(Bill W) September 7, 2011 – Wayne Johnson combined with Byron Sebastian and his #14s team to win the $1,000 Brian Hetrick Memorial at the 34 Raceway last Friday night. Hetrick had driven for Sebastian, so the race win was extra special for the team. After some bad luck in Missouri the rest of the weekend, the Knoxville, Iowa driver is putting a 410 together to possibly give the Jerry Richert Memorial at Cedar Lake Speedway a shot this week.
Wayne received the call last week to drive for Sebastian. After winning his heat from third, he led from green to checker from the pole to take the feature win. “It was good to win the race for Byron,” he says. “They had never been able to win that race, and I know it was important to them. They asked me to run it, and I was happy to do it.”
The banked 3/8-mile banked oval was in good shape on Friday. “Burlington can be tough to run on sometimes, but they had it really nice on Friday,” says Wayne. “We could run the car wherever we wanted.”
Pulling a team together quickly was tough, and Wayne was racing at the fourth event in a row with a different team. They headed for the Lake Ozark Speedway near Eldon, Missouri on Saturday and Sunday for the Annual LOS 360 Nationals. “We were just a little unorganized I think,” says Wayne. “We didn’t have our ducks in a row the way we should have. It’s always tough when you try to put things together quick like that.”
Luck was not on Wayne’s side in Saturday’s preliminary feature where he would run fifteenth. “We were decent,” he says. “We didn’t get much luck. On the first night, we passed (Brian) Brown, passed (Jack) Dover, and the caution came out. Our right rear tire sealed up, and I was just trying to hang on. Brian and I got together, and I spun out. I went to the back and passed a few more cars, but the race was over by then.”
On Sunday, the track was tough to pass on. Wayne drove from sixth to fourth in the heat, but had to go to the B main, which he won. He started his way through the pack again, but ended upside down. “The racetrack was tough to run on,” he says. “We were up to tenth. I got a good run on Rusty Potter, and was going to slide him. I thought he was headed to the top, and I guess he didn’t see me coming. When he turned left, my right rear went over his left front and I busted my ass pretty good.”
Wayne is hoping to put some resources together along with Missile Motorsports to run at Cedar Lake Saturday night. “I’m trying to put something together here, and I may run the Jerry Richert Memorial,” he says. “The Canadian Nationals will be the weekend after this one, and we’ll run for Miles Hill again up there.”
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!
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 World
Jon Jackson asks: Are you going to be running the big shows in Texas and Arkansas in October?
Wayne answers: I hope to be. That’s the plan. We’re getting ready to run Kilgore, Devil’s Bowl and Little Rock. I’d like to find someone to get a ride with for those shows. I’d like to go on to Tucson and Las Cruces, but we just can’t make that happen right now with our stuff.
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
On June 17, 2005, Wayne swept the night with the IRA at Cedar Lake Speedway in their portion of the “Masters”. After setting quick time and winning his heat, Wayne outdueled Scott Neitzel for the win. Neitzel was second, ahead of Ricky Logan, Travis Whitney and Scott Young.
"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.
Attached: Wayne in Victory Lane at 34 Raceway (Dennis Krieger Imagery)
- Admin Account on Sep 08, 2011
- Article Date: 9/7/2011 by Bill Wright