Wednesdays with Wayne – Heading South!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
by Bill W – With a field of the best 360 pilots in the Midwest on hand, Wayne Johnson was up to the task, scoring strong finishes both Saturday and Sunday night at I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska. When the dust settled, Wayne was second on Saturday night and third on Sunday, against fields of fifty-three and forty-eight cars, respectively.
A good draw on Saturday, saw Wayne line up inside row two of the third heat. He was able to get by young Ricky Montgomery on lap two and check out for the heat race win. Johnson finished sixth in the dash, setting him up outside row three of the main event.
After two hard crashes whittled the 20-car field to a paltry thirteen, the 20-lap event went non-stop, and was led flag to flag by Brian Brown, with Wayne in second. “We started sixth and got hung up behind a couple of cars, but once we got around them, I think we were running Brown down a little bit, but no yellows hurt us there. I thought there might be one at the end, but there wasn’t,” Wayne says.
With a short field, lapped traffic was never a factor and once in the runner-up spot, Brown’s lead over Johnson remained constant at about a straightaway. “I started moving around, trying to make up more time, and I think we lost some ground then.” A caution was thrown after Brown and Johnson had taken the checkers, but it wasn’t soon enough for Wayne.
On Sunday, the draw saw Wayne on the pole for the fifth heat race. With only ten cars being locked into the feature through passing points, Wayne had to beat Garry Lee Maier to turn one to lock himself in. He did just that, going away.
After starting sixth in the feature, Wayne settled into fourth behind Mike Boston on a surface that, unfortunately, was destined to be rubber-down from the beginning. He was able to slip under the #51 late in the going. “It was just rubber-down, one-lane around the bottom. You get what you can get on the start, and follow, basically. I got a good run off of four, and I shot under him down the straightaway. I ran him deeper than he wanted to be in turn one and that was it.”
He then set his sights on the second place machine of Don Droud Jr. A late effort to slingshot around Droud in turn four, ended with Wayne spinning his tires in the marbles, and he settled for second. “I got away from the 51, and didn’t hear his motor anymore, I knew I had some leeway to try something, and I wasn’t going to kill myself. I had to do something. That wasn’t the most exciting race for anyone. Why not try something at the end? When I slid up in the dust, it seemed like it took a week to take off again! My crew was happy I at least took a shot!”
Heading South
This weekend, Wayne will head to a pair of 3/8 mile ovals he has never raced at. On Friday, the crew will head to Malden Speedway near Malden, Missouri for some USCS action, before resuming his championship quest with the American Sprint Cars on Tour (ASCoT) at Magnolia Motor Speedway near Columbus, Mississippi on Saturday.
Johnson will have adjust to the new tracks quickly. “We basically have our own short track/big track set-ups. The biggest thing going to a new place is the gear to use. I’ve quizzed a couple people who have run there, to figure out a gear. We want to get a gear in before we get there. We’ll hot lap in that, and may have to change it anyway, but it starts you out close.”
If you’re at the races, stop by and say “Hi” to Wayne!
A Look Ahead
After spending next week with his car owners in Mississippi, Wayne and crewman Jeremy Rankin will get back to ASCoT action at 67 Speedway in Texarkana, Arkansas on April 27, and I-30 Speedway in Little Rock on April 28 before heading home to Knoxville.
Wayne and company will bring the FattFro #14AJ 410 out to play for a pair of dates the weekend of May 5-6. They will be at Knoxville Raceway on May 5, and at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa for the IRA show on Sunday night.
Wayne’s World
John in Lincoln, NE asks: Sunday was a rubber-down track at I-80. I’ve heard you can go with a softer tire when a track lays rubber. Why is that? Is it boring on a night like that?
Wayne answers: You can't go with a softer tire when it's rubber down because when it's rubber down the racetrack is really abrasive so you actually have to go with a harder compound. For instance they changed the race from 25 laps to 20 laps because the tire truck didn't have harder compound tires available. It's very boring. Rubber down racing is the most boring for fans and the drivers.
Got a question for Wayne? Send it to us at sprntcar@iowatelecom.net, 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’s last win in Missouri came at the Bud Shootout at US-36 Raceway in Cameron, Missouri on June 6, 2003. He piloted the Vielhauer 12x to the win over Jesse Hockett.
“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!
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