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Wednesdays with Wayne – Year in Review!
(Bill W) November 21, 2007 – For sprint car driver, Wayne Johnson, 2007 was a success. Dubbed "The Jack of All Trades", Wayne bounced back and forth between his 360 and 410 sprint car rides. In the end, it was a year that saw Wayne fast most nights, qualify for his fifth consecutive Knoxville Nationals and win a total of eleven times.
The 360
Driving Mike and Tim Hammers and Robbie Forbes' #94 360, the focus was the American Sprint Cars on Tour title. A strong start saw Wayne leading the points, and he was always within shouting distance of eventual champion, Gary Wright. "All in all, I think it was a good year in the 360," says Wayne. "We ran consistently in the top five just about every night despite not drawing for *$%&. We were in contention for a win with the ASCS just about every night out. We had a couple incidents that really cost us in the points and we had a shot at it even towards the end, but I've got to hand it to G.W., he finished it off well. I still feel like we should have won a championship with the 360, but we'll see what we can do with them next year!"
Wayne garnered three wins with ASCoT, but also won four out of six features he competed at with USCS. The other two USCS features saw a second place finish and a charge from the back to fourth despite tough competition that sometimes included fellow ASCoT travelers Wright and Jason Johnson. Wayne won at five tracks he had never seen before. "I had never seen Atwood, Tennessee, Malden, Missouri, Brainerd, Minnesota, Susquehanna (PA) Speedway or Columbia (MS) Speedway and we won at all five with the 360. I think that shows the strength of our team this year," Wayne proudly states.
Other 360 wins came after starting 12th in weekly competition at Knoxville, and in central Pennsylvania at Susquehanna Speedway Park. "I want to thank my owners in Mississippi for making the 360 side of this possible," says Wayne. "Hopefully, we can continue our relationship for years to come."
The 410
410 action in 2007 was limited to 16 feature events, as Wayne again teamed with Al Christoffer in the #14AJ. "We never really were up to speed like I thought we should have been," says the Knoxville, Iowa driver. "We were always just a tick off, and I don't know if it was the going back and forth with the 360 or what. There were a lot of changes with tires this year, and I don't think I ever got enough seat time to really get the car working as well as we have in the past." Despite all that, he was able to record two wins with the Interstate Racing Association. He found victory in August at the Wilmot Speedway in Wilmot, Wisconsin, and at the Langlade County Speedway in Antigo, Wisconsin.
In a 410 show, the most important laps can be those you travel on your own. "I think the qualifying hurt us a bit," says Wayne. "The qualifying with the 360s is you race your ass off. That's an adjustment when you go back to the 410 and need two clean laps by yourself. At Charlotte (WoO finals), we really struggled in qualifying, but were as fast as anyone once the racing started. You need to get a rhythm in either car, and when you go back and forth, it hurts you a bit. Hopefully next year we'll get more 410 shows in."
The crowning achievement in the 410 had to be qualifying for a fifth consecutive Knoxville Nationals Championship feature. Only Donny Schatz, Steve Kinser, Terry McCarl, Danny Lasoski and Shane Stewart can say the same. "We seem to have a knack for the Nationals," says Wayne. "I seem to stay calmer than a lot of the guys do. I think a lot of it stems from living two miles from the track too. It does seem when A main time comes on Saturday night, other than 2004 when we were battling for fourth and ran out of fuel, we've struggled a bit, and we want to change that next year. The last couple years we've backed up two spots (6th to 8th in 2006 and 9th to 11th in 2007) so we need to change that."
It is early in the off-season and 2008 plans are still in the works, but Wayne has an idea about where things might be headed. "We hope to be back in the 94 car and run a few 410 races in it," he says. "We are planning on running the FattFro car at the Nationals. We haven't confirmed any of it for sure, but that's the way we're headed. I think the big change from 2007, as of now, is when the ASCS is off, you'll see the #94 racing with the 410s at Knoxville except for the Nationals. I hope that's the way it ends up, but you never know! We're working on a few sponsors, but that's the goal."
Chili Bowl Next
Wayne will attempt to qualify for his third Chili Bowl finals in three attempts. All he has to do is finish ahead of around 220 of the best the midgets have to offer, but so far he's perfect in doing that! He will again partner with Wayne Simmons of Knoxville in the #F5. They could use some help. "We welcome anyone interested in being a sponsor," says Wayne. "It would be awesome if they can be onboard the car as a small sticker or the whole car, it doesn't matter!"
Special Thank You's from Wayne
Wayne would like to extend some special thank you's to Mike and Tim Hammers and Robbie Forbes, Al Christoffer, Scott with Stone Mountain Access Systems, Charlie Fisher, Wesmar Racing Engines, Danny Pearson, Chub from CnB Mushroom Farms, Gayle with Weld Racing Wheels, Jeannie with Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems, Kyle McCullough from HostIowa.net and www.RacingThreads.com, Chet and Tina with Simpson, Neal and the rest of the group from Hoosier Racing Tires, Steve with Mud-X, Doug at Schoenfeld, Bob at Rod-End Supply, Jeff and Theresa with Laser Car Wash, and of course, the crew led by Jeremy, Curt, Cory, Travis and John.
Wayne would also like to thank his family for putting up with him, his friends and of course, the fans for making it all possible! Happy Holidays!
Wednesday's With Wayne to Take a Break
Wednesday's with Wayne will take a break for awhile. Don't be alarmed! We'll get you up to date information when it arises!
T-shirts
T-shirts can now be ordered at www.Racingthreads.com and Wayne's trailer. Wayne would like to thank Racingthreads.com and FattFro for all of their help with this!
Wayne's World
Tom in Oklahoma City asks: If you weren't in the racing business, what would you be doing?
Wayne answers: My dream growing up…but racing overruled it…was to be a meteorologist. Every racer is a weatherman, trust me. He watches the weather just as much as anything else.
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
The final race totals for 2007 showed 66 races run, 64 features made, 11 (17%) wins, 45 (70%) top fives, and 54 (84%) top tens. In 410 competition, there were 16 features, 2 wins, 9 top fives, and 12 top tens. With the 360s, he competed in 46 features, had 9 wins, 36 top fives and 41 top tens. His other two features came in Chili Bowl midget competition where he ran sixth in his prelim and surged from the B to 20th in the A in the finale.
"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, Cerma Technology (www.cermatechnology.com), www.RacingThreads.com, CnB Mushroom Farms, Eagle Chassis, Fast Wings, Hoosier Tire, Simpson, Weld and ButlerBuiltfor all their help!
(Jason McConnell)
Bill W MediaMonroe, IAUSA[email protected]
If this post isn't results, stories or something c
constructive, it isn't me!
@BillWMedia
www.OpenWheel101.com
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