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Wednesdays with Wayne – No Brakes, No Problem!
(Bill W) September 26, 2007 – Soon after Wayne Johnson started the Interstate Racing Association feature at LaSalle Speedway, his brakes were failing. That was not a problem for the Knoxville, Iowa, sprint car driver as he was able to finish a solid second at the finish. Thoughts are elsewhere right now as Wayne and his wife Erin await their new addition to the family, Paige…any minute now.
After registering the sixth quick time of the night in time trials, Wayne lined up inside row three for the second heat. "We had trouble starting the heat race with a couple of wrecks," he says. "Ricky Logan was one of the guys who wrecked and he actually ended up starting beside me in row three after going to the work area and everything!" Once things got going, Wayne was able to finish second to Travis Whitney, locking him into the main event.
The 30-lap feature started much as the heat did. "We started tenth and had two wrecks on the first two original starts," says Wayne. "They were two cars lining up in front of me, so I would have started sixth. Instead of having a double file restart, they lined us up single file, so I had to start seventh! I have no idea why they did that."
Despite the decision to start single file, Wayne quickly moved forward even though the brakes failed. "On lap five or six, the inboard brake caliper fell off," he says. "So, I didn't have any brakes the rest of the way. Luckily, the car was really good." By lap nine, he had taken third on a restart.
Now in heavy lapped traffic, Wayne explains his run forward. "With no brakes we just had to go where they weren't! I went up beside one lapped car going into turn one. I followed him for a couple of laps, because I didn't know where he was going to go. I was going to run down the front straightaway beside him, and he turned right towards me! Luckily, he moved in time!"
On lap 27, he was able to take second from Whitney, but couldn't quite run down winner, Brooke Tatnell. "Thank goodness we had a whole lot of gear in that thing, and we used a lot of throttle control to slow it down," says Wayne. "I think we could have won with a couple more laps, or the use of the brakes. The car was running as well as it has in the past several races."
Looking Ahead
Wayne will be back in ASCS National competition in the Mike and Tim Hammers/Robbie Forbes #94 in West Plains, Missouri this Saturday. He enters the race in second place in the American Sprint Cars on Tour standings, 56 points behind Gary Wright, and has never raced at West Plains.
"We're ready to go with the 360," says Wayne. "We're just finishing up some loose ends to get it ready to go for Saturday night. The biggest thing you need to do when it's been sitting for awhile is getting all the fuel lines cleaned out, because when the fuel sits, it can turn to powder in those lines."
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
Gary from Oklahoma City Asks: What do you think your chances are of catching Gary Wright in this ASCS National deal?
Wayne answers: There are six races left, so I guess my chances are about one in six! I'm excited to get back to it. I'm ready and focused to get back to racing after we have the baby!
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
On this date in history, Wayne has two wins to his credit. In 1993, he won a regional ASCS feature at Creek County Speedway, defeating John Hunt, Rick Barksdale, Donnie Crawford and Bruce Jennings. In 1997, he was victorious in a preliminary event at the Short Track Nationals at the I-30 Speedway near Little Rock, Arkansas. Driving the Sparks 91, he bested Johnny Gardner, Pete Butler, Terry Gray and Garry Lee Maier, and then went on to win the $10,000 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!
Wayne joins Travis Whitney (3rd place, left) and Brooke Tatnell (winner, right) in victory lane at LaSalle (Funderburk Racing Photos)
Bill W MediaMonroe, IAUSA[email protected]
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