9/24/2014
Sprint Source
Wednesdays with Wayne – 61,150 Reasons to be Happy!
First and second in the Knoxville Nationals may pay more, but no other sprint car driver will take home more in one day than Wayne Johnson did last Saturday night. In addition to sweeping features worth $8,000 total, a $50,000 bonus and lap money brought $61,150 home to Knoxville, Iowa for the veteran driver in the Fall Brawl at I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska. The Wayne Johnson Racing #77x team heads to the Lucas Oil Speedway near Wheatland, Missouri Friday and Saturday for the Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial.
The only race Wayne wouldn’t win would be his heat in Friday’s prelim where he ran second after starting fourth. “Jason (Johnson) and I were racing hard for the spot,” he says. “It was more me blocking him than anything. The racetrack is so wide there, and the speeds so great, that you have to anticipate slidejobs. So I was blocking a little bit. Once I finally got him cleared and got up to speed, I was able to run Stevie (Smith) down. It just got too late to get by him.”
After redrawing a starting spot outside row one for Friday’s $3,000 to win feature, he would lead the distance. “We had like five tries to start the race, and on the last one, Seth (Bergman) got the jump on me,” says Wayne. “We were still able to get by him coming off of turn two. We were able to lead every lap.”
Wayne was complimentary of the staff at I-80 Speedway for providing a great racing surface all weekend. “There was a little bit of traffic on Friday, but not too much,” he says. “There were a few moments in traffic there that were tough, but the car has been just great the last month. They did a great job with the racetrack last weekend. Especially on Saturday, when they had gotten all the rain.”
Two and a half inches fell on the speedway overnight. With the heats looking fast with not much passing, drawing a six for a starting spot Saturday night didn’t bode well. “I thought we were in trouble,” says Wayne. “The way the racetrack was when we drew…it was still pretty fast. We were lucky to have a long intermission. The corners dried up quite a bit.”
The track was definitely racy by feature time. A great start saw Wayne jump to third on the first lap. He was sitting in third when an open red came out at the halfway point (for Brian Brown). “We didn’t change a lot,” he says. “The biggest thing for me was making up my mind about one and two. I was kind of being a sissy, because I knew some cars had turned over down there. I finally just decided either run the thing through there, crash it and get it over with, or go get the damn money.”
The change in mentality won Wayne the race and the cash. “The car was actually going through there nice,” he says of the cushion in one and two. “I was shocked. I had a little trouble early. I jumped the curb a little bit, and that’s when Brown crashed behind me.”
On lap 16 of 30, Wayne would get by Jason Johnson and set his sights on the leader, Dusty Zomer. “On the long run, the car just got better and better,” he says. “I actually got too excited at one point. I came off of two and about ran Dusty over. I knew about three laps before that he was really struggling off of turn two. I was just hoping he wouldn’t move up the track and take my line away.”
Wayne persevered and took the lead on lap 24. “I kind of overdid the slidejob the first time,” he says. “I over-slid him and he got back by. Coming off of two though, I knew what I had to do. Instead of sliding from the bottom of the top, I got in there with him side by side and took the line away.”
A little bit of amnesia came with the big win. “It was a good race. I can honestly say I’ve never forgot a race,” says Wayne. “When I took the lead with five to go, I said to myself, ‘O.K., five to go.’ Then I said, ‘Holy $%&, five to go?’ I counted down the next time around, four to go! The next time I came by that I could actually remember, he was waving the checkered flag. I don’t even remember the last three laps! I’ve never done that. I don’t know if adrenaline took over or what.”
$61,150 in the bank doesn’t hurt, whether you remember the last few laps or not. “It’s no secret that we’ve been struggling here for some time,” says Wayne. “That money will go a long way for us. It will really help us going into the offseason. We still have plenty of racing to go though, so I think this will give us some momentum too.”
Last but not least, Wayne has a special day coming up. “I have to wish my daughter Paige a Happy Birthday! She’s going to be seven on Friday. Unfortunately, we’ll be down in Wheatland racing that day, but we’ll catch up next week when we have the week off.”
Follow Updates on Facebook!
Wayne will update as his race night commences at his Facebook page. Find it by searching for Wayne Johnson Racing or clicking the following link…
http://www.facebook.com/#!/WayneJohnsonRacing
Outlaw Wings – “The Wing with an Attitude”
Check out the new “recessed rivet” design put out by Outlaw Wings. Talk to Wayne about purchasing Outlaw Wings for your car! Outlaw Wings – "The Wing with an Attitude"!
Wayne's Fast Facts
On the 4th of July, 2008, Wayne won at the Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas under the ASCS National banner. He drove the Hammers/Forbes #94 ahead of Zach Chappell, Jason Johnson, Jack Dover and Gary Wright.
Partner of the Week – ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems
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"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 sprntcar@hotmail.com with"Wayne" in the subject line.
Wayne Johnson Racing would like to thank partners, Todd Carlile, Vern Rengen, Miles with Townline Variety, Russell with Outlaw Wings, Ray with City Vending, Scott with Stone Mountain Access Systems and product sponsors Bill with The Oil Medics, Byron with Sebastian Sandblasting & Powdercoating, Shawna and Kaleb with Triple X Race Components, Bob with Rod End Supply, Dave with Astro Titanium, Mark and Doug with Schoenfeld Headers, Desiree at Simpson, Jeannie at Butlerbuilt, Tom at Xtreme Accu-Tach, Carl with Kustom Sprint Car, Brad with Momentum, Charlie with Fisher Racing Engines, Team Achieve and Tim with Canyon Apparel.
Attached: Wayne celebrates at I-80 (Rob Kocak Photos)
Article Credit: Bill Wright
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