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Wednesdays with Wayne – Long Haul!
(Bill W) May 28, 2008 – Sprint car driver Wayne Johnson is traveling a lot of miles this week! After racing at Knoxville Raceway last Saturday night, the team trekked to Greenville Speedway in Greenville, Mississippi to race with USCS on Sunday. A race at Atwood, Tennessee was rained out on Monday, and Wayne and the team competed last night in Clarksville and will run tomorrow night in Camden before making the long trip back to Knoxville for 410 racing on Saturday!
The trip from Knoxville to Greenville registers 734 miles. At the end of the long tow, Wayne met a familiar companion, "Mr. Bad Draw". Once again, he overcame that in the heat race, charging from 6th to 3rd. The run put him outside of row six for 25 laps in the main event on the ¼ mile gumbo clay oval in the Mike and Tim Hammers/Robbie Forbes #94.
Wayne roared to the high side immediately and began picking off his competitors. "We cruised up there pretty well," he says. "On lap 12, there was a red flag (for a multi-car pileup on the backstretch), and we were up to third by then behind (Tim) Crawley and (Terry) Gray. I was feeling good in the car and was ready to make my run at them. On the restart, going into turn one the left front arm fell off. Front there on out, we kind of just had to hold on. It was a shame, because I think we had something for those guys. I think it broke a titanium bolt."
Crawley and Gray continued to battle up front, while Wayne's mechanical failure kept him at bay in third at the finish. "They started on the front row," Wayne says of Crawley and Gray. "I'm sure we would have had enough to give them a run for their money. We were coming. You never know until you get there, but we did run them down pretty quick."
Things were going well last night at Clarksville until the last lap, when Crawley passed Wayne for the win. Wayne settled for second, and has still never finished out of the top five in his career in USCS events.
Saturday at Knoxville Raceway was a disappointment in the 410. After qualifying a mediocre 13th quick, Wayne ran fourth in the heat race on a single-file, heavy, tacky track. "We weren't setup at all," says Wayne, summing up his night. "(Danny) Lasoski was following me in the heat race, and said, 'You had your hands full out there'. I told him, 'You should have seen me in the feature!'"
The feature was no better. After starting in row five, Wayne treaded back to 12th at the end of 20 laps. "We need to get back and find out what's going on there (with the 410 at Knoxville)," he says. "I don't exactly know what the problem is. I needed a knob on the wheel on Saturday, that's for sure. It was all over the place. I almost went into the infield once, and about knocked the fence down once. It just wouldn't drive, even down the straightaway. We'll be home Friday morning to check on the 410 and get it ready for Saturday."
Wayne will race tomorrow night at the Camden Speedway in Camden, Tennessee before returning 580 miles to Knoxville and a Saturday night run in the FattFro #14AJ 410.
T-shirts and Hats
Separate shirts for the H&H #94 and FattFro #14AJ are now available at the trailer. Keep an eye on www.RacingThreads.com in the near future or visit the trailer to get your Wayne Johnson merchandise.
Wayne's Website
To learn more about Wayne and the team, log on to www.WayneJohnsonRacing.com!
Wayne's World
Larry from Burlington, IA asks: What are the obstacles in driving for car owners from Mississippi (360) and Chicago (410)?
Wayne answers: First of all, they are both great car owners. Saying that, I have to say you couldn't have two people that are more different. Al (Christoffer) is a businessman in Chicago, and Mike, Tim and Robbie are farmers in Mississippi. I don't think it gets more different than that! I've got my northern accent talking to Al, and I go back to my native Oklahoma accent so I can understand the other guys! I think the biggest obstacles for us, come with the fact that we're running two teams here. The guys who just have one team know what kind of work goes into that. Now add another team on top of that, and you can see the amount of hours and work Chirpy (Jeremy Rankin) and I have to put in. Another thing we work on, is keeping all the parts, and all the race stuff separate between the two cars. We have different cars, different motors, different everything, so that's another challenge. And, of course, there are a ton of phone conversations!
Got a question for Wayne? Send it to us at [email protected], 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 driven for seven different car owners in Knoxville Raceway competition. He has piloted the Sparks 91 (360), the Archer 1a (410, 360), the Threatt 29 (410, 360), the Vielhauer 12x (410, 360), the FattFro #14AJ (410, 360), the VanderEcken 10 (410) and the Hammers/Forbes 94 (360). Five of his nine wins at Knoxville have come in the 410 class (four in the 14AJ, one in the 12x), and four in the 360 class (three in the 29, one in the 94).
"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 [email protected] with "Wayne" in the subject line.
Wayne would like to thank H&H Enterprises, Pearson Farms, R&A Farms, FattFro, Stone Mountain Access, Cerma Technology (www.cermastore.com), www.RacingThreads.com, CnB Mushroom Farms, Maxim Chassis, ARP Wings, Hoosier Tire, Simpson, Weld and ButlerBuiltfor all their help!
Wayne has been battling Tim Crawley and the rest of USCS this week (ASCS Photo)
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
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@BillWMedia
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