Dale Wood joins Penrite Racing alongside reigning Bathurst champion Richie Stanaway. Can the veteran break through after many Bathurst near-misses?
Dale Wood joins Penrite Racing alongside reigning Bathurst champion Richie Stanaway.
It represents a big chance for Wood, who despite forming a strong combination at Brad Jones Racing alongside Andre Heimgartner, suffered consecutive heartbreaks.
Wood was at the wheel when a multi-car accident wiped out the BJR entry in 2022, ending his and Heimgartner's hopes in dramatic and emotional fashion. 12 months later, an early engine failure wiped them out again.
Wood entered Supercars in 2007 from Formula Ford, in the Dunlop Super2 Series with Greg Murphy Racing.
He impressed as a rookie, earning the Mike Kable Young Gun Award as the best first-year driver in Supercars.
A maiden taste of the main game came the next year in the enduros with Tasman Motorsport, and the opening half of the 2009 season with Kelly Racing.
Further enduro outings with Kelly Racing and Tony D'Alberto Racing followed, along with a return to Super2 in 2012.
Wood won the Super2 title in 2013 with MW Motorsport, and contested that year's long-distance races with Dick Johnson Racing's Chaz Mostert.
Four full-time Supercars seasons followed starting in 2014, through two with Brad Jones Racing, and one each with Nissan Motorsport and Erebus Motorsport.
He started and finished a career-best third at Winton in 2014 and made that year's Top 10 Shootout at Bathurst.
With Erebus in 2017, Wood took a strong fourth at Bathurst with Chris Pither before linking with Tim Blanchard at BJR in '18.