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Wednesdays with Wayne – Surprise Trip Down Under!
(Bill W) January 21, 2009 – Wayne Johnson knew there was a chance he may go to Australia to race this week, but didn't confirm it until 5:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. By 2:30 p.m. that afternoon, he was on a plane, headed for Victoria via Phoenix and Los Angeles. The trip follows a rocky Chili Bowl week in Scott Benic's #2B that saw him a victim of circumstance in his prelim, and upside down on Saturday.
The week got off to an ominous sign when Wayne and his Iowa co-pilot to the Sooner State met up with some Oklahoma wildlife in his Nissan Titan. "Terry McCarl is driving on the way down there, and he hits a deer on the interstate around Big Cabin," says Wayne. "I should have known that may have been an omen!"
Another omen could have been the fact that Wayne actually drew a good number for his heat race on Friday. "Things started off really well with our draw of 29," he relates. "Benic really had the car working in the heat, and pulled out front by a straightaway by the time it was over. The car was beautiful."
As good as the car was in the heat, Wayne struggled in his qualifier, backing up from 4th to 5th. Then, starting deep in the feature, disaster struck in the form of an unavoidable tangle. "The car wasn't as good in the qualifier," says Wayne. "We started back in 16th in the feature and we got up to 11th. (Cory) Kruseman spun out, and we couldn't miss him. It knocked the front axle out from under us."
Charges through the alphabet have been done before, with Wayne having done it himself, but it wasn't to be on Saturday. "We started 11th back in the D, and cars got to jockeying around," he remembers. "I thought I had a guy cleared, and he caught my left rear and over we went!"
Wayne won't have to wait long to race again. As soon as he got back to Knoxville, he was off again for Australia. He will drive for car owner Brett Smith. "Gary Wright had another commitment, so that opened up the ride for me. I was sure to tell Brett if he would have picked the right driver in the first place, he wouldn't have had this problem," laughs Wayne. "Tyson Perez, who used to work for Travis Rilat, helped hook us up."
Having raced previously in Western Australia, this time Wayne will be running Avalon Raceway in Geelong, Victoria for the President's Cup on Wednesday, Borderline Speedway in Mount Gambier, South Australia for the King's Challenge on Friday and the Premier Speedway in Warrnambool, Victoria on Saturday and Sunday for the Grand Annual Classic. "I've never been to this set of tracks, so that's a new deal for me," he says. "I'll be double-qualified for the World Challenge now (at the Knoxville Nationals), so maybe I can save one of those for 2010, in case I don't race in another country before then!"
Wayne will bust it straight from Victoria to Florida to race eleven nights in the "Sunshine State" starting on Thursday, January 29. Wayne picked up some sponsorship for the 410, but would welcome any other help in his goal of running with the Outlaws this year. "I'd like to welcome Deberg Concrete and TNT Custom Golf Carts on board," he says. "They're helping us out, and I'd like to thank them. We still have room on the car! I'll be flying straight into Orlando from Australia to get going. Jeremy (Rankin) and (Curt) Brooks will be driving the rig down from Knoxville. No rest for the weary!"
Wayne's Website
To learn more about Wayne and the team, log on to www.WayneJohnsonRacing.com!
Wayne's World
Howard Colyn asks: With the economy the way it is right now, what changes do you foresee in the future of sprint car racing, and what can sprint car racing in general do to grow as a sport?
Wayne answers: The biggest harm this economy has is going to be on the number of spectators we have in the stands, and that's the worst thing that can happen. That's going to hurt the promoters and trickle down to owners and drivers. It's hurt everybody. As far as the sport growing, I don't think it needs to grow anymore. We need to back up a little bit to a few years ago when not so many corporate sponsors and owners were involved. I'm a firm believer that that is hurting the sport more than helping. Only a handful of drivers have those sponsors and they can "out-dollar" everyone else.
Wayne's Fast Facts
Wayne's previous trips to Australia have been in Western Australia. He won at the Quit Motorplex in Kwinana Beach, WA on January 3, 2004. In that event, he topped Paul May, Jeff Leisk, Michael Figliomeni and Mick Goode in the Monte #6.
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!
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Wayne had a rough week at the Chili Bowl in the Benic #2B (John Lee HighFlyn' Photo)
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Right now the plan is to only run Knoxville with the 14AJ so Wayne is also looking for other options to fill his schedule on Knoxville's "off days." 