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(Bill W) October 14, 2009 – Wayne Johnson had the FattFro #14AJ clicking well last weekend, but a tip-over and a tough heat draw amongst the 71 cars entered put a bit of a damper on things at the Cowtown Speedway. This weekend, the Knoxville, Iowa sprint car driver will stay in the Dallas area with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series in two-day action at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas. The Cowtown Speedway in Kennedale, Texas hosted the 2nd Annual Cowtown Sprint Nationals last weekend. Rain pounded the ¼ mile bullring heading into the weekend shifting things to a Saturday/Sunday format, and Mother Nature would have the last laugh by Sunday. Wayne drew well, but knew he had to win his heat. “The car was really nice on Saturday,” he says. “I knew we had to win our heat to make the show, and keep (Brian) Brown and (Kevin) Ramey behind us. We were able to do that, and that put us in row six for the feature.” Wayne had high hopes of a top four finish in the 30-lap feature. That would lock him into Saturday’s finale. Instead, he made it about a ¼ of a lap. “It was one of those deals where we just had some contact, got a little bit sideways in turn one and tipped it over,” he says. “There wasn’t any major damage on the car, but anytime you turn over, there’s a lot of work to do in cleaning up fluids and making sure everything is good to go.” Sunday’s events were delayed an hour, and the draw didn’t go well for Wayne. He started in row four behind the likes of Terry McCarl, Johnny Herrera, Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Aaron Berryhill. He managed a fifth place finish. “After getting upside down on Saturday, we were actually pretty good,” he says. “We had to make a number of adjustments to keep the car balanced. That was definitely a tough draw though, considering who was in front of us.” With only two transferring to the main event out of his B main, Wayne started back in row three. He climbed to third at the checkers. “Unfortunately, we lost our brakes there in that B main,” he says. “We just weren’t quite able to get Dustin (Morgan) there for the transfer. It turns out, the feature was rained out anyway, but I felt we definitely had a car good enough to make the show.” Friday and Saturday, the focus will turn to the Devil’s Bowl Speedway. Wayne is excited about the new ARP wing he will be using. “I want to make sure to let everyone know at the Devil’s Bowl that we have a brand new ARP wing on,” he says. “I’d like to invite everyone to come down to the #14AJ and check it out.” Wayne’s history at Devil’s Bowl shows five wins and 28 top five finishes in 47 A main starts. His success there has included two ASCS Speedweek wins at the famous ½ mile oval. “We always look forward to running Devil’s Bowl,” he says. “We’ve had some success there in the past, and we could use some good luck for once heading in there 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 Aron Burke asks: You’ve always done pretty well at Devil’s Bowl. Is that a matter of the laps you have in there, or something else? Wayne answers: Having a good number of laps is a big deal anywhere. You do find tracks like Devil’s Bowl that you are really comfortable at and run well at. There’s a combination there. Wayne’s Tech Tips
Could you explain the decisions you have to make regarding how hard or soft you run the shocks?
Wayne: That’s probably one of the most difficult questions to answer and it depends on the driver. Shocks have become really complicated. We deal more in compression and rebound. On a rough track like we had at Cowtown, you’ll run a little bit more rebound in the shock. On a smooth track, you’ll have more compression.
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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