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(Bill W) May 27, 2009 – The Steve King Memorial in Jetmore, Kansas played host for the Lucas Oil ASCS National series last weekend, and Wayne Johnson and car owner, Donnie Cooper were ready in the #01. The two-night show was capped by a $10,000 to win finale on Sunday, and Wayne led most of the way before losing air in his tire. This week’s plans are still up in the air, but the Knoxville, Iowa driver hopes to be running somewhere. An unlucky draw put Wayne in the back of his heat race in Saturday’s opener, but he promptly drove from eighth to fourth. “We drew 67 out of 70, so that’s about par for us,” he says. “The car was good in the heat though, and we scraped into the feature.” More accustomed to the Maxim chassis, Cooper’s #01 utilizes JEI. Wayne was a quick study, and drove from 15th to 11th in the prelim. “The car was good,” he says. “It was just different than what I’m used to. Dude (Danny Lasoski) drove this thing, so it’s different. I had to make the adjustments to that and the new team, but we did o.k. that first night.” A better draw awaited Sunday, setting Wayne up inside row two for a heat he would eventually win. Luck followed him into the feature, when he inherited the pole. “On the first start (heat), Kathryne Minter and Brian McClelland got together, so that put us on the front row and we were able to win it,” he remembers. “For the feature, the pole was left for me because I was the last to draw, and that was big too.” The 2000 ASCS National champion took off and hid at the outset of the finale. Building a large lead, trouble brewed about halfway through the 35-lapper. “They said I had about a half a lap lead, but the car just started getting tighter and tighter, and the holes were bigger and bigger,” says Wayne. “We were running well there out in the lead, and around lap 15, the right rear started going flat. That tightened things up and we started falling back through the field.” Wayne continued to go backwards, and may have ended up with a DNF, if not for a late race red flag for Zach Chappell. “We were in ninth, when there was a red with three laps to go,” he says. “That gave us a chance to take the bleeder out and pump air in the tire. There were only four pounds of air in it when they got to it. That got me going again, and I passed a car each lap to finish sixth. It was disappointing, because I thought we should have won, but without that red, I’m sure we would have finished further back than ninth.” Wayne looks forward to hooking up with the Cooper team again in the future. The defending 360 Nationals champion is looking forward to it. “The car ran really well, and I thought by Sunday, we really came together as a team,” he says. “I’m looking forward to running the car again.” This week’s plans are up in the air currently, as Wayne has to pick up a motor in Ohio. He could very well end up running in the Buckeye State this weekend. Wayne Johnson Apparel in Stock! 2009 Wayne Johnson apparel for both men and women is now in stock! T-shirts, long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops and hats are all in! To order, e-mail Wayne at WayneJohnsonRacing@yahoo.com or stop by the trailer at the track. Wayne’s Website To learn more about Wayne and the team, log on to www.WayneJohnsonRacing.com! Wayne’s World Randy from Elma, WA asks: Are you looking forward to racing up here in the Northwest again in a couple of weeks? Wayne answers: I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve never been to Skagit (WA), and I hear it’s a fun place to race. I’ve never been to Cottage Grove (OR) or Medford (OR) either. They’ll all be new, and I always like going somewhere new, where I can add the tracks to my list.
Wayne’s Tech Tips
What do you have time to do on the car in an open red situation? Where do you usually start?
Wayne: This week it was air in the tire! Usually you start with fuel and air to be honest. Sometimes you have time to adjust a little weight or change a shock. There are multiple things you can do, you just have to gauge how long the red is going to be. It all depends on how the car is driving.
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! “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 FattFro, Stone Mountain Access, Bral Restoration, Deberg Concrete, TNT Custom Golf Carts, www.RacingThreads.com, CnB Mushroom Farms, Maxim Chassis, ARP Wings, Hoosier Tire, Simpson, Weld and ButlerBuilt for all their help!
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