Wife's view from the pits - by Lynda Makinson (May 2017)
Disclaimer: This is my view and opinion, not the view or opinion of Bruce Makinson or anyone else.
May 25, 2017
Hi Everybody,
We will not be racing this coming Friday. Technical difficulties. Bruce ripped the motor out of the car last night.
Hopefully we will be back in action next Friday.
Have a great weekend,
Lynda
We will not be racing this coming Friday. Technical difficulties. Bruce ripped the motor out of the car last night.
Hopefully we will be back in action next Friday.
Have a great weekend,
Lynda
May 24, 2017
Hi Everybody,
Sorry I’m late with the race update.
This past Friday was another late night. Sportsman didn’t finish racing until after midnight and we got home at 2:30 am again! We can’t keep doing this, it’s two weeks in a row that we got home at a crazy time…I’m getting too old for that.
The race wasn’t anything to write home about. In Sportsman, 33 cars showed up and they were to let only 30 race but because it was a crazy busy night…. again…they just let everyone race. Bruce made it into this race no problem and ended up starting 15th.
On the first lap, there was a major pile up on the front stretch with one car doing a bit of a barrel roll and landing partially on top of another car. The worse part was these two cars were teammates. The Cook family had 4 cars in the race and three were taken out in the first lap of the race. But thankfully everyone was ok, maybe a bell rung but overall everyone was good. See Julie, racin' is stupid :)
The race finally got started after a long red flag and it was a dust bowl for sure, I could hardly see Bruce down the front stretch into turn one. Bruce was holding his own. What was his own?!?!? I have no idea.
From the MIR website, I see he finished 22nd. I believe it was only because in the final 5 laps Bruce was so frustrated with the car that he started trying all over the track instead of keeping his line. His original line kept many cars at bay but when he started going high people were able to pass him…so I guess that’s why he ended up with 22nd. I had no interest in collecting our winnings or seeing where he finished.
In the end, we packed up, Bruce wasn’t happy and we left. We just wanted to go home.
The drive was a quiet one. We got home late, had a beverage, watched a little Graham Norton to unwind and went to bed at 4am.
I must say one reason for the late night was the TUSA Mod Lites. Every time they’re on the track they have “issues”. They’re half the size of a Modified and have less cars on track then the Sportsman but they still can’t seem to avoid “issues”. And if that isn’t bad enough, they have “issues” in the pit area too! At MIR you don’t often see pit “issues” unless the Mod Lites are involved. Thankfully the track officials handle “issues” quickly so they don’t get too out of hand. This series seems to have “issues” a lot, can we maybe make them race last so they won’t hold up any of the other classes…. just sayin’.
I love going to MIR, it’s a great facility and the staff are great but the late nights are getting to me. I know it’s been crazy the past few weeks, and it’s nothing they can control but geez…I’m getting too old for this.
Oh, good news everyone!! I have a Maroon at MIR! There is one car that seemed to get into Bruce’s way continuously and Bruce had to pass numerous times. He was a bit of a thorn in Bruce’s side last year sometimes and it seems he’s going to be one again this year. He seems to drive a little squirrely. I’ll keep an eye on this car and see what exciting Maroon stories we may have this year. I just hope they don’t involve Bruce.
This Friday is promising to be an uncertain night. Is it going to rain? Are we going? When should we leave?
Well, have a good rest of the week and I’ll keep you posted best I can. See the gallery for some race pics and some from Rick at the Races too (thanks Rick!).
Cheers,
Lynda
Sorry I’m late with the race update.
This past Friday was another late night. Sportsman didn’t finish racing until after midnight and we got home at 2:30 am again! We can’t keep doing this, it’s two weeks in a row that we got home at a crazy time…I’m getting too old for that.
The race wasn’t anything to write home about. In Sportsman, 33 cars showed up and they were to let only 30 race but because it was a crazy busy night…. again…they just let everyone race. Bruce made it into this race no problem and ended up starting 15th.
On the first lap, there was a major pile up on the front stretch with one car doing a bit of a barrel roll and landing partially on top of another car. The worse part was these two cars were teammates. The Cook family had 4 cars in the race and three were taken out in the first lap of the race. But thankfully everyone was ok, maybe a bell rung but overall everyone was good. See Julie, racin' is stupid :)
The race finally got started after a long red flag and it was a dust bowl for sure, I could hardly see Bruce down the front stretch into turn one. Bruce was holding his own. What was his own?!?!? I have no idea.
From the MIR website, I see he finished 22nd. I believe it was only because in the final 5 laps Bruce was so frustrated with the car that he started trying all over the track instead of keeping his line. His original line kept many cars at bay but when he started going high people were able to pass him…so I guess that’s why he ended up with 22nd. I had no interest in collecting our winnings or seeing where he finished.
In the end, we packed up, Bruce wasn’t happy and we left. We just wanted to go home.
The drive was a quiet one. We got home late, had a beverage, watched a little Graham Norton to unwind and went to bed at 4am.
I must say one reason for the late night was the TUSA Mod Lites. Every time they’re on the track they have “issues”. They’re half the size of a Modified and have less cars on track then the Sportsman but they still can’t seem to avoid “issues”. And if that isn’t bad enough, they have “issues” in the pit area too! At MIR you don’t often see pit “issues” unless the Mod Lites are involved. Thankfully the track officials handle “issues” quickly so they don’t get too out of hand. This series seems to have “issues” a lot, can we maybe make them race last so they won’t hold up any of the other classes…. just sayin’.
I love going to MIR, it’s a great facility and the staff are great but the late nights are getting to me. I know it’s been crazy the past few weeks, and it’s nothing they can control but geez…I’m getting too old for this.
Oh, good news everyone!! I have a Maroon at MIR! There is one car that seemed to get into Bruce’s way continuously and Bruce had to pass numerous times. He was a bit of a thorn in Bruce’s side last year sometimes and it seems he’s going to be one again this year. He seems to drive a little squirrely. I’ll keep an eye on this car and see what exciting Maroon stories we may have this year. I just hope they don’t involve Bruce.
This Friday is promising to be an uncertain night. Is it going to rain? Are we going? When should we leave?
Well, have a good rest of the week and I’ll keep you posted best I can. See the gallery for some race pics and some from Rick at the Races too (thanks Rick!).
Cheers,
Lynda
May 15, 2017
Hi Everybody,
Well, this past Friday night we were able to get racing in. The weather was good but it did get cold at night. Thank God for layers! It ended up being a very dusty night as well. The kind where you close the truck door and dust puffs up everywhere. (see pics in Gallery)
The night started out odd. There was a line up down the road to get into the pits. I guess because racing was cancelled at so many tracks drivers were looking for anywhere to race. Thirty-six cars showed up for 32 spots. The pit area was jammed and it was tight for parking. Not my favourite way to start off our season.
Now for the Heat race. Bruce was in the first race but starting last(9th). He needed to finish 6th to get into the show without having to go to the Consi. Well, he had 6th for part of the race and lost it near the end and finished 7th. So, he had to go to the Consi.
In the Consi he started 3rd and moved into 2nd very quickly. He did challenge the first-place car several times but the track was drying up and soon everyone was running a nice parade. But hey!! He got into the big show so I’m not complaining.
The Feature: Having had to run the Consi Bruce started 23rd out of 32 cars. And because of the limited room in the pits and the number of cars we noticed that several cars didn’t exactly start where they were to start (we must figure out how to do that, ya know, start 3 rows up from where you were to start). Anyways, Bruce started 23rd and worked very hard to get up to 19th where he finished. Considering there were a lot of cars there and many that weren’t used to MIR the race was very clean and ran with only one caution. It was nice to see Bruce passing cars.
Again, I know the track is overwhelmed sometimes with the number of cars but please make it fair for everyone and place the cars in the correct order. Even if it’s on the track, I know Joanne runs out of room in the pits to do so but it would only take a couple of laps on track and it makes for the drivers being in a better frame of mind. Also, cautions, you have an electronic listing of where they should be. Again, I know you want to rush the race along when there’s so many cars but again, the racing is for the drivers as well as the fans. I know the beginning of the year is usually a rough start and it will calm down in a couple of weeks but can’t we start it off right?!?!?
Our night ended with fun trying to cross the border. It took 45 minutes to get thru because they were checking most vehicles. I guess they were looking for something. Then the 401 on-ramp was closed. It was really getting difficult to get home at a decent hour. Eventually we rolled into the homestead at 2:30am. It was a long night for sure.
This coming Friday is the rescheduled Sportsman special race and fan appreciation night. Yeah, they didn’t get it in this past Friday so they are hoping to get it in this coming Friday.
I’m sure the pit area is going to be full. So, here’s hoping for some good, clean racing again.
Have a good week and hope to see you there.
Cheers,
Lynda
Well, this past Friday night we were able to get racing in. The weather was good but it did get cold at night. Thank God for layers! It ended up being a very dusty night as well. The kind where you close the truck door and dust puffs up everywhere. (see pics in Gallery)
The night started out odd. There was a line up down the road to get into the pits. I guess because racing was cancelled at so many tracks drivers were looking for anywhere to race. Thirty-six cars showed up for 32 spots. The pit area was jammed and it was tight for parking. Not my favourite way to start off our season.
Now for the Heat race. Bruce was in the first race but starting last(9th). He needed to finish 6th to get into the show without having to go to the Consi. Well, he had 6th for part of the race and lost it near the end and finished 7th. So, he had to go to the Consi.
In the Consi he started 3rd and moved into 2nd very quickly. He did challenge the first-place car several times but the track was drying up and soon everyone was running a nice parade. But hey!! He got into the big show so I’m not complaining.
The Feature: Having had to run the Consi Bruce started 23rd out of 32 cars. And because of the limited room in the pits and the number of cars we noticed that several cars didn’t exactly start where they were to start (we must figure out how to do that, ya know, start 3 rows up from where you were to start). Anyways, Bruce started 23rd and worked very hard to get up to 19th where he finished. Considering there were a lot of cars there and many that weren’t used to MIR the race was very clean and ran with only one caution. It was nice to see Bruce passing cars.
Again, I know the track is overwhelmed sometimes with the number of cars but please make it fair for everyone and place the cars in the correct order. Even if it’s on the track, I know Joanne runs out of room in the pits to do so but it would only take a couple of laps on track and it makes for the drivers being in a better frame of mind. Also, cautions, you have an electronic listing of where they should be. Again, I know you want to rush the race along when there’s so many cars but again, the racing is for the drivers as well as the fans. I know the beginning of the year is usually a rough start and it will calm down in a couple of weeks but can’t we start it off right?!?!?
Our night ended with fun trying to cross the border. It took 45 minutes to get thru because they were checking most vehicles. I guess they were looking for something. Then the 401 on-ramp was closed. It was really getting difficult to get home at a decent hour. Eventually we rolled into the homestead at 2:30am. It was a long night for sure.
This coming Friday is the rescheduled Sportsman special race and fan appreciation night. Yeah, they didn’t get it in this past Friday so they are hoping to get it in this coming Friday.
I’m sure the pit area is going to be full. So, here’s hoping for some good, clean racing again.
Have a good week and hope to see you there.
Cheers,
Lynda
May 12, 2017
Hi Everybody,
Well, it looks like we should be racing tonight. Mother Nature is going to keep us on our toes but hopefully we'll get all the racing in before she lets loose.
Tonight is autography night as well.
I also posted some more photos from April 30th practice (thanks to Hillary).
I should have an update of this weekend sometime on Monday.
Hope to see you at the track, if not, have a great Mother's Day weekend.
Cheers,
Lynda
Well, it looks like we should be racing tonight. Mother Nature is going to keep us on our toes but hopefully we'll get all the racing in before she lets loose.
Tonight is autography night as well.
I also posted some more photos from April 30th practice (thanks to Hillary).
I should have an update of this weekend sometime on Monday.
Hope to see you at the track, if not, have a great Mother's Day weekend.
Cheers,
Lynda
May 5, 2017
Hi Everybody,
Yup, we ain't racin' tonight. Sorry but Mother Nature won this round.
Remember that next week is autograph night. So, if you'd like a Hero Card from Bruce, and get his personal autograph on it be sure to be there.
Have a nice weekend and stay dry,
Lynda
Yup, we ain't racin' tonight. Sorry but Mother Nature won this round.
Remember that next week is autograph night. So, if you'd like a Hero Card from Bruce, and get his personal autograph on it be sure to be there.
Have a nice weekend and stay dry,
Lynda
May 1, 2017
Hi Everybody,
This past Saturday was practice at MIR. It was a beautiful day except for the wind. Nothing like starting the race season being sandblasted in the stands.
Now for the part you’re waiting for, the car looked great and Bruce had no cobwebs. There was a lot of cars that showed up so the track dried up and got slick quickly. But Bruce and the car were one of the few that seemed to have no problems with it. I must say I was impressed…everything looked great. Both Bobby and Bruce seemed happy with the day.
Saying all that, it’s supposed to be the season opener this coming Friday night. But so far the forecast isn’t looking too promising. We probably won’t know too far in advance if racing is still on, so if you’re planning on attending please keep an eye on the MIR website (http://www.mohawkspeedway.com/).
That’s it for today.
Have a great week,
Lynda
This past Saturday was practice at MIR. It was a beautiful day except for the wind. Nothing like starting the race season being sandblasted in the stands.
Now for the part you’re waiting for, the car looked great and Bruce had no cobwebs. There was a lot of cars that showed up so the track dried up and got slick quickly. But Bruce and the car were one of the few that seemed to have no problems with it. I must say I was impressed…everything looked great. Both Bobby and Bruce seemed happy with the day.
Saying all that, it’s supposed to be the season opener this coming Friday night. But so far the forecast isn’t looking too promising. We probably won’t know too far in advance if racing is still on, so if you’re planning on attending please keep an eye on the MIR website (http://www.mohawkspeedway.com/).
That’s it for today.
Have a great week,
Lynda
April 28, 2017 (yeah I know the tab says May but live with it!)
Hi Everybody,
Well, it’s that time of year again. This Saturday is practise (weather permitting) then next Friday is the first race of the season at Mohawk International Raceway (MIR). Yes, we will be racing again at Mohawk. It’s such a nice track and environment. If you haven’t been yet, get your passport and come on down. You won’t be sorry you did. The racing is good and most drivers are there to race and if you aren’t they politely ask you to leave…my kinda track. It really cuts down on our repair bills.
It will also be nice to see our MIR racing family, great bunch of people.
We’d like to thank all the sponsors that are returning this year:
Sandy Vanier CPA, CGA – Ottawa, ON
Napa - Manotick, ON
Royal’s Restaurant – Richmond, ON
King’s Your Independent Grocer – Richmond, ON
We couldn’t do it without them, so please visit their websites, and visit and support their places of business.
This year we are hopeful that the car will be competitive. We’re also hoping our driver still has it :) I guess we’ll see after practise this Saturday….lol. Just joking Bruce! I’m sure he still has it; he still has the passion for racing so he’ll be out there doing his best.
Thank you to Bobby for coming back for another year as Crew Chief, and Chief Aggravator…. oh, wait…that’s me…sorry.
I’m sure it will be another fun and eventful season of DIRT racing. I hope to see you all there.
Stay tuned to this page for weekly updates.
Have a great weekend,
Lynda
Well, it’s that time of year again. This Saturday is practise (weather permitting) then next Friday is the first race of the season at Mohawk International Raceway (MIR). Yes, we will be racing again at Mohawk. It’s such a nice track and environment. If you haven’t been yet, get your passport and come on down. You won’t be sorry you did. The racing is good and most drivers are there to race and if you aren’t they politely ask you to leave…my kinda track. It really cuts down on our repair bills.
It will also be nice to see our MIR racing family, great bunch of people.
We’d like to thank all the sponsors that are returning this year:
Sandy Vanier CPA, CGA – Ottawa, ON
Napa - Manotick, ON
Royal’s Restaurant – Richmond, ON
King’s Your Independent Grocer – Richmond, ON
We couldn’t do it without them, so please visit their websites, and visit and support their places of business.
This year we are hopeful that the car will be competitive. We’re also hoping our driver still has it :) I guess we’ll see after practise this Saturday….lol. Just joking Bruce! I’m sure he still has it; he still has the passion for racing so he’ll be out there doing his best.
Thank you to Bobby for coming back for another year as Crew Chief, and Chief Aggravator…. oh, wait…that’s me…sorry.
I’m sure it will be another fun and eventful season of DIRT racing. I hope to see you all there.
Stay tuned to this page for weekly updates.
Have a great weekend,
Lynda