Wayne Johnson found himself on the podium at Knoxville Raceway with the FVP National Sprint League on Saturday. The third place finish put him on the podium in a 410 at Knoxville for the first time since last July. The Knoxville start occurred due to a pair of ASCS National Series rainouts at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City on Thursday and the I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas on Saturday. The Wayne Johnson Racing #77x team will spend this weekend at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World” racing their 360 in preparation for the 360 Nationals in August.
With a strong 38-car field in the house, Wayne registered the eighth quick time of the night on Saturday. “Our 410 program has been on the uphill climb,” he says. “Knoxville has been a struggle the last couple years. We just figured a few things out, and we have a motor that runs really good. We got a little lucky I guess.”
After making it through a tough heat race (finishing fourth), the redraw saw Wayne draw a starting spot outside of row one for the feature. “We were lucky enough to start on the front row,” he says. “With the tire and wing packages we have, starting in the front is a big thing. It’s hard to pass. I think we only had the fifth quickest lap of the race, but we ended up finishing third.”
After following Bill Balog the first five laps, Wayne surged into the lead on lap six. “I just got a little too excited, a little too early,” he says. “Basically, I just used the tires up. I blistered the heck out of them. The track was different on both ends. Three and four was definitely different, because of the shade, I guess. One and two was slick, which made it a little tricky to set the car up.”
On lap 16, Danny Lasoski was able to get by in traffic. Tim Kaeding got by on a late restart for second. “I knew I was a sitting duck there on that last restart, because my tires were hammered,” says Wayne. “To finish that thing third…it’s been awhile since we’ve been on the podium at Knoxville. We’re pretty excited about that. We are building our 410 program, and it’s going well.”
The 410 racing will take a break this weekend. “We hurt the motor a little,” says Wayne. “I don’t think it’s anything serious, but we’re going to run the 360 at Knoxville this weekend, and test for the 360 Nationals. We’ll be at Knoxville this week and next week for sure.”
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 last win at the now shuttered State Fair Speedway in his hometown of Oklahoma City came on March 24, 2007 in the ASCS National Spring Nationals. The win came aboard the Hammers/Forbes #94 ahead of Aaron Berryhill, Gary Wright, Brian Brown and Foster Landon. He led all 30 laps.
Partner of the Week – City Vending
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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!
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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.
Photo: Wayne races at Knoxville Saturday (Rob Kocak Photo)
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
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- administrator on May 15, 2015
- Article Date: 5/13/2015 by Bill Wright