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(Bill W) July 8, 2009 – Wayne Johnson feels like he’s gaining a little ground with the FattFro #14AJ at Knoxville. After running 16th with the Outlaws, he was able to charge from 12th up to 7th on a fast racetrack Saturday in weekly competition. Tonight, he’ll tow to the 34 Raceway to run with the WoO before Twin Features on Saturday, and a trip to Oregon to race on Monday. Wayne was not happy after timing in 15th quick in a stout field of 23 410s at Knoxville. “I wasn’t happy with that,” he says. “We’re off on the fuel a bit there. We’re just a little off the pace. When you are a tenth of a second off, it can mean a lot.” The Knoxville driver started up front in the heat and won going away. He still wasn’t too impressed. “You’re supposed to win the heat from the pole,” he says. “The way the track was early, it was tough to pass anyway.” The heavy conditions, due in part to an inch of rainfall in the morning, stuck around all night. Wayne staged for the 20-lap finale outside of row six. Despite the conditions and some fast cars in front of him, he was able to surge forward five spots. “The racetrack was so good, that it was hard to pass,” he says. “We’re down in the dumps about seventh, but we were right there with those guys (leaders) before that caution with eight to go. We ran them down, so that was a positive. I don’t know that we needed that caution.” Wayne can see the progress. “We seem to be catching up and learning every time we get to run Knoxville,” he says. “We’re better, but we’re still not great. The car is driving a lot nicer now.” Saturday night is Twin Features night, so there is an opportunity to get plenty of laps in there. Wayne will board a plane on Sunday and fly west. He Harold Main #35A team will be waiting. They plan to run Northwest Speedweek starting at the Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford on Sunday. Tuesday, they will move on to Cottage Grove Speedway, followed by Willamette Speedway in Lebanon on Wednesday. The National ASCS tour arrives in Elma, Washington for a two-night stand at Grays Harbor Raceway Park on July 17 and 18. “I’m looking forward to going out there again,” says Wayne. “The last time we were out there, I was off a bit, and I don’t know why.” 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 Pete Pickell asks: You’ve been to different areas of the country this season. How are you seeing the state of sprint car racing in those different areas?
Wayne answers: When you go other places, you don’t know what the car count is normally. It seems everywhere I go there are 20-25 cars. I think that’s probably down about five cars everywhere. That’s about the only difference I can see. The fans are still in the stands. The Dirt Cup had a lot of fans, and Knoxville and Chico have had good crowds.
Wayne’s Tech Tips
I know the Jacob’s ladder is some kind of support for the right rear. Can you explain how it works, and when it breaks, what happens to the handling?
Wayne: The Jacob’s ladder is really the heart and soul of the racecar in a lot of ways. When it’s broken off, that allows the rear-end to slide left and right. It’s a standard ladder around 14” with 7” straps. People run all different lengths. The shorter the ladder, the more it sticks the right rear. Those are the 12 to 12 ½” ladders.
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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