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Wednesdays with Wayne – Two More Makes Four!
(Bill W) June 18, 2008 – Wayne Johnson racked up another pair of victories last weekend, raising his winning streak to four! He picked up his second career Bud Shootout win at the US36 Speedway west of Cameron, Missouri on Friday, before tallying another Knoxville triumph on Saturday. This week he'll pull double duty at Knoxville with the 360 on Friday, and the 410 on Saturday.
Rare qualifying for the 360 sprint cars took place at US36, and at the end, it was Wayne who was on top of the heap in the Maxim chassis/Fisher powered sprinter. "The 410 track record is 9.99 seconds, and we went 10.6 with the 360," he says. "They started us on the pole of the heat and we were able to drive away there."
The Mike and Tim Hammers/Robbie Forbes #94 had no peer in either the heat or the feature, as Wayne led every lap he ran. "We were really good," he says. "I was impressed with our whole program down there. I realize there were only 13 cars, but there were some good ones like Brian Brown who started beside me in the front row. US36 is one of my favorite tracks. We like going down there."
Wayne has made his home about two miles from Knoxville Raceway, and he made the short tow on Saturday to tune up one last time for this Friday's American Sprint Cars on Tour event. He came to win, but had other objectives as well. "One of our goals for the night, was running the bottom," he explains. "When the big races come, you're going to need to be able to run the bottom."
Starting fifth in his heat race he gained most of his positions on the way to a second place run behind Matt Moro by using the low line. Among the strong competitors he passed in the heat race were Brett Mather, Mike Houseman Jr. and Dave Hall. With an invert of twelve for the 15-lap feature event, Wayne was slated to start ninth in the big show.
Wayne moved inside the top five by lap two, but a caution relegated him back a couple of spots. He was third by lap seven, when another yellow flew. He took the low side to get by Dave Hall and set his sights on the leader, Joe Beaver. Beaver had opened up a sizable lead before another slowdown on lap ten, set up a pair of restarts late. "On the first restart when we got to second, I spun the tires getting on the throttle a little quick and Joe had a good run," says Wayne. "I thought we were done, but the caution came out right away again, and I knew I had another shot at it."
After Nate Mosher stopped before a lap could be completed, Wayne made good on the second try, and slid in front of Beaver. "I really don't know that we could have tracked down Beaver without the second chance," he says. "The cushion was pretty tall, and that was the fast way around. There just wasn't much left on the bottom."
The dry-slick conditions give Wayne the confidence he needs heading into Friday's big show. "Now we know we can pass when the track is like it was on Saturday," he relates. "A lot of people are focusing on how good our motor is running, but our car is working really well too."
Wayne had originally planned on racing in the Ollie's 360 Challenge at the Sharon Speedway last night, but the race budget wouldn't allow. "We really wanted to do that, but financially we can't be running up and down the road right now and taking that chance," he says. "I would have loved to have gone out there and seen what we could do, but we have a lot of big shows coming up around here too."
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
Scott Reeves asks: Do you remember ever winning four in a row before at any level? How about three?
Wayne answers: I actually did win four in a row in the supermodifieds back in Oklahoma City. I won for one whole month. I've never won five that I can remember, but we'll give it a shot here this weekend. Then we can say, "We've done that!"
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 has done well at the three tracks represented on the American Sprint Cars on Tour Northern swing. Outside of Knoxville, he finished 2nd behind Jason Johnson and ahead of Travis Rilat, Jake Peters and Chuck Swenson at I-90 Speedway in Hartford, South Dakota in his first appearance there last year. He has made two prior appearances at the Dakota State Fair Speedway in Huron, South Dakota. Last year, he was second behind Jason Johnson, and ahead of Rilat, Gary Wright and Peters. In 2002, he was third in World of Outlaws Gumout competition, finishing behind winner Tyler Walker and Shane Stewart, and ahead of Terry McCarl and Jason Sides.
"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 Advanced Lubrication Technology (www.cermastore.com), www.RacingThreads.com, CnB Mushroom Farms, Maxim Chassis, ARP Wings, Hoosier Tire, Simpson, Weld and ButlerBuiltfor all their help!
Wayne is joined in Victory Lane by Joe Beaver (2nd) and Jon Agan (3rd) at Knoxville on Saturday (Conrad Nelson Photo)
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
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