(Bill W) February 25, 2015 – After winning his heat from the eighth starting spot Thursday, it looked like a great weekend was in store for Wayne Johnson at East Bay Raceway Park near Tampa, Florida. Unfortunately, a pair of incidents marred what could have been a third Ronald Laney Memorial title for the Knoxville, Iowa driver. This weekend a two-night stint back at Bubba Raceway Park near Ocala with the ASCS National Series will wind up his Florida trip.
Starting dead last in his heat on Thursday at East Bay, Wayne charged forward to a win. The confidence was high. “I thought we were going to be ‘high rolling King Kong’ after that heat race,” he says. “We were able to come from the tail to win. But it was all downhill from there.”
The redraw would see a starting spot outside of row three for the feature. “The racetrack was dewy,” says Wayne. “I’ve seen it do that before when the tide comes in. The track gets really greasy. There’s more mud on the car than in the heat race. I fell back to tenth. Finally, I got rolling a little bit and got up to fourth.”
Wayne would press a little hard to get to the podium. “I was rolling in there, and the car wouldn’t turn,” he says. “I hit the grease, got sideways and got into the fence. We bent the front axle and that was that. I guess I rode it in there a little hard. It was my fault.”
Rebounding on Friday, Wayne won his heat again, this time from the pole. He would start the main event outside of row seven. The track was laying rubber in the B’s. “We were able to get up to seventh for a while,” he says. “(Greg) Hodnett ended up getting by me with about five or six laps to go. We were able to get eighth on a rubber-down racetrack, so that felt pretty good.”
Unfortunately, Wayne didn’t quite accumulate enough points to lock himself into the top six spots in the weekend’s main event. “We had enough points to start on the front of the Qualifier,” he says. “I was able to get Jason (Sides) at the start of the race. I was really no good, and he got by me. Afterwards, we looked at the car and our right rear bar had gone bad. The car was ¾” lower than it was supposed to be. We changed that and went out and won the B pretty convincingly.”
He would start 14th in the finale. “The track got a big curb on it and was kind of one-lane around the top early,” says Wayne. “We couldn’t get going for a while, but then we did. I tried to put some moves on (Sam) Hafertepe on the bottom, and (Seth) Bergman passed me on top.”
Wayne would smack the wall and that’s when things went bad, resulting in a DNF. “I got back in line on the top,” he says. “I was going into three and the car just went straight in the fence. Our crash the first night didn’t bend anything but the axle. After we looked everything over after Saturday’s crash, we think we broke a heim end (in Thursday’s crash). That’s what stuck me in the fence. When I got into the fence, the left rear tire popped off the bead. I came back down and I was going to drive it to the pits. About the time I got to the flagstand under caution, the right front wheel wadded up under the car and sent me straight into the guardrail. It was crazy.”
The Wayne Johnson Racing #77x team has high hopes heading into Ocala Friday and Saturday. “We’ve been fast, we’ve just had no luck,” says Wayne. “We’ve been o.k. It took us a little time to get going. We changed cars in the offseason, and that’s taken some time. We’re going to be o.k. We’ll just keep plugging away and hopefully, we can get some luck!”
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’s wins at the Ronald Laney Memorial came in 2010 and 2014. In 2010, his win came ahead of Jesse Hockett, Lou Kennedy Jr., Travis Rilat and Darren Long. Last year, he won ahead of Rico Abreu, Terry McCarl, Jason Sides and David Gravel.
Partner of the Week – Schoenfeld Headers
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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, Townline Variety, Outlaw Wings, City Vending, Stone Mountain Access Systems and product sponsors The Oil Medics, Sebastian Sandblasting & Powdercoating, Rod End Supply, Astro Titanium, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson, Butlerbuilt, Xtreme Accu-Tach, Weld Wheels, Slade Shocks, Kustom Sprint Car, Fisher Racing Engines, Team Achieve and Canyon Apparel.
Attached: Wayne at East Bay (Hoseheads.com Photo)
- administrator on Mar 05, 2015
- Article Date: 2/25/2015 by Bill Wright