(Bill W) July 15, 2009 – Passing Outlaws at will in Iowa, a second place finish in Oregon and a good whack in the leg at Knoxville were all a part of a busy week for Wayne Johnson. The sprint car driver is in the midst of a busy week right now driving California owner Harold Main’s #35A in the Pacific Northwest.
A week ago, Wayne ran with the World of Outlaws at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. After qualifying 18th, he finished fifth in the heat before lining up 18th in the feature. He proceeded to move forward. “We tried some new setup stuff at Burlington, and it worked pretty well,” he says. “The car was really good. We battled with Steve Kinser for awhile, and then after we got by him into 14th or so, we really took off after a restart.”
The late restart provided Wayne with a chance to reel in the top ten. Restarting 14th, he was into the top ten with three to go before an admitted driver error. “We were riding the high side there, and we were into the top ten,” he says. “With three laps to go, we just drove it in hard over turn two and all of a sudden, I was headed towards the pit gate. I had two choices, I could drive it into the fence or out the pit gate, and I chose to drive it into the pits.”
Although there was disappointment, Wayne received a needed boost from his run. “Our finish definitely didn’t show how good the car was, that’s for sure,” he says of the DNF. “We came out of it with some confidence, though. We know we can be fast with those guys.”
It was Twin Features Night at Knoxville on Saturday. Mechanical issues resulted in the 29th (out of 32) quick time of the night. Wayne raced uphill all night, but grabbed the final transfer through the B with a slide job under Lynton Jeffrey and Bronson Maeschen late in the race. “We lost the power steering in time trials, so that set us back,” he says. “Starting tenth in the heat when they are taking five is just not ideal. We really got it going in the B though. We’ve been trying some new stuff. We’ve got a new wing from ARP that we were using, and we were able to slide by a couple of guys in the corner to grab the last transfer spot.”
Starting scratch in the first feature, Wayne was collected in a six-car pile-up. His night was done, as he was taken to the hospital for a leg injury. “We just got collected in that deal,” he says of the crash. “My leg got into the torque ball pretty hard. It wasn’t broken, but it’s still really sore.”
Wayne races for a living, and he had a plane heading for Sacramento on Sunday morning at 10:30. There was no hesitation, and after arriving in California, the team headed for Oregon and the Southern Oregon Speedway for Monday night’s race in White City. After winning his heat handily, Wayne started on the pole at the ¼ mile oval. He would lead until lap 10, when Jesse Hockett worked by him. “Getting beat from the front row is never good, but Jesse was running well,” says Wayne, who was driving in pain. “When he got by me, traffic was pretty heavy there. Jesse’s run his car all the time, and that was the first night that we’ve run our 360 car, so we’ve just got to pick up the pace a little.”
Still, Wayne ended up second, and that had to feel like a positive after his last racing trip to Oregon and Washington. “Everything was good,” he says. “It feels good to get a positive finish here for this team. We just weren’t any good my last trip out here.”
Wayne added another top five at Cottage Grove Speedway last evening and is currently third in Speedweek points. ASCS Northwest Speedweek continues tonight at the Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Oregon, and concludes with a two-night show and the arrival of the Lucas Oil ASCS National series this weekend at the Grays Harbor Raceway Park in Elma, Washington.
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
Wayne Seiler from Burlington, WA asks: When you are racing with drivers you aren’t accustomed to, like in the Northwest, are there adjustments you need to make on the track?
Wayne answers: Not really. When you come up to a guy, you can usually tell where you’re going to pass him. Anymore, a lot of these guys from up here (Oregon/Washington) come out East. You’re just observant, and make sure what drivers are under control.
Wayne’s Tech Tips
It seems the cockpit is pretty safe, but is there anything you think can be done to cut down on leg injuries like the one you had on Saturday?
Wayne: We definitely need to do something in that area. I’m talking with Jeannie Butler (Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems) this week. We need to do something that contains our feet, where they don’t move around so much. The Cup guys have something like that, but it’s a little harder for us, because we work in that area of the car so much.
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!
- Bill Wright on Jul 15, 2009
- Article Date: 7/15/2009