The Scoop
MARK MACKESY – ‘TALKIN’ CWRA HISTORY, A CLASSIC OPEN TRAILER & MORE
Posted on: Monday August 21, 2023
Wausau’s Mark Mackesy tows his No. 12 super late model on the same open trailer that his dad used to haul his race cars dating back to 1977.
You’d have a hard time finding something NOT to like about Mark Mackesy.
The 53-year-old super late model racer from Wausau, Wisconsin always seems to have a smile on his face. He’s a second-generation racer who’s been making left hand turns for 35 years now on the paved bullrings of Wisconsin.
As a kid Mackesy got to hang out with some of central Wisconsin’s racing legends – guys like Jimmy Back, Marv Marzofka, Rich Somers, Tom Reffner, Larry Detjens, Mike Miller and Dick Trickle.
And to top it off he tows his number 12 race car to and from the tracks on an open trailer that has been in service since 1977. It’s the same trailer his dad, Bob Mackesy, towed his ‘69 Camaro to and from the tracks up to four nights a week during the Central Wisconsin Racing Association (CWRA) heyday.
“My dad owned the Spinout Tap and Grill in Wausau and Jimmy Back and dad were really good friends,” Mackesy explained. “Jimmy was in the bar quite a bit. In the ‘70s as a kid growing up, I like to call it the Golden Era. The CWRA was powerful, and the racing scene was strong all across Wisconsin.”
Mackesy recalled tagging along with his dad one Sunday afternoon after the races at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover.
“Something was going on and the drivers decided they had to have an impromptu meeting at Kellner’s Bar,” Mackesy recalled. “I remember sitting next to Tom Reffner on a pool table while this meeting was going on. I thought I was the guy. Trickle. Detjens. Back. Miller. Somers. All the big dogs were there. It was true star power.”
It was at this driver’s meeting that Mackesy saw firsthand how big of a deal the drivers were and how much power they had with the local promoters. “They were talking about rules and whatever it was they decided upon they were going to go and tell the promoters what they wanted done,” Mackesy said.
As a young teen, Mackesy recalled tagging along with his dad often in the early ‘80s – chasing the powerful CWRA circuit across Wisconsin. “Although we lived in Wausau dad really liked racing at LaCrosse on Wednesday nights,” Mackesy said. “We’d run West Salem Wednesdays, Wausau Thursdays, Madison Fridays, Dells Saturdays and Plover Sundays.”
Bob Mackesy raced the entire CWRA points circuit in 1984 and wound-up 6th in the overall point standings. “We’d even run the Red, White and Blue races at WIR in Kaukauna which then were run on Sunday afternoons,” Mackesy recalled. “The semi-features were tough and they winners of that even got a trophy.”
According to Mackesy, the Red White and Blue series when it raced on Sundays at WIR in the late ‘70’s into the ‘80s was ‘the shit.’ “You’ve gotta remember those Sunday races would draw some guys up from Chicago like Ed Hoffman and Tom Jones,” Mackesy said. “Then you’d pull the top dogs from Upper Michigan like Gene Coleman, Bob Iverson and Mark Miller. Throw in some hitters from Minnesota and it truly was a who’s who deal. Heck, I remember one day Al Schill and Rich Somers battled down to the wire for a win. And it was in a SEMI-FEATURE! That’s how tough the fields were at WIR back then. These were two well respected racers and champions. And they had to run the semi-feature. No shame in that back then.”
Before his own racing career kicked off, Mackesy said the Thursday night show at State Park Speedway was a hotbed. “The place was almost always packed, and you had to get here early to get a good seat,” Mackesy said. “I remember a few times when WIR would rainout we’d even draw guys like Bob Abitz (a native of Wausau) and Rich Somers when his family had that supper club up in Minocqua.”
When his own racing career kicked off in the late 1980’s Mackesy admittedly felt a little bit of pressure to live up to his dad’s accomplishments. “Dad won a few features and a lot of semi-features along the way,” Mackesy said. “When I got into racing Tom Reffner was still running. Marv (Marzofka) was already done. And I did race against Jimmy Back in his very last season of racing.”
Mackesy mixed it up often with a pair of brothers from western Wisconsin – Greg and Steve Holzhausen and Tom and Steve Carlson. “Those four from the LaCrosse area were always tough,” said Mackesy, who has raced late models exclusively during his racing career. Mackesy’s feature win totals at Wausau stand at 60 when this story was put together. Mackesy estimates his amount of total feature wins to be somewhere in the ‘mid-90s.’
Mackesy has earned 60 feature wins during his career at State Park Speedway in Wausau.
According to Mackesy it’s his loyal band of pit crew members led by ‘Lerch’ who keep him going. “These guys come over to the shop and help as much as they can,” Mackesy said. “The average age of our pit crew is over 60-plus. I couldn’t do it without them.”
The days of barnstorming three to four nights a week have been long gone for quite some time in pavement short track racing. And as such, Mackesy fully embraces the abbreviated schedule of roughly racing every other week that State Park Speedway has had in place now for several seasons. “Honestly in this day and age I do think that abbreviated schedule is a good thing,” Mackesy admitted. “To remain competitive, you have so much maintenance to these cars. In the old days we’d maybe change one spring to run another track. We used to only change a lot of stuff to go run somewhere like Madison or Slinger. Now you’ve got to deal with things like bump steer and shim packs. A lot of technology we didn’t have to deal with years ago.”
Mark in action at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover. (QC Willy photo)
According to Mackesy, the evolution of the shocks and suspension underneath today’s pavement super late model can change even during the season. “These days you almost have to have one guy on your crew to stay on top of it all,” Mackesy said. “It’s tough to have a job and still do this pavement racing the best you should or could.”
Mackesy’s race car is a Pathfinder chassis the team purchased in 2016. “It’s been a real good car and we’ve won two TUNDRA races at Wausau and another TUNDRA race at Plover,” Mackesy pointed out. “We’ve won a lot of features with it and Joe Wood and Jason Schuler at Pathfinder are really good to work with too.”
Unlike many of his competitors, Mackesy sports an open trailer – one which is deep in Central Wisconsin racing history. “This trailer was my dad’s when he raced,” Mackesy said. “It was built in Mosinee in 1977. It’s the same trailer we’ve been using all these years. All the cars my dad and I have raced over the years have been towed to and from the racetrack with this trailer. It’s got a great history.”
Mackesy would like to race until he turns 60. “Physically I guess I’m o.k. so far,” Mackesy said. “But with the finances the way they are boy it’s tough lately. Five or six races a year would be good but then you might be out to lunch because you’re not racing nearly enough.”
Mackesy’s team of marketing partners includes Dale Will, Rakow Construction, Tom Loos Photos, Rakow Rebuilds Vintage Restoration, Dan Detjens, Joe Rader Towing, Top Notch Lawncare, A & A Lock Service, Cyclones Hockey, Lerch, Laser Images, Don’s Auto Truck Center, Hougan Farms, Elite Snow Removal, West Side Auto, Aftershock Bar & Grill, G Force Racing, Richard’s Restaurant & Bar, Appliance Service, Pizza Ranch and Northwest Tool & Manufacturing.