From Bill W
November 11, 2009 – Wayne Johnson fell one tick short of winning his second Short Track Nationals, but the $10,000 he received for second isn’t bad either. The Knoxville, Iowa driver had the FattFro #14AJ singing all weekend, and won his preliminary feature as well. This weekend, the team will head to the Cowtown Speedway in Kennedale, Texas and try to grab the $7,000 top prize at the November Sprint Shootout.
After things went well in practice on Wednesday, Wayne raced in Thursday’s prelim at I-30 Speedway south of Little Rock, Arkansas. In the popular heats/qualifiers format, Wayne ran from sixth to second in his heat race. “The format is so demanding that you have to race, and race well, every time you’re on the track,” he says. “It’s just like the heat race, (Eric) Baldaccini was leading and we got tangled in the lapped traffic. It was the first heat, where it was still greasy out there. I probably could have pushed the issue to get to the lead, but with those other cars in there, I decided I was in pretty good position where I was.”
On paper, Wayne ran from eighth to the win in his qualifier, but cars in front of him were eliminated or sent to the rear in two tries at green. In the end, he ended up starting in row two and winning. “That deal was just a melee,” he says. “It was just a fortunate situation for us, which ended up giving us enough points to start on the pole for the feature. Luck is a part of it. Look at Shane Stewart. He was able to bounce back on Saturday night (3rd), after having a horrible Thursday.”
Wayne took off in the 25-lap feature, sticking to the bottom of the heavy ¼ mile. Up top, things were slicking off, especially in turns three and four. Sammy Swindell was in pursuit. “The car felt really good,” says the 1997 Short Track Nationals champ. “I didn’t get much sleep Wednesday night because the car felt so good in practice. I could see Sammy there a few times on the outside of me. He was doing his best up there, but I wasn’t going to mess up on the bottom.”
A caution came out on lap 15, clearing the track for Wayne. He led the final ten laps, though Sammy made a last ditch effort for the win. “He was gaining on me in turn three, every lap late there,” says Wayne. “I was just being very cautious not to miss the bottom. He had nothing for me down in one and two. On the last lap, I could see him in three, but I knew he had nothing to come off of high in turn four.”
Wayne was able to relax, knowing he was locked in the dash for Saturday’s finale. When it came time to draw, he found another reason to delay things. “Well, you sit over there and watch all night long,” he says. “All I was doing was drinking sweet tea. I got over to the draw, and the next thing I knew, I just had to go!”
After the gathered crowd waited for Wayne’s nature call, he ended up starting fourth and finishing third in the dash. He dropped back to fourth early on, but was able to get by Tim Crawley for third. Swindell was up front, but had a flat and had to go to the rear. Danny Wood led the field ahead of Wayne and Tony Bruce Jr. on the restart.
Bruce looped around both to lead the rest of the way. “I got caught up on that restart, and that let Tony get by us,” says Wayne.
Wayne was able to pass Wood and pursue Bruce the rest of the way. “Tony had a good car, but I wouldn’t say it was superior to ours,” he says. “Once we cleared all of our traffic, I think we were on the same page with him. He did what he had to do to win, and my hat is off to him. He did a good job.”
The FattFro rig was not immune from the happenings on the track. Paul McMahan’s mount flipped off of turn two and jumped the pit fence, striking the truck. “I’d like to thank Paul McMahan for supplying the new hood ornament!” says Wayne. “I was just glad he and everyone else was o.k. There were some things brought to light safety-wise last weekend that I think a lot of tracks and the sanctioning bodies like ASCS better take a hard look at.”
The unsanctioned November Sprint Shootout at Cowtown Speedway should be a good one. All cars will run features on Friday, and the Saturday finale will pay $7,000 to the winner.
Wayne Johnson Apparel in Stock!
2009 Wayne Johnson apparel for both men and women is now in stock! T-shirts, long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops and hats are all in! To order, e-mail Wayne at WayneJohnsonRacing@yahoo.com or stop by the trailer at the track.
Wayne’s Website
To learn more about Wayne and the team, log on to www.WayneJohnsonRacing.com!
Wayne’s World
Scott Stine asks: Have you thought about your prospects for next year and what you will be doing?
Wayne answers: Without some help next year, the #14AJ car is going away. I’d like to run both 410 and 360 stuff, of course, but we’re going to need partners or teammates to do it. I really don’t know where we’re at, with the economy having everything up in the air. I’d love to stay in this car, but financially, we would need to add a team effort to make it work. So, we’re looking for some help, either from a sponsor, or someone who’d like to join the team as a partner.
Wayne’s Tech Tips
Explain what you have noticed the last few weeks using the new ARP wings.
Wayne: This particular wing we used at Little Rock is a “high drag” wing. This one is definitely for the bullrings. You can’t run it at Devil’s Bowl or Knoxville. At Little Rock, it had so much drag to the left rear, that it was carrying the right front from the flagstand to the corner. It’s got tons of drag, and more than anything, that’s what I’ve noticed. I am really pleased with what the folks at ARP have done.
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!
“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 would like to thank FattFro, Stone Mountain Access, Bral Restoration, Deberg Concrete, TNT Custom Golf Carts, www.RacingThreads.com, CnB Mushroom Farms, Maxim Chassis, ARP Wings, Hoosier Tire, Simpson, Weld and ButlerBuilt for all their help!