringing some fun to NASCAR — have made an impression on veteran NASCAR driver Kyle Petty.
"A lot of people see Rutledge on television and think he is the court jester of NASCAR," Petty said. "He plays that role well, and it's really good for our sport to have someone like him ... but underneath the bright tennis shoes and spiked hair is a very knowledgeable car enthusiast. He is just as comfortable talking to someone about the three double-barrel carburetors on a 1975 Dodge Charger as he is talking to the fan in the infield of Talladega.
"Rutledge knows his stuff."
Wood said that before the Speed gig came about he was planning to open a shop specializing in high-performance automotive work. Instead, the "Rutspeed" name now is used for his TV ventures.
Many of the vehicles Wood has owned sort of fit his TV image. His longtime friends around Coweta and Fayette counties still talk about the pickup truck he bought and painted bright lime green.
"A friend of mine ordered a gallon of the ugliest paint he could find and ended up giving the paint to me," Wood said. "We painted that truck in a neighbor's garage. I drove it for a long time."
He and his father still chuckle about the 1973 Volkswagen bug he found in Marietta.
It made the trip home in the same manner as many of Rutledge's projects — strapped to his father's car carrier.
Then father and son set to work on the car, and once they were convinced it was ready to crank, Rutledge pushed while his father popped the clutch. Finally the car coughed to life.
"I felt bad about it in a way because the people gave me the car and we got it running the next day," Wood said.
Then there was the '94 Acura. "It has been stolen and stripped when I got it," he said. "I fixed it and painted it metallic chocolate."
It's a story that has been repeated often in the past few years, as often as Wood's finances allow.
"I have a car budget — at least in theory," he said. "I wouldn't say I've had the nicest cars, just a lot of them."
The Impreza is a different story though, and he said he wouldn't have it if a friend hadn't made him such a deal on it.
"My friend spent more on the DVD than I've spent on whole cars all my life," he said. But like his earlier purchases, he has added some of his own touches, including a three-inch exhaust.
What Wood has in mind for his next project will make him part of a growing segment of the car hobby.
"I like rat rods," he said of the vehicles whose owners prefer the finish on their cars to be a dull or even rusty.
On a recent visit to one of his favorite hang-outs — his friend Oliver Gentry's auto salvage yard in Newnan — he spied a 1985 Chevy station wagon that offered a lot of potential.
"This might be the beast we've been looking for," he said. "If I had this car, I'd paint the body flat black and the wheels red."
But, there are people who watch Speed broadcasts and just can't picture Wood roaming a salvage yard looking for his next automotive project.
"It gets missed altogether," he said. "Some people will attack me online and say they don't think I have enough car knowledge to be there ...
"My job is to help show that sports is supposed to be fun and entertaining, but the reason I'm there is because I love cars."