(Bill W) September 17, 2014 – Wayne Johnson and the #77x team finished second in the Canadian Nationals last weekend at Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario. The finish was worth $6,000, and the Knoxville, Iowa driver had to earn it after starting tenth on the grid. The team will try for a $50,000 bonus this weekend for sweeping the Fall Brawl at the I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska Friday and Saturday.
The opening night of the Canadian Nationals on Friday saw a format with twin features. Wayne would finish third in his heat before running seventh in his feature. “Friday was just heavy, one-lane with no passing,” he says. “There wasn’t much more we could do. We started ninth and ran seventh.”
Time trials set things up on Saturday. “We were able to get second quick overall,” says Wayne. “The car was good. We were able to run second in the heat after starting third.”
He would start tenth in the finale. “We were able to charge through there,” he says. “We were able to get past (early leader) Shane (Stewart) for second there, and we lost our brakes.”
The brake problem came as Wayne was trying to run down leader, Jessica Zemken. “Shane had led for a while and Jessica was able to get by him on the bottom,” he says. “I did the same and got by him on the bottom too. I lost my brakes at that point.”
There was one last chance at the leader. “With about eight to go, we had a red,” says Wayne. “I reeled her in and there was a lot of traffic. But she was awesome on the bottom on the open track.”
Last night at Kokomo Speedway, Wayne competed with the World of Outlaws. He would 27th quick in the 38-car field. “We were eleventh quick after hot laps,” he says. “The driver just messed up a bit. I just killed the first lap by bouncing off the curb, and then you second-guess yourself on the second one.”
After starting seventh in his heat, Wayne briefly took the fifth and final transfer spot, but handling conditions didn’t allow him to hold on. He would finish fifth in the B, one spot out of a transfer. “We were just too tight in the heat race,” he says. “In the B, I thought we were good. The track was kind of narrow, and we were just in line. Unfortunately, we just missed it by the one spot.”
After regrouping at home in Iowa, Wayne will head to I-80 this weekend. “I-80 has been a place we’ve been strong at in the past,” he says. “Hauling that $50,000 home would definitely make our year.”
Follow Updates on Facebook!
Wayne will update as his race night commences 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 Fast Facts
Wayne won the Ronald Laney “King of the 360’s” in 2010 at East Bay Raceway Park near Tampa, Florida. The big win came ahead of the late great Jesse Hockett, Lou Kennedy Jr., Travis Rilat and Darren Long.
Partner of the Week – Xtreme Accu-tach
Know how your engine is performing with Xtreme Accu-tach!
When the display button is pushed after your last race, the Accu-Tach will display four numbers:
1st number is the highest RPM turned in the last race
2nd number is the low average RPM turned in the last race
3rd number is the high average RPM turned in the last race
4th number is the time in seconds your engine took to rev from your low average RPM to your high average RPM
The display button has three different functions:
Starts the display cycle of highest RPM, average low RPM, average high RPM and ramp time
Resets any stored information if held for more than five seconds
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"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 sprntcar@hotmail.com with"Wayne" in the subject line.
Wayne Johnson Racing would like to thank partners, Todd Carlile, Vern Rengen, Miles with Townline Variety, Russell with Outlaw Wings, Ray with City Vending, Scott with Stone Mountain Access Systems and product sponsors Bill with The Oil Medics, Byron with Sebastian Sandblasting & Powdercoating, Shawna and Kaleb with Triple X Race Components, Bob with Rod End Supply, Dave with Astro Titanium, Mark and Doug with Schoenfeld Headers, Desiree at Simpson, Jeannie at Butlerbuilt, Tom at Xtreme Accu-Tach, Carl with Kustom Sprint Car, Brad with Momentum, Charlie with Fisher Racing Engines, Team Achieve and Tim with Canyon Apparel.
Attached: Wayne battles with Chuck Hebing at Ohsweken (Dale Calnan – www.Imagefactor.ca Photo)
- administrator on Sep 17, 2014
- Article Date: 9/17/2014 by Bill Wright