(Bill W) August 8, 2012 – With the 360 Nationals behind them, the Wayne Johnson Racing #77x team is ready to tackle the 52nd Knoxville Nationals. They will qualify Thursday night. For most teams, a top ten finish in the 360 Nationals would be a highlight, but the three-time champion was just ready to move onto the next race.
With an early pill a definite advantage on Wayne’s qualifying night Friday, he drew late (37th), but registered the ninth quick time of the night. “I missed the first lap completely!” he says. “I said ‘Oh #&$@ I have to run the top this second lap to salvage anything I can get!’ I was able to get around the top when nobody else was at that time and we were happy with the lap. No one timed better than us after that.”
Starting fifth in his heat, he would advance to third and a transfer spot to the prelim A main event. “I didn’t know how the racetrack was going to play out, but starting on the inside off of four at Knoxville seems to be the best place to start,” says Wayne. “We got a really good start. I thought we were going to go by all of them going into one. We kind of got held up, and we ended up third. I didn’t want to push the issue too much unless I was clearly better.”
Unable to run a rough cushion, Wayne finished eighth in the feature after starting fourth. “We were just a little tight,” he says. “With the curb the way it was. It’s never been that way at Knoxville for me. Maybe it has been all year. There was a deep, heavy curb. You don’t really need it. Nobody can run it, so they come off of it, and it starts to lay rubber. It was nasty. We were flirting with disaster.”
There were no excuses. “We just weren’t good enough to get up through there,” says Wayne. “You never want to do that. You never want to back up. As bad as the car was, we were trying to keep it out of the fence and finish to race another day.”
The finish locked him into Saturday night’s 360 Nationals championship where he would start 11th and finish ninth. “We were maintaining,” says Wayne. “We were so tight the first night, that I freed everything up. We were way too free Saturday. It was basically the same outcome. We were just trying to get the best finish we could get.”
A last test with the 410 occurred at Sunday’s “Capitani Classic”. He would register sixth quick in the stoutest field of the season. “We won the 410 race earlier this year, but we’ve really been off with it,” says Wayne. “To make the show Sunday with 67 cars there was a bit of a victory. We just haven’t been that good with the flat wing and Goodyear tires. Not like we have in year’s past.”
Old data helped Wayne out. “(Curt) Brooks and I went through some of our notes from back in the FattFro days,” he says. “We kind of looked over that stuff and came up with a plan. I think we stumbled onto something. The car drove nice. We got an early qualifying spot, and took advantage of that.”
Starting fourth in his heat, Wayne trailed only Donny Schatz at the checkers. “We were the quickest car to start the heat,” he says. “We were running right there with Schatz, so I thought maybe we have something for these guys this year.”
Wayne started eighth in the feature, but missed on setup. Instead of staying out and maintaining, he pulled it in to save it for his qualifying night on Thursday. “I had made up my mind what we were doing with the car when they tilled the track up,” he says. “I freed it back up after that, and I just screwed it all up. I should have just left it alone.”
Follow Updates on Facebook!
Wayne will update as his race night goes on at his Facebook page. Find it by searching for Wayne Johnson Racing or clicking the following link…
http://www.facebook.com/#!/WayneJohnsonRacing
Outlaw Wings – “The Wing with an Attitude”!
Check out the new “recessed rivet” design put out by Outlaw Wings. Talk to Wayne about purchasing Outlaw Wings for your car! Outlaw Wings – "The Wing with an Attitude"!
Wayne’s World
Clint Franks Asks: I’ve heard that the G-Forces at the Devils Bowl are so great that you can’t even move your head. Is that true?
Wayne Answers: Not so much. When it’s fast, it definitely sits you back in the seat. My neck is so big, it doesn’t bother me! (laughs) Cameron, Missouri is really a track that pushes you back in the seat when it is jacked up and heavy and hauling ass. Eldora is another one, Salina, Oklahoma. Places that you are really cruising. Knoxville did when we were turning 14 second laps. We are way off of that now. I don’t know what’s going on there.
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 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 made six straight A main appearances from 2003-2008. Donny Schatz, Steve Kinser, Danny Lasoski, Terry McCarl and Shane Stewart were the only other drivers to qualify for that honor in those years.
Partner of the Week – Maxim Chassis
After years of success as a car owner, Chuck Merrill started his chassis business in a rented three-bay garage in November of 1988. The first car was driven by Johnny Herrera at the Florida All Stars Sprint Week in February of 1989. By June of that year, Maxim moved into a 7,000 square foot facility. By 2001, Maxim had grown substantially producing 304 chassis that year. In 2002, Maxim moved to its present 12,500 square foot location in Springfield, Illinois. Maxim continues to offer their customers unmatched service and support, and currently has 17 quality employees, and builds over 400 chassis on an annual basis. Their world-famous “K-car” was designed for Steve Kinser, and has won ten Knoxville Nationals titles and fourteen World of Outlaws championships! To top it all, Maxim offers a warranty if you are not completely satisfied with your car. For more information on Maxim, visit www.racemaxims.com! Generation and Housby Motorsports. Visit www.Housby.com for more information!
"Wednesday's with Wayne"
"Wednesday's With Wayne" is an up close look at the past, present and future of colorful andtalented 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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Wayne Johnson Racing would like to thank Vern Rengen and Missile Motorsports, Sebastian Sandblasting & Powdercoating, City Vending, Outlaw Wings, Team Achieve, The Oil Medics, Century Signs, Smiley’s Racing Products, Hoosier Tire Southwest, Simpson, Butlerbuilt, Super Shox, Maxim, Speedway Motors, Rod End Supply, Schoenfeld Headers and RCM Design.
Attached: Wayne races at Knoxville (Danny Howk Photo)
- Admin Account on Aug 08, 2012
- Article Date: 8/8/2012 by Bill Wright