Wood was involved in a chaotic end to the Repco Supercars Championship, which culminated in contact with title contender Broc Feeney on the opening lap of the final race.
The Triple Eight Race Engineering driver missed out on the title after his engine expired, leaving Wood’s Walkinshaw Andretti United teammate Chaz Mostert to take the title.
Wood became the subject of intense criticism across social media after the Feeney clash.
Although the Kiwi was not explicitly mentioned, Supercars CEO James Warburton issued a statement condemning personal abuse.
Speaking on Rusty’s Garage ahead of his Formula Regional Oceania Trophy debut, Wood thanked Supercars legend Greg Murphy and his social media manager Ainslie McCormick.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, to be honest,” said Wood.
“I really appreciate you (Greg Rust) reaching out, and so many others reached out – that really meant a lot to me.
“I’m lucky enough, like I said, Murph, he was one of the first people there to call when I got out of the race car and I knew it was going to be pretty full-on, the next couple of weeks. And it was.
“I can’t thank Ainslie McCormick enough, she looks after all my socials. What she did behind the scenes was really important for myself to bounce back and come back racing again and not worry about that sort of stuff.
“For me, it’s been really great to be racing again and keep my mind in the place that I really love most, which is being behind the wheel of a race car.
“My team and everyone in my family has supported me, and that’s what’s super important with my sponsorship group as well, they all feel like family as well.
“It was tough not to read all the comments and get stuck into that stuff, but at the end of the day, I had a really great network around me and so many people reached out to make sure I was okay as well. I really do appreciate everyone checking in and making sure I was all good.
“I’ve been pretty quiet on the social front. I’m going to pick back up over the next four weeks because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to race a single-seater and I’m going to enjoy it, do it at home.
“Hopefully the sun stays around for the next four weeks and we can have a great time.”
Wood will race for MTEC Motorsport alongside countrymen Louis Sharp and Zack Scoular, as well as China’s Yunapu Cui.
The Supercars star said the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy tilt will help him hone his craft ahead of the new V8 season.
“It’s all about pushing myself to new limits,” said Wood.
“For me, it’s just about trying to be close enough to learn and develop as a driver so that when I get back to Australia for the Supercars Championship I’m hopefully a few steps ahead of the guys that I’m racing.”
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