Victorian driver Dale Wood will complete the Jack Daniel’s Racing line-up for the upcoming V8 Supercar endurance events at Phillip Island and Bathurst.

Wood has been a part of Kelly Racing right from the initial launch of the team in March last year, competing in the first five events of the 2009 season in the team’s #16 Commodore as well as working full-time at the team’s workshop in the signwriting and graphic design department.

The former Motocross champion now gets his best ever opportunity in V8 Supercars as he partners 2005 Bathurst winner Todd Kelly in the team’s #7 Jack Daniel’s Commodore.

“Dale has worked very hard over the last two years at Kelly Racing and we stick him in the car every opportunity we get at all our test days to give him a run and keep his eye in,” said Todd Kelly.

It will be Wood’s third Bathurst 1000 start, having scored solid top 15 results in his first two attempts at ‘The Great Race’ in 2008 with Tasman Motorsport and last season alongside Jack Perkins in a Kelly Racing Commodore.

Todd Kelly says that Wood’s recruitment to Jack Daniel’s Racing endurance line-up is a reward for his continued improvement, hard work and impressive efforts in testing and Co-Driver practice sessions so far this season.

“His sensible approach and the way he goes about things at the test days has made him a pretty big standout to the team for quite a while, so to be able to get him back in a car for the enduros is a positive thing for us.”

Wood is clearly thrilled at the chance to return to the big league and grateful for the faith shown him by the team.

“Todd and the team were happy with the job I’ve been doing to give me this opportunity and I’m rapt to go into these two rounds with as good a chance as anybody of being right up there in contention to win these races. he said.

Wood’s signing also confirms that Tasmanian driver Owen Kelly will partner two-time Bathurst winner Rick Kelly in the team’s #15 Jack Daniel’s Commodore, forming one of strongest driver combinations at this year’s endurance events.

Kelly, no relation to Todd and Rick, proved his speed recently by finishing in fifth place at the Road America road course on his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut. Kelly has also excelled in testing and practice sessions with Jack Daniel’s Racing since his signing in April.

Jack Daniel’s Racing will complete its pre-endurance event test day at Winton Motor Raceway on August 30 before the L&H 500 kicks off the V8 Supercars ‘season of endurance’ on September 10-12 at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, followed by the biggest race of the season, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama on October 7-10.

With: Jack Daniel’s Racing Media Release