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Wednesdays with Wayne – EastBay Checkers!
(Bill W) February 11, 2009 – Wayne Johnson was rolling along in Florida making the show, but he hadn't tasted victory yet. Last night, it finally happened at East Bay Raceway near Tampa. Wayne set sail in the 30-lapper, leading it from start to finish. He'll finish up his Florida trip tonight at East Bay with a shot at $5,000, and then head home for Knoxville, Iowa, a place he hasn't seen since right after the Chili Bowl. He is still seeking additional sponsorship opportunities to run the World of Outlaws schedule.
The night started well on the semi-banked 3/8 mile oval when Wayne registered the fifth quick time of the night. A third place finish in the heat race assured him of a spot up front in a feature that had an invert of six. That put him outside row one, where he shot in front of pole-sitter Danny Holtgraver, and never looked back. "We got to start in the front," says Wayne. "We don't get to do that too often. I'd rather be lucky than good any day. That's the way it works for a lot of guys a lot of nights."
Wayne is an accomplished mechanic as well as a driver and prides himself on setup, but last night, he left it up to a crew consisting of Jeremy Rankin and Curt Brooks. That is a very rare occurrence. "I asked them to set it up and I'd drive it," he says. "I really did! I feel like we've struggled so much down here, that I finally got to a point where I didn't really think it would hurt."
Wayne's beloved Fisher motor named "Old Lucy" was in the frame rails last night. James and Charlie Fisher had fixed a valve that was lost in Ocala over a week ago. "Old Lucy" has also helped Wayne to the Knoxville Nationals finale the last five years. "'Old Lucy' got another win last night," he says fondly. "You could write a book on 'Old Lucy'."
Volusia
In six nights racing with the All Stars and World of Outlaws at the ½ mile Volusia Speedway Park, Wayne only missed the main event on one occasion. Though he ran better than most, he was disappointed that he couldn't duplicate his 2008 feature win at the track this year.
With the talent assembled arguably the toughest this side of the Knoxville Nationals, Wayne was better than most of the teams assembled there. Still, the handling wasn't quite there as the nights wore on. "We were best at Volusia when the track was sticky," he says. "For some reason, when it would slick up, the car wouldn't drive as nice. We ran the newer Fisher motor at all the Outlaw shows, and it ran well, we just had some handling problems."
After finishing sixth in the All Star opener at Volusia, Wayne had a tough qualifying night on Wednesday and didn't make the show. Thursday's All Star finale saw a 14th place finish. Wayne made all three WoO finals, posting a DNF in addition to 16th and 20th place finishes.
Wayne's attention turns toward home and family now. "If you see smoke rising from the parking lot after the checkers tonight, it's my rig headed back to Iowa," he says. "It's time to get home."
Still Looking for a Partner
Wayne is still seeking a 410 ride for the Las Vegas (February 26) and Watsonville, California (March 7) WoO events. Then, he will partner with Harold Main and his #35 at the Mini-Gold Cup at the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California (March 13-14) and the Thunderbowl Speedway in Tulare (March 20-21). "I'd still love to run the whole WoO schedule, but we just can't do it with what we have now," he says. "I know we could be very competitive if we just had the chance."
Wayne's Website
To learn more about Wayne and the team, log on to www.WayneJohnsonRacing.com!
Wayne's World
Bob W asks: Hey Wayne, did you pick up any Aussie talk when you were there, mate, or are you still talking "Okie"?
Wayne answers: You can't help but pick up a little bit when you're over there, ya know? I found a couple things funny when I was over there. They were wiring up the trailer lights, and they asked me where the 'Earth' was on them. I had no clue that they call the 'ground' the 'Earth'. Also, screen doors are called 'fly-wire doors' over there. They've got some lingo.
Wayne's Tech Tips
Paul Lombardo inquires: We run a Big Max here in western PA and seem to struggle with the car being too tight on the RR corner. I am thinking that this is stemming from the LF corner being too high. Is this a correct assumption? Where do you start the LF corner compared to the RR corner? Thanks for your time!
Wayne: You need to make sure that the right rear corner is not too low. Measuring to the center of the torsion tube, it needs to be about 14 1/2". I'm not sure on the left front measurement, but the biggest thing is making sure the right rear is high enough.
Got a question for Wayne? Each week, Wayne will answer your questions about "Tech Tips", or anything that's on your mind. If you ever wondered what a part on a sprint car is all about, send an e-mail 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!
"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 FattFro, Stone Mountain Access, Bral Restoration, Deberg Concrete, TNT Custom Golf Carts, www.RacingThreads.com, CnB Mushroom Farms, Maxim Chassis, ARP Wings, Hoosier Tire, Simpson, Weld and ButlerBuiltfor all their help!
Wayne on the gas at Volusia (Hosehead Photo)
Bill W MediaMonroe, IAUSA[email protected]
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