Finals tension fuelling Wood after defying broken splitter

Ryan Wood is desperate to jump off the Finals bubble after surviving his latest rollercoaster round in 2025.

The Walkinshaw Andretti United driver currently holds a provisional Finals spot, having left a round in 10th for the third time in seven events this season.

A bold move on Thomas Randle on the penultimate lap of Sunday's Race 22 in Townsville delivered another strong result for the Kiwi.

Crucially, with Cameron Hill suffering a brake failure, Wood launched back into the top 10 at the Matt Stone Racing driver's expense.

Speaking after Sunday's race, Wood revealed he managed a broken splitter during the race, saying on the broadcast: “I had some fun and we had a fast car.

“It was just a shame we started a little too deep today, and our front splitter was broken for most of the race.

“I think [it broke] maybe on lap 1 there were a few little rubs and it started flapping. I had a lot of push through kink at [Turn] 1 which sort of shows where our car needs to be.”

A winner in Perth, Wood has been hovering on the bubble all season, sitting no lower than 12th after Melbourne.

However, the late move was even more critical given it put Wood back into the top 10 championship spots that decide who participates in the inaugural Supercars Finals campaign.

For every strong result, Wood has seemingly struck trouble in the next, admitting pre-round that his side of the garage has "missed out on a few opportunities" in 2025.

Notably, he was penalised for lap 1 run-ins with Jack Le Brocq (Melbourne) and Brodie Kostecki (Taupō), collided with Aaron Cameron (Tasmania), suffered a suspension failure while leading (Perth), crashed with James Golding (Perth), and retired with an engine failure (Darwin).

The hiccups caught the attention of 2007 champion Garth Tander, who hailed Wood's raw speed, but was critical of the Kiwi's execution.

Drivers from Anton De Pasquale in seventh to Will Davison in 17th are covered by 262 points, with 915 points still to win before the Finals field is locked in.

Given the level of competition around him, Wood knows it won't be easy, but racing such drivers is the clearest sign that he is where he needs to be to make the post-season.

“We are close and actually close to seventh so if we can jump a few more spots and stop being on the bubble we would be really happy,” Wood said.

“We will just keep doing what we can, but being able to race some really good drivers like Randle, Kostecki, De Pasquale means I am making gains in myself and my driving.”

2025 Supercars Finals Focus: Ryan Wood

Championship position at end of each round, difference to 10th