(Bill W) June 16, 2010 – Though only three of the six scheduled races went off at the non-wing Illinois Sprintweek, Wayne Johnson emerged second in the point’s battle paired with owner “Cactus” Jack Yeley. The highlight of the week was a charge from 11th in the B to second in the feature at the Tri-City Speedway near Granite City, Illinois on Friday night. Wayne and his wife, Erin, have purchased a car and will debut their #77x at Knoxville this Saturday night in the 410 class.
After rain postponed the opener at Vermilion County Raceway in Danville on Tuesday, June 8, the event was moved back a night, and the show at Farmer City originally scheduled for Wednesday was canceled.
Wayne ran second in his heat at Danville, and settled inside row four for the feature. He battled forward before losing his brakes. “The car was nice,” he says of Yeley’s #2. “We made it up to third there for awhile and got by (eventual winner) Jon Stanbrough for a little while. We lost the brakes there before halfway, and we just rode it out on the bottom the rest of the way to finish seventh. I was kind of along for the ride.”
A drive from outside row two to win his heat race on Thursday night at LaSalle Speedway showed just how far the combination with Yeley has come. “We were really good that night,” says Wayne. “Jack and I are hitting our stride as far as being able to communicate to what he and I need. It’s been getting pretty good.”
Wayne started on the pole of the main event and led early, before Casey Shuman took over. Several laps in, Wayne found the cushion and looked to have the momentum to shoot around the leader. Unfortunately, something broke. “The right front steering arm ended up falling off, and we crashed it,” he explains. “I think we had a shot at the win there. We were good enough. We found the top running second, and (Casey) Shuman was running the bottom in the lead.”
The bad luck continued at Granite City on Friday night, but in the end, Wayne would get redemption. “The stupid driver hit the tire in the infield at the start of the heat,” he says. “That put us deep in the B, and we were able to win from 11th.”
Starting 17th in the 30-lap main event, Wayne was the show for the good crowd on hand. “We passed some pretty good cars to get through there,” he says. “Everyone was right around the cushion, but I could slide those guys. That’s the only way to pass really.”
He continued passing them, until there was only one left. “I think we had the fastest car, but there were only a couple cautions,” says Wayne. “I was able to catch (Dave) Darland, but I just ran out of laps. He got through traffic well, but by the time I did, we were just out of laps.”
His second place effort was appreciated by the fans. “We had a lot of fans coming down to talk to us so that was kind of cool,” he says. “It was too bad that the last two nights were rained out, but ending up second in points for the week wasn’t too bad.”
Wayne is excited to get back to Knoxville. Saturday will be his first run there of 2010. “I’m excited about it,” he says. “We are definitely a ‘low buck’ operation, and we could use some help with the team. We are ‘bare bones’.”
If you would like to inquire about a partnership with Wayne, you can e-mail him at waynejohnsonracing@yahoo.com.
Buy Your ARP Wings from Wayne
Wayne is an ARP Wings dealer located in the Knoxville, Iowa area. Wayne credits the new ARP top wing for his 2009 wins at Little Rock and Cowtown. Contact Wayne for your ARP Wing, as he has some special Holiday deals going! ARP Wings – “When Downforce Matters”!
Wayne’s Website
To learn more about Wayne and the team, log on to www.WayneJohnsonRacing.com!
Wayne’s World
Roger Arneson asks: Do things slow down a lot when you are driving the non-wing car?
Wayne answers: It definitely slows things down. You aren’t going nearly as fast, but it is more demanding as far as the driving part. It’s not more physically demanding, you just need a lot more finesse.
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 had two podium finishes in two tries prior to his visit last Thursday. In 2002, while traveling with the Gumout Series, he drove the Fred and Jo Threatt #29 to third behind Tyler Walker and Jason Sides, and ahead of Boston Reid and Craig Keel. In 2007, he was second to Brooke Tatnell in IRA competition, driving Al Christoffer’s #14AJ. Travis Whitney was third ahead of Ricky Logan and Billy Balog.
“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@iowatelecom.net with "Wayne" in the subject line.
- administrator on Jun 16, 2010
- Article Date: 6/16/2010