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Wednesdays with Wayne – Pain in the $%*!
(Bill W) January 28, 2009 – Wayne Johnson hoped to be a pain in the rear for the local sprint car competitors in Australia last week. Instead, he left with a pain in his. A bruised tailbone was one memento he brought back with him as he embarks on his 2009 American campaign in Florida this week. His schedule includes eleven races over the next two weeks in the FattFro #14AJ 410 sprinter.
Wayne was thankful for the opportunity to run four nights in Australia. "First of all, I have to thank Brett Smith, Kenny and Tommy and the #39 team for all they did for me down there," he says. "We were chasing some problems with the car, and they were putting some overtime in."
Wayne saw his first action last Wednesday at the President's Cup at Avalon Raceway near Geelong, Victoria. "Things started well enough there," he relates. "We were third quick, after having the last car out to time. We were fast, I could almost flatfoot the thing around there. Something was still rough with the car, and the heats didn't go well. Another car and I got together in the B main, and that was it for Wednesday."
Friday's night at the King's Challenge at the Borderline Speedway in Mt. Gambier, South Australia saw early problems. "We were tenth quick there, but the motor got hot qualifying (radiator hose collapse)," Wayne remembers. "We had to change motors, and we couldn't get it done before our heat. It's all based on points, so there was no sense in us running after that, but we did go out for our second heat to make sure everything was o.k. Then it jumped out of gear, so we only made a lap or two. We dyno-ed all the shocks that we had to see if we could find something."
Wayne timed in 7th out of 68 competitors for the Grand Annual Classic held at the Premier Speedway in Warrnambool, Victoria on Saturday and Sunday. He qualified for the feature after winning his first heat and eighth in his second. That's when disaster hit. "When the track slicked off, we didn't seem to be as good," he says. "Our shocks weren't cooperating real well. We did get it good for the feature and we started 13th. We were getting around there good. I passed Max Dumesny and (Kerry) Madsen there. About that time I hit a rut wrong and got upside down out of the ballpark."
Wayne was taken to the local medical facility. "They took me to the hospital there, but they didn't have staff to X-ray me, so I had to come back the next day," he says. "Turns out it was a bruise on my tailbone that can take up to nine months to feel right from. After that point, we just weren't good for Sunday. The car and the driver were pretty bent up."
Wayne is now in Florida readying for three nights at the Ocala Speedway with the All Stars (January 29-31), six nights at Volusia Speedway (February 3-8) and two nights at East Bay Raceway Park near Tampa (February 10-11). Jeannie Butler of Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems is helping Wayne feel as comfortable in her seat as she can. "Jeannie has got a special pad that she's going to deliver to me. We'll use practice tonight (Wednesday) to feel everything out with the car. I haven't even had a chance to look at the track yet. Jeremy (Rankin) and (Curt) Brooks got the trailer down here alright, and we're ready to go!"
Wayne also wanted to relate there is still room for sponsorship on the #14AJ!
Wayne's Website
To learn more about Wayne and the team, log on to www.WayneJohnsonRacing.com!
Wayne's World
Bill W asks: How was the food in Australia?
Wayne answers: I pretty much stuck to McDonald's to be honest. Pretty much all I had was the hamburgers, pizza one time, and some Chinese food that was really good. I'm not fond of breakfast there. How can you (screw) up an egg? They didn't taste good.
Wayne's Tech Tips
Wheel Spacers – They are aluminum and vary from 1/4" to 3 or 4 inches thick. They space the wheel on the axle. It's a round shim with splines on it that goes around the axle inside the right rear tire. If you loosen the car, you're moving the right rear tire out, and if you're tightening the car, you're moving the right rear in.
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 [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!
"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 FattFro, Stone Mountain Access, Deberg Concrete, TNT Custom Golf Carts, www.RacingThreads.com, CnB Mushroom Farms, Maxim Chassis, ARP Wings, Hoosier Tire, Simpson, Weld and ButlerBuiltfor all their help!
Wayne in Brett Smith's #39 in Australia (Daniel Beard Photo)
Bill W MediaMonroe, IAUSA[email protected]
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