August 22, 2012 – Wayne Johnson picked up his second win of the season at Lawton Speedway in Oklahoma, this time in unconditional fashion. After finishing second, the leader, Jason Johnson was disqualified for losing his muffler. The DQ put Wayne back atop the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series standings as they head to the Salina (OK) High Banks this Friday and the I-30 Speedway near Little Rock, Arkansas Saturday.
After starting fourth in his heat, Wayne stormed to victory at Lawton on Saturday. “The car was good in the heat,” he says. “We were high point guy, and drew the eight. It was a weird racetrack. I’ve never seen it that heavy at Lawton. The cushion was really choppy.”
Wayne moved forward right away in the main event. “We had a good start,” he says. “We passed Jason and we were up to second. They had a restart, and I got hemmed up a little bit. Jason and Mike Goodman got back by me.”
The Oklahoma City native struggled with the handling of the Wayne Johnson Racing #77x at that point. “I just wasn’t very good,” he says. “The wing was moved back. The car was way too tight. I think I fell back to fifth or sixth. I was just trying to maintain. Then we got a late caution, and I was able to get the wing back forward again.”
That’s when Wayne had the fastest car on the track. “We really got rolling at that point,” he says. “I got back up to second, and when I got there, Jason was about a straightaway out. I think there were six or seven laps to go. I drove it up within a half straightaway from him at the end.”
That’s when the post-race excitement started. “Somebody told me (Jason) didn’t have a muffler,” says Wayne. “I told (competition director) Matt (Ward) that he better check his muffler. Next thing you know they were hauling ass off the scales. Someone handed me a muffler. I told Matt that he may want to check.”
It took some time to determine what happened. “They tried to say it came off in Victory Lane, but one of the photographers had a picture of the car on his camera at speed,” says Wayne. “Some could hear it I guess. On Racin’ Boys, they said it sounded like someone was blowing a motor.”
Internet chatter has been brisk about the incident. “I’m hearing I’m an asshole for saying anything to ASCS about it,” says Wayne. “Anybody in my situation would have done that. Well, I had 60,000 reasons to say something! That could have been me too. It was (Seth) Bergman earlier this year who got DQed.”
Two other events were held last weekend. On Thursday, it was Salina Speedway in Kansas. Wayne would drive from twelfth to fifth there. “We had a loaded heat race,” he says. “We drew the 72 (starting 7th and finishing 5th). We started twelfth in the feature. We were coming up through there pretty well. I ended up fading a bit. I came on late at the end. We had a green, white, checker finish and I ended up passing three cars there. They all went to the curb and I ran the bottom. They got hemmed up.”
Things didn’t go so well at Creek County Speedway near Sapulpa, Oklahoma on Friday. Wayne would finish seventh. “We weren’t any good,” he says. “We were flirting around fourth, fifth or sixth…back in there. We got to third at one time. The car just wasn’t good. I got to running the top and banging on the curb.”
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
Aaron Koch asks: Where do you find the best barbeque?
Wayne Answers: I’m not a big barbeque fan, but my favorite is right there in Oklahoma. It’s a chain called the “Rib Crib”.
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 has achieved victory three times at the Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia. He topped an ASCS race on August 1, 1997, and also on May 27, 2000 when he bested Jason Johnson, Randy Martin, Michael Dupuy and Steve Gennetten. His final win came in Winged Outlaw Warrior action on May 25, 2003 ahead of Tracy Nichols and Jimmy Sills.
Partner of the Week – Rod End Supply
Whether you are running a go-cart, micro, mini-sprint, midget, modified, late model, sprint or a tractor, Rod End Supply has the assortment of rod ends, radius rods, and specialty products that will help you lead the field in performing at your maximum potential. At Rod End Supply, “They don’t just sell ‘em, they race ‘em! Visit them on the web at www.RodEndSupply.com or call 1-800-284-2902 today!
“Wednesday’s with Wayne”
“Wednesday’s With Wayne” is an up close look at the past, present and future of colorful andtalented 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.
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