Despite the astounding variety of reality shows out there available to see, it’s actually quite hard to find one which isn’t too focused on drama and issues between the cast. Fortunately, this isn’t the case for MotorTrend’s “Chasing Classic Cars”, as its host, Wayne Carini always did an excellent job at keeping the show solely centered on finding, restoring and selling the most incredible and rarely seen classic autos ever produced.
Although the excitement about “Chasing Classic Cars” doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon, rumors regarding the apparent lack salary of the mechanic Roger Barr have affected the show’s good reputation. However, do these allegations hold any truth or are simply misunderstandings? Stay with us to know all about the apparent financial issues of Roger Barr, what happened to his job with Wayne Carini, and the future of “Chasing Classic Cars”.
Was He Paid for The Show?
There’s no doubt that Roger Barr’s unique personality and charm in front of the “Chasing Classic Cars” cameras made him quite an unforgettable man. So considering how well-liked and popular Roger is to the “Chasing Classic Cars” audience, it’s only expected that he was well compensated financially in return. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
As it happened, in 2018 a fundraising campaign was set up by a friend of Roger to help him afford medical costs. However, besides being surprised to know he was going through such financial difficulties, Roger’s fans were flabbergasted at knowing he was apparently not being paid at all for appearing in “Chasing Classic Cars”: ‘he doesn’t benefit from the sales of million dollar exotics nor has any income from a TV series’, as the campaign founder Steve Cripps wrote. Though Roger’s detailed financial situation wasn’t discussed further, the campaign made it evident that he wasn’t receiving any stable income from the show, apparently only a salary for his job as a mechanic at F-40 Motorsports.
While the fundraising campaign for Roger received huge support from his fans, the fact that Wayne Carini didn’t address the statements about his friend not having a salary from appearing on TV, certainly left the show’s fans with a bittersweet taste.
What Happened To Roger’s Health?
Unfortunately, Roger Barr has been going through some severe health issues in recent years.
According to the fundraising campaign for his benefit, around 2017 Roger was hospitalized from an infection he obtained after injuring himself while working in F-40 Motorsports. Apparently, his health issues continued long afterwards, and later that year he was again hospitalized to treat the same infection, which kept him away from work for several months.
For reasons unknown, Roger wasn’t compensated by the Workers’ Compensation program during his absence from work, making his financial situation quite complicated, as his wife Sally’s medical bills added to his, refusing to ask for help himself despite ‘to be in need of it’. By the time his friend started the fundraising campaign, Roger allegedly only worked four hours a day in F-40 Motorsports, having not enough income to afford his medical treatment.
Since the start of the campaign in 2019, Roger has been able to afford having two knee replacement surgeries, dental work and heart issues treatment, thanks to his fans’ donations.
Where Is Roger Now?
Much to the dismay of those who wanted to see Roger Barr in “Chasing Classic Cars” again, that doesn’t seem to be possible for the time being. As it happens, Roger is no longer an F-40 Motorsports employee and is now working for Paddock Car Restorations, in Connecticut.
Although it’s unknown when exactly he left his job in F-40 Motorsports, and the current status of his friendship with Wayne Carini, the truth is that Roger’s apparently happy with his job at the Paddock, where he’s been working since June 2020: ‘He found a great work environment, a great boss to work for, and gets to do what he loves. True happiness through internal combustion for everyone!’, as his son wrote on Facebook in mid-2022. Often describing Roger’s new job as ‘his happy place’, both his son and the Paddock often share updates about his recent projects, and health, on social media. While this is obviously not the same as seeing Roger on TV, it’s good know that he’s doing well these days.
https://www.facebook.com/RogerBarrMechanic/posts/pfbid02Qvxfir7XhKHPtDAAgtyiVuhAPZ7BNosiMec5cB6ZtzLUsZ9b1s5Dx2qcpTKX2Z8al
What Happened To The Show?
Besides the many questions regarding Roger Barr’s role in “Chasing Classic Cars”, and his financial situation, the audience often wonders what’s in store for the show. As it happens, ever since the show wrapped up its 16th season in November 2020, no further seasons have been premiered or even promised.
That being said, hopes of a possible renewal aren’t lost yet, as to date MotorTrend hasn’t officially canceled the show, and regardless, business hasn’t stopped for Wayne Carini. Not only do things seem to be going well for F-40 Motorsports, according to social media, but also Wayne is deeply focused on his bi-monthly subscription magazine The Chase, which has been around since 2017, and features articles by big names in the auto industry such as Russ Rocknak and Mike Brewer. As well, Wayne has been an active contributor to Mesh New England since 2011, and as if that wasn’t enough, he also owns the brand Carini Wine.
All in all, the future is uncertain for “Chasing Classic Cars” and though many would like to see it return to TV screens, it’s enough to know that life is good for Wayne nowadays.
How Rich Is Wayne Carini?
According to online reports, Wayne has an approximate net worth of $20 million as of late-2022. His fortune comes from his decades-long career restoring and selling classic cars for a living, on top of his salary from his TV show “Chasing Classic Cars”, his wine company, and work as a writer and magazine owner.
On top of that, Wayne’s business F-40 Motorsports, exhibits at least 25 autos in its headquarters and while many of these belong to third-party collectors, it’s known that a vast majority are either for sale or are part of Wayne’s personal collection. Although it’s impossible to calculate the value of his extensive collection, it’s a known fact that classic cars aren’t cheap at all.
How Did Wayne and Roger Meet?
Unsurprisingly, Wayne Carini and Roger Barr’s friendship started long before “Chasing Classic Cars” existed. According to a 2016 article for Hagerty, Wayne was only 10 years old when he met the older man: ‘If Dad was fixing an imported car that needed mechanical work, he’d take it to Roger’, Wayne wrote in reference to both man’s separate businesses in Glastonbury, and frequent collaboration with each other: ‘if a car at Roger’s shop needed body repairs, it would always end up at Dad’s’.
According to Wayne, visiting Roger’s old shop as a kid was an unforgettable adventure. Not only was his ‘No French cars allowed’ sign iconic enough to stay in his mind for decades, but the many race cars he saw there fueled Wayne’s early passion for everything automotive.
Passing from sitting in the cars in Roger’s shop to visiting the business of his own accord years later, it’s obvious that Wayne developed a deep respect for the older man. Although he admits that his own father and Roger weren’t close friends, their camaraderie and business relationship continued for many years. Maybe that’s why in the early 2000s, Roger decided to work for Wayne instead of retiring.
Happy Birthday Roger! https://t.co/KB5hIGyoHz
— Chasing Classic Cars (@cccars) February 15, 2019
Roger’s Beginnings
Even though information about Roger Barr’s early years is unfortunately unrevealed, the few details known about his life are quite fascinating. Long before establishing his own business, Roger Barr actually served in the US Air Force during the late 1950s, learning the basics of mechanics when he was stationed in Germany. According to reports online, his time in foreign lands gave him the chance to work for some big manufacturers such as Porsche, using that knowledge to establish his own auto shop after his return to the US.
Although still an up-and-coming mechanic, Roger Barr’s love for race cars took him to the tracks in the early 1960s, making the podium of the National Championship Runoffs Formula Vee in 1964 in second place, passing on to take third place in the Formula A Continental Championship race in the St Jovite, in Quebec, Canada.
While Roger’s racing career apparently ended in the early 1970s, his involvement with the track automotive world helped him in attracting clientele to his business back in the day. That being said, even if Roger often dealt with cars of any type in “Chasing Classic Cars”, he’s a man of foreign and race cars.
What Happened To Wayne’s Father?
Regardless of Wayne Carini’s current fame in the automotive world, his popularity is rivaled by that of his late father. Back in 1952, Bob Carini greatly contributed to the automotive field in the US by helping establish The Model A Restorers Car Club of America, having its first meeting in Michigan when Wayne was less than ten months old. However, even prior to that, Bob was already known for his top level work as a body shop builder, and subsequently as a parts seller.
According to Wayne, his early life was spent on several trips around New York State, New England and Pennsylvania, searching for car parts, and attending exhibitions all over the country, such as the legendary old car show Hershey: ‘It was the Mecca. Our whole year was built around going [there] and bringing one or two or three cars that he would have restored’, he told Mesh New England in 2011.
Bob’s deep knowledge of the classic led him to curate the Captain Paul House Model A Museum at some point, and even win the achievement award by the Antique Automobile Club of America, besides managing his business Continental Auto until his retirement. Bob died in 2016, but many of his contributions to the field of classic cars are still significant nowadays, something which any good fan of “Chasing Classic Cars” knows well.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce__jQBMuGk/
Wayne’s Beginnings
Considering his father’s deep love for autos, it’s not surprising that Wayne Carini followed the same path in life. Long before envisioning himself owning several auto-related businesses, Wayne was a committed assistant in his father’s show Continental Auto, learning everything from cleaning the rear-view mirrors of the cars in the shop, to knowing the apparent difference between some rarely seen classic models.
However, Wayne’s love for cars was cemented at nine years old, when he became enamored of a 1960 Rosso Chiaro Ferrari 250 he was taken on a ride in. From then on, trips to exhibitions and showrooms increased in the Carini household, until Wayne went away to college to study architecture. Although he later changed his major to art education, graduating didn’t make a big difference in his life anyway, and unable to find any job, he returned home, and unsurprisingly found his love for cars renewed. Not long afterwards, he was offered half of the restoration business, built over decades from almost nothing by his father. That was the final sign for Wayne to definitely follow the path that he’s successfully still walking nowadays.
How Did Chasing Classic Cars Start?
For Wayne Carini, entering the entertainment world was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. In 2006, he was interviewed by The New York Times about his persistent and decades-long search for a Hudson Italia he caught sight for the first time at 16 years old.
The charming article entitled “Your First Love, and Your Last Love” ends in a happy tone, as Wayne ultimately bought the exact dreamt-of Hudson Italia decades after the original owner passed away in the early 1980s, promising the now former-owner to keep the car ‘local’ in order to preserve it. However, unbeknownst to Wayne, his story’s article caught the attention of Jim Astrausky, a TV producer who was impressed by Wayne’s commitment and deep love for autos. With a name which is a direct reference to the Italian Hudson he chased for so long, “Chasing Classic Cars” finally premiered on MotorTrend, changing Wayne’s life forever.
Whether it’s shown on the small screen or not, Wayne’s pursuit of all types of classic cars won’t end anytime soon.
