|
Wednesdays with Wayne – Just Pasture 4-Wheelin'!
(Bill W) January 9, 2008 – Wayne Johnson has some impressive streaks going. He's made five Knoxville Nationals in a row. That's a feat matched only by five other drivers. He's also a perfect two for two in qualifying for the Chili Bowl midget championship. Adding 250+ of the best in the midget business has not phased him in his first two attempts in getting into the shootout for the "Golden Driller" on Saturday night at the Tulsa Expo Center. The Oklahoma native will be trying to make it three for three this week in Tulsa.
The sprint car veteran jumped into a midget for the first time two years ago at this prestigious event. "The first time I drove one (in 2006) and it still reminds me of it today…when I came in from the first time they asked me what I thought," said Wayne as he prepared for practice on Tuesday. "It reminded me of when I was a kid out in the middle of our pasture, riding my four-wheeler, just doing donuts and acting stupid. It just has that kind of feel, because the track is so small, and that's what it reminded me of."
Right away, things didn't go well for Wayne in his inaugural qualifying night visit. "We actually had a valve core vibrate out in the heat, giving us a flat," he says. "We had made it all the way up to third in the B main, and the leaders got hung together and blocked the raceway, stalling me out coming out of four for the checkered. The first three cars were out of the race!"
It looked pretty gloomy on Saturday, as Wayne was slated for the second of two F features. Did he have some optimism about climbing the alphabet all the way to the A? "I didn't think we had a frickin' prayer to be honest," he jokes. "Then we started working up through there and the car kept coming and coming and coming. Once we got to the feature, I really thought we had a shot at winning the thing."
An amazing run put him in the feature. A third place run in the B, put him in the second to last row, but he put on yet another charge. "I think before we broke in the feature (running 8th), we had the record for passing the most cars with 57 or 62 or something," Wayne remembers. "We were confident, but we had a brake rotor break and we were done." For those in attendance that night, Wayne's run will be remembered for a long time!
The 2007 qualifying night went much smoother, but Wayne ran sixth in Wayne Simmons' #F5 in the feature event. With the top four locked into Saturday's A, that put Johnson in the front row of a stacked B that included Tracy Hines, Jerry Coons Jr., Jon Stanbrough, Steve Buckwalter, Cory Kruseman, Terry McCarl and Danny Lasoski to name a few!
Wayne never saw most of the guys he was racing against as he kept them behind him. "Tracy Hines and I started on the front row of the B," he remembers. "He got the jump on me and led about halfway through, and then we had a caution. We're idling around there and I see (Hines car owner) Tony Stewart walking out on the track and signaling to Tracy that he's o.k. I thought to myself, 'You *&$%, the race is just now half over. And you're telling him he's good?' That made me get the elbows up a bit, and on the restart, I gave him a big Knoxville slidejob and won the B!" A turn two tumble on lap 36 ended Wayne's night with an official 20th place run, but he was two for two!
Can he make it three for three in 2008? Maybe the key to qualifying for the big races is not putting too much pressure on oneself. "We've got it dialed in and we'll see what happens," he says. "I'm excited! There's really no pressure to this. If you don't do well, who really gives a crap? We want to do good, but it's the Chili Bowl and it's about fun. I'd love to have my name up there with the other guys, but we're here to have a good time."
Wayne has been designated to qualify on Friday for the second year in a row. "I think it's a compliment for them to put you on Friday," Wayne says proudly. "I think it's a little more of a showcase night than the others." If marquee names are what you want, that's what you've got on Friday. Finishing in the top four and locking himself into the "Big Dance" on Saturday will be tough with the likes of defending race champ Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Terry McCarl, Darren Hagen, Mike Hess, Ron Shuman, Jason Meyers, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Tyler Walker, Kevin Swindell, Don Droud Jr. and many more who qualify on Friday. Nonetheless, we know he'll be having fun!
Wayne would like to thank a few sponsors who have come on board to help with the Chili Bowl. Bagela Asphalt Recyclers USA LLC is helping, as well as FattFro and Layton Performance. Esslinger Power is supplying the engine in the Wayne Simmons #F5 Twister.
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
Bill W asks: What has been the key to qualifying for the first two Chili Bowls you competed in? You had to work hard.
Wayne answers: Luck here seems to be about 90% of it. Being prepared is big too. You need a good racecar and a good motor. More than anything it's luck, and missing the traffic sometimes. Wayne Simmons sets this up well, and I don't know the first thing about it, so that's a key too.
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's charge from the F in 2006 was the highlight of the night for many of the fans in attendance. It ended with mechanical problems while climbing to eighth in the A, and he was officially scored 23rd. Just a few of the folks he breezed by on the way up: Aaron Fiscus, Tony Elliott, Damion Gardner, Kevin Olson, Aaron Fike, Jimmy Sills, Jeremy Sherman, Justin Henderson, Ryan Durst, Mat Neely, Tracy Hines, Josh Richards, Brad Loyet, Paul McMahan, Davey Ray, Donnie Lehmann, Cole Whitt, Gary Wright and Wally Pankratz.
"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!
The Simmons #F5 is ready for the Chili Bowl!
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
|
