Wednesday's With Wayne - Victory in Mississippi

Bryan Hulbert - OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (March 7, 2018) Hard work paid off for the Outlaw Wings/Oil Medics No. 2c driven by Wayne Johnson, as the veteran Sprint Car shoe posted his first victory of the 2018 season on Friday night at Hattiesburg Speedway before following that up with a fourth-place showing at Magnolia Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Racing both nights with USCS, the Friday portion of the Mississippi doubleheader started with Wayne going seventh to fourth in the night's opening Heat Race.

Despite moving forward, Wayne explained there was more to be done with the car before the A-Feature, "I actually didn't feel that good in the Heat Race. We ran seventh to fourth, but I just didn't feel comfortable at all so right before the feature, I got with Slippy [Conner Nelson] and we made some wholesale changes and man did it help."

Gridding the A-Feature 10th, it took little time for Wayne to pick his way to the front after the first start was called back, "I had a great start and they called it back, and I thought we were in trouble because the next start wasn't very good at all but the car felt good. I was just patient going through there."

Slowed near the race's half-way point, Wayne's patience began to bear fruit, "They had a caution with, I think, about 10 laps complete and I was up to third and once we got rolling again, we were able to get to the lead pretty easy. I had been running middle to top to get to the lead. Once I got there, I adjusted to running right through the middle where everyone else was. The car was so good, I could put it anywhere and really, I wasn't running it near as hard as I could have."

Taking on Magnolia Motor Speedway on Saturday, the track proved tricky with a rather rough surface to contend with.

"We started third and ran second in the Heat Race and that put us starting sixth in the feature. We got to third pretty quick and thought we were actually better than what we ended up, but it was one of those deals where whoever bounced through the holes properly was going to get it," explained Wayne who was trailing Tony Stewart and Blake Hahn at the time.

"They actually got away from me because I'd hit the holes wrong, then they would, then I'd run them down, but it was just a matter of who got through the holes, plus your track position because when you did get next to someone, you didn't know which way they might go so we ended up fourth but overall, it was a good weekend."

Looking ahead, the TwoC Racing team is planning on taking the coming weekend off to prepare for the 2018 season opener with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented Sawblade.com at the 45th Devil's Bowl Spring Nationals in Mesquite, Texas on March 16 and 17. Wayne has nine career ASCS National Tour wins at the famed half-mile.

For continued updates on Wayne Johnson and TwoC Racing, you can follow them on Facebook (http://bit.ly/2o5zneX and http://bit.ly/2BsrIja) and Twitter (@wjr77x).

Recent Results:
Hattiesburg Speedway (Hattiesburg, Miss.)
March 2, 2018 - WIN [10th] with USCS
Magnolia Motor Speedway (Magnolia, Miss.)
March 3, 2018 - 4th [6th] with USCS
Season To Date:
Races: 12; Wins: 1; Top-5: 5; Top-10: 8; Top-20: 9
Up Next:
March 16, 2018 - Devil's Bowl Speedway with Lucas Oil ASCS
March 17, 2018 - Devil's Bowl Speedway with Lucas Oil ASCS
Follow Wayne Johnson and TwoC Racing
Facebook (Wayne): http://bit.ly/2o5zneX
Facebook (TwoC Racing): http://bit.ly/2BsrIja
Twitter (Wayne): @wjr77x
Twitter (TwoC Racing): @TwoCRacing
Online: https://www.myracepass.com/profile/?r=15868&rt=driver

Sponsors:
Wayne would like to give special thanks to his sponsors who have helped keep him behind the wheel and on the road: Todd Carlile, Outlaw Wings, The Oil Medics, Sebastian Sandblasting & Powder Coating, DHR Suspension, Chalk Stix, Rod End Supply, Astro Titanium, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson, ButlerBuilt, Xtreme Accu-Tach, Weld Wheels, Kustom Sprint Car Supplies, Fisher Racing Engines, Speedway Graphics and Canyon Apparel.


Contact: Shawn Miller
Inside Line Promotions
Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com | (541) 510-3663

Hagar Scores Third-Place Result to Extend Podium Streak at Magnolia Motor Speedway to Six Seasons

Inside Line Promotions - COLUMBUS, Miss. (March 7, 2018) - Derek Hagar earned a podium finish during his first race of the season in his No. 9jr last Saturday at Magnolia Motor Speedway.

The third-place result gives Hagar at least one podium finish at the track in each of the last six years.

"The track was totally different than in the past," he said. "We've had a lot of rain and the race track got really, really rough. It stayed crumbly and marbly all night. They worked hard and they made a race track by the end of the night."

The USCS Series event began with Hagar winning a heat race after he started on the outside of the front row.

"They got the top to where it was runnable," he said. "We got the jump on (Matt) Covington. There was a big hole coming off turn two. Covington hit it and bounced up as I was coming down. We about got together, but luckily we didn't touch and I ended up winning the heat."

Hagar ranked third in overall points and a zero was drawn for the feature inversion, which lined him up on the inside of the second row for the A Main.

"We fell back to fourth," he said. "I was planning on running the top, but it wasn't there. Then we fell to fifth, but a caution came out so I got my spot back. I drove by Wayne (Johnson) for third on the restart. I kept Blake (Hahn) in my sights. The race track was challenging. Everyone around the bottom would throw some stuff into the middle of the track. I got forced up there once and it felt good. We had a restart on Lap 21 and I went up there. I got a good run on Blake and he heard me and moved up. I dropped to the bottom and pulled beside him, but he squeezed me and we banged wheels. That cost me a lot of ground and with six laps to go I didn't have enough to get to back to him so we finished third."

Hagar will likely take the next couple of weeks off before resuming competition on March 24 at North Alabama Speedway in Tuscumbia, Ala., with the USCS Series.

QUICK RESULTS -

March 3 - Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss. - Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 3 (3).

SEASON STATS -

5 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 1 top 10, 3 top 15s, 5 top 20s

UP NEXT -

March 24 at North Alabama Speedway in Tuscumbia, Ala., with the USCS Series

MEDIA LINKS -

Website: http://www.DerekHagarRacing.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HagarDerek

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - B&D Towing

Since 2002, B&D Towing and Recovery, which is located in Marion, Ark., has been the exclusive source for professional towing, recovery and transport by major Memphis truck dealerships, parcel delivery companies, nationwide trucking firms and more. For more information, visit http://www.BnDTowing.com.

"B&D Towing supports racing," Hagar said. "They can help anyone in the Memphis area. For anyone who needs a hand, B&D is recommended to save the day."

Hagar would also like to thank Dynotech Performance, DHR Suspension, J&J Auto Racing, Xtreme Race Graphics, Fragola Performance Systems, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Weld Wheels, Hinchman Racewear, Wix Filters, Wings Unlimited, FK Rod Ends, Valvoline and Ti64 for their continued support.