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Wednesdays with Wayne – Chico to Cowtown!
(Bill W) October 7, 2009 – Wayne Johnson left Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California last weekend knowing he had as fast a car as anyone. A second place finish in the prelim was followed by a flat tire in Saturday's finale. It was the result of a flat tire while running second. This week, he hopes to bring the FattFro #14AJ to victory lane at the 2nd Annual Cowtown Sprint Nationals at the Cowtown Speedway south of Kennedale, Texas.
Wayne qualified in Chico on Thursday night, posting the seventh quick time of the night and transferring through his heat on the famous ¼ mile oval. "We got through qualifying alright," he says. "We were running fourth in the heat, when our Jacob's ladder straps fell off. We ended up fifth."
The Knoxville, Iowa driver ran second in the dash after starting in the second row in Harold Main's #35A. "We really should have won the thing," he says. "I had gotten by the leader, and then there was a red."
Wayne started outside of row two for the preliminary feature. He ran a good race and surged to a second place finish behind Sean Becker. "We almost crashed off of turn one on the start," he says. "I bicycled up the track, and fell back to about sixth. The car was running well, and we were able to fight our way back up to second."
The point standings showed Wayne sixth in the order, and he started outside row three for Saturday night's finale. The racetrack ate up tires, and all but ten drivers switched their rubber during the course of the feature. "I didn't really know it was going to eat tires," says Wayne. "I haven't raced there enough, and the times I had, I hadn't seen it rubber down the way it did. I thought a (SC)15 (compound) would make it, and the crew agreed. I wasn't paying attention to what other guys were doing, but I should have."
Things started well enough, but Wayne knew he was in trouble after several laps. "We were up to second right away," he says. "We worked on (Tyler) Walker for the lead there for awhile. The car started vibrating really early on. About eight to ten laps in, the air pressure in the right rear was going down. It didn't burn the tire up, but when the air went down, it got so thin that it blew up."
While Wayne was stopped on the backstretch, officials declared a red flag situation so the competitors could inspect their tires. All but ten changed tires. Tyler Walker was one of them, and he restarted 11th. Wayne was sent to the tail of the entire field. "We were the ones who really got the shaft there with the tire situation it seemed," he says. "All but ten guys changed their tires under the red. I can see starting in back of the guys on the lead lap, but they put me behind the lapped cars on the restart too. I didn't agree with that. We made a couple laps and pulled it in after that."
After struggling earlier in the year on the West Coast, Wayne is starting to hit his stride in the #35A. "The car was really nice out there," he says. "We've figured out what we need to. I want to thank Harold Main and his family again for the opportunity to drive their car."
This week, Wayne will compete at Cowtown in the FattFro #14AJ with ASI power under the hood supplied by the H&H #94 team that Wayne drove for in 2007 and 2008. Danny Wood now drives the #94.
Fisher Motors for Sale!
Wayne has a pair of Fisher motors for sale…
1. Charlie Fisher 410 – AllPro 286-4; 2/900 Engler; 16 nights from new; 6 nights from fresh; $30,000
2. Charlie Fisher 410 – AllPro 286-2; 2 13/16 Engler; new block last rebuild; Knoxville Nationals A Main 5 consecutive years; 6 nights since fresh; $22,500
Call 405 306-5426…
Wayne Johnson Apparel in Stock!
2009 Wayne Johnson apparel for both men and women is now in stock! T-shirts, long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops and hats are all in! To order, e-mail Wayne at [email protected] or stop by the trailer at the track.
Wayne's Website
To learn more about Wayne and the team, log on to www.WayneJohnsonRacing.com!
Wayne's World
Ray Herring asks: What do you have to do to save your tire during a race like the one last Saturday night at Chico?
Wayne answers: When it is rubber down like that, you just try to keep the wheel spin out of it. With my right rear so flat, I had to shake the car on entry into the corner to keep it straight. I was using the tire more than I would normally in that situation.
Wayne's Tech Tips
Do mufflers change the performance of the car a great deal?
Wayne: On some engines, they really make the car take off nice. The back pressure can take the stumble out of the motor. It just depends on the cam and the valves. It can help acceleration. The downside is, they can hurt power on the big end. The other downside is the weight factor.
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!
Not much tread left at Chico (Steve's Racing Photos)
Bill W MediaMonroe, IA USA[email protected]
If this post isn't results, stories or something c
constructive, it isn't me!
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