From Bill W, image courtesy of Rob Kocak
October 20, 2010 – The much anticipated return of Wayne Johnson to the cockpit last weekend was a rousing success. Amongst a Lucas Oil ASCS National Series field of 50+ cars, he was able to drive his own #77x from 18th to 8th on night one, and finish fifth on night two at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas. He will have a weekend off before tackling I-30 Speedway and the Short Track Nationals next week.
Wayne had to make some adjustments as the weekend went on regarding the relationship between his healing foot and ankle and the accelerator. “Actually it went really well,” says the Knoxville, Iowa driver. “The Maxim drove beautiful, and the Fisher motor ran well. The biggest issue I had, wasn’t pushing the throttle or letting off, it was just a little bit of a problem working the pedal in the corners. The spring was pushing my foot up. We worked with that a bit, made some of the springs lighter, and made it a lot better the second night.”
The 2000 ASCS National champion drew outside of row three for his heat race, and would come home fourth in his first competition on the ½ mile. “I was a little rusty,” says Wayne. “I just didn’t charge the corner on the first lap like I needed to, and the Devil’s Bowl can get single file, especially early in the night.”
Wayne would recover by winning the B from row one, and driving from row nine into the top ten in the main event. “Confidence started getting better after winning the B main,” he says. “The foot started to feel more comfortable. To run 18th to 8th in the feature was great. I told the guys on the way down if we could come away with a couple of top tens I would be really happy, and we ended up doing better than that.”
The second night was set up well with a heat effort that saw Wayne drive from eighth to third in the heat race. “I told myself I might as well go home if I’m not going to charge the corner in the heat on Saturday,” he says. “That night, I charged in there hard. My confidence was better, because I knew the foot was going to be o.k., and I wasn’t going to put anyone else in danger.”
Starting outside of row four, Wayne ran a steady feature event to record a top five finish, a norm for him at the Devil’s Bowl. “I was able to get in a rhythm out there,” he says. “There were a couple times I could have done something different, but overall, it went well.”
How much pain did he feel? “The adrenaline took over really,” says Wayne. “I didn’t have a whole lot of pain. I wasn’t 100%. I would rank myself about 70%, but it was something to build on. I’m looking forward to Little Rock.”
Wayne is still looking for a permanent home in a sprint car. If you would like to inquire about a partnership with Wayne, you can e-mail him at waynejohnsonracing@yahoo.com.
Buy Your Outlaw Wings from Wayne
Wayne is an Outlaw Wings dealer located in the Knoxville, Iowa area. Wayne credits the new Outlaw top wing for his 2009 wins at Little Rock and Cowtown. Contact Wayne for your Outlaw Wing, as he has some special Holiday deals going! Outlaw Wings – “When Downforce Matters”!
Wayne’s Website
To learn more about Wayne and the team, log on to www.WayneJohnsonRacing.com!
Wayne’s World
Jim Davis asks: What is your schedule for the rest of the year?
Wayne answers: We’ll be at Little Rock. I’m not sure yet what car we’ll be in. We’re going to run Charlotte (World Finals) with Miles (Hill), and take my car out West to Tucson and Vegas.
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
Wayne drove the Bobby Sparks #91 to the 1997 Short Track Nationals championship. He also won the prelim that year. In the finale, Steve Gennetten was second, ahead of Mike Ward, Pete Butler and Gary Wright.
“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 the following for making this possible: E-Rate Complete, Iroquois Poker, Townline Variety, Ohsweken Speedway, Brett Smith Motorsports, FattFro Motorsports, Outlaw Wings, Stone Mountain, Butlerbuilt, Hoosier, Schoenfeld Headers and Cooper Racing Enterprises.