Wayne really wasn‘t afraid. In fact, he began badgering his father once more. He was ready to travel. In 1991 he did venture east to Tulsa Speedway and finished second in the season standings to Donnie Crawford. He also got his feet wet in a 410 sprint car at places like Belleville, Kansas and Little Rock‘s I-30 Speedway.
It was fun, but it was far too expensive of a tab for his father to shoulder. In 1992, it was decided that the best course of action was to build a new supermodified. It turned out to be a good plan, as Johnson claimed the Oklahoma City championship.
Wayne has now gone forth and raced at some of the best known tracks and in the most significant races this country has to offer. Regardless, he can‘t help reminiscing about his early days at Oklahoma City and racing at a facility that was needlessly demolished. “I have lots of memories from racing,” he says, “because I have been doing this a long time. But those first few years racing at the Fairgrounds with my dad, and my mother in the grandstands, are the fondest memories that I have.” Nonetheless, at this point he was still anxious to branch out.
Fortuitously, the American Sprint Car Series was gaining momentum and it allowed Johnson a chance to compete in a compact circuit, but also take a 360-powered sprint car to other big races should he desire to do so. Beginning in 1993, Johnson began competing regularly with the ASCS and would do so for a number of years. He finished fourth in series points in his first season and, as he continued juggling racing and his life, he realized he had come to a crossroads.
Henry Johnson had passed and, dutifully, Wayne took over the management of one of the family‘s junkyards. One day he had to face the truth. He was miserable, and it was time to take a bold step. “I just decided to try this racing deal fulltime and see how it goes,” he says. “And I went to my mother and explained what I wanted to do. She was OK with it. So, I went and tried it. It hasn‘t always been that lucrative, but I am still doing it.”
It is impossible to make a living racing sprint cars without some support and enjoying a fair degree of success. Things got off to a great start when he snared the prestigious 1997 Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway. By 2000 he was the ASCS National champ, besting no less than Terry Gray and the late Jason Johnson.
Adding even more luster to the season, he traveled to Knoxville Raceway and picked up the 360 Nationals. Given his record to that point, it wasn‘t surprising that once again his thoughts turned to 410 racing. He knew where he wanted to go, and soon demonstrated that he was willing to go the extra mile to make his dream happen.
In 2003 he signed on to race for Bill Vielhauer‘s Beaver Drill & Tool team on a weekly basis at Knoxville. Not only was Johnson still living in the Sooner State, but he was also piloting a 360 every Friday Night at Oklahoma City. “I would leave right after the races,” he says, “and get to Kansas City about five or six in the morning. I would sleep in the rig until about 10, and then go to Knoxville and race. Then I would drive back to Oklahoma City and be home about 10 a.m. on Sunday morning.”
The record shows he was not out of his depth. He scored a victory and landed in the sixth position in the final points. It was a contract he entered into voluntarily, but does admit “It just got to be a grind.”
However, that single year was enough to convince him it was time to make a move. “I knew Knoxville was where you needed to be,” he says. “At least if you were from this area and wanted to be a 410 sprint car driver.” He had made up his mind that this was exactly what he wanted to do, so he picked up his stakes and moved to Iowa.
If he needed confirmation that he had made a wise choice, he got it early. He hooked up with owners Al Christoffer and Scott Bullish and made noise immediately. In 2004 he finished second in the season standings to Terry McCarl. The following year he backed it up by winning three times, and was runner-up to Kerry Madsen. From that point on Johnson established a national reputation. Sticking with the program, in 2008 he won his second 360 Nationals at the Marion County Fairgrounds, and then had a signature moment by taking the opening night at the Knoxville Nationals.