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Wednesdays with Wayne – Tuesday Editon!
(Bill W) July 29, 2009 – Wayne Johnson drove Harold Main's #35A to a second place finish at last weekend's Cottage Grove Speedway stop in Oregon for the Lucas Oil ASCS National series presented by K&N Filters. The weekend was a positive after Wayne had struggled with his health over the past couple of weeks after a hard crash at Knoxville. Tonight and tomorrow he will team with Miles Hill to run with the World of Outlaws at the Ohweken Speedway in Ontario, Canada.
Two weeks ago, Wayne scored four top ten finishes in five starts to nail down fifth in the final ASCS Northwest point standings. That came despite some serious leg pain from a crash he sustained at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa on July 11. Last weekend, at Cottage Grove, things seemed to click after a week off.
Wayne finished third from his heat after starting in the back, and started outside of row three for the feature. The result would be a second place finish on Friday. "We ran well there Friday night," says the Knoxville, Iowa resident. "We were able to move up to second. I just felt a lot better in the car after a week off of racing. It was the first time I really got to rest after my accident at Knoxville (July 11). Jesse (Hockett) filled in for me racing Harold's car on Wednesday down in Placerville (California), and it worked out for me."
The 2000 ASCS champion made a few advances at leader, Shane Stewart, but settled for the runner-up finish. "We were strong, we just didn't have anything for Shane there in the end," admits Wayne. "It was good to get locked into the second night."
Saturday night's finale saw Wayne redraw for a starting spot inside row two. After falling back as far as sixth, he surged up to second in the latter stages. "We fell back at the outset, but we were able to move back by Roger Crockett into second there later on in the race (also getting by Stewart)," he says. "Then we bounced it off the fence and knocked the Jacob's ladder off and the right front hub was bent up. We faded to sixth after that."
Few teams had the strong finishes that the #35A did over the fortnight. "All in all, it was good," says Wayne. "We got our bugs worked out with the car, and I think we'll be stronger for it when we come back out here. The driver was healed up too. I can't say enough good things about Harold Main and the guys who work hard on the team."
Wayne will Miles Hill's sprinter tonight at Ohsweken. "We haven't run together since Charlotte, but the car was very good that weekend," he says. "I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do against the best, on a track I've really taken a liking to."
Wayne won the Canadian Nationals last Fall at Ohsweken, driving one of Glenn Styres' cars. After the WoO two-nighter, Wayne will return home and get the FattFro #14AJ prepared for Knoxville.
Wayne Johnson Apparel in Stock!
2009 Wayne Johnson apparel for both men and women is now in stock! T-shirts, long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops and hats are all in! To order, e-mail Wayne at [email protected] or stop by the trailer at the track.
Wayne's Website
To learn more about Wayne and the team, log on to www.WayneJohnsonRacing.com!
Wayne's World
Joe Rossow asks: Who were some of your heroes in racing growing up?
Wayne answers: On a local level there in Oklahoma City, it was Dutch ver Steeg, and of course, a big mentor of mine was Stan Constant. Of the travelers, Harold Leep really stood out for me, and Steve Kinser too.
Wayne's Tech Tips
With the 40-lap feature at the Nationals, there has been a lot of talk about fuel consumption. How much fuel are you using right now, particularly at Knoxville?
Wayne: We're using about ¾ of a gallon every lap at speed. On the caution laps, it's about a ¼ of a gallon per lap. So if you went green to checker at 40 laps, you're looking at around 30 gallons minimum.
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, Bral Restoration, 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!
Wayne competes at Grays Harbor Raceway Park (John's Racing Photos)
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
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