Wednesdays with Wayne – Another Top Ten at 360 Nationals Sets up 410 Week!
(Bill W) August 7, 2013 – Wayne Johnson registered his ninth career top ten in the 360 Nationals, which registers first on the all-time list. His ninth place finish was a bit of a disappointment after registering the high point total on his qualifying night, but when he inspected his bent racecar later, it made sense. The Wayne Johnson Racing #77x team will hit the track Thursday night for the 53rd Knoxville Nationals.
The 360 Nationals started last Thursday with quick time for Wayne. “We talked to Charlie Fisher about some new things for qualifying,” he says. “It worked out well for us. That was definitely a plus and had us headed in the right direction. We haven’t had many pluses lately, so that was good.”
Starting sixth in his heat race, the Knoxville, Iowa driver shot up to third at the checkers and locked himself into the main event. “The car was working well and the driver had his head on straight,” says Wayne. “We were rolling.”
Starting eighth in the prelim, Wayne ran third in the non-stop 20-lapper. “We just ran a little short at the end,” he says. “It didn’t help that we didn’t have any cautions. I felt we were better than (Kyle) Larson at the end. Who knows? I would have liked to have found out though.”
Wayne’s point total would see him start outside of Shane Stewart on the front row of Saturday night’s championship event. The two-time 360 Nationals champ knew after hot laps he had some issues. “I knew I was in trouble from the beginning,” he says. “We went out to hot lap, and our car felt weird. We thought we had a bad bar. We changed that, but it didn’t help any. We found out later, that the car was bent. It was bent without ever wrecking it. I don’t know if it’s metal fatigue or if the tubes are crooked in it. This car is a 2008, so it was probably due for that.”
After the ninth place finish, it was time to bring the 410 out for Sunday’s “Capitani Classic” at Knoxville. “With 81 cars…I wasn’t happy with the qualifying (35th), but we weren’t that far from the heat invert,” says Wayne. “Terry (McCarl) and (Davey) Heskin were racing there in the heat and I thought we may get them, but we’re still struggling with some grip.”
A sixth place heat finish sent him to one of two B mains, starting eighth. “We were up to fourth and I just got loose at the end,” says Wayne. “We’re figuring some things out and we’re ready for Thursday night.”
Look for a familiar look this week, as Wayne will have a special scheme reminiscent of his days in the FattFro #14AJ. “Al Christoffer from FattFro is sponsoring our vinyl,” he says. “It’s a replica car from a few years back at the Nationals. It’s the car we had the most success with. We’re trying to change our luck a bit here. They did a really good job with it.”
Category: Driver Updates, Wayne Johnson
