Team Moore Racing Co-Owner Reflects on Driving Career and Plots Next Steps
From Indy Pro Series Media Reports:
Indy Pro Series driver Tom Wood announced his retirement from race car driving May 11th after sustaining a compression fracture of the T9 vertebrae in an accident during private testing at the Milwaukee Mile on May 8th.
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Tom Wood.
Photo: RonMcQueeneyIRL |
Wood, who is being treated at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis by Dr. Terry Trammell (a bone doctor who is expert in treating racing injuries) intends to focus on the team he co-owns in the Indy Pro Series, Team Moore Racing.
“I love this sport, but I think I’ve done this enough," said Wood. "I can’t thank Dr. Terry Trammell, everyone at Ortho Indy and the Delphi Safety Team enough for all that they’ve done for me over the years.”
The T9 vertebrae lies low in the thoracic spine, right above the oft-injured and much-dreaded "Lumbar Spine" area.
The fifty year-old racer came to racing late in life, but found himself a natural behind the wheel. He drove impressively for Sam Schmidt Motorsports until an accident at Kentucky Speedway in 2003 sidelined him for more than a year. His best finish, second at Nashville in 2003, came with the SSM team as he developed particular prowess for the oval tracks on the Pro Series schedule.
“This has all come about so suddenly," Wood said when asked about his next move. "We need to work on a game plan, but eventually I’d like to develop our own ladder system, developing guys in the Indy Pro Series to compete in the IndyCar Series."
The bright yellow number 2 car with the long white strip down its middle was solidly amongst the mid-pack at Homestead/Miami Speedway where Wood drove the car to a seventeenth-place finish in the accident-shortened event on March 24th. The car was good again at the Open Test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on April 28th of this year.
"This obviously isn’t the way I wanted to go out as a driver," added Wood, "but there are new challenges ahead, and I’m looking forward to meeting them.”
The sixth season of Indy Pro Series competition continues with the Freedom 100 on May 25th at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast as part of ESPN2’s coverage of Carb Day at 4PM EDT on May 25th.
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