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Wednesdays with Wayne – Looking for Luck!
(Bill W) April 23, 2008 – Wayne Johnson can't seem to draw a good number. Good positioning in heat races is a must with the American Sprint Cars on Tour, but somehow the Knoxville, Iowa driver is bucking the odds despite his misfortune and remains second in American Sprint Carson on Tour points. He pulled within 40 points of leader, Gary Wright, as the series heads for a pair of races in Texas and Arkansas this weekend. He has passed 61 cars in six ASCoT features (an average of ten cars per race), which is tops for the tour, and arguably he has had the fastest car going most nights.
Last Saturday night, Mother Nature allowed a race to occur at the Lucas Oil Speedway near Wheatland, Missouri. "It was a beautiful place," says Wayne of his first trip there. "It's out in the country, but it was really nice for sure. I don't know if those people realize what they've got out there."
The Bad Draw Syndrome (BDS) may be catching up to the Oklahoma transplant. "It seems like we're starting in the back of everything, every time!" he laments. "We drew 62 out of 75 numbers, and that put us back in ninth to start the heat." Starting ninth with drivers like Wright and Brian Brown on the front row didn't bode well for him, but he did manage to climb to fourth by the checkers. Still it wasn't enough to transfer to the main event.
Starting outside of Garry Lee Maier in the B main, Wayne was able to grab an early lead and cruise to a victory that set him up for another charge outside row nine for the 25-lapper on the 3/8 mile. "The track was getting better as the night went on," says Wayne. "The moisture was coming back to it. It was slick early on, but after the modifieds got on it and started tearing it up, the moisture came back somewhat."
The 2000 ASCS National Champion roared past three cars including Wright on the first circuit and continued his charge up to seventh by the time the checkers fell. The distance from 2nd to 7th was less than ten car lengths. "We were all there in one corner at the end, 2nd through 7th, we were all right together," he says. "We can't complain about anything, there's not much more we could have done. The car was working perfectly. We're just not lucky with the draw right now."
Any of Wayne's fans (even his enemies) are welcome to volunteer for the draw this weekend in ASCoT bullring events at Paris (TX) Motor Speedway (Friday) and I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas (Saturday). You can't do any worse than Wayne, and you may end up being a hero! "No one's passed more cars than us this year, I guarantee you that, but someone else will do our drawing this weekend," he says. "Anybody that wants to draw for us, come on down to the trailer before the races, and you can do it. First come, first serve, especially if you're feeling lucky!"
Wayne has had success at Little Rock, but has never won at Paris, though he has top ten finishes in six of eight feature events there. "It's been awhile since we've been to Paris," he says. "We haven't won there, our best was a second or third (2nd on 4-21-00), so we're due."
Up Next
After an ASCoT date at Lake Ozark Speedway on May 3, Wayne will take the Mike and Tim Hammers/Robbie Forbes #94 to his hometown State Fair Speedway in Oklahoma City, and the Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas on May 9 and 10. After that, he'll settle into Knoxville Raceway with the 410 for awhile.
T-shirts and Hats
Separate shirts for the H&H #94 and FattFro #14AJ are now available at the trailer. Keep an eye on www.RacingThreads.com in the near future to order. Hats are sold out, but a new batch has been ordered.
Wayne's Website
To learn more about Wayne and the team, log on to www.WayneJohnsonRacing.com!
Wayne's World
Kyle in Little Rock asks: You've had success here in Little Rock. Do you like the bullrings or the big tracks best? Which is the most fun?
Wayne answers: I'm a big track guy. I like the bigger tracks, but Little Rock is my favorite little track in the country. I always look forward to going there. It's a lot of fun to race, little track are more fun, but I just prefer big tracks.
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
I-30 Speedway is home to one of Wayne's biggest wins, the $10,000 to win 1997 Short Track Nationals in Bobby Sparks #91. His first win there came in 1996, when he bested Mike Ward, Pete Butler, Tim Crawley and Garry Lee Maier. Despite the always tough competition at I-30, in feature events there, Wayne has finished in the top five 41% of the time, and the top ten in 66% of the races.
"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 Paris Motor Speedway (Highfly-n Photos)
Bill W MediaMonroe, IAUSA[email protected]
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