Wood Motorsports PR- (July 20, 2010)
Bloomington, Indiana
Winston Wood made his official debut in the Sunoco National Tour at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin on Saturday. The Bloomington, Indiana native competed in the Sunoco National Tour race at O’Reilly Raceway Park in June, but rain forced the event to be halted before halfway, which did not make the race official. The Salem Speedway street stock veteran hoped to debut his Wood Motorsports Ford Mustang at Salem Speedway earlier this month, but the race was cancelled and rescheduled for the Milwaukee Mile on July 17th.
With a great deal of experience around the high banks of Salem, Winston Wood was thrown a bit of a curve ball by the flat, sweeping corners at Milwaukee. This proved evident on Friday during practice when Wood tagged the wall with his Ford Mustang. This cost the youngster precious track time, but fortunately the crew was able to work feverishly through the night on the car so the 19 year old could race on Saturday.
Wood practiced and qualified his car in the morning hours on Saturday, and opted to drop to the rear of the field to start the race. Wood time trialed in fifth fastest, but chose to drop back allowing some of the more experienced drivers to start ahead of him so he could feel out his machine under race conditions. The early laps saw Wood running a solid race pace, gaining experience and clicking off laps at the legendary one mile oval.
The first caution flag of the day on lap 30 saw several competitors bring their machines to pit road, but the Wood Motorsports crew chose to keep Winston out on the speedway to gain track position. This move put the Bloomington, Indiana driver into the top five. Wood’s machine began to feel more comfortable on the race track after the restart. The handling of the car and the confidence Wood exuberated were both evident as the Salem Speedway veteran battled side by side with his fellow competitors inside the top five. Wood spent the middle part of the race biding his time, gaining valuable experience on the track.
The final restart of the day came with 23 laps remaining, and Wood restarted in the fourth position. He entered turn one a bit too high as he tried to drive around the third place car and brushed the right rear quarter panel of his Ford Mustang against the outside wall and fell back outside of the top five. The momentum lost cost Wood an entire straightaway to the race leaders. It appeared that chances at a top five finish may have been lost after the contact with the wall.
However, in the waning laps of the event, the youngster kept his focus and tracked down the top five competitors without the aid of a yellow flag. Wood raced hard to find himself in the fourth position, right behind third place finisher, Brent Downey, at the checkered flag. The drive and focus that Wood showed in the final 23 laps are an exciting glimpse into the future as to how successful the Bloomington, Indiana driver can be in the Sunoco National Tour with the proper sponsorship backing behind him.
“This Milwaukee Mile is unlike anything I have ever seen before,” said an excited Wood after the race. “I am really used to high bank half miles and short tracks, so it took me a little time to get used to this place. Once I started dialing in and hitting my marks, we started getting a lot of speed going. To finish fourth here at the Milwaukee Mile just feels great!”
Wood was also quick to thank the folks who gave him the chance to race in the Sunoco National Tour. “I cannot thank my dad, Downey Racing, and Wood Motorsports enough for putting this deal together,” continued Wood. “I also have to thank the Sunoco National Tour for putting these races on. It is an honor to be here racing in this series.”
Winston Wood and his Wood Motorsports team are looking forward to their next event with the Sunoco National Tour on August 28th at Nashville Super Speedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. To find out more information on how to become a sponsor for Winston Wood and Wood Motorsports, contact them by email at senatorwood@yahoo.com.
