Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Veteran racer Jerry Wood suffered a broken pelvis in a crash during practice July 18 at New Hampshire International Speedway (NHIS) in Loudon, New Hampshire.

“There’s this one guy up there (Loudon Road Race Series) he races with all the time on his (Yamaha) TZ (250),” said Wood’s son Eric, who is competing with Formula USA at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas. “They got hooked up in practice, and the track was real green, real dirty, actually.”

According to the younger Wood, his father highsided in the third-gear Bowl Turn, turn six, at NHIS on what was suspected to be generator oil or some other fluid leaked onto the track by an RV. Wood says RVs are parked on portions of Loudon’s 1.6-mile road course during the NASCAR Winston Cup event. The last Winston Cup race was held six days before Jerry Wood’s crash.

“He broke his pelvis in two places,” said Eric Wood. “There was only two millimeters of displacement, so he won’t have to have surgery. He’s already out of the wheelchair and on crutches, and it’s only been two weeks. He may be 56, but he’s pretty tough and used to this kind of stuff.”

In addition to owning Penguin Road Racing School, which operates primarily at NHIS, Jerry Wood is the Safety Director of the facility and a staunch defender of its safety record.