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Wednesdays with Wayne – Victory at Camden!
(Bill W) June 4, 2008 – Wayne Johnson's rhythm continued with the United Sprint Car Series at Camden Speedway in Tennessee last Thursday night. He registered his fifth win in twelve career tries with a series in which he has never finished outside of the top five. His penchant for winning the first time he sees a track also continued, as it was his first visit to the banked 3/8 mile oval. This weekend's plans are up in the air a bit, as the team assesses what is ailing their 410 after a 12th place finish at Knoxville Raceway Saturday night.
Having already registered a third and a second place finish during USCS Speedweek, Wayne and the crew used a day off on Wednesday to bolt their primary Fisher motor in for Thursday's tussle at Camden. The move paid off immediately.
Starting seventh in his heat, Wayne sliced through the field to a second place finish and put himself in a "redraw" position. Luck was on his side this time, when he drew the pole for the 30-lap main event. "The car was awesome all night," says Wayne of the Mike and Tim Hammers/Robbie Forbes #94 Maxim. "We put our Fisher motor in there for Camden and it was screaming."
There was really never a doubt once the feature started. Wayne took off and never looked back, despite four cautions, and a red flag fuel stop. Wayne won four times with the USCS in 2007 at tracks he had never seen before (North Florida Speedway, Malden Speedway, Columbus Speedway, Clay Hill Motorsports), and added Camden as the first in that category for 2008. "We really kicked them down there, to be honest," says Wayne. "That was my kind of racetrack."
There was a bit of excitement when Wayne thought he may have to outrun a quad. "On one of the restarts, we had some excitement," he says. "They pushed a car out on the track with a 4-wheeler as we were going green! They went in to change a tire, and they weren't going to wait on them. I got on the gas, and here they come out of the work area coming off of four!"
The Knoxville, Iowa driver could not have been happier with how the car ran on Thursday. "I really think if it went green all the way, we had a shot at lapping the field, that's how good we were," he says. "As it was with all the slowdowns and stops, we still lapped up to sixth. It was a marathon with all the yellows and reds. It felt like I was in the car forever."
The team towed the long road back to Knoxville to race the FattFro #14AJ on Saturday. From the start, it was apparent that things were off. "We were a ½ a second off of the guy qualifying right before us," says Wayne. After coming out second in the qualifying order, a 15th quick effort was disappointing.
Wayne maintained second in the heat race after starting in front, and treaded to a 12th place finish at the end of the night. "I think we have some motor issues on the 410, so we're not sure about our plans this weekend," he says. "We'll be at Knoxville in one of the classes, but that's kind of up in the air right now."
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
Charlie Jacobs from Des Moines, IA asks: Do you think either of your daughters will race?
Wayne answers: I don't think the older one will, the baby is crazy like her daddy, so she probably will. Mom and the grandparents on mom's side are all for it. Paige loves anything that moves and has an engine! If it makes noise, she wants to know what it's about.
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's USCS numbers are still impressive. According to Kevin Eckert's www.openwheeltimes.com, Camden became the fifth different track he has won at with the series. Those five wins have come in twelve starts. He has never finished outside of the top five. Outside of the five victories, he has two seconds, one third, two fourths and two fifths, mostly racing on tracks he has no or limited experience!
"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 and crew in Victory Lane at Camden Speedway (TN) (USCS Photo)
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
[email protected]
If this post isn't results, stories or something c
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@BillWMedia
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