Valuing his life, IRL driver retires

Indy Pro Series driver Tom Wood announced his retirement from driving May 11 after sustaining a compression fracture of the T9 vertebrae in an accident during private testing at the Milwaukee Mile on May 8. Wood, who is being treated at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis by Dr. Terry Trammell, intends to focus on team he co-owns in the Indy Pro Series, Team Moore Racing.

TOM WOOD: "I love this sport, but I think I've done this enough. 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." (About future plans): "This has all come about so suddenly. 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. This obviously isn't the way I wanted to go out as a driver. But there are new challenges ahead, and I'm looking forward to meeting them."