Ryan Wood knocked out of Finals after late drama
Walkinshaw TWG driver swap nullified by late Chevrolet pit stops
Wood hints at Chevrolet gamesmanship
Ryan Wood has been left to wonder what could've been as his Finals campaign was ended on the Gold Coast for a second consecutive season.
Wood looked to be in prime position to jag the seventh and final transfer position, with Walkinshaw TWG Racing orchestrating a swap between the Kiwi and Chaz Mostert, as is permitted under Supercars regulations.
While there was an irony in fuel shortages handing De Pasquale a Finals berth after his Bathurst heartbreak, for Wood it was an unceremonious end to what was one of his better days of the season.
The Kiwi had fought ferociously to keep hold of track position over Hughes, who had put in a sterling performance all day, Wood copping a hit in the door from Hughes at the Turn 4 hairpin.
Once De Pasquale's position had improved, Wood dropped back behind his teammate, and off the podium, on the last lap. The 22-year-old was kept well abreast of his Finals scenario by engineer Richard Harris throughout, including to keep ahead of Hughes at all costs.
"Rich was just telling me enough so that I could just focus on getting the best result, and that's all I needed at that point," Wood said on broadcast post-race.
"Once Hughesy and I got into a little battle he started to say, 'You need to stay ahead of him to get in,' so pretty surprised that both those Camaros had to fuel at the end.
"We'll have to look into that and see what they did to get so close to us after that last stop as well, because that's what really ended up hurting us our race.
"A lot of work to do as always, but can't thank the team, Rich, and everyone for what they've done for me."
Erebus Team Principal Brad Tremain was adamant that Hughes' race was undone by a "mistake" in their fuel calculations, that would've left Hughes "four laps short". PremiAir Racing Team Principal Roland Dane also declared post race that Murray was underfuelled, while General Motors Supercars boss Simon McNamara emphatically denied manufacturer involvement.
Wood wryly hinted that all was not as it seemed on the outside, adding: "Tell you what, that would've been a pretty good television show then, there was a lot of games being played.
"Our team did the utmost to make sure that we had two cars into the final seven for our sponsors, for our partners, our brands, but especially Toyota.
"Thank you guys for backing me, sorry I couldn't get in there this year, but a big thank you to my support network as well. It just wasn't meant to be."
Wood will drop back to ninth in points ahead of Sandown, losing his Finals bonuses in a rule change for the 2026 Finals campaign, and can now become Mostert's wingman as he chases back-to-back titles.
The Penrite Oil Sandown 500 will be held from November 6-8.
