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Wednesdays with Wayne – Conquering Canada!
(Bill W) October 1, 2008 – Before last weekend, Wayne Johnson had never raced in Canada, but he came back to the States as the 4th Annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals champion at the Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario! The Knoxville, Iowa resident had to work hard for the $8,000 win with 61 cars in the pits. This weekend, the 2008 360 Nationals champion be tackling the best 360 drivers in California as he heads to the 17th Annual Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals!
Last Friday night saw the "Night Before the Nationals" race. For Wayne, it was an opportunity to climb in Glenn Styres' sprint car and get some laps on a track he had never raced on. Twin fifteen lap features locked the winner of each into Saturday's main event. Wayne was able to win his heat race, and chase winner Dustin Daggett in the second feature, finishing second. "We used Friday as a tune-up for Saturday, and to get some laps in," he says. "We were pretty good in the car right from the start."
The 4th Annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals were presented by Arrow Express. First up on the agenda were time trials, and despite a late pill, Wayne timed in third behind Chuck Hebing and his car owner. "We were the 40-something car to come out and we were third quick," he says. "No one went faster than us after that, so we were feeling good."
Wayne and crew chief Jeremy Rankin hit the setup for their heat and won despite starting sixth as the fastest qualifier in the event. Wayne and Dain Naida were the only cars to drive from sixth to heat wins. "Winning that heat got me in the inversion for the first three rows of the feature," says Wayne. "We were the quickest to do it, so we started sixth in the feature."
Wayne stormed into third on the first lap of the 30-lap main event. After Jason Barney spun out of second, he lined up behind pole-sitter and leader, Dustin Daggett. The pair stormed into traffic and with six laps to go, Wayne made his winning move. "Dustin Daggett is a darn good race driver," says Wayne. "I just bided my time until we got into traffic, and we were able to get by him. It was a lot of fun."
Wayne avoided disaster when Barney spun again…this time in front of the leaders. He roared on to the win, adding the Canadian Sprint Nationals to his wins at the 360 Knoxville Nationals, his 410 Knoxville Nationals prelim win, and his win during Florida Speedweeks this season. It was his 11th trip to victory lane this year. "The motor was just a bit down from what we're used to, and we had to work for it, but it was well worth it," he admits. "Ohsweken is a great racetrack and it was a lot of fun. We've been making some good contacts."
Wayne is thankful for those who made the trip possible. "I'd like to give a big thanks to Glenn, Myles and Curt for making last weekend possible and bringing us out," he says. "I look forward to continuing a relationship with those guys."
This weekend, Wayne will span the globe again, heading to the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California for the 17th Annual Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals, and driving for yet another new team. "I'm looking forward to getting out there," says Wayne. "The owner's name is Harold Main, and he has good equipment. Joey Saldana won in that car last year."
Wayne will check out the action on Thursday, and race on Friday and Saturday. Competition will be stiff, and includes Sammy Swindell, Shane Stewart, Brent, Tim and Bud Kaeding, Jonathan Allard, Sean Becker, Andy Forsberg, Nationwide driver Jason Leffler, Steven Tiner, Roger Crockett, Natalie Sather and Dan Menne.
Wayne is a Cover Boy!
Wayne appears on the October Sprint Car and Midget Magazine cover! Pick it up at a track near you, or subscribe now! Noted author Dave Argabright wrote the feature on Wayne! Check it out!
T-shirts and Hats
Separate shirts for the H&H #94 and FattFro #14AJ are now available at the trailer.
Wayne's Website
To learn more about Wayne and the team, log on to www.WayneJohnsonRacing.com!
Wayne's World
Allan Bunting in London, ONT asks: What track did the Ohsweken Speedway remind you most of in the U.S.?
Wayne answers: It's kind of got a shape of its own. I'd have to say the closest is Camden (Speedway in Tennessee). One end is kind of flat and the other is banked, so it has less banking than Camden, but they are about the same size and shape.
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
Ontario is the 15th different state or province that Wayne has won a feature race. In chronological order he was won in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Tennessee, Indiana, Kansas, Wisconsin, Western Australia, Minnesota, Florida, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and now Ontario, Canada.
"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 Advanced Lubrication Technology (www.cermastore.com), www.RacingThreads.com, CnB Mushroom Farms, Maxim Chassis, ARP Wings, Hoosier Tire, Simpson, Weld and ButlerBuiltfor all their help!
Wayne celebrates with Glenn Styres, his crew, and the folks at Ohsweken Speedway (Rick Wellman Photography)
Bill W MediaMonroe, IA USA[email protected]
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