It’s the second year in a row which Wood qualified for the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals and made the 12-hour trip to Northern Mississippi.

“I didn’t do as well as I would have liked last year, but I’m back to try it twice this time,” Wood said. “It’s an honor to be here. A lot of people don’t even win rounds of racing, and to be able to invited to this event is just a blessing.”

Wood, 52, has been racing since 2010. His bike is a 2013 Paul Bannister-built 1500 cc Kawasaki. He called it a good consistent bike, as he talked about really liking the chassis and the platform. Part of the enjoyment is also racing at his home track.

“Humboldt has just a great staff. It’s a very family-friendly environment,” Wood said. “All the people are just great people there. Tom and Melanie (Monson), who own the track, are just awesome people. It’s a great facility and they’re always doing a lot of work to improve it.”

Speaking of a family-friendly environment, Wood’s girlfriend Angela and his brother Steve are serving as his crew this weekend.

“Those guys make the world go round for me, and they keep me focused on the racing part of it,” Wood said. “This is a very mental sport, and they take care of everything that’s not just the racing like a nice little place to camp out here.”

Wood enjoys the camraderie as much as the racing. He loves to stay at the track and have a good time hanging out with his fellow racers, playing games like bean bag toss. It’s particularly a good time meeting new people at the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals.

“The environment is great here. I’ve made friends from all over,” Wood said. “I’ve been talking to people from North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, just all over the country. There are people from states all over the country represented at this deal.”