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Wednesdays with Wayne – Wound Tight!
(Bill W) May 9, 2007 – A disappointing Saturday night at Knoxville and a rainout at Burlington weren't exactly what Wayne Johnson was looking for last weekend. Battling a tight racecar at Knoxville, Wayne managed a seventh place finish, but that wasn't what he was hoping for after jumping into the 410 powered FattFro #14AJ for the first time in 2007.
Friday night, Wayne took part in a practice session at Knoxville. "I was excited after practice, because we were fast! We went back out there on Saturday night, and you'd think I never drove before! The craziest thing was the track was about the same. It was stickier on Saturday, but pretty much the same. We ran good on Friday (laps of 14.7 seconds), and I thought we'd be alright."
After qualifying a disappointing 11th…nowhere near what he expected…Wayne and crewmen Jeremy Rankin chased the setup all night. "We were just too tight all night long! In the heat race, I felt like I was all over the place! Well, I know I was all over the place (laughs)! They (the crew and family) thought it was me, and so did I, but when I pulled in, we found out the left rear shock was broke and had no compression." Still, he finished in a transfer spot (5th), and had a decent spot outside row five for the 20-lap feature.
Wayne waited for a drying of the track that never came. "When the dirt blew off a little, I thought we'd leave it alone and be just fine, but we were tight. We didn't know how far to go with that shock breaking. We didn't know how much the shock was affecting it (setup) in the heat. It just didn't feel good. The racetrack seems to be better than it used to be, at least on Saturday. That stuff was sticky!"
Losing several spots, Johnson changed his driving style and shot into the top ten, finishing seventh. He explains, "I got pissed off after getting passed, and started driving like a maniac!" Afterwards he went looking for answers. "Talking to some of the other crews, most of them were set up a lot freer (looser) than we were. The tough thing about racing back and forth (410/360), is you get in a rhythm racing all the time, and know what to do to the car. How you set up the cars is a lot different. When we come back to Knoxville, we'll get to run a couple weeks in a row, and that should make a difference."
Mama's Cookin'!
Johnson will be heading back to his native state of Oklahoma on Friday as he jumps back in the Hammers/Forbes #94 360. The American Sprint Cars on Tour tackle the State Fairgrounds Speedway in his hometown of Oklahoma City.
Wayne looks forward to heading back to the track he won at in March with the ASCoT, and seeing his Mama (not necessarily in that order). "I'm always looking to go back home and get that 'Home Cookin'! There isn't anything like Mama's cookin'!"
Another familiar haunt waits on Saturday in the form of the Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas. Wayne also scored victory there in March and takes us for a lap around the unique banked ½ mile. "We've always got around that place good. You go downhill into turn one, and it wants to carry you off the track in turn two. Then off of turn two, it lugs, because you start uphill. You run into three and depending on how the racetrack is, turn four can be tight. You definitely need a good running motor there."
Stop by after the races and say "Hello" to Wayne, Erin and Jeremy.
A Look Ahead
The rig will head Northeast next weekend, tackling Black Rock Speedway in Dundee, New York. The Bully Hill Vineyards New York Nationals await the ASCoT series on May 18 and 19.
The following weekend will find the ASCoT at Susquehanna Speedway near Newberrytown, Pennsylvania on Thursday, May 24, and Virginia Motor Speedway near Saluda, Virginia on Friday and Saturday, May 25 and 26.
T-shirts on the Way
Wayne Johnson T-shirts will be available soon. Stay tuned to when they'll be coming out. We can tell you they are pretty unique and cover both the 410 and 360 angles!
Wayne's World
Mark in Kansas City, MO asks: What do you remember about your first race in a sprint car?
Wayne answers: I've been racing for 20 years, so I'll have to put my memory into overdrive. It was my dad's car. It was an NCRA 410 race in 1991 at Tulsa Speedway. The race was fast and the anticipation was high because it was something I'd dreamed about for a long time. I finished 2nd to Donny Ray Crawford. I was excited to run 2nd to him because he was the defending track Champion year after year at Tulsa.
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 first two wins at the Devil's Bowl came exactly one year apart, and both saw Garry Lee Maier in the bridesmaid position. On June 18, 1996 he beat Garry, Danny Wood, Bobby Davis Jr. and Terry Gray to the stripe, and on June 18, 1997 he bested Garry, Gary Wright, Sean Michael and Glenn Forbes.
"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, CnB Mushroom Farms, Eagle Chassis, Fast Wings, Hoosier Tire, Simpson, Weld and ButlerBuiltfor all their help!
Wayne at Knoxville 5-5-07 (Dave Hill)
 (Bill W)
Bill WrightBill W MediaMonroe, IA USA[email protected]
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