Wife's view from the pits - by Lynda Makinson (May 2015)
Disclaimer: This is my view and opinion, not the view or opinion of Bruce Makinson or anyone else.
May 30, 2015
Hi
Everybody,
Boy, Bruce does know how to show his wife a good time, drive an hour in the rain to a sunny location, have her cook her own meal and eat it on the side of a trailer at a dirt track, get rained on and then drive home. I guess asking to have a nice meal at Royal’s Restaurant in Richmond would be asking too much?!?!?
Four Saturday nights under our belt, which included 2 rainouts. Yup, this past Saturday we drove in the rain to get to the track to find it hadn’t rained and was sunny…at least until about 6:00’ish. Then the skies started to get really dark and it opened up on us. Nothing like trying to load a race car onto an open trailer while it’s pouring rain.
We were hoping to at least get in a couple of Hot laps to see if the issues with the car have been fixed but no luck there. So, we will have to hope for good weather this coming Saturday and hope that all is working. This coming weekend will have the Sportsman attempting to run the double feature again (the race from earlier this month and the regularly scheduled race).
One interesting bit of news, Stittsville News will be featuring an article about Bruce Makinson Racing in the next week or so. Once I have details as to when it will be in print I’ll let you know.
So, not much else to report right now but if anyone knows a sun dance it would be appreciated. Well, maybe once a month a rain dance would be ok with me ;)
Have a great week and hope to see you at the races,
Lynda
Boy, Bruce does know how to show his wife a good time, drive an hour in the rain to a sunny location, have her cook her own meal and eat it on the side of a trailer at a dirt track, get rained on and then drive home. I guess asking to have a nice meal at Royal’s Restaurant in Richmond would be asking too much?!?!?
Four Saturday nights under our belt, which included 2 rainouts. Yup, this past Saturday we drove in the rain to get to the track to find it hadn’t rained and was sunny…at least until about 6:00’ish. Then the skies started to get really dark and it opened up on us. Nothing like trying to load a race car onto an open trailer while it’s pouring rain.
We were hoping to at least get in a couple of Hot laps to see if the issues with the car have been fixed but no luck there. So, we will have to hope for good weather this coming Saturday and hope that all is working. This coming weekend will have the Sportsman attempting to run the double feature again (the race from earlier this month and the regularly scheduled race).
One interesting bit of news, Stittsville News will be featuring an article about Bruce Makinson Racing in the next week or so. Once I have details as to when it will be in print I’ll let you know.
So, not much else to report right now but if anyone knows a sun dance it would be appreciated. Well, maybe once a month a rain dance would be ok with me ;)
Have a great week and hope to see you at the races,
Lynda
May 25, 2015
Hi Everybody,
Do you believe in coincidence, omens, serendipity or maybe fate? Whatever you want to call it, I’m a true believer in it but it was sure hard to sell Bruce and Bobby on it this past Saturday night.
This past weekend was the St. Lawrence Seaway Sportsman Series 50-Lap race. I have to say I didn’t remember that, so it was such a pleasant surprise for me to see that we were in for a 50-lap race. Now if you recall, last year this is the race that Bruce flipped his car in for the first time ever (keep this fact in mind as you read on).
Well, 39 cars showed up for 30 spots. I’m still not thinkin’ 30 cars on a track that can barely race 24 cars safely is a good idea but they do it anyways. Bruce had to qualify to get in. This is usually not a problem. Bruce has always been awesome at qualifying but this would not be one of the awesome nights.
The car was just not handling properly during the time trials and the Heat race. So, Bruce and Bobby did some modifications that should have done the trick. Bruce had to run the Consey race; he started 6th and needed to finish in at least 5th or better. This is not usually an issue but even I could see that the car had no forward bite (impressed guys…I’m using the lingo). Remember the last couple of write ups; I wrote that I could see that the car was just lunging forward, Bruce was able to pass on the inside or outside but I didn’t see that this past weekend.
Well, to make this less painful, he didn’t qualify. We loaded up and headed home. It was a very quiet ride but we treated it with beverages when we got back home and right away they started discussing what’s going on with the car. There is definitely something wrong with the car and we’re hoping the guys can figure it out this week and get it fixed. I’m fully confident that it wasn’t the driver, Bruce may be a quiet man but when he’s behind the wheel he has a competitive side so you can all rest assured that it’s not Bruce, it’s the damn car! I guess mechanical things wear or break; it’s the nature of the beast.
This Wednesday night there is a special race for Sportsman due to a race with the Big Blocks but I’m not thinking we’re going to be there at this point.
Now the coincidence I was talking about earlier is this is the same race that he flipped at last year…hummmm…curious. Bruce has never really had these hardships in his racing career (flipping a car or not qualifying) so maybe it’s lessons to be learned to make him an even better driver or someone up there was just keeping him safe?!?! It’s a logic that’s a tough sell on these guys but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! I believe everything happens for a reason.
This coming weekend is a regular 25 lap race plus the race that got rained out at the beginning of the season (a double feature…yeaaah). If there’s a major issue with the car and we can’t make it I’ll let everyone know through the website. The guys may be angry at the car right now but I’m sure they’ll work their butts off to get it ready for this weekend.
Take care and have a great week,
Lynda
Do you believe in coincidence, omens, serendipity or maybe fate? Whatever you want to call it, I’m a true believer in it but it was sure hard to sell Bruce and Bobby on it this past Saturday night.
This past weekend was the St. Lawrence Seaway Sportsman Series 50-Lap race. I have to say I didn’t remember that, so it was such a pleasant surprise for me to see that we were in for a 50-lap race. Now if you recall, last year this is the race that Bruce flipped his car in for the first time ever (keep this fact in mind as you read on).
Well, 39 cars showed up for 30 spots. I’m still not thinkin’ 30 cars on a track that can barely race 24 cars safely is a good idea but they do it anyways. Bruce had to qualify to get in. This is usually not a problem. Bruce has always been awesome at qualifying but this would not be one of the awesome nights.
The car was just not handling properly during the time trials and the Heat race. So, Bruce and Bobby did some modifications that should have done the trick. Bruce had to run the Consey race; he started 6th and needed to finish in at least 5th or better. This is not usually an issue but even I could see that the car had no forward bite (impressed guys…I’m using the lingo). Remember the last couple of write ups; I wrote that I could see that the car was just lunging forward, Bruce was able to pass on the inside or outside but I didn’t see that this past weekend.
Well, to make this less painful, he didn’t qualify. We loaded up and headed home. It was a very quiet ride but we treated it with beverages when we got back home and right away they started discussing what’s going on with the car. There is definitely something wrong with the car and we’re hoping the guys can figure it out this week and get it fixed. I’m fully confident that it wasn’t the driver, Bruce may be a quiet man but when he’s behind the wheel he has a competitive side so you can all rest assured that it’s not Bruce, it’s the damn car! I guess mechanical things wear or break; it’s the nature of the beast.
This Wednesday night there is a special race for Sportsman due to a race with the Big Blocks but I’m not thinking we’re going to be there at this point.
Now the coincidence I was talking about earlier is this is the same race that he flipped at last year…hummmm…curious. Bruce has never really had these hardships in his racing career (flipping a car or not qualifying) so maybe it’s lessons to be learned to make him an even better driver or someone up there was just keeping him safe?!?! It’s a logic that’s a tough sell on these guys but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! I believe everything happens for a reason.
This coming weekend is a regular 25 lap race plus the race that got rained out at the beginning of the season (a double feature…yeaaah). If there’s a major issue with the car and we can’t make it I’ll let everyone know through the website. The guys may be angry at the car right now but I’m sure they’ll work their butts off to get it ready for this weekend.
Take care and have a great week,
Lynda
May 19, 2015
Hi Everybody,
It was a nice Saturday for racing (at least for everyone else, I had a stomach virus). This past weekend was a 40-lap race for the Sportsman. Twenty-seven cars showed up and the rule is to start only 24 but it would be too hard to tell three drivers to go home so they had intended to start the 27 cars. But a go-time one car had to drop out so only 26 started the race.
Bruce was starting in 9th position. Not a bad spot to be in and with his mojo back we all had high expectations. The race started and within a few laps Bruce had made some great moves. He made some passes on the outside and on the inside and they looked easy for him. There were a few cautions throughout the race but there was one in particular that made it tense for a moment. An accident on the second corner right in front of him, dust flying everywhere so it was hard for us to see (so imagine for him?!?!?) but once again, Bruce came squeaking out of the mess of cars.
But as the race went on, to Bruce’s frustration, it seemed that he wasn’t able to move forward as he did at the beginning of the race. Around lap 27 Bruce started to drop back, and on lap 28 Bruce drove into the pit area. We all ran to the car as he was taking his helmet off, I asked what was wrong and he said a front right flat…well, I said SO, we can change it. Well, no, we didn’t have a spare. Now I recalled that Hoosier seemed to forget it was racing season or maybe didn’t read the new Sportsman rules and there was a tire shortage at the beginning of the season. We were lucky to get one set of tires but we didn’t have spares.
After the guys inspected the tire they found that there was a small cut on the sidewall which caused a slow leak, this is why Bruce found the handling slowly going sour on him.
This really sucked because he was in a good starting position (not the best but not bad) and his car was doing great at the start. But that’s racing (so they tell me, I still say racing is stupid! J). In the end Bruce finished 19th.
I’d like to add a special thank you to our niece Kim for coming to the races Saturday night. Considering I was under the weather she took over getting Bruce’s equipment ready for the race and did a great job. Thanks Kim.
And thank you to all the people who dropped by the truck to see if I was ok. I’m still a little weak but will most likely be up and running by this coming weekend for sure.
Have a great week everybody,
Lynda
It was a nice Saturday for racing (at least for everyone else, I had a stomach virus). This past weekend was a 40-lap race for the Sportsman. Twenty-seven cars showed up and the rule is to start only 24 but it would be too hard to tell three drivers to go home so they had intended to start the 27 cars. But a go-time one car had to drop out so only 26 started the race.
Bruce was starting in 9th position. Not a bad spot to be in and with his mojo back we all had high expectations. The race started and within a few laps Bruce had made some great moves. He made some passes on the outside and on the inside and they looked easy for him. There were a few cautions throughout the race but there was one in particular that made it tense for a moment. An accident on the second corner right in front of him, dust flying everywhere so it was hard for us to see (so imagine for him?!?!?) but once again, Bruce came squeaking out of the mess of cars.
But as the race went on, to Bruce’s frustration, it seemed that he wasn’t able to move forward as he did at the beginning of the race. Around lap 27 Bruce started to drop back, and on lap 28 Bruce drove into the pit area. We all ran to the car as he was taking his helmet off, I asked what was wrong and he said a front right flat…well, I said SO, we can change it. Well, no, we didn’t have a spare. Now I recalled that Hoosier seemed to forget it was racing season or maybe didn’t read the new Sportsman rules and there was a tire shortage at the beginning of the season. We were lucky to get one set of tires but we didn’t have spares.
After the guys inspected the tire they found that there was a small cut on the sidewall which caused a slow leak, this is why Bruce found the handling slowly going sour on him.
This really sucked because he was in a good starting position (not the best but not bad) and his car was doing great at the start. But that’s racing (so they tell me, I still say racing is stupid! J). In the end Bruce finished 19th.
I’d like to add a special thank you to our niece Kim for coming to the races Saturday night. Considering I was under the weather she took over getting Bruce’s equipment ready for the race and did a great job. Thanks Kim.
And thank you to all the people who dropped by the truck to see if I was ok. I’m still a little weak but will most likely be up and running by this coming weekend for sure.
Have a great week everybody,
Lynda
May 11, 2015
Hi Everybody,
Well, the first race of the season is over…sort of. As usual the first races of the season are “action packed”.
The Heat race wasn’t very eventful or stellar. They have a new tire rule, Bobby and Bruce had to rethink the set up they’ve used for the past few years. So, for the whole evening they were working on getting the car to work right…and they eventually did J.
The last set of hot laps a new car at the track seemed to have control issues and almost wiped Bruce out twice, hot laps are practise laps, no contact is expected or necessary. Bruce did go over and politely suggest to the guy he gets his steering checked (it really didn’t matter at that point as he had hit the wall and was out for the night…thankfully for all concerned).
We were the third race scheduled; Bruce was to race after the Modified’s. Boy, did they take forever to get their race finished. On the first lap they had a 12 car pileup, thankfully none of the guys were hurt but when I finally did take a peek at the Mod’s I noticed that they didn’t quite finish with the 25 cars they started out with, let’s just say it was a caution filled race.
But finally it was Bruce’s turn; it was almost 11:00 pm before he got to get out on the track. Bruce was starting 21 of 28 cars (they usually only start 24 cars but tonight they changed their mind…I guess rules are made to be broken). Not the greatest of positions to start in but Bruce started doing what he does best, move up. He was passing cars on the outside and on the inside, it was looking promising. Usually the Sportsman have a hard time getting their first race of the season started but they got it going a lot better than the Mod’s did until the rain came. It was dripping rain when an incredible lightning bolt flashed across the back stretch, then a couple of laps later there was a pile up on the front stretch (Good News!!! Bruce has his mojo back, even though he said he couldn’t see a thing due to dust his internal radar still somehow helped him avoided the mess of cars on the front stretch). Then the race was called due to the rain on lap 8.
This race has been rescheduled to May 30th; this coming weekend there’s a 40-lap Sportsman and 50-lap Mod race. It will be interesting to see how they line the cars up for the race they didn’t finish. As far as I saw, Bruce should be starting in 14th as he made it thru the mayhem and was riding in that position when they canceled the race. But as you may know from my previous write ups, I don’t always seem to understand the track rules or rulings.
Well, I know it wasn’t an exciting write up this week but don’t worry, more racing is going to be happening and the car is looking good and so is Bruce (his mojo is back!!).
Like I said above, this coming weekend is a 40-lap Sportsman and a 50-lap Modified race.
FYI, it will cost more at the gates.
Have a great week and hope to see you at the races soon.
Cheers,
Lynda
Well, the first race of the season is over…sort of. As usual the first races of the season are “action packed”.
The Heat race wasn’t very eventful or stellar. They have a new tire rule, Bobby and Bruce had to rethink the set up they’ve used for the past few years. So, for the whole evening they were working on getting the car to work right…and they eventually did J.
The last set of hot laps a new car at the track seemed to have control issues and almost wiped Bruce out twice, hot laps are practise laps, no contact is expected or necessary. Bruce did go over and politely suggest to the guy he gets his steering checked (it really didn’t matter at that point as he had hit the wall and was out for the night…thankfully for all concerned).
We were the third race scheduled; Bruce was to race after the Modified’s. Boy, did they take forever to get their race finished. On the first lap they had a 12 car pileup, thankfully none of the guys were hurt but when I finally did take a peek at the Mod’s I noticed that they didn’t quite finish with the 25 cars they started out with, let’s just say it was a caution filled race.
But finally it was Bruce’s turn; it was almost 11:00 pm before he got to get out on the track. Bruce was starting 21 of 28 cars (they usually only start 24 cars but tonight they changed their mind…I guess rules are made to be broken). Not the greatest of positions to start in but Bruce started doing what he does best, move up. He was passing cars on the outside and on the inside, it was looking promising. Usually the Sportsman have a hard time getting their first race of the season started but they got it going a lot better than the Mod’s did until the rain came. It was dripping rain when an incredible lightning bolt flashed across the back stretch, then a couple of laps later there was a pile up on the front stretch (Good News!!! Bruce has his mojo back, even though he said he couldn’t see a thing due to dust his internal radar still somehow helped him avoided the mess of cars on the front stretch). Then the race was called due to the rain on lap 8.
This race has been rescheduled to May 30th; this coming weekend there’s a 40-lap Sportsman and 50-lap Mod race. It will be interesting to see how they line the cars up for the race they didn’t finish. As far as I saw, Bruce should be starting in 14th as he made it thru the mayhem and was riding in that position when they canceled the race. But as you may know from my previous write ups, I don’t always seem to understand the track rules or rulings.
Well, I know it wasn’t an exciting write up this week but don’t worry, more racing is going to be happening and the car is looking good and so is Bruce (his mojo is back!!).
Like I said above, this coming weekend is a 40-lap Sportsman and a 50-lap Modified race.
FYI, it will cost more at the gates.
Have a great week and hope to see you at the races soon.
Cheers,
Lynda
May 4, 2015
Hi
Everybody,
It’s that time of year again. This past Saturday we went to practise at Brockville Speedway. Bruce looked great, didn’t have cobwebs showing. The car was great but the track was very dry. The first practise run was good but the second wasn’t so much, the tires were just spinning. The track was like asphalt, black and slick. So, we just packed her up and headed home. But overall it was a good day.
This coming Saturday is the beginning of the Brockville Speedway season. We plan on attending most races at Brockville but we may stray to other tracks. So, if you’re planning on coming out to see us this year make sure to read the site or contact us to see where we’ll be.
I’d like to welcome back our great sponsors:
Sandy Vanier, CPA, CGA
Napa Manotick
Stagra Automotive
Stittsville Foundry Ltd
Roy’s Lighting
And I’d like to welcome our new sponsor - Royal’s Restaurant from Richmond, ON.
Bruce and I have been eating at Royal’s for many years now. If you’re looking for an awesome meal, eat at Royal’s. They’re breakfasts are excellent, they have amazing lunch specials at $9.95 for a soup, salad and sandwich!! And they are now open for dinner from Wednesday to Saturday nights.
As you might notice, I’m excited about having them on board with us. Thank you Nick and Derrick! Hope to see you and your staff at the races.
Well, that’s it for now. I will be doing my best to keep the site up to date on the goings ons of Bruce Makinson Racing. So, stay tuned.
Cheers,
Lynda
It’s that time of year again. This past Saturday we went to practise at Brockville Speedway. Bruce looked great, didn’t have cobwebs showing. The car was great but the track was very dry. The first practise run was good but the second wasn’t so much, the tires were just spinning. The track was like asphalt, black and slick. So, we just packed her up and headed home. But overall it was a good day.
This coming Saturday is the beginning of the Brockville Speedway season. We plan on attending most races at Brockville but we may stray to other tracks. So, if you’re planning on coming out to see us this year make sure to read the site or contact us to see where we’ll be.
I’d like to welcome back our great sponsors:
Sandy Vanier, CPA, CGA
Napa Manotick
Stagra Automotive
Stittsville Foundry Ltd
Roy’s Lighting
And I’d like to welcome our new sponsor - Royal’s Restaurant from Richmond, ON.
Bruce and I have been eating at Royal’s for many years now. If you’re looking for an awesome meal, eat at Royal’s. They’re breakfasts are excellent, they have amazing lunch specials at $9.95 for a soup, salad and sandwich!! And they are now open for dinner from Wednesday to Saturday nights.
As you might notice, I’m excited about having them on board with us. Thank you Nick and Derrick! Hope to see you and your staff at the races.
Well, that’s it for now. I will be doing my best to keep the site up to date on the goings ons of Bruce Makinson Racing. So, stay tuned.
Cheers,
Lynda
