(Bill W) July 13, 2011 – Wayne Johnson is on a roll! Last weekend, he picked up wins in Redwood Falls, Minnesota and in Hartford, South Dakota with two different sanctions (JSTS and ASCS-Midwest). He mixed in a podium finish at the big Jackson (MN) Speedway show and now finds himself running in the Pacific Northwest looking for more.
Things started last Thursday at the Redwood Speedway in Redwood Falls, Minnesota. The event was sanctioned by the JSTS, and Wayne won his heat after starting fourth on the 4/10-mile oval. “We got the lead in about a lap or so,” he says. “We were in second there the first time around, and got the leader there pretty quickly. That’s a racy little place. We were good there.”
After starting on the pole of the feature, there was little doubt that Wayne would carry out the win in the BDS Motorsports #38. “(Owner/crew chief) Bryan (Sumby) really had the racecar running well,” he says. “I think we ended up winning by about a half lap. Things were on cruise control. It was a good win.”
Friday, it was off to Jackson to run with the ASCS-Midwest sprints. Wayne currently leads the series’ point race and drove from sixth to third in the heat. “We were pretty decent,” he says of his run on the ½-mile. “We were able to get by (Scott) Winters and Billy Alley to run third there. That was good to get in the redraw, and it was good, because we passed them on a racetrack that wasn’t easy to pass on.”
After winning the dash, Wayne would finish third in the feature. “We were able to run up front there and win the dash,” he says. “After that, we talked about the racetrack, and didn’t think it would change a whole lot. We just got it a little bit free. I don’t think we had the car to win the race, but we did run with Shane (Stewart) there for a while. He definitely deserved to win.”
Wayne regrets a late pass that relegated him to third. “We shouldn’t have lost second,” he admits. “I came up on a bundle of lap cars, and I checked up a bit. That let Jason (Johnson) sneak by at the flagstand. I just screwed up.”
Saturday, the Knoxville, Iowa driver headed with the series to the I-90 Speedway in Hartford. He drove from fifth to third in his heat. “We were able to pass a couple of cars and get in the redraw,” says Wayne. “We were pretty good there.”
Drawing outside of row one, Wayne took control once the race went green for good. “We had a couple of restarts, but the third one, we got the jump,” he says. “We never really looked back. Jason (Johnson) was running outside, and I heard him a couple of times. I could hear him, but I knew if he was going to pass us on the outside, he was going to have to be really good. We had to be patient and get through traffic. It was great to get a win there too.”
After the races, the trailer was headed west for the long drive to race at the Southern Oregon Speedway near Medford. “It took 29 hours,” says Wayne of the trip. “We hit a deer, went through a wind storm, a hail storm and a bunch of other stuff, but we made it.”
Once there, the track was over-watered in many opinions, and Wayne struggled from sixth to fourth in his heat before dropping out of the main event. “I had fifty tear-offs when I went out (for the feature), and I was almost out of them when I pulled in after ten laps,” he says. “It was not good.”
Big Sale on T-Shirts!
Wayne Johnson Racing has a variety of 2010 apparel and it is ALL on sale! $10 for t-shirts, hats, women and kids’ shirts and more! E-mail WayneJohnsonRacing@yahoo.com to place your order!
Buy Your Outlaw Wings from Wayne
Wayne is an Outlaw Wings dealer located in the Knoxville, Iowa area. Wayne credits the new Outlaw top wing for his 2009 wins at Little Rock and Cowtown. Contact Wayne for your Outlaw Wing, as he has some special Holiday deals going! Outlaw Wings – “When Downforce Matters”!
Wayne’s Website
To learn more about Wayne and the team, log on to www.WayneJohnsonRacing.com!
Wayne’s World
Lance Batch asks: How do the racetracks on the West Coast compared to the Midwest?
Wayne answers: There really isn’t the amount of good racetracks out on the West Coast that you find back in the Midwest. They are here or there, but obviously, our experience in Oregon so far is talking right now.
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 was victorious at Knoxville on June 30, 2007 in the H&H Farms #94. Despite starting 12th, he had the lead by the halfway point of the Mid-Season Championship. Joe Beaver was second, ahead of David Hall, Darren Long and Frankie Heimbaugh.
“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.
Wayne would like to thank the following for making this possible: BDS Motorsports, Parker Machine, Champion Oil, BMRS Brown and Miller Racing
Solutions, Max Muscle, Butlerbuilt, Hinchman, Schoenfeld Headers, Super Shox, Hoosier Racing Midwest, Rod End Supply, Fuel Safe, Simpson,
Conroy Pneu Controls, KSE, Maxim Chassis, RJR Components, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Astro Titanium, ITI Lubricants, DMI, Laser Carwash and
Speedway Motors.
- Admin Account on Jul 13, 2011
- Article Date: 7/13/2011 by Bill Wright