This message was edited on
March 20, 2013 at
12:10:19 PM by Bill W
Wednesdays with Wayne – Surviving Tulare!
(Bill W) March 20, 2013 – Wayne Johnson is back home in Iowa for a couple of days. He had time to reflect on a weekend with the World of Outlaws at the Thunderbowl Speedway in Tulare, California in which he posted a pair of top fifteen finishes. The Wayne Johnson Racing #77x team is preparing for this weekend's action with the WoO in California at Stockton 99 Raceway and Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico.
The bullring in Tulare greeted the travelers with a wicked surface in turns one and two that saw several holes. Wayne timed in 15th. "That put us on the front row (of the heat)," he says. "I got the jump on TK (Tim Kaeding) there, but I opened my entry up a little too much going into turn one, because I thought he was going to run the top. I was trying to block his momentum. He gets around the top there better than anyone. Shoot, he drove under me! We were able to maintain second. I didn't want to do anything stupid."
The second place finish in the heat put Wayne in another Dash. He started tenth and finished ninth. "I didn't think the car was too good in the heat, but they said we had a half a straightaway on Sammy (Swindell) in third, so that made me feel better," he says. "We weren't good in the Dash."
Wayne would finish fifteenth in the main event. "We're still struggling with the fuel load," he admits. "We just don't have a very good balance on the car yet come feature time. I got rolling pretty well at one time and came up on (Brian) Brown. I thought I'd go through the holes and go around the outside. As soon as I did, Sammy drove by me on the bottom and we ended up fifteenth."
Wayne was nineteenth quick in Saturday's finale. "We had a few issues with our new motor, so we took it out for Saturday," he says. "We put our seven or eight year old motor in…we're still waiting on our other ones. Nineteenth quick was all she had to give us."
Starting seventh in his heat, Wayne received some luck in finishing in fifth and transferring to the feature. "(Cody) Darrah and (Tim) Kaeding got together," he says. "That was lucky for me, because I was just running around in seventh at the time. That got me in the A main. I was lucky too, because I was almost in the wreck myself. It was the first time we've missed the Dash this year though."
On a track that yielded little passing, Wayne was able to move up to 11th from his 19th starting spot. "We just started picking them off," he says. "A few wrecked too, and we kept moving forward. We probably passed half and the other half wrecked! We were actually pretty good in the rubber. I was able to drive around the outside of Brown there. We were better in the rubber than we were in anything else."
Wayne is looking forward to Stockton and Chico this weekend. "We'll have our old motor this weekend," he says. "We'll get a new one again next week. I'm glad it's not Knoxville, and we're on some small tracks! We're not too far off here. We're learning more every time out. That's a good thing."
Follow Updates on Facebook!
Wayne will update as his race night goes on 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 World
Bill W asks: Why are the tires creating such an issue this year?
Wayne answers: No one really knows what the hell's going on with them yet. The right rear is not much different than the ASCS tire we use. It doesn't grow. The WoO is used to right rear tires that grow. They are used to belted left rear tires too. It's just different. For them, the Goodyears grew on the right rear and not the left rear. For me in ASCS, the right rear didn't grow, but the left rear did. Now, neither one grows during the race. So everyone is searching for a balance. There's definitely a fine line between hitting it and not hitting on it. The window is a lot smaller. Either you are really good, or really bad!
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!
Wayne's Fast Facts
Wayne's last wins in California came in 2011. He swept a two-night outing at Placerville Speedway. In the prelim, he defeated Aaron Reutzel, Brady Bacon, Shane Stewart and Sean Becker. In the finale, he won over Stewart, Bacon, Jason Johnson and Gary Wright.
Partner of the Week – ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems
No matter the form of motorsports, ButlerBuilt's leadership makes it the most successful seat in the industry! Winners utilizing ButlerBuilt in the last two weeks span a wide range of motorsports: Kyle Busch, Bubba Pollard, Tyler Walker, Jonathan Allard, Brady Short, Jason Sides, Josh Fisher, Shannon McQueen, Wayne Johnson, Bud Kaeding, Jessica Zemken, Lynton Jeffrey, Jason Johnson, Brooke Tatnell, Levi Jones and many more! To learn more about the Butler Advantage, visit www.ButlerBuilt.net today!
"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 Johnson Racing would like to thank Vern Rengen and Missile Motorsports, Sebastian Sandblasting & Powdercoating, Williams Motorsports, Outlaw Wings, Team Achieve, The Oil Medics, Smiley's Racing Products, Hoosier Tire Southwest, Simpson, Butlerbuilt, Super Shox, Maxim, Speedway Motors, Rod End Supply, Schoenfeld Headers, 517 Design and Canyon Apparel.
Wayne races with Kyle Hirst at Tulare (Steve LaFond - Tear-Off Heaven Fotos)
Bill W Media
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