Wood calls out 'crash or get out of the way' racing

"Wait and see."

That was Ryan Wood's response when he was asked if there were debts to be repaid after a fiery Saturday at the NTI Townsville 500.

The Kiwi was turning in a strong run in the #2 Mobil 1 Truck Assist Toyota, running in the top five throughout the opening stint after qualifying a fine fourth in the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout.

However, Wood's race began to unravel when Will Brown overtook him for sixth on lap 39, triggering a wild two-lap battle that saw Kai Allen, Broc Feeney and Chaz Mostert also get a piece of the action.

Wood drilled the back of Brown at Turn 2, and then covered Allen aggressively on the run to Turn 11 on lap 41. The former Super2 sparring partners clashed, with Allen suffering a puncture, and Wood broken steering.

Walkinshaw TWG Racing replaced the bent steering arm on the Supra, with Wood irate on the radio. Big points went begging as he finished 26th and last, eight laps down.

"It was super clean racing and it was awesome, had a good race," was the sarcastic comment offered by Wood on broadcast post-race.

"Unfortunate what happened at the end there, but we'll come back tomorrow and see what I can do."

Wood also took umbrage at the defensive driving of Brown, who drove the #2 Toyota right to the exit wall at Turn 2 mere seconds before his race-altering collision.

The #888 Ford had also copped a hit from the Mobil 1 Truck Assist entry as it overtook the lap prior, Brown parking up on the apex to prevent the switchback.

Wood maintained his line that it was just hard racing, however his true feeling became quickly apparent when he declared that he would return the favour to the likes of Brown and Allen on Sunday.

"No I think it was alright, it's racing at the end of the day," continued Wood.

"I just know what the standard is at the moment, and I'll try and do the same tomorrow, force people to either crash or get out of the way.

"It is what it is, but at the end of the day it's a bit of racing, and I was just frustrated because I felt we had a decent car to be in the fight. There was just a few moves that really upset me, but at the same time it's part of going racing.

"Looking back now, Kai was in there and I forced him pretty hard to the inside, but I felt like he was probably a little bit out of control as well at the same time.

"It is what it is, and me and Browny went at it, and as always Browny pushes it to the enth degree. I felt like the only one that I was probably a little bit angry about was at the exit of Turn 1, when you get driven to the wall and you have a choice to commit and crash with him, or back out.

"It just feels like everything is getting pushed to the extra envelope because it is so competitive at the moment."

The incident has seen Wood now drop to be 105 points clear of the Finals bubble, which has tightened dramatically after Jack Le Brocq stormed forward 11 positions to finish ninth for Matt Stone Racing.

Wood, Mostert, James Golding, and Le Brocq are now all covered by that 105-point split, with Golding dumping huge points after a Shootout run turned to lap 1 damage in a Turn 2 concertina.

"Sorry to my guys because we need the points, and today was a little bit gut-wrenching. Sorry if I was a little bit angry on the telly to my Mum and Dad," added Wood.

"Hopefully we'll come back tomorrow, because we made a really good stop today. I'll go watch some PBR and chill out a little, and I'll take a couple of chill pills before tomorrow."

The final day of the 2026 NTI Townsville 500 begins with Boost Mobile Qualifying at 11:25am AEST, followed by a Top Ten Shootout at 12:10pm, and Race 22 at 3:05pm.