From Bill W, image courtesy of Thiller Photography
Wayne Johnson was able to garner his second feature win in eight days, as he took one of the preliminary features at the November Sprint Shootout last Friday night. The Knoxville, Iowa driver was able to lock himself into Saturday’s final event at the Cowtown Speedway south of Kennedale, Texas. An ill-handling car was a handful on Saturday night, but Wayne registered a top five run. This weekend, he’s heading to Tucson, Arizona with ASCS for their three-day Western World event.
Wayne drew inside row three for his heat, and ran to a solid third place finish. The effort put him outside of row two for the first of two prelims on Friday. He wasted little time, driving to the front. “The car was really good,” he says of the FattFro #14AJ Maxim with Fisher power. “The track slicked to a curb there and there was room to operate. We were able to get around Zach Zimmerly there on the first lap, and get into the lead.”
A caution slowed things, and drew Tim Crawley on Wayne’s bumper for the restart. The veteran made a move on the leader. “We had a restart there, and Crawley was able to get by me in one,” says Wayne. “I was able to duck back down and drive by him off of two, but it was a good race. That was about the only challenge we had.”
Winning the 25-lap event paid $1,000, but more importantly locked Wayne into the first three rows for Saturday’s $7,000 to win main event. Ironically, his last two feature wins haven’t paid too much. “We won two races there in a week, and only made $1,100 (his Little Rock prelim win paid $100)!” he says. “I need to pick my spots a little better, I guess!”
Saturday’s track was heavier. The banked ¼ mile was a little tougher to handle in hot laps for Wayne. “We went out to hot lap on Saturday, and the track was a lot different,” he says. “We biked up, and got up on the left front. We were lucky we didn’t get upside down and wad it up.”
A redraw saw Wayne line up inside of row two for the finale. The setup just wasn’t there, presumably because of the heat race incident. “I think we blew up a shock in that deal and didn’t realize it,” he says. “We went back out for the feature, and we just didn’t have it. The car was pretty horrible.”
$15,000 is on the line for the winner of Saturday night’s Western World Championships at the USA Raceway near Tucson, Arizona. The field will be split into two nights of qualifying, with Wayne going on Thursday night.
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 Frohardt asks: Wayne, you talked briefly about the safety situation last week. What do you consider necessary safety-wise at a track to race?
Wayne answers: I think if you have an ambulance with EMT’s, that is the minimum of what you need. Really, that is what you ask for. We’re fortunate at Knoxville to have the best of everything, and I know you can’t expect that to be the case at every racetrack…but it would be nice.
Wayne’s Tech Tips
What is the reason for so many drivelines shelling out these days?
Wayne: Everyone has their theories. When everyone went to the rear-ends with the swivels, I think that had a lot to do with it. I think it’s a combination of that, and a lot of Chinese made parts. A lot is being made overseas.
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!