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Wednesdays with Wayne – Fast Doesn’t Always Pay!

Wayne Johnson and the Two-C Racing #2c team had another fast car at last weekend’s Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial at Lucas Oil Speedway near Wheatland, Missouri. A tangle with a lapped car ended Wayne’s bid for a repeat victory in the event Saturday night. He finished third and fifth in the prelim’s, with the fifth place finish coming after a 360 spin on the last lap Friday night. The Oklahoma City driver will travel with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series to I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska for Saturday’s “Fall Brawl”.

Wayne started fast in Thursday’s prelim. “We definitely had one of the fastest racecars there all weekend by the end,” he says. “The first night, we were able to win our heat after starting third. We came back and drove from fifth to third in the Qualifier, so we were locked in to the feature.”

He started third. “We ended up finishing third,” says Wayne. “We thought that was pretty decent. The car just felt o.k. We weren’t 100%.”

Things turned around a bit the next night. “Our car was way better on Friday,” says Wayne. “We won the heat going away. Then we came back and ran second in the Qualifier after starting fifth. That set us up outside the front row of the feature.”

Wayne was cruising after starting outside row one in the main event. “I felt like we were going to win the feature,” he says. “We led the whole way. Then, with about five laps to go, something was going wrong with the car. It got really loose. On the white flag lap, I went down into one and spun out all by myself. I was able to keep it going and finish fifth.”

The team inspected the car after the race. “We didn’t know why we spun,” says Wayne. “We got back to the pit and discovered the left rear tire was coming apart where it’s seamed together. I don’t know if that’s why we spun out, or if I just stepped on my wiener, but it was disappointing after we felt we had it won.”

Wayne felt confident heading into Saturday’s finale where he would start inside row two. “We were running third there and the car felt good,” he says. “Sammy (Swindell) got caught up in a crash there and had to stop. We were able to miss that, and we were in second. (Leader) Sam (Hafertepe) was a little better on the restarts and got away from me a bit. He got to traffic and he wasn’t clearing it very well. We were able to run him down.”

In traffic, the end of the weekend awaited. “With about ten to go, I decided to ride behind him and let him make a mistake,” says Wayne of the leader. “Thomas Kennedy was holding him up pretty good. We got right to him. Sam got by him, and I was going right with him. At that point, (Kennedy) made a right hand turn and ran over me. That knocked the front end out, and we were done early. I’m sure he didn’t see me, but he made a big right hand turn right after being lapped by the leader. But I’m sure it wasn’t intentional.”

If things would have been a little different, Wayne could have won his second Hockett/McMillin Memorial in a row. “We had a good car,” he says. “I don’t know if we would have won, but we were in position to win for sure if Sam would have made a mistake. His car looked like mine felt. We had pretty much identical cars out there. Who knows what would have happened?”

Wayne will try to bounce back at a place that he cashed a $50,000 check just a few years ago. “I think since we took the $50,000…it hasn’t paid quite as much!” he jokes. “It’s been a good track for us though, and we’re looking forward to seeing the fans up there.”

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