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Wednesdays with Wayne – On the Podium at “The Ditch”!
(Bill W) May 6, 2015 – The “Rock ‘N Roll 50” is one of the premier events of the season for the ASCS National Series, and the Wayne Johnson Racing #77x team found themselves on the podium after fifty grueling laps at “The Ditch” in West Memphis, Arkansas. The Knoxville, Iowa driver is planning as many as three races this week. If Mother Nature cooperates, Wayne will be in Oskaloosa, Iowa tonight with the Sprint Invaders before hitting a pair of ASCS National events Thursday and Saturday at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas and I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Wayne raced with the World of Outlaws last Friday night in his home state of Oklahoma at Salina Highbanks Speedway. “We went out to hot lap, and shot the brake pads out,” he says. “I didn’t really get any hot laps. We weren’t that great in qualifying (14th quick) after that.”
He would finish sixth in his heat to transfer to the feature. “We were just kind of hanging on,” says Wayne. “We weren’t good at all. We made some adjustments for the feature, but I didn’t have the right tire either. The tire truck didn’t have any hard tires, and we didn’t either. Eleven laps in, my right rear was done. I pulled it in. Another four or five laps and it would have blown. We could have crashed the car, so it was good we pulled off.”
Despite struggling to find a balance with the car, Wayne was surprised when he looked back at Race Monitor. “I did look at my phone on the way to West Memphis and we actually had the eighth quickest lap of the race,” he says. “I just never felt good with the car, so maybe that’s a good sign considering speed-wise we weren’t that far off.”
The Riverside International Speedway is affectionately known as “The Ditch”. The tight ¼-mile bullring saw Wayne draw the pole for his heat and win by a wide margin. “In the redraw, it was just (Aaron) Reutzel and me left,” he says. “There was a one and a seven. You know what I got…the seven!”
The 50-lap main event started well for Wayne. “We got up to fourth or fifth and we were rolling pretty well there behind Johnny Herrera,” he says. “We were better than he was early in the race. It seemed every time I went left, he went left, and every time I went right, he went right. I got frustrated and started overdriving the car. I hit the fence, and backed up all the way to ninth.”
The setback may have been a blessing in disguise. “It was like starting over again,” says Wayne. “We worked our way back through there. We got by Marshall (Skinner) and Derek (Hagar). Derek actually showed me the track. He races there every week. It’s never been my favorite track, but I was able to watch him and learn a little bit. At that point, we started picking them back off.”
Tire issues sidelined a pair of front runners. “We were in sixth behind Johnny again and he had a flat,” says Wayne. “Reutzel had one too, so that put us up to fourth. On the restart, I was able to get by (Matt) Covington into third. I was kind of riding around there the last six or seven laps. I was reeling in Tim Crawley pretty well, but (Seth) Bergman was really good. I don’t know that I’d have been able to catch him.”
Anyone who has watched the feature highlights know it was a heck of a race. “It was a crazy race,” says Wayne. “There should have been about fifteen crashes with everyone sliding around the way they were. It was good racing for the fans, that’s for sure.”
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
Wayne won in ASCS National competition at Lakeside Speedway on the 4th of July in 2008. Driving the Hammers/Forbes #94, he bested Zach Chappell, Jason Johnson, Jack Dover, Gary Wright and Brian Brown.
Partner of the Week – Canyon Apparel
With over sixteen years of experience in the screen printing industry, Canyon Apparel’s work is of the highest quality you will find anywhere in the country. Although their primary focus is custom racing shirts (sprint cars, midgets, late models and modifieds), they are more than capable of handling other jobs for businesses, events or race track designs. If you would like a quote or just need more information, call them at 866-799-6966 or visit them on the web atwww.CanyonApparelPrinting.com!
"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 partners, Todd Carlile, Townline Variety, Outlaw Wings, City Vending, Stone Mountain Access Systems and product sponsors The Oil Medics, Sebastian Sandblasting & Powdercoating, Rod End Supply, Astro Titanium, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson, Butlerbuilt, Xtreme Accu-Tach, Weld Wheels, Slade Shocks, Kustom Sprint Car, Fisher Racing Engines, Team Achieve and Canyon Apparel.
Wayne races at “The Ditch” (Rob Kocak Photo)
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
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