Wife's view from the pits - by Lynda Makinson (September 2015)
Disclaimer: This is my view and opinion, not the view or opinion of Bruce Makinson or anyone else.
September 19, 2015
Hi Everybody,
This past Saturday night was a bust!
First we were going to bring the RV and camp overnight, and then with the threat of rain we debated even going. Well, then we decided to go but if they raced at an un-Godly hour we were just going to come home (like they did last year…I think the races ended at 3:00am….we aren’t young anymore ya know!?!).
So, off we all went in the truck (no motor home) to the races. As soon as we drove out of the border crossing it started to rain, lightly but none the less rain. The track kept changing the format of the races and the start times. It was all due to the light showers that had them out there for a few hours trying to dry the track. Finally there were able to have all the cars go out and help pack the track (I think this was the highlight of the evening).
At about 6:00pm they decided to start things. Now the Sportsman were allowed out for hot laps. There were 55 cars that showed up so they grouped them by drawing numbers and that’s where you were to do hot laps and time trials. Bruce was in group one (there were 6). Off he went for hot laps, the sky was looking ok, light cloud cover but still good. Bruce came in, Bobby did some minor adjustments and Bruce sat in his car waiting to go out for time trials. Then the wind picked up, I turned around to see the sky had changed rather quickly to a dark grey. I casually went to the truck, got my jacket, hat and umbrella; walked back to Bruce and waited for it. Then it started to rain and it just didn’t seem to want to stop.
Bruce climbed out of the car and we went visiting the people we knew with covered trailers. We had some good laughs and good stories. Finally around 7:00pm they announced the races were postponed to Sunday…at 9:00am!!! Well, we didn’t have our RV so we had to drive home then maybe come back. It was time for a team discussion.
Decision was made not to return on Sunday. We would have had to leave the house at 7:00am to make it back to race Sunday. I love my husband but there has to be a line. And it’s not financially feasible to drive there and back twice when there’s no guarantee of qualifying or winning the $3500 purse (I work in finances for a non-profit organization and a race team is the same....a non-profit organization).
And Bruce said he wasn’t fond of racing a dirt track during the day, it dries out quickly (even though I wondered about that after all the rain they had the night before).
So, that was our last race of the season…a three-hour tour that lasted 10 hours (driving and waiting time).
A special thank you to Royal’s for sponsoring us for this race and sorry we weren’t able to complete our mission; I guess that’s what happens when you’re at the mercy of Mother Nature. But at least now we have some tires for the start of next season J.
But we promise next year will be a great one, we plan on making Mohawk International Speedway our home track. After the end of this season there was definitely a light at the end of this tunnel.
We both would like to thank all of our great sponsors; Sandy Vanier CPA, CGA; Royal’s Restaurant; Napa Manotick; Stittsville Foundry Ltd.; and Roy’s Lighting Services. We are truly blessed with such great friends and supporters around us. Thank you!
Have a safe and great off season. I’ll be in touch with everyone in the spring.
Take care everybody,
Lynda
This past Saturday night was a bust!
First we were going to bring the RV and camp overnight, and then with the threat of rain we debated even going. Well, then we decided to go but if they raced at an un-Godly hour we were just going to come home (like they did last year…I think the races ended at 3:00am….we aren’t young anymore ya know!?!).
So, off we all went in the truck (no motor home) to the races. As soon as we drove out of the border crossing it started to rain, lightly but none the less rain. The track kept changing the format of the races and the start times. It was all due to the light showers that had them out there for a few hours trying to dry the track. Finally there were able to have all the cars go out and help pack the track (I think this was the highlight of the evening).
At about 6:00pm they decided to start things. Now the Sportsman were allowed out for hot laps. There were 55 cars that showed up so they grouped them by drawing numbers and that’s where you were to do hot laps and time trials. Bruce was in group one (there were 6). Off he went for hot laps, the sky was looking ok, light cloud cover but still good. Bruce came in, Bobby did some minor adjustments and Bruce sat in his car waiting to go out for time trials. Then the wind picked up, I turned around to see the sky had changed rather quickly to a dark grey. I casually went to the truck, got my jacket, hat and umbrella; walked back to Bruce and waited for it. Then it started to rain and it just didn’t seem to want to stop.
Bruce climbed out of the car and we went visiting the people we knew with covered trailers. We had some good laughs and good stories. Finally around 7:00pm they announced the races were postponed to Sunday…at 9:00am!!! Well, we didn’t have our RV so we had to drive home then maybe come back. It was time for a team discussion.
Decision was made not to return on Sunday. We would have had to leave the house at 7:00am to make it back to race Sunday. I love my husband but there has to be a line. And it’s not financially feasible to drive there and back twice when there’s no guarantee of qualifying or winning the $3500 purse (I work in finances for a non-profit organization and a race team is the same....a non-profit organization).
And Bruce said he wasn’t fond of racing a dirt track during the day, it dries out quickly (even though I wondered about that after all the rain they had the night before).
So, that was our last race of the season…a three-hour tour that lasted 10 hours (driving and waiting time).
A special thank you to Royal’s for sponsoring us for this race and sorry we weren’t able to complete our mission; I guess that’s what happens when you’re at the mercy of Mother Nature. But at least now we have some tires for the start of next season J.
But we promise next year will be a great one, we plan on making Mohawk International Speedway our home track. After the end of this season there was definitely a light at the end of this tunnel.
We both would like to thank all of our great sponsors; Sandy Vanier CPA, CGA; Royal’s Restaurant; Napa Manotick; Stittsville Foundry Ltd.; and Roy’s Lighting Services. We are truly blessed with such great friends and supporters around us. Thank you!
Have a safe and great off season. I’ll be in touch with everyone in the spring.
Take care everybody,
Lynda
September 8, 2015
Ooops, forgot to mention Bobby's a grand pappy, so that makes Bruce and I - Great (aka Fabulous) Uncle and Aunt. See the photo gallery for the Makinson's newest pit crew member, Wesley Gordon. This is him getting into the spirit at 7 days old.
Congratulations Julie and Dave!
Congratulations Julie and Dave!
September 4, 2015
Hi Everybody,
Well, that’s it for the regular season. This year was a trying year, motor issues then a simple change and a win. I guess you could say a slow rollercoaster ride down and then a quick up shooting to the sky. Either way, we really did enjoy our limited season at Mohawk International Speedway (MIR).
Now for this past Friday night. The Heat race was a little bit of a bust. The boys missed the setup for the track and the car was pushing hard (hard to turn) so he didn’t qualify very well. This placed him 13th for the Feature (of 24 cars). Mohawk isn’t much different than most tracks when it comes to the last race of the season. The drivers were driving like they were racing for millions (or as Bruce puts it…”points fever”). And come on, unless you’re racing for the point’s lead you aren’t going to be winning anything huge other than ego. But even at our level the points champ still doesn’t really win a lot, it’s a hobby not a career. Anyways, they all had the fever and at the beginning of the race it has mayhem, at times Bruce was racing 3 and even 4 wide at one point…come on boys…just get home in one piece. After about 5 plus laps Bruce was able to break away from this bit of craziness and stretch his legs. But at this point the top 11 cars had a large lead ahead of him. Bruce started to slowly close in on the 11th place car but there was not enough laps to get close enough to pass him. Bruce was obviously faster than he was but time just ran out. That’s racing, it’s all about timing and luck, and it just wasn’t our lucky night. But I have to say, we were still happy with the outcome. The car was fast, Bruce was on it and we finished in one piece…to say the least it was a satisfying night.
And for another reason why I love MIR…they had a driver’s appreciation meal after the races. It was no hot dogs and hamburgers…it was cooked ham, roasted potatoes, pasta salad, baked beans and corn on the cob. And it was excellent. They also had a bonfire, we didn't stay for it but I'm sure it lite up the night sky, the pile of wood was about two storeys high (not a pile of garbage piled up to burn). MIR really does know how to show their appreciation to the drivers and crew; they do acknowledge that without the drivers they have no race track. I don’t think we’ve ever experienced such great treatment from any track around (we haven’t visited them all but from our limited experience this is how I feel). They create a sense of mutual respect. Thanks MIR for the amazing season.
This coming weekend is race free for us, and then on Saturday September 19th we have a Sportsman race at MIR. Saturday will include the Go Nuclear Late Models and TUSA Mod Lites. We don’t have a schedule of events yet so I’m unsure of start times.
A couple of side notes:
The Stittsville News had an article in it this past issue on Bruce’s win…check it out.
http://issuu.com/stittsvillenews/docs/stittsville090315
(pages 23-24 of the insert or pages 25-27 on the screen counter on bottom of page)
And we attended the Richmond Car Show that happens every Labour Day weekend. We just wanted to let the community get up and personal with the race car they see going thru town every Friday afternoon. It was nice, we met a few old racers, some people that try to follow local racing and we let some kids climb into a race car just like the pros do. It’s nice to know they are out there. Maybe we made a few new fans, who knows?!?! (See photo in the gallery).
That’s it for this week, have a great week and weekend everybody and hope to see you at the races!
Cheers,
Lynda
Well, that’s it for the regular season. This year was a trying year, motor issues then a simple change and a win. I guess you could say a slow rollercoaster ride down and then a quick up shooting to the sky. Either way, we really did enjoy our limited season at Mohawk International Speedway (MIR).
Now for this past Friday night. The Heat race was a little bit of a bust. The boys missed the setup for the track and the car was pushing hard (hard to turn) so he didn’t qualify very well. This placed him 13th for the Feature (of 24 cars). Mohawk isn’t much different than most tracks when it comes to the last race of the season. The drivers were driving like they were racing for millions (or as Bruce puts it…”points fever”). And come on, unless you’re racing for the point’s lead you aren’t going to be winning anything huge other than ego. But even at our level the points champ still doesn’t really win a lot, it’s a hobby not a career. Anyways, they all had the fever and at the beginning of the race it has mayhem, at times Bruce was racing 3 and even 4 wide at one point…come on boys…just get home in one piece. After about 5 plus laps Bruce was able to break away from this bit of craziness and stretch his legs. But at this point the top 11 cars had a large lead ahead of him. Bruce started to slowly close in on the 11th place car but there was not enough laps to get close enough to pass him. Bruce was obviously faster than he was but time just ran out. That’s racing, it’s all about timing and luck, and it just wasn’t our lucky night. But I have to say, we were still happy with the outcome. The car was fast, Bruce was on it and we finished in one piece…to say the least it was a satisfying night.
And for another reason why I love MIR…they had a driver’s appreciation meal after the races. It was no hot dogs and hamburgers…it was cooked ham, roasted potatoes, pasta salad, baked beans and corn on the cob. And it was excellent. They also had a bonfire, we didn't stay for it but I'm sure it lite up the night sky, the pile of wood was about two storeys high (not a pile of garbage piled up to burn). MIR really does know how to show their appreciation to the drivers and crew; they do acknowledge that without the drivers they have no race track. I don’t think we’ve ever experienced such great treatment from any track around (we haven’t visited them all but from our limited experience this is how I feel). They create a sense of mutual respect. Thanks MIR for the amazing season.
This coming weekend is race free for us, and then on Saturday September 19th we have a Sportsman race at MIR. Saturday will include the Go Nuclear Late Models and TUSA Mod Lites. We don’t have a schedule of events yet so I’m unsure of start times.
A couple of side notes:
The Stittsville News had an article in it this past issue on Bruce’s win…check it out.
http://issuu.com/stittsvillenews/docs/stittsville090315
(pages 23-24 of the insert or pages 25-27 on the screen counter on bottom of page)
And we attended the Richmond Car Show that happens every Labour Day weekend. We just wanted to let the community get up and personal with the race car they see going thru town every Friday afternoon. It was nice, we met a few old racers, some people that try to follow local racing and we let some kids climb into a race car just like the pros do. It’s nice to know they are out there. Maybe we made a few new fans, who knows?!?! (See photo in the gallery).
That’s it for this week, have a great week and weekend everybody and hope to see you at the races!
Cheers,
Lynda
