(Image Credit: Danny Clum)
Bryan Hulbert – BELGRADE, Mont. (July 11, 2018) Needing a rebound run after a rough stretch through the state of Washington, it came just in time for Wayne Johnson with the 3rd annual Grizzly Nationals yielding a pair of top-five finishes for the driver of the Outlaw Wings/DHR Suspension No. 2c.
Making quick moves through the first half of the A-Feature on Friday, Wayne advanced from 12th to fifth before the groove moved to a single lane choice. With four laps to go, however, Wayne would suddenly find himself in a transfer spot as Sam Hafertepe, Jr. and Blake Hahn lost tires while running first and third.
“I was good early on Friday, and I knew the rubber was coming so I had to really use my tires up early to get around those guys. Once I got to fifth, the rubber was there so we were all running about the same speed. We had that caution with four to go for Sam and Blake and I knew my tire was getting close, and on that restart, I hardly got in the gas. I just let those guys get away from me where I could run my own pace because let’s face it, I wasn't going to risk not finishing at that point especially being in a position to be locked in on Saturday.”
With the plan working to its desired effect, Wayne moved onto Saturday with the draw yielding the fourth starting spot. Putting the same setup on the car he ran to victory the year before, the track took a different approach but was not enough to keep Wayne from picking up a fifth-place finish.
“They watered the track before tour race and it just caught us off guard,” explained Wayne.
“We set up figuring it was going to do kind of like it did last year, and when they did that, it didn’t really clean off, so we were just too free the first half of the race. There toward the end, it finally did start blowing off and taking some rubber, and the car was good, and I could run down Matt and Sam, but just couldn’t get the run on them and anytime I did, we were in lapped traffic.”
Moving east this week, Johnson will be in action at Gillette Thunder Speedway on Wednesday, July 11. In Wayne’s last visit to the Wyoming quarter-mile in his own No. 77x, the result was a runner-up finish from eighth.
For continued updates on Wayne Johnson and TwoC Racing, you can follow them on Facebook (http://bit.ly/2o5zneX and http://bit.ly/2BsrIja) and Twitter (@wjr77x).
Recent Results:
7/6/2018 at Gallatin Speedway
Heat: 2nd [2nd]
A-Feature: 3rd [12th]
7/7/2018 at Gallatin Speedway
Heat: N/A
A-Feature 5th [4th]
Season To Date:
Races: 41; Wins: 4; Top-5: 19; Top-10: 25; Top-20: 35;
Up Next: Gillette Thunder Showdown
July 11, 2018, at Gillette Thunder Speedway (Gillette, Wy.)
Follow Wayne Johnson and TwoC Racing
Facebook (Wayne): http://bit.ly/2o5zneX
Facebook (TwoC Racing): http://bit.ly/2BsrIja
Twitter (Wayne): @wjr77x
Twitter (TwoC Racing): @TwoCRacing
Online: https://www.myracepass.com/profile/?r=15868&rt=driver
Sponsors:
Wayne would like to give special thanks to his sponsors who have helped keep him behind the wheel and on the road: Todd Carlile, Outlaw Wings, The Oil Medics, Sebastian Sandblasting & Powder Coating, DHR Suspension, Chalk Stix, Rod End Supply, Astro Titanium, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson, ButlerBuilt, Xtreme Accu-Tach, Weld Wheels, Kustom Sprint Car Supplies, Fisher Racing Engines, Speedway Graphics and Canyon Apparel.
- Bryan Hulbert on Jul 11, 2018
- Article Date: 7/11/2018