How WAU rallied from 'kick the guts' to save Wood’s season

Of all the tales of heartbreak from an enthralling Bathurst, Ryan Wood faced arguably the biggest pain of all with a looming one-two gut punch.

Fighting for victory heading into the final hour, Wood’s #2 Mobil 1 Truck Assist Ford slowed into The Chase under Safety Car conditions, the Kiwi ruled out of contention.

In devastating scenes, Wood crawled his car into pit lane and into the garage. For a time, Wood’s day was done, and with it, his hopes of reaching The Finals.

Before the race, Wood was 157 points clear of the cut-line, and was even further ahead as he fought for the Peter Brock Trophy. However, had he failed to finish and the race played out as it did, Wood would have dropped from eighth to 12th. Thomas Randle, Kai Allen and Cameron Hill would have progressed.

Remarkably, Andre Heimgartner finished level on points with Hill, who would have progressed on countback, given the Matt Stone Racing driver had a race win to his name. Heimgartner missed out due to a last-lap pass by Broc Feeney, while Allen narrowly missed a kangaroo with five laps to go.

In emotionally-charged scenes, Walkinshaw Andretti United crew managed to re-fire the #2, with Wood hurriedly getting back into the car. He finished the race in 19th, which was enough to make The Finals along with teammate Chaz Mostert, who clinched his spot at The Bend.

The efforts weren’t lost on WAU CEO Bruce Stewart, who despite watching both cars drop out, hailed his team’s resilience under extreme pressure to deliver Wood a Finals berth.

“It was really tough, really tough, kick the guts,” Stewart said on Supercars’ Cool Down Lap presented by Moza Racing.

“It’s amazing for anyone who was party to it, our partners, fans, and everyone on the team to see how everyone rallied. When that car roared, the whole pits roared. And it was extraordinary.

"And I'm just so proud. So proud. We've got so many amazing people who just never gave up. And then Woody got out there and qualified for The Finals.

“It was dark clouds everywhere, but there's a little rainbow in that, which means more about the team and the great people we have in the team than Bathurst alone.”

It was an otherwise extraordinary performance by Wood and Jayden Ojeda, the latter moving from P11 to leading the race with a 20-second gap behind him by the time he handed back over to Wood.

Wood pressed on but as Safety Cars brought the field together, Wood ran off and gifted the lead to James Golding, before the untimely issue. The issue was ultimately caused by water, which had worked its way into an engine sensor of the #2.

Earlier, Mostert/Fabian Coulthard’s day also ended due to engine issues.

"Now, god, wouldn’t you have loved to win it. Woody and Jayden were looking like they were going to be right in the hunt right at the end,” Stewart added.

“That was such a moment that took the wind out of the sails. But you know what, again, there was a moment at the end I don't think I'll ever forget. That was just extraordinary to see how everyone rallied.

“Wow. We’re gonna have a couple of beers tonight."

Wood is eighth seed for the Elimination Final, the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, on October 24-26. Tickets are on sale now.

How Finals standings looked if Wood retired from Bathurst

Note: Hill qualifies on countback due to winning a race