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Wednesdays with Wayne – Throw it to Witten!
(Bill W) January 16, 2008 – Going three for three at the Chili Bowl was not to be for open wheel ace Wayne Johnson. He had qualified for the main event on Saturday in spectacular fashion in both 2006 and 2007, but it was not to be this year in midget racing's greatest showcase. He now looks ahead to his sprint car season starting at the end of the month in Florida.
Wayne's troubles at the Tulsa Expo Center started on his qualifying night. "The motor just wouldn't run in the heat race on Friday," he says. "It was a stupid thing really. It was a crank trigger that wouldn't fire. That got us way behind to begin with. The crank trigger actually fires off the crank. In front of the motor, there's a wire that goes to it, and it's a pick-up. It has a spool on it and when it spins, it picks up the reading of the timing and that's what fires the motor. There are two of those and one of them was bad."
The disappointment put him in the back of one of the Last Chance races. The motor problems seemed to be fixed. "In the Last Chance deal, it finally did run, but I got to the scene of the accident too quick," he remembers. "Hunter Schuerenberg got upside down hard in front of me and I had nowhere to go! We tore it up pretty good."
Getting knocked out of both contests sent Wayne to the I feature for Saturday. Two years ago, he made the alphabet march from the F to the A, so the confidence was at a high level. "We got the car fixed for Saturday, and came out running pretty good," says Wayne. "We started on the pole there, and won the I main. We started back in the H, and were running in a transfer when Garry Lee (Maier) ran over us."
Part of the Chili Bowl is staying out of trouble, and Wayne was in the thick of it all week long. That happens in Tulsa. "We just had a lack of preparation compared to the other years we've been down there," he says. "I'd like to thank (car owner) Wayne Simmons, Bagela Asphalt Recyclers USA LLC, FattFro, Layton Performance and Esslinger Power for making it possible for us to be down there."
Readying for Florida
The focus will now turn back to the sprint cars. Next on the agenda is Florida and the East Bay King of the 360's events that get underway on January 30. "We'll hit East Bay and we hope to run the 410 stuff in Volusia too," says Wayne. "I'm heading down to Mississippi to join 'Chirpy' (crew chief Jeremy Rankin) after the Knoxville Swap Meet Saturday. I've got a bunch of stuff to sell at the Swap Meet, and then I'm heading down so we can get everything ready for Florida." The two will assemble cars for the coming American Sprint Cars on Tour schedule in Mississippi with car owners Mike and Tim Hammers and Robbie Forbes.
The chassis and wing choices have changed for 2008. "Maxim Chassis is working with us, and we're working with new wings too," says Wayne. "They are ARP wings that I helped design. ARP has done a lot of work with mini-sprint wings and we're going to expand into the sprint cars. I helped him design those about fifteen years ago. They're being built in Oklahoma and I'm going to be the ARP dealer for Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri."
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
Chuck in Marshall, MO asks: What happened to your Dallas Cowboys (they lost in the playoffs to the New York Giants on Sunday)?
Wayne answers: They stunk. Why didn't they throw the ball to (Tight End Jason) Witten? I think he only had two receptions. He's been the go-to guy carrying the team all year. When they were in a crunch on third down, they always went to Witten. T.O. is just mouth!
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 has limited sprint car starts in the month of January, but in twelve career features run in the month, he has registered eight top tens (66%). He won on January 3, 2004 at the Quit Motorplex in Kwinana Beach, Western Australia. He drove the Monte #6 to victory over Paul May and Jeff Leisk.
"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, Stone Mountain Access, Cerma Technology (www.cermatechnology.com), www.RacingThreads.com, CnB Mushroom Farms, Maxim Chassis, ARP Wings, Hoosier Tire, Simpson, Weld and ButlerBuiltfor all their help!
Wayne at the Chili Bowl (Doug Johnson)
Bill W MediaMonroe, IAUSA[email protected]
If this post isn't results, stories or something c
constructive, it isn't me!
@BillWMedia
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