7/9/2014
Sprint Source
Wednesdays with Wayne – On the Right Track!
The Wayne Johnson Racing #77x team has had their struggles in 2014, but things seem to be on the right track after showing speed with the World of Outlaws the past two weeks. Unfortunately, last Saturday night’s event at Dodge City ended with Wayne running in the top ten and suffering an accident. Tentative plans have the team in Tipton, Iowa this Friday for Sprint Invaders action before Knoxville Raceway on Saturday night.
Friday night in Dodge City, Kansas saw Wayne time in 12th quick. “We started on the front row of the heat,” he says. “Brad Sweet’s (starting outside row one) motor didn’t take off…he even said that…and they penalized me for jumping. That put (Daryn) Pittman on the front row and took my chances away of winning that and getting in the Dash. We made it out with a transfer.”
He would start twelfth in the feature. “I got a really good start and was up into the top ten,” says Wayne. “Sammy (Swindell) crashed though, so they brought it back. The second start wasn’t good at all, and I fell in line in twelfth. I ran there the whole race, but the good part about it was I turned the third quickest lap of the race. To be back there in traffic and to do that was a good thing.”
Wayne came back to Saturday’s finale and timed in 15th. “I felt pretty good on the first lap,” he says. “We went out late. I felt I left a little something on the table, so I really ripped it the second lap. When I did, I smacked the fence coming off of turn two and knocked the rear-end out of it and about tipped over.”
The team made a number of repairs to the #77x machine for the heat including a new rear-end and wings. “We missed the heat inversion by three-hundredths of a second,” says Wayne. “We patched the car back together and made it through the heat though.”
Starting 15th in the main event, Wayne surged forward immediately. “We were into the top ten on the first lap,” he says. “Unfortunately, the stupid driver hit the infield tire coming off of four. I brushed it with the left front and broke the radius rod. It knocked the brake line off of it. I came off the corner saying, ‘Please stay straight, please don’t turn left.’ I was coasting there and the thing hung a left. Unfortunately, (Logan) Schuchart ran smack into the drag link.”
The crash turned bizarre. “I’ve never had this happen, but he hit me so hard, that the steering gear mount broke,” says Wayne. “When it did, it brought the steering gear down and smashed me in the leg. It bent the steering wheel over my leg and I was trapped. I couldn’t get out. Slippy (Conner Nelson) and the safety worker were trying to get the steering gear off me, and they had to go get wrenches and unbolt the steering wheel so I could get out. I’m still a little sore from that one. I’ve never broken that before.”
Armed with guest crew member Josh Hegwood, the team also showed strongly with the WoO at 34 Raceway near West Burlington, Iowa. Wayne timed in 12th quick amongst a stout 32-car field and ran second in his heat. He would start 13th in the feature. “We were good at Burlington,” he says. “Early in the race, we had passed some cars, but I ran into the back of Kraig Kinser and jumped his right rear. We spun out and had to go to the back. It just took me forever to clear some of those cars. When you’re back there, it’s tough to pass. These cars are ‘air dependent’ so it’s tough in that traffic.”
He would surge from the tail to finish 11th. “Once I got clear of that, the car really took off,” says Wayne. “I passed Sammy for tenth coming off of two on the last lap there. He was able to get back by, but it was a good run from the back.”
Despite the misfortunes on the racetrack, the car has been faster and the momentum is building for Wayne. “We’re definitely getting up to speed,” he says. “We’re definitely on the right track. We’ve been finding some crazy things with the car that are working. We’re qualifying better, and we’re up to speed. We’re on the right track.”
Article Credit: Bill Wright
