This is a second post to ensure it is seen Answers to Questions Regarding Quick 16 No Race Final Round My Name is Wayne Roberts I am the Owner and Driver of the Saturn Yellow 72 GSX Race car which is powered by a Naturally Aspirated True 10.5, single 4 barrel Buick, which raced this weekend in the Super 16 at the GS Nationals in Bowling Green Ky. First off: to all the fans that waited to see the final race I am sorry you were denied that by the GSCA. (out of My control) First time in 5 years they have the race and they do this to you. I do not post much but I will concerning this issue. We had a great time meeting everyone and talking to you about the car. Track and weather conditions were not ideal and I believe or best 60’= 1.15 so we were .07 from our best. We did try to rotate the earth Saturday morning but the track said NO NO NO! you can’t do that here. Our best et 8.321@160. On Thursday I spoke with the Super 16 coordinator and discussed I only had one crew member with me and it is very difficult to turn this car around in less than an hour. I suggested that I only make exhibition passes during S16 and not race if that was an issue. He told me no! put it in the race, people want to see this car. Again on Friday I talked with him about the time between runs for qualifying rounds and told them I could not get the car cooled that fast. I skipped round 2 due to this. Saturday I had the same talk with him, I was told to just ignore the calls to the lanes and go as fast as we could and they would make it work. Just so everyone knows this motor and car were constructed for heads up racing. That means no air flow into the car under hood until the hood is removed. This motor gets the rings, and rods, replaced after 75-100 passes if not abused. Tires only last 12-15 passes if rotated every 2 hits. This is not a low budget build or operation. So I in no way was trying to drag my feet. To speed things up I choose skip rotating the tires knowing that would result in throwing them out after this race (600.00). After the semifinals, knowing we only had one more pass I made the decision to use the on board batteries to cool the motor along with the other fans, and then charge the battery backup. (No you cannot charge when power is on it will fry the electronics) it worked. The First time I thought something was strange, was in the 2ed round when I raced Lawrence Clark I called the Woman running the lanes over and told her please do not start him until my crew guy could get down on the track as I fire this thing and go directly to the water. She acknowledged by saying ok took one step turned and told Mr. Clark to start his car and go down. So Mr. Clark I in no way was trying to hang you out don’t believe you thought that but wanted to be sure. In the Finals as we pushed into the circle track and I got out of my car to put on my Coat, Hans, and Helmet. I was told to either get in the car without it and race or I would be DQ’ed. I responded that is not going to happen. Then some guy I have never seen before started yelling from across the track that I have been dragging my ass all week and he is not going to put up with it. (he never came closer than 100 yards from me and turned and walk away) I yelled back if you can’t wait you will never see this car at one of your events again. He then told Gary to start his car and go to the line. Gray killed his car after dong his burnout and at that time he was instructed to run or he was out. This was told to me by Gary’s wife who came back to me crying that they did not want to win that way. I do not hold anything agents Gary for what he did and you should not either. THIS WAS ALL A GSCA ISSUE. So everyone knows, from the time stamp on my time ticket from the Semifinals, to packing the shoot, cooling the car, charging the battery, up to the lanes, all this BS taking place, talking to a couple of people afterwards, pushing the car back to the pits and getting out directly to check the time it was 37 minutes total. I spoke with Dallas Jones the Track owner about this issue and he said the rental was under no time constraint and could have gone all night if it need to. The GSCA had your money they were done and wanted to go home, did not care if you stayed to see a race. So just another Black eye for the GSCA. I or my car will never be there again. I am sure they will reply who cares. Just maybe they need to look no farther than their own mirror to find the answer to why attendance is 20% of what it used to be. I am sure there are hundreds of stories just like mine for why people no longer attend the GS Nationals. Not one time did anyone other than the coordinator I approached to discuss this with come down and talk about any issue, no one came and said we are changing what you were told and get up here now. The S16 coordinator felt so bad he took money out of his pocket so I would be paid 1st place Money (I refused it). I set out to be the first one with a NA Buick motor over, 1000 HP. I did that. I choose to fight with every sanctioning body NMCA, Milan All Motor, for weight breaks for the Buick which would help everyone. I CHOOSE TO TAKE A KNIFE TO A GUN FIGHT, WHEN RACING NMCA, and MILAN BUT TO BE TREATED LIKE THIS AT THE GS NATIONALS! NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. All of these things inadvertently put money into the GSCA. That has stopped. In the end I am a Racer first! I can compete up front with a Chevy for half of the investment and none of this BS. I have a lot to think about over the winter. This was all on my dime no sponsorship, I refuse to have any of you spend a dollar of your money with them just to see us race. ONE LAST THING TO ALL THE SPONSORES OF THIS EVENT, THANK YOU HOWEVER I TOLD THE GSCA TO SHOVE the #1 Qualifier, and 2ed place Trophies alone with anything else they were giving out. Make sure you do not Honor any of your donations from the Super 16 runner up. I TRIED TO ANSWER ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS IN ONE PLACE. If YOU ASK QUESTIONS OR HAVE ISSUES WITH MY SIDE OF THIS NO PROBLEM, HOWEVER I WILL ONLY REPLY IF YOUR FULL NAME IS IN THE EMAIL. NO HIDING BEHIND A SCREEN NAME.
Wayne, next year, I think I can speak the northeast chapter, we would love to see you,and your car at our event at Cecile County. Rob
Sorry to hear of the bad time Wayne....I know the amount of work that has gone into that car to get to the point of enjoying it. And knowing you, You were probably just as excited to finally get the car to the GS Nationals as you were the first time out at home.
It was good to meet you wayne.that's one awesome car.sorry to hear about the debockle that happened in the finals.hope to hear the gsca's reasons for this.a final round at a national event shouldn't have been run this way.good luck in the future.
"In the Finals as we pushed into the circle track and I got out of my car to put on my Coat, Hans, and Helmet. I was told to either get in the car without it and race or I would be DQ’ed" and once again safety goes out the window...have seen videos of 10'sec drivers in shorts going down the track..
Someone who races and you are inviting me Hell yes count me in. As soon as you have the date please let me know. As long as I have no conflict with my daughters racing I will be there. Once I get a taste of that negative DA AIR out there I may never leave!
Part of your statement is incorrect. Dave came and spoke to you directly after the race. I guess in the heat of anger/passion you forgot that part about the situation. I moved my car but also stayed at the track way past the final pass of the day. There were quite a few turbo cars still around the track as well pretty close to when you left as one of them was a friend of mine i was waiting on and was still at the track almost till when Dallas closed it. But all that is a moot issue. I am tied up with 2 businesses essentially and have finally caught up with emails and contracts to come on here and post. Otherwise I would have contacted you sooner. For the record, I am not defending James Carswell nor am I speaking on his behalf nor the GSCA nor Beech Bend. I was asked by Derek Graham in his absence to sponsor Super 16 for 2017 and also assist Dave Mongeon in the class. I donated cash to Super 16 and helped organize the ladder, payouts, t shirts and get qualifying sheets printed out. I will state i did notice while under the crossover tower some banter back and fourth between you (Wayne) and James and his daughter. Specifically before the semi final and final Super 16 run. I dont know the specifics,or what was said and to whom, nor do I care, nor do they matter. Could have been a personality conflict. I dont know and wont speculate anymore on the issue! I know the money is not the issue here, its the principal. I know from being around Rod and his Regal it takes a longer time to cool his car . Same point with your car, Wayne. With that being said, with no sugarcoating, James made a bad call. He was tired and exhausted from the heat as everyone else was and let the anger get the best of him. It was wrong and unfair to Wayne. I dont believe it had anything to do with the GSCA it was the act of one individual who lost control of his temper and made a call to spite someone else being you Wayne. I have seen Pat Musi in person throw his helmet at a staging lane director in Las Vegas because he didnt have his car up to the lanes fast enough for a qualifying run for the Street car nats at LVMS. Have the video still to prove it. Wasnt the right call either. Nobody besides probably Wayne was more upset than Dave and myself. It calls into question our reputation and the integrity of the class. So here is what we are looking at as we speak.... We are looking to have more involvement with the track. Meaning each class will have an individual class director. For instance, Dave Mongeon Super 16, Cal Hartline TSO, etc. They make their own prize monies list, create elimination ladder, create rules, etc. Same as it is done now. But that they have sole discretion/decision making powers on their own class, NO ONE ELSE!! Put someone in the tower who has the organizational capacity to keep the track staff on a timetable. Typed out program for both Friday and Saturday and strictly adhered to as well. Track prep at 800 am, qualifying at 9 and 11. Eliminations start at 12pm. Lanes dragged and cleaned at every blank of the hour, etc. All written down. A meeting prior to eliminations and also before Friday racing action to make sure everyone is on same page and also to set the # of qualifying runs per class. So no misinterpretations or assumptions, incorrect ones, at all. With the strong possibility of 2018 BG being in October and Cecil being in September both events would benefit of a potential large car count for Super 16. I dont want people posting or even thinking that a call could be ruled upon against them and make it seem to them that it is not worth it to attend, due to personality conflicts, etc. A major and incorrect decision was made and i dont want sponsors either current or future ones questioning our skills in the class involvement. I can also tell you that Dave and Derek have reputations that are A plus where their hand shake and word is their bond. Not everyone can say that, but these two can as everyone can agree on that point. I am hoping our solutions will be put in stone so this never happens again. I am hoping by Friday, this Friday or Monday a set of resolutions will be put into effect so something of this nature will never ever happen again. Period. Wayne, did you get my pm? If not i can copy and paste it and send it to you. And I want to send you the money for the Sloan Docs. If you could pm me your mailing address that would be great. I look forward to your reply!
Wayne, I enjoyed you coming by and seeing me at the NMCA race in Joliet. Was glad I was able to come down and inspect you car. Also tried to catch all your runs and was proud to see you out there with your Buick in Chevy land. Hate that you had this experience at the Nationals. I have not been to them in a few years for various reasons. Mainly not being able to stay at the track at night and the low prize money. Hope you keep at it with the Buick and like to see you get the weight break for NMCA. Jim N.
