Motor Racing: Wood survives stockcar carnage

Auckland stockcar driver Rodney Wood claimed the honours as hard hitting took its toll on most of the big names during the North Island championship in Rotorua at the weekend.

Wood claimed two wins and a second in the three-race event, edging out Kelvin Gray and Rotorua driver Gary Hunter. Auckland drivers Chris Allen, Vic Neal and national champion Craig Pierce were all early targets during qualifying and fell victim to the hard knocks.

Pierce fared better than his clubmates but then struck engine problems in his new Ford V8-powered sedan and was forced to retire after just two starts.

Former national champion Dave Tennant and Peter Drake were the sole Auckland qualifiers.