(Bill W) January 14, 2015 – Following the “Winter Heat” event in Arizona, the Wayne Johnson Racing #77x team will take a brief respite in their Knoxville, Iowa headquarters. Racing in Florida heats up next month and the team will be back on the road. They found speed as the events at Cocopah Speedway near Yuma, Arizona went on last weekend. One place they couldn’t find any luck with was the draw.
Wayne acknowledges that the team learned a lot on the trip. “We learned a lot with the KPC chassis,” he says. “”The finishes didn’t show it, but we got it going pretty well. Our main thing last weekend was drawing the inside of the third row of our heat race both nights. That’s the worst place you can be starting at Yuma.”
The top is the preferred starting spot in Yuma. “By the time you get going, you’re in sixth or seventh before you know it,” says Wayne. “Then you have to try to fight back from there. We were really good in the B (Friday he went from 10th to 6th). We really got rolling. Come feature time, it was a track position deal. We’re way too tight to be driving by the strong cars in front of us from the back right now.”
He would finish the race and get valuable time on his new chassis. “You get tight in dirty air behind other cars,” says Wayne. “We were racing at the end, so that was good, and I was feeling better health-wise. It was an opportunity to get laps on these new cars and learn and figure some things out. We had a bunch of stuff going on that we were trying.”
Saturday would again see Wayne start fifth in his heat. This time he checkered sixth and started on the pole of his Qualifier. “We were able to get the jump in the Qualifier, but I (slow)-footed it into one because I didn’t want to miss the bottom,” he says. “Mason Moore got around the outside of me and we ran second.”
Wayne would charge from the fourth row to finish fourth in the B, before moving up from row ten to finish 18th in the main event. “We were pretty good again in the B, and the car was getting better and better,” he says. “It was pretty tough to pass on Saturday. It started laying a little rubber and we rode around there behind Joey (Saldana) in the feature. I was a little better than him I think, but there was nowhere to pass him back there. I wasn’t fast enough like (Danny) Lasoski was to get out of that line and roll by guys.”
The team is waiting on the schedules in Florida to finalize before they hit the road again. “Whenever they get racing down in Florida, I’m sure we’ll be there,” says Wayne. “Right now, we’re headed back to the frozen tundra!”
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Outlaw Wings – “The Wing with an Attitude”
Check out the new “recessed rivet” design put out by Outlaw Wings. Talk to Wayne about purchasing Outlaw Wings for your car! Outlaw Wings – "The Wing with an Attitude"!
Wayne's Fast Facts
February 6, 2008, Wayne took home the All Star race at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida. In a field that featured the All Stars and most of the World of Outlaws, he topped Sam Hafertepe Jr., Danny Lasoski, Craig Dollansky and Donny Schatz.
Partner of the Week – The Oil Medics
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"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!
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Wayne Johnson Racing would like to thank partners, Todd Carlile, Townline Variety, Outlaw Wings, City Vending, Stone Mountain Access Systems and product sponsors The Oil Medics, Sebastian Sandblasting & Powdercoating, Rod End Supply, Astro Titanium, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson, Butlerbuilt, Xtreme Accu-Tach, Weld Wheels, Slade Shocks, Kustom Sprint Car, Fisher Racing Engines, Team Achieve and Canyon Apparel.
Attached: Wayne races at Cocopah Speedway (Malcolm White Photography)