Wood Continues Strong Runs with 11th at Texas
Venue: Texas Motor Speedway
FINISH: 11th
Start: 10th
Stage One: 15th
Stage Two: 14th
Laps Led: 0
NCTS Point Standings Position: 16th
Jack Wood, driver of the No. 91 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet Silverado RST finished just one spot shy of a top-10 result Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway for the SpeedyCash.com 250. The rain clouds hovered over the 1.5-mile facility for the majority of the day, washing out NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) practice and qualifying sessions which defaulted Wood to a 10th-place starting position in the 167-lap event. On the opening laps, Wood fell out of line quickly as the field shuffled and he settled into the 23rd position. Regaining composure and focus, Wood started his charge back to the front until the yellow flag flew on lap 20 for a competition caution. Spotter Tyler Monn came over the radio with advice for the 24-year-old telling him to try and be more diligent with his lines and focus forward which led Wood to a 15th-place Stage One finish.
Crew chief Kevin Bellicourt called the driver of the No. 91 down pit road for four tires and fuel under the stage break that saw Wood restarting Stage Two 20th. A quick caution came after the green flag and the Loomis, Calif. native expressed that he is struggling all around with his race truck and feels he is super free in. The No. 91 stayed out and continued the fight to the front as a few more cautions started to arise. The pit cycle started to roll and Wood circled up to the top 15 in time to finish Stage Two 14th in line. Wood reported to the team that he needed more turn in the center as he came down pit road under yellow for four fresh Goodyear tires, some Sunoco fuel and a slight adjustment to help the turn of the No. 91 Adaptive One Chevrolet.
The final stage brought chaos in the Lone Star State but Wood continued to push his way through the field. The young driver struggled to hold track position as he was dodging spinning trucks left and right with the yellow flags falling. A caution with 20 laps to go saw Wood in the 10th position and Kevin (Bellicourt, crew chief) made the call for a quick stop for four tires and fuel. The driver of the No. 91 reported before the restart he was pretty happy with his race truck and he was ready to go. A mountain of chaos led the field into NASCAR’s version of double-overtime, relegating the young driver to a 11th-place finish at Texas.
Jack Wood Quote:
“Tonight was just not our night in regards to race craft and understanding where I was really struggling. Things started to get crazy at the end there and I knew we were in a good position to sneak through for a top 10 and possibly a top five if things really went our way but overall, super proud of this No. 91 team for giving me a super fast Adaptive One Chevrolet and helping me stay in contention for a solid finish tonight. We will continue on to Kansas next week and hopefully see some better results.”