Wayne Roberts Aiming for 7.70s in Naturally Aspirated Buick GSX

When Wayne Roberts rolls his Buick GSX out of his trailer at a racetrack, people pay attention. The coveted car is striking and has a supreme stance, and there is a story behind every wrench turned on it.

Roberts, a sales manager for MGP Connecting Rods who competes in Small Tire Pro Stock, spends a lot of time in his shop going over his combination, and surrounds himself with people who are as committed as he is. As a result, he soared to new heights in 2025 in his fan-favorite Buick GSX powered by a naturally aspirated DRCE2 engine built by Tony Bischoff of BES Racing Engines and boasting a custom billet cam featuring Bischoff’s specs, MGP rods, Diamond pistons and Jesel rocker arms and timing system. The engine sips fuel from a carburetor designed by Dale Cubic of CFM Performance Carburetors, and is backed by a Turbo 400 put together by Rossler Transmissions.

“Nothing was going right at the beginning of the year, and the fastest we could get the car to go was 8.20, but I kept looking at the data, and I knew it would eventually tell us what we needed to do,” said Roberts, of Troy, Michigan. “Jason Line of JLine Performance stepped in to help me, and we were able to get into the low 8s in the quarter-mile at the Small Tire Pro Stock race in early August at Darana Dragway — Milan in Michigan, and then I installed new valve springs.”

Unfortunately, Roberts ran into electrical issues at his next race, which was in Small Tire Pro Stock in late August at Jackson Dragway in Tennessee. He was, however, encouraged by his data and his 5.04 eighth-mile pass, and felt confident about his tune going into his next race, which was in All Motor in early September at Darana Dragway — Milan in Michigan. There, he pushed to a personal best of 7.92 and 170 mph.

“The car has always had those numbers available,” said Roberts. “We just had to get it running right, and before that pass, we were looking at air and fuel ratios, gear ratios, chassis adjustments, and some other stuff. I was really relieved that the car finally went 7.92, and honestly, our next steps are 7.80s and even 7.70s. It has the horsepower to do it.”

From there, Roberts headed to the last Small Tire Pro Stock race of the year, which was in late September at Cecil County Dragway in Maryland.

“With help from my daughter, Monica, and input from Small Tire Pro Stock racer Dwight Ausmus and others, we swapped transmission gears to a lower gear ratio at the race at Cecil County Dragway in Maryland, and I can laugh about it now, but the two-hour job turned into a six-hour job. The goal was to get a larger tuning window for launching off the starting line. We knew that was a step in the right direction, but we also knew we had to massage the tune some more.”

With the 7.92 and 170 mph as inspiration,  Roberts is preparing for the 2026 Small Tire Pro Stock season. He delivered his DRCE2 engine to BES Racing Engines on his way to the Performance Racing Industry Show in Indianapolis, Indiana, in mid-December, and Bischoff will freshen it with new MGP rods, bearings, and rings, and he will massage the heads and determine whether port work would be beneficial. A new cam may also be in the cards.

Additionally, Roberts, who also has steady support from his wife, Brenda, is working with Nick Jidas to install a new RaceQuip halo seat with a 7-point harness and a new set of stainless steel headers to replace his mild steel headers. He plans to wrap up work on his car in time for the first Small Tire Pro Stock race of 2026, which is set for March 20-22 at South Georgia Motorsports  Park.

“I’m spending more money than I should be, but it is worth it,” said Roberts, with his signature hearty laugh. “Our goal for 2026 is to consistently be in the final four cars and get to a final or two. That is what we are focused on.”