Wednesdays with Wayne – Wayne 3-peats/Chirpy Overheats!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
by Bill W – After a week off, Wayne Johnson picked up the pace this past week, racing four times in the FattFro #14AJ 410 sprint car…twice with the IRA and twice with the World of Outlaws. The resident of Knoxville, Iowa managed to keep his record a perfect three for three at the Langlade County Speedway in Antigo, Wisconsin. Meanwhile, crew chief Jeremy “Chirpy” Rankin had some adventures in the Enduro contested at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday, September 8.
Last Friday night, Wayne repeated his feat of a year ago, taking the IRA “Summer Sizzler” at Antigo. The night was far from a sizzler, with temperatures hovering barely over the 40 degree mark. After timing in at 2nd quick, a third place heat finish put him outside of row two in the 25-lap main event.
“Everything went well that night,” says Wayne. “We were really rolling. (Brooke) Tatnell was able to get out front, and we were able to run him down. We got into traffic, and I was able to get by him. We were running really well. We were coming up on some of those lapped cars, running about 40 mph faster. It was pretty crazy!” The lap 14 “bonsai” move by Tatnell in traffic sealed the deal as the lead pair left the rest behind on the lightning fast ½ mile oval.
On Saturday, the IRA traveled to the Dodge County Fairgrounds to race on big ½ mile in Beaver Dam. Despite qualifying fifth and finishing fourth in his heat, Wayne didn’t feel good about the evening. “We were just a tick off all night long. We didn’t really change much on the car, we just weren’t real great.”
In the feature, no one would catch Ricky Logan, who started up front and left the rest behind. “Ricky was really fast,” says Wayne. “He was aggressive in traffic and the best I’ve seen him in awhile. We got better towards the end of the race, but it was too late then.” In the end, Wayne finished third behind Logan and Tatnell to record another top three finish.
WoO Action
For the first time ever, the Clay County Fair Speedway hosted the WoO last Wednesday. The track is a newly configured 3/8 mile banked oval (switched from a flat ½ mile). Wayne was quick in time trials, but couldn’t get the car as fast as he wanted. “We really weren’t that great,” he says. “We just don’t race enough smaller tracks with the 410. We were able to qualify third, and we were actually pretty nice in the heat race.”
Starting eleventh in the feature, Wayne held his ground and finished a respectable 13th against the best in the business. “In the feature, we just got it too tight, and just kind of followed everybody to be honest,” he says.
On Sunday night, he competed with the WoO at Charter Raceway Park in Beaver Dam. An early incident in his heat would set him back after a disappointing qualifying run (19th). “We took a rock in the chest in the heat race,” he says. “It knocked the wind out of me, so I just stopped. We went to the back and almost raced back into a transfer spot, but fell just a bit short at the end.”
The B didn’t go any better. “We changed some things on the car for the B. We were leading, and the power steering line blew off. I didn’t know what it was at the time, because the power steering quit. When you break a motor it does the same thing, so I just pulled off.”
Looking Ahead
This weekend, Wayne will spend his last weekend for awhile in the FattFro #14AJ 410 sprint car. He will compete with the IRA again on Friday and Saturday at the Oshkosh Speedzone in Wisconsin and the LaSalle Speedway in Illinois.
Wayne will be back in ASCS National competition in the Mike and Tim Hammers/Robbie Forbes #94 in West Plains, Missouri on September 29.
Chirpy Overheats!
The time for the Knoxville Enduro came for Jeremy “Chirpy” Rankin and his ride, the #14BJ Taurus. Starting in the back, he began the two-hour or 200-lap race with a good pace. Some even estimated that he was into the top ten. “I was running into three, and bouncing on the berm and sliding up,” says Chirp. “It would upset the car and then I would cut across the bottom of four. I kept passing cars, so I stayed with it.”
That’s when disaster struck on lap 20. “I did that about four laps in a row, and the last time it didn’t work out so well,” he says. “I ran it in too hard, and got a little bit sideways. I overcorrected and it shot me to the bottom and then back up the track and jammed me into the fence.”
Stuck like Bill is with Hillary, Chirp’s frustration was evident over the 45 minutes he spent getting to know the guardrail. “I hit the steering wheel a few times getting mad,” he says. After learning that would do him no good, he tried other tactics. “I tried to get out a few times until I realized I couldn’t get out. People thought the motor blew up, but it was just the tires smoking.”
Enter Chirp’s crew chief Wayne Johnson. “I went to get (competition director) John McCoy to throw a red flag,” he says. The tactic worked. “About 45 minutes later, they threw it!”
Once unleashed, Chirp was trying to make up time that was simply long gone. “After I got going again, I got into the back of another car getting in a hurry,” he says. “That smashed the radiator and I ended up overheating.” Even though a grand total of 36 laps were completed, all was not lost. “I learned a lot. You have to be patient,” says Chirp. Perhaps that is why it is called an “Enduro”.
The #14BJ will be back in action tonight at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. Modifications have been made and Mitch Olson will be behind the wheel for this one. From FattFro headquarters near Chicago, Chirp says, “I told him not to tear it up too bad!” Chirp
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