From Bill W.
November 24, 2010 – Wayne Johnson has traveled some miles in the last two months, and he is still on the go. Since returning from a severe leg injury in mid-October, he has spent little time at his Knoxville, Iowa home. After returning early this week for a couple of days, he is now back on the road to Indianapolis for the IMIS show, where he will look to find allies to enter the 2011 racing season with.
Since forming his own team with wife Erin mid-summer, Wayne has been looking for partners and a solid ride for 2011. He would like to take his talents on the road paired with a solid partner, or with a solid team. “I’m pretty much out of a ride right now,” he says. “I’m looking for something. I’m heading to Indy for the IMIS show this week, to try to round some things up.”
Since running a solid fourth in the prelim at Las Cruces, New Mexico three weeks back, a series of unfortunate events plagued the team as the went on to Tucson, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada. The Western World at Tucson’s USA Raceway saw Wayne running up front and in a transfer spot for the finale, but the gremlins hit a bit. “We were running fifth,” he says of the race conducted on Friday, November 19. “I just screwed up there. We were getting around there pretty good, but the only tire we could get on there with the stagger we wanted was a softer compound. It just got too hot and we started backing up.”
Still running in the top ten, Wayne would end up tipping over. With a slot on the pole of the C main scheduled for Saturday’s finale, he decided it wasn’t worth it to run. “We got to racing with Lucas Wolfe,” he says of Friday’s run. “We were bouncing off each other and I got the bad end of that deal. We were so far back, that we just left it parked on the final night. We were going to spend more money than we could make, so the car owner started coming out in me.”
Moving on to Las Vegas, the car setup was off, and he spent both nights mired in the B main. “We came out of Tucson having hurt our motor, and we went out to Las Vegas driving one of Scott Brown’s,” says Wayne. “We got the wrong gear in somehow on Friday. It was in the wrong box. That put us behind the first night.”
The second night saw track conditions that yielded little passing. With a draw that put him in row four for the heat, he struggled to sixth, and then ran from eighth to sixth in one of the B mains. “The second night the racetrack was really bad,” says Wayne. “It was just a joke.”
Driving three different cars to a win in 2010, Wayne’s successful season derailed in July with his injury. However, he proved in October in a return to the Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Texas that he is just as formidable as ever behind the wheel. After traveling from car to car for two straight years, he is ready for a stable ride.
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
Chris Olson asks: What’s your favorite game to play in the casino?
Wayne answers: Actually my new favorite game is “Craps”. I really just learned how to play it last week. We had some fun and made a little bit of money doing it. It sure is a lot more fun than anything else in there.
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’s three wins this year came in three different cars, at three different tracks, in three states, with three different sanctions. He won the Ronald Laney Memorial “King of the 360’s” worth $14,500 at East Bay Raceway Park near Tampa, Florida in February aboard the Glenn Styres #0. His next win came in April at the Heart ‘O Texas Speedway near Waco, Texas with the ASCS-Lone Star series aboard Brian Parker’s #9x. Finally, he won in his home state of Iowa at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington in May aboard Dale Oaks #41.
“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, The Oil Medics, Outlaw Wings, Stone Mountain, Butlerbuilt, Hoosier, Schoenfeld Headers and Cooper Racing Enterprises.