Wife's view from the pits - by Lynda Makinson (September 2022)
Disclaimer: This is my view and opinion, not the view or opinion of Bruce Makinson or anyone else.
September 16, 2022
Hi Everybody,
This past Friday night was the Mohawk International Raceway’s Mohawk Nationals (isn’t that a mouthful?!?!).
There was a big turnout of cars for both the 358’s and the Sportsman classes. In the 358’s, 42 cars showed up for 30 spots and in the Sportsman 50 cars showed up for 30 spots. So, yes, some were going home early.
On Hot Laps Bruce was 23rd in times out of the 42 cars. Not bad, car looked good.
In Qualifying, Bruce placed 6th in his group out of 8 cars. Still pretty good.
In the Heat race, Bruce was starting 6th out of 8 cars. The track conditions dried up pretty quick, Bruce’s heat was the 5th group out in the 358’s. On the start you could see the dust flying so the track was already slick, and this heat race quickly became a parade. I have to say the car looked great, Bruce looked great, I just don’t know what happened. There was no forward movement. On the start the high line didn’t seem like the place to be so Bruce got shuffled back but he was competing hard for not being last, but the group just started to stretch out like a parade. I really felt bad for Bruce because I could see he was giving it his all and like I said, in my opinion, the car looked great. Well, he finished last in his Heat, so he had to go into the last chance qualifier (LCQ).
Now, just think about it, 22 cars are now in the LCQ, there are two races each with 11 cars and only the top 3 will transfer to the Feature. Oh, did I mention Bruce was starting 10th! Yeah, unless a miracle would happen, Bruce was just out there to “enjoy the ride.” My talk with him before the race was to enjoy the time you’re spending in the car. He was thinking of not bothering with the LCQ, but I told him miracles do happen and if not, this is the last time you will be on the track here at MIR so just go out there and enjoy it. A couple of cars didn’t bother entering the race. So, Bruce started 9th. In the end, he had a 7th place finish. The race was pretty much like a parade but the type of parade I like, clean driving and professional. After the race Bruce said, I guess we should have changed the gears!?!? Sometimes I wonder about that guy (as Nandor would say “Fu.king guy!”).
Being our last race at MIR I did visit with our MIR friends and took a few pictures and finally you’ll see me in a picture or two, yes, I am actually at the races…lol. And there was a couple of special visitors from the past. Once again, we got to see Yolanda (I just met her this year but she’s from the Makinson Racing past). Also, Bernadette from way back (again, I only got to meet her this year, see pic of the 3 in the Gallery).
I also got a pic of my fav MIR racing family, my fav track photographer, my fav bartender, and my fav security person. I will miss MIR because they are a great bunch of people. And we’ve had some great times and memorable moments there (one in particular I’d like to forget!). When we first started racing there were others that have since retired from working at the track, Joanne and Bobby, miss them too.
Well, this coming weekend we are thinking about going to Brighton for Applefest. But I told the guys they have to figure it out. Can we stay overnight, how? Are we going to just drive home after the race??
So, I have no real answer as to if we’re racing this coming weekend or not. If you really need to know, just contact one of us and we’ll let you know.
Have a great week,
Lynda
P.S.
Our little Junior would like to thank Auntie Martha for the crochet blanky. He loves it! The pic in the gallery is when we got home after the races. (by the way, Bowie and Beanie loved it too, just sayin’).
This past Friday night was the Mohawk International Raceway’s Mohawk Nationals (isn’t that a mouthful?!?!).
There was a big turnout of cars for both the 358’s and the Sportsman classes. In the 358’s, 42 cars showed up for 30 spots and in the Sportsman 50 cars showed up for 30 spots. So, yes, some were going home early.
On Hot Laps Bruce was 23rd in times out of the 42 cars. Not bad, car looked good.
In Qualifying, Bruce placed 6th in his group out of 8 cars. Still pretty good.
In the Heat race, Bruce was starting 6th out of 8 cars. The track conditions dried up pretty quick, Bruce’s heat was the 5th group out in the 358’s. On the start you could see the dust flying so the track was already slick, and this heat race quickly became a parade. I have to say the car looked great, Bruce looked great, I just don’t know what happened. There was no forward movement. On the start the high line didn’t seem like the place to be so Bruce got shuffled back but he was competing hard for not being last, but the group just started to stretch out like a parade. I really felt bad for Bruce because I could see he was giving it his all and like I said, in my opinion, the car looked great. Well, he finished last in his Heat, so he had to go into the last chance qualifier (LCQ).
Now, just think about it, 22 cars are now in the LCQ, there are two races each with 11 cars and only the top 3 will transfer to the Feature. Oh, did I mention Bruce was starting 10th! Yeah, unless a miracle would happen, Bruce was just out there to “enjoy the ride.” My talk with him before the race was to enjoy the time you’re spending in the car. He was thinking of not bothering with the LCQ, but I told him miracles do happen and if not, this is the last time you will be on the track here at MIR so just go out there and enjoy it. A couple of cars didn’t bother entering the race. So, Bruce started 9th. In the end, he had a 7th place finish. The race was pretty much like a parade but the type of parade I like, clean driving and professional. After the race Bruce said, I guess we should have changed the gears!?!? Sometimes I wonder about that guy (as Nandor would say “Fu.king guy!”).
Being our last race at MIR I did visit with our MIR friends and took a few pictures and finally you’ll see me in a picture or two, yes, I am actually at the races…lol. And there was a couple of special visitors from the past. Once again, we got to see Yolanda (I just met her this year but she’s from the Makinson Racing past). Also, Bernadette from way back (again, I only got to meet her this year, see pic of the 3 in the Gallery).
I also got a pic of my fav MIR racing family, my fav track photographer, my fav bartender, and my fav security person. I will miss MIR because they are a great bunch of people. And we’ve had some great times and memorable moments there (one in particular I’d like to forget!). When we first started racing there were others that have since retired from working at the track, Joanne and Bobby, miss them too.
Well, this coming weekend we are thinking about going to Brighton for Applefest. But I told the guys they have to figure it out. Can we stay overnight, how? Are we going to just drive home after the race??
So, I have no real answer as to if we’re racing this coming weekend or not. If you really need to know, just contact one of us and we’ll let you know.
Have a great week,
Lynda
P.S.
Our little Junior would like to thank Auntie Martha for the crochet blanky. He loves it! The pic in the gallery is when we got home after the races. (by the way, Bowie and Beanie loved it too, just sayin’).
September 9, 2022
Hi Everybody,
Sorry for being late with the update but it’s been a busy week for me at work.
This past Friday we went to Can-Am for the 358 DIRT race, its was a 60-lap race with $4,000 to win. There were 36 Mods competing for 30 positions. The night was beautiful, and we had a beautiful harvest moon to light up the track (all you racers are superstitious, so of course, full.moon.bad!).
The event was managed by DIRT so there was no messing around, at one point Bruce would go out for something and not get out of his car until the next run. I have to say, we were never bored.
Hot Laps: the car seemed good, everything looked fine.
Heat Race: Bruce was starting 8th of 9 cars. The car looked great coming out of turns 3 and 4. It looked fast and like it was set up right. The problem is we couldn’t see the end of the front stretch and turn 1. But for 2-laps Bruce looked great. He looked like there was going to be forward progress...then it happened. After a couple of laps, when we got to see Bruce again on turn 2, it was like…the only way I could describe it…like the car started out as James Bond and then looked like Jerry Lewis!! So needless to say, he finished last in his Heat (9th). When he came in, I asked what the heck happened (cuz I usually say heck) and he said the car got tight and just stopped turning. I told him the car looked amazing the first couple of laps, I even think at one point he had both his front tires off the ground, I was so hopeful. So, the guys tried to figure out what went wrong.
Last Chance Qualifier: Yup, because the Heat didn’t turn out well, he had to go into the LCQ. Out of 16 cars he was starting 13th. They would only be taking in the first 10’ish cars or was it 6?? (don’t ask, it’s complicated). So, Bruce had his work cut out for him. The car looked good, it looked racy! But after a restart for two cars going off the track to change a tire Bruce was somehow at the back of the pack. Honestly, something went wrong in the line up, he should have been up further on the restart but with no radio directly to him to tell him to move the heck up we had to settle for where Bruce started…Last! Well, the race ended, he came in, we loaded up. Went to the beverage stand, visited with some of the Bartletts and headed home.
It wasn’t the night we hoped for but at least he was able to “enjoy the ride.” This coming Friday night is MIR and the same DIRT race; 60-laps, $4,000 to win. I hope we will be there because Bruce isn’t used to not qualifying so his psyche might be suffering right now. He's also feeling the pain of his racing career coming to an end. (feel free to come visit him in the pits to cheer him up).
I just keep telling him, these are the last races and whether he wins or not, he should just enjoy the ride and savour the moments in the car.
Yes folks, it’s coming to an end. This Friday may be the last time you’ll see the Makinson yellow 81 on track. So, if you want to come by and see the guys or take pics of it on track, this is it! I really don’t know if we will be going to any more races after this weekend, races that are over 2hrs away are difficult to manage right now.
If you plan on seeing us at MIR, contact one of us this week to make sure we will be at MIR on Friday night.
Cheers and have a great rest of the week,
Lynda
Sorry for being late with the update but it’s been a busy week for me at work.
This past Friday we went to Can-Am for the 358 DIRT race, its was a 60-lap race with $4,000 to win. There were 36 Mods competing for 30 positions. The night was beautiful, and we had a beautiful harvest moon to light up the track (all you racers are superstitious, so of course, full.moon.bad!).
The event was managed by DIRT so there was no messing around, at one point Bruce would go out for something and not get out of his car until the next run. I have to say, we were never bored.
Hot Laps: the car seemed good, everything looked fine.
Heat Race: Bruce was starting 8th of 9 cars. The car looked great coming out of turns 3 and 4. It looked fast and like it was set up right. The problem is we couldn’t see the end of the front stretch and turn 1. But for 2-laps Bruce looked great. He looked like there was going to be forward progress...then it happened. After a couple of laps, when we got to see Bruce again on turn 2, it was like…the only way I could describe it…like the car started out as James Bond and then looked like Jerry Lewis!! So needless to say, he finished last in his Heat (9th). When he came in, I asked what the heck happened (cuz I usually say heck) and he said the car got tight and just stopped turning. I told him the car looked amazing the first couple of laps, I even think at one point he had both his front tires off the ground, I was so hopeful. So, the guys tried to figure out what went wrong.
Last Chance Qualifier: Yup, because the Heat didn’t turn out well, he had to go into the LCQ. Out of 16 cars he was starting 13th. They would only be taking in the first 10’ish cars or was it 6?? (don’t ask, it’s complicated). So, Bruce had his work cut out for him. The car looked good, it looked racy! But after a restart for two cars going off the track to change a tire Bruce was somehow at the back of the pack. Honestly, something went wrong in the line up, he should have been up further on the restart but with no radio directly to him to tell him to move the heck up we had to settle for where Bruce started…Last! Well, the race ended, he came in, we loaded up. Went to the beverage stand, visited with some of the Bartletts and headed home.
It wasn’t the night we hoped for but at least he was able to “enjoy the ride.” This coming Friday night is MIR and the same DIRT race; 60-laps, $4,000 to win. I hope we will be there because Bruce isn’t used to not qualifying so his psyche might be suffering right now. He's also feeling the pain of his racing career coming to an end. (feel free to come visit him in the pits to cheer him up).
I just keep telling him, these are the last races and whether he wins or not, he should just enjoy the ride and savour the moments in the car.
Yes folks, it’s coming to an end. This Friday may be the last time you’ll see the Makinson yellow 81 on track. So, if you want to come by and see the guys or take pics of it on track, this is it! I really don’t know if we will be going to any more races after this weekend, races that are over 2hrs away are difficult to manage right now.
If you plan on seeing us at MIR, contact one of us this week to make sure we will be at MIR on Friday night.
Cheers and have a great rest of the week,
Lynda
September 2, 2022
Hi Everybody,
This past Friday night we raced at MIR.
It was a nice night for racing, but the track was very wet from the week of rain. They worked very hard on trying to get it into shape, but it remained pretty tacky.
Heat race: Bruce started in 4th position on the outside. It was not the place to be, the track only had one line and it was on the inside, so Bruce got pushed back. On turn 1, Bruce said he got a face full of mud and had to use most of his tear offs. He ended up finishing in 7th out of 8 cars. The race basically turned into a parade.
I haven’t seen that much mud on his helmet or on the car in a long time. Most tracks try to keep a dry slick track, but this was far from it.
The Features started a bit late because again they were trying to pack the track. It was 9:34pm and there were still 3 classes to go, and we were the 3rd (last) group.
The Feature: 23 - 358’s came out to play. It was a 40-lap race and a fast track. Our race started around 10:30pm. The race was ok, but limited passing space. You couldn’t run high because you would definitely get sucked into the mud. When a car did you could see them get bogged down. This wasn’t the fault of MIR, it was just how mother nature works at this time of year. Rain, sun, and not enough heat to dry up the track.
Bruce had started 21st of 23 cars. He was trying everywhere on the track to get some forward progress then he suddenly pulled in. We all ran to our pit area where he said something is wrong with the back tire but if we changed it he would go back out. So, Bobby and Donny changed it, I dropped and dragged the jack out and told him to start the car and go! And again, I said start to the car! And there was Bruce pushing on the button and nothing was happening. Then there’s Bobby crawling thru the window to see if he could help. Nothing, not even turning over. Then the race was over. Bruce stuck his hands under the dash and fiddled with wires and it got the starter switch to work but it seems there’s a bit of an issue with the switch. In the end, he got 19th. I guess it was a sign that he wasn’t to go back out for whatever reason.
It was a long night but a good night with friends and dogs. This coming Friday there’s a big race at Can-Am. So far, the plan is to go. As long as everything works out this week we should be there. It’s 60-laps and $4,000 to win. I must assume there will be a lot of cars there and it will be tough to qualify but heck, you can’t qualify if you don’t try…right!?!
The next race after that will be Sept 16th at MIR.
That’s it for this week, hope to see you at the races.
Cheers,
Lynda
This past Friday night we raced at MIR.
It was a nice night for racing, but the track was very wet from the week of rain. They worked very hard on trying to get it into shape, but it remained pretty tacky.
Heat race: Bruce started in 4th position on the outside. It was not the place to be, the track only had one line and it was on the inside, so Bruce got pushed back. On turn 1, Bruce said he got a face full of mud and had to use most of his tear offs. He ended up finishing in 7th out of 8 cars. The race basically turned into a parade.
I haven’t seen that much mud on his helmet or on the car in a long time. Most tracks try to keep a dry slick track, but this was far from it.
The Features started a bit late because again they were trying to pack the track. It was 9:34pm and there were still 3 classes to go, and we were the 3rd (last) group.
The Feature: 23 - 358’s came out to play. It was a 40-lap race and a fast track. Our race started around 10:30pm. The race was ok, but limited passing space. You couldn’t run high because you would definitely get sucked into the mud. When a car did you could see them get bogged down. This wasn’t the fault of MIR, it was just how mother nature works at this time of year. Rain, sun, and not enough heat to dry up the track.
Bruce had started 21st of 23 cars. He was trying everywhere on the track to get some forward progress then he suddenly pulled in. We all ran to our pit area where he said something is wrong with the back tire but if we changed it he would go back out. So, Bobby and Donny changed it, I dropped and dragged the jack out and told him to start the car and go! And again, I said start to the car! And there was Bruce pushing on the button and nothing was happening. Then there’s Bobby crawling thru the window to see if he could help. Nothing, not even turning over. Then the race was over. Bruce stuck his hands under the dash and fiddled with wires and it got the starter switch to work but it seems there’s a bit of an issue with the switch. In the end, he got 19th. I guess it was a sign that he wasn’t to go back out for whatever reason.
It was a long night but a good night with friends and dogs. This coming Friday there’s a big race at Can-Am. So far, the plan is to go. As long as everything works out this week we should be there. It’s 60-laps and $4,000 to win. I must assume there will be a lot of cars there and it will be tough to qualify but heck, you can’t qualify if you don’t try…right!?!
The next race after that will be Sept 16th at MIR.
That’s it for this week, hope to see you at the races.
Cheers,
Lynda