By Bill W
June 27, 2012 – On the strength of two wins in the ASCS Speedweek, Wayne Johnson was crowned champion last week. He also retook the point lead in the season standings for the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series. His wins came at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway near Mesquite, Texas and at the Lawton Speedway in his home state of Oklahoma. This weekend the series heads for a two-night stint at the I-30 Speedway near Little Rock, Arkansas.
The opener for Speedweek came at the Devil’s Bowl on Friday, June 15. Wayne started with a good heat race run. “We drew a 72, so that wasn’t the best start, but we were able to go from ninth to third in the heat,” he says. “Jason (Johnson) and Seth (Bergman) started in front of me, so it was a good run.”
Starting inside of row two Wayne sorted his way to the front. “The racetrack was on the top later in the race, but earlier I was good on the bottom of one and two,” he says of his run. “It was just weird that I moved up in the nick of time, because later they told me that they were coming fast at me on the top. We had been off with the racecar a little bit, so it was good to get a win.”
The first night locked Wayne into Saturday’s finale in Mesquite. He would again start third and ran at the front the whole way. He would settle for second that night. “We had a caution with about ten to go, and we had a bleeder stick on us,” he says. “The left rear was going down, and I was trying to keep air in it under caution. I ended up blistering it pretty good. I was kind of stuck out there riding. I would have been third if (Danny) Lasoski hadn’t broke. It was weird, because we were on (Brian) Brown at the end. I tried to run the bottom, but with the tire, I just couldn’t do it.”
First time stops at Jones Motor Speedway in Chatham, Louisiana and at Diamond Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas saw third and fifth place finishes respectively for Wayne. “It was hard to pass at Chatham,” he says. :It was a little bit of a weird racetrack, and it was hot that day. Actually, it was 100 degrees and the track had plenty of moisture. Both Chatham and Murfreesboro were both heavy. We were decent, the racetracks just kind of dealt us our finishing spots.”
Wayne’s win at Lawton came on Wednesday, June 20. “It may have been 2007 when we were there last,” he says of Lawton, where he ran seventh to third in his heat. “It had been a while. It’s always good to go back, because we have a lot of family and friends that show up. To get a win was pretty cool. I bet it was the early ‘90’s since we had won there.”
The Wayne Johnson Racing #77x would run second most of the way and take advantage of traffic to grab the lead and the win. “We were running around there. Seth was leading, and to be honest, I didn’t think we’d have anything for him. We were just kind of running around the top there. I got to lapped traffic, and we were able to get a run on (Bergman) him. I hated it for him, but sure liked it for us.”
The last time the series visited Salina, Wayne took the win, but this time he struggled to a fourth place finish after starting third last Friday. “We were off all night long at Salina really,” he says. “We were trying some stuff with the car. We were good enough to be where we were, and by the end it was too late. Guys were sliding each other back and forth, and we just weren’t good enough to do that.”
Wayne struggled at Lucas Oil Speedway near Wheatland, Missouri on Saturday. After coming through the B, he was 16th in the A. “Wheatland was horrible for us,” he says. “We changed everything on the car we could from hot laps, to the heat race to the B, to the feature. We were just a little bit off. Jason, (Johnny) Herrera and I were all in the same heat race and Cody Baker ran by us all on the bottom. Nothing we could do.”
Follow Updates on Facebook!
Wayne will update as his race night goes on at his Facebook page. Find it by searching for Wayne Johnson Racing or clicking the following link…
http://www.facebook.com/#!/WayneJohnsonRacing
Outlaw Wings – “The Wing with an Attitude”!
Check out the new “recessed rivet” design put out by Outlaw Wings. Talk to Wayne about purchasing Outlaw Wings for your car! Outlaw Wings – “The Wing with an Attitude”!
Wayne’s World
Got a question for Wayne? Each week, Wayne will answer your questions about “Tech Tips”, or anything that’s on your mind. If you ever wondered what a part on a sprint car is all about, send an e-mail to us at sprntcar@iowatelecom.net, and we may answer it in this section! Put “? for Wayne” in your subject line. He’ll try to keep it clean if you do!
Wayne’s Fast Facts
The Speedweek championship was Wayne’s second. He also won the title in 2000 when he was also ASCS National champion.
Partner of the Week – Hoosier Tire Southwest
Hoosier Tire Southwest is located in beautiful Balch Springs, Texas. They can be reached at 1-972-289-RACE (7223). Call them if you have questions about purchasing Hoosier tires. All Hoosier tires are sold through Hoosier’s extensive distributor network. Retail tire prices are set by individual distributors and dealers. The goal is to have the tires you need when you need them. The extensive Hoosier distributor network was developed to bring American made tires closer to the end user as well as provide product support on a local level using many tire experts. If you want to become a member of the Hoosier “family,” contact them about arranging a purchase. Find them online at www.hoosiertire.com/DIST/disthtsw.htm!
“Wednesday’s with Wayne”
“Wednesday’s With Wayne” is an up close look at the past, present and future of colorful and talented sprint car driver Wayne Johnson. You’ll never know what to expect next with Wayne, so don’t miss us on Wednesdays!
To receive “Wednesday’s with Wayne”, send an e-mail to sprntcar@iowatelecom.net with “Wayne” in the subject line.
Wayne Johnson Racing would like to thank Vern Rengen and Missile Motorsports, Sebastian Sandblasting & Powdercoating, City Vending, Outlaw Wings, Team Achieve, The Oil Medics, Century Signs, Smiley’s Racing Products, Hoosier Tire Southwest, Simpson, Butlerbuilt, Super Shox, Maxim, Speedway Motors, Rod End Supply, Schoenfeld Headers and RCM Design.