Wayne races at Lakeside Speedway (John Lee – www.HighFly-NPhotos.com)
(Bill W) May 11, 2016 – Wayne Johnson and the Two-C Racing #2c team are searching for a balance right now. Last week, the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma driver finished second with the Sprint Invaders at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, finished tenth with the ASCS National Series at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, and finished fourth with the ASCS Warrior region at Lucas Oil Speedway near Wheatland, Missouri. Most teams would take that trio, but the veteran was not feeling comfortable in the car last weekend.
Things started well in Osky last Wednesday when Wayne won his heat from row three. “We got a really good start there on the heat race and had the lead going into turn one,” he says. “Our car was decent there.”
He would start sixth in the feature. “The car was not good,” says Wayne. “The front end was way too light there. It was flying on entry and wouldn’t turn. There were a few things there, that needed to be corrected. On a big track like that, you are going to be much better in clean air. Terry (McCarl) set sail out there in clean air. Jamie (Ball) was behind him, and then me.”
Wayne ran third most of the feature before getting by Ball late to finish second. “We were all
about the same distance apart,” he says of the lead three. “When you get up behind someone, the car tightens up and I got really tight. I was going to run third until Jamie missed his spot a little bit there late in the race. I was fortunate that that happened.”
At Lakeside on Thursday, Wayne would start sixth in the heat. “We were able to get to second pretty quick,” he says. “The (Brandon) Hanks kid kind of checked out. On Race Monitor, we were just as quick, but he got the jump at the start. We drew the four for the feature.”
It was evident that the car wasn’t handling in the main event. “We just had no balance to the car,” says Wayne. “We were too rolled up. The car has been balled up in the right rear…not even tight. When it won’t rotate, then you have to shake it down, and when you do that, it’s too free. We really were just holding on. If we kept it up to speed, we could have maintained where we were at in fifth or sixth. With the restarts, I got in behind cars and we got worse and worse.”
He would finish tenth, and become the third different driver in ASCS history to record 300 top ten finishes behind only Gary Wright (397) and Jason Johnson (321). In addition, he has done it in 397 feature starts (75.6%). Three more feature starts and he will join Wright as the only two drivers with 400 ASCS National main event starts. “To come out with a tenth as bad as we were wasn’t terrible,” says Wayne. “I certainly wasn’t happy with that, but as many cars as there were, it could have been worse.”
At Lucas Oil Speedway Saturday, Wayne would record another heat race win after starting outside row one. “The heat races have been going well,” he says. “We drew the five for the feature. The first start went well. We got up to third right away. They called that back, and on the next restart, I didn’t get a good start. I was back in sixth or seventh.”
Despite battling his car again, he would come back to finish fourth. “I was able to race my way back up to third there, but (Josh) Baughman got me midrace and we finished fourth,” says Wayne. “We’re still balled up on the right rear. It’s just a handful to drive right now.”
The team is determined to get the balance back in the car for this weekend’s two-day show at the dirt track at Texas Motor Speedway north of Fort Worth. “We’re trying all kinds of things,” says Wayne. “Everything we have been doing hasn’t been working. We’ve changed a bunch of stuff to see if we can make something happen. We’ve been on the phone with a lot of people this week, and we have some new ideas. Hopefully, we’ll be back on track this weekend.”
Follow Updates on Facebook!
Wayne will update as his race night commences at his Facebook page. Find it by searching for Wayne Johnson Racing or clicking the following link…
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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
Wayne won at last one race in Florida for four straight years (2007-2010). The wins were evenly split between 410 and 360 competition. In 2007, he won with USCS at the North Florida Speedway in Lake City. He beat the All Stars (with plenty of WoO in the house) at Volusia Speedway Park in 2008, beat the All Stars again at East Bay in 2009, before winning the $14,500 to win "King of the 360's" in February of 2010.
Partner of the Week – City Vending
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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, Outlaw Wings, City Vending 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 Supplies, Fisher Racing Engines, Speedway Graphics and Canyon Apparel.
Photo: Wayne races at Lakeside Speedway (John Lee – www.HighFly-NPhotos.com)
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