Wednesdays with Wayne – Mystery Finish/Looking for a Mechanic!
(Bill W) May 1, 2013 – A rainout at the Salina (OK) High Banks on Friday set the stage for a Saturday run with the World of Outlaws for the Wayne Johnson Racing team. Scorers had the #77x finishing anywhere from 12th to 14th. Wayne was paid for 13th, with press releases showing him scored 14th. In any case, the Knoxville, Iowa driver is back home and weather pending will be running two miles from his house on Saturday. He is also currently looking for a full-time mechanic on the team.
Initial plans were to run Salina on Friday and Knoxville Saturday. “Rain! Rain! Rain!” says Wayne. “We were wanting to run Knoxville on Saturday, but we were already down there. Todd (Carlile), our partner, was down there. We had to go down and pick up some parts too. So we were down there and we ran.”
The heavy rains in Oklahoma took their toll on a track that remained lightning fast all night long. “We were 14th quick with the wrong gear in it,” says Wayne of time trials. “Normally, you take about 40 points of gear out from a 360. We were eighth quick in hot laps. I knew I needed a little more gear, but you’re qualifying out there by yourself. We weren’t even close.”
The heat was uneventful. “It was a one-lane, no passing track,” says Wayne. “We started fifth and finished fifth. Finally, we just kept putting more gear in it.”
Wayne has at least three previous wins in Salina, including one last year with the ASCS National series. Though his finish was a bit of a mystery on Saturday, we do know he started outside of row seven. “We started 14th there and we were actually really good in the feature,” he says. “It was really a mystery where I finished and I don’t know why. The Outlaws had me 12th, then I was 13th and someone else had me 14th. I do know I got paid for 13th though (laughs)!”
It was six of one, half a dozen of the other with track conditions as they were. Wayne knew he had a fast ride. “It was just a high speed freight train,” he says. “It was a product of all the rain. I just chased (Donny) Schatz the whole race. I felt I was better than him at times, but there was no way to pass him. I looked at the Race Monitor and the times, other than the guys up front in clean air…we were about fifth or sixth quickest a lot of the time.”
This weekend offers limited options other than Knoxville. “The plan is to run Knoxville,” says Wayne. “Of course, the weather doesn’t look the greatest. The only other option is Eldora (with the WoO), and it’s tough to tow that far with just the one motor we have right now.”
Looking for a Mechanic
Wayne is looking for a full-time mechanic that is motivated and would relocate to Knoxville. Wayne is running around a 70-race schedule. You would not need a CDL, but would need experience driving a big truck and trailer. Experience maintaining a sprint car is a must. Salary depends on experience
E-mail Wayne at WayneJohnsonRacing@yahoo.com with the following information:
Please include a bio with your experience working on a racecar.
Category: Driver Updates, Wayne Johnson
