Wood’s Short Track Stock On the Rise Entering IRP
Venue: Indianapolis Raceway Park
Event: TSport 200
Date: Friday, July 19
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Track Description: 0.686-mile oval
Distance: 200 laps, 137.5 miles (8:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, Motor Racing Network)
Rising Short Track Tide … Jack Wood’s short track stock is rising as he enters his third NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) start at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) on Friday night. The driver of the No. 91 Children’s Museum of Indianapolis Chevrolet Silverado RST has recently posted the best short track finishes of his career in both NCTS competition and in the ARCA Menards Series West (AMSW). Wood earned a 12th-place finish and the eighth-most points at North Wilkesboro Speedway (NWS) in May, the series’ most recent short track event. Over Independence Day weekend, Wood notched a runner-up finish at Irwindale Speedway in the AMSW. He and the No. 91 team hope that trend continues in Friday night’s showdown in the Circle City.
Short Track Download … The MHR organization as a whole has been a formidable force in the three short track races this season. Wood’s teammate Christian Eckes has won two of the three short track races, including Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) where Zane Smith piloted the No. 91 to a third-place finish. The MHR teams combined for three of the top-five finishers at BMS and placed all four trucks in the top-12 at NWS. Wood has made nine short track starts in his NCTS career at five different paved venues and is eager to notch his first top-10 on Friday evening in his third start at IRP.
Season to Date … Wood, Smith, and Vicente Salas have combined to make 14 starts in the No. 91 Chevrolet this season and sit 14th in the NCTS owners’ point standings, 38 points behind the provisional playoff cut line. The No. 91 team’s best finish this season came at Kansas Speedway with Smith drove to a runner-up finish. The squad has totaled three top-five’s, four top-10’s, and six top-15 finishes.
Tune In … On-track action from IRP begins with practice and qualifying at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, followed by the green flag at 8:30 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 91 Children’s Museum of Indianapolis team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmrnascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Jack Wood Quote:
On his outlook for IRP:
“I felt like we were really strong at North Wilkesboro a couple months ago and put together a solid race. Our short track program at MHR has been really strong this year, and all of our trucks have been fast. That gives me a lot of confidence and running like we did at Irwindale out west a couple weeks ago. Between both races and practice at Irwindale, we ran about 400 laps, and that’s probably one of the most similar tracks in the country to IRP. If we can get a good qualifying lap in, that’ll help us put together a solid night since it’s a difficult place to complete passes. Hopefully we can be consistent all day and all race long to come out of there with a good finish.”