An Amazing Story

**Master Oil Racing Team** · 09-28-2006

.....and it doesn't look like I was doing much talking at time time, so I would like to thank you right now for your efforts.

**Master Oil Racing Team** · 09-29-2006

After being out of the cockpit most of 1975, we tried catching up in 1976, traveling approximately 20,000 miles all over the country. We went to Yelm, Washington for the September 18 & 19 races on the record setting 1 2/3rds mile course of Lake Lawrence. We went up through Utah and Idaho and came back via Oregon, California, etc. It was beautiful country. Will never forget our first view of the Redwoods. Ever since then I will never buy anything made of Redwood. They need to just grow.

For some reason I didn't take many pictures and I didn't wander around the pit area where the stock and mod guys were. That's where Ron was hanging out. I regret not taking more photos. I remember having a good talk with Gerry Walin. He hung around our pits, and I was always too intimidated to talk to him before. My first full year of racing he set a world outboard speed record of almost 131 mph with an Evinrude on Starflite IV. He was an icon to me. Someone who had been many times champion, and ran a "B" over 100mph in a day that "D"'s weren't even going that fast.

Since we lost out in our quest to pick up a national championship in 725 hydro, we went to Yelm with the hope of setting a competition record with it. While we did end up with a record in 1100 hydro, we missed out chance with Marshall's D. We didn't have any chance to test and just guessed at the setup like we did at Kaukauna. Tim was with us and he was going to take a try at 250 hydro with Loaner, which that boat motor combination is a story in itself. And he would help us with the setups on this 1 2/3rds mile course.

It was my first time at Yelm and I was unfamiliar with the clock. After the 1 minute gun fired, I was not in good position, but I could have made a move to get where I needed to be if I could only find out how much time was left. I kept alternating between watching traffic and looking for the second hand. When I finally realized that the whole clock face was turning from white to black, I was going to be way early. I had to go back around. I can't remember for sure, but it seems there might have been a local safety rule that you had to go all the way around the far turn to make a legal start. In any case I crossed the starting line about the time the pack was almost to the first turn. The set up on SHADOWFAX was working and I was able to make up a lot of time. I finished either first or second, I don't remember. In any case, if I won, it wasn't quick enough because the other boats started the clock. The second heat I blew a lower unit.

The water was perfect and a lot of records were set.

Hal Tolford set 2 records CSR and CSH
JSH Scott Shuman
FOH myself
JSR Brad Shuman
B Mod H Bob Wartinger
25SSR Earl Garrison
C Mod H Dick Davidson
A Mod H Julie Seaman

**Jeff Lytle** · 09-29-2006

Hey Wayne..........I absolutley LOVE your stuff, and look forward to the daily pics and stories.

The pics of you climbing out of your rig after the 1 minute gun is a feeling we can all associate with, after all-- we've all been there.

David_L6 · 09-29-2006

Originally Posted by Jeff Lytle

Hey Wayne..........I absolutley LOVE your stuff, and look forward to the daily pics and stories.

I'll second that!

Your posts have made some looong 12 hour night shifts go by a lot quicker than they normally would have. (Sometimes, when whatever station I'm operating is running well, it's gets awful boring just sitting there in "monitor mode".) You've also kept me tied to my computer at home when I should have been doing something else!

I love your pictures also. I remember seeing a lot of those boats and trailers (I noticed Bobby Wilson's in a pic a few posts up for instance) in person. I was ~ 12, 13, and/or 14 at the time.

**Dr. Thunder** · 09-29-2006

Wayne ... as others have stated ... your contributions to the BRF content is really appreciated. Please post more of the photos ... particularly interested in any additional Lawrence Lake or Region 10 folks that your camera might have captured along the way. Thanks

**Skoontz** · 09-29-2006

Great stories keep em comming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Master Oil Racing Team** · 09-30-2006

Thanks for the kind words guys. It's been fun digging through this old stuff and trying to remember how it was. It makes it much more worthwhile to see a bunch of you enjoying it. I started this thread as a story about how I kept seeing all these restored motors on BRF and decided to try to find one to hang on my wall. Kind of like catching a record bass on the first cast, I found the VERY motor I wanted a duplicate of. How it all came about was the amazing part. Then as I started telling the history, it evolved into what it is now. Guess I should have put more thought into it before I started. I would have liked to have added more at the beginning when Marshall Grant owned it, but anyway, here we are six years later and the motor is still pumping out wins.

**Master Oil Racing Team** · 09-30-2006

Okay Dr. Thunder. Here are a few more shots from Lake Lawrence before we head down to Fort Buhlow Lake in Alexandria. I could kick myself for not taking more photos at Lake Lawrence. It drew lots of top racers from Stock, Mod and Pro outboard ranks. I don't know names behind some of these boats, but included are record runs of Scott Shuman 2US and Bob Wartinger 28R.

When we traveled, we usually would stop if we found a fruit stand with locally produced fresh fruit.

**Master Oil Racing Team** · 10-01-2006

The final race of 1976 was at Alexandria on October 8-10. There were 75 drivers representing 17 states, with a total of 180 boats. Jerry Kirts and I swapped heats. I won the first heat of 725 hydro with Jerry 2nd. The second heat Jerry won with me pushing him hard. He set a new 725 hydro record upping the old one by 7.3 miles per hour set in 1975 by Fred Hauenstein. Jerry's average speed was a blistering 81.485. 1976 was the first time an outboard broke an 80 mph average on a 1 1/4 mile course. I did it at the Nationals in 1100 hydro. Jerry was 1.100 mph over that. Dan Kirts turned in a 82.005 record in 500 hydro at Alexandria.