Remembering Jerry Makara

February 05, 2026 15:52

Jerry Makara, who won races in the 1960s and 1970s in ARCA Figure-8 and Late Model, NASCAR Modified, NASCAR Canada Series and ASA Late Model National Series competition, passed away February 4, 2026, in Florida in the care of hospice. Makara, a longtime resident of Pinckney Michigan, was 81.

Nicknamed “The Bear” at an early age, Makara watched his first race at Flat Rock Speedway and soon befriended ARCA Figure-8 driver John Anderson. Early on, the duo helped each other build and maintain their race cars, before taking different but sometimes intersecting paths to great success in motorsports.

Makara drove his first race in 1967 at Flat Rock, and by 1968 was ARCA Figure-8 track champion at Flat Rock and Spartan Speedways. He finished 2^nd to Joe Ruttman in the Glass City 200 in 1968 2^nd in points to Joy Fair at Toledo Speedway and was named Rookie of the Year in ARCA Late Models as well as by the MARC Times Racing News. Racing weekly at Cayuga Speedway in Ontario Canada, Makara was track champion in 1972-1973-1974, and was the winner of the Oktoberfest Classic at LaCrosse Speedway in Wisconsin. He won back-to-back NASCAR Canada Export A Series championships in 1974-1975 and won ASA Late Model National Tour races at Louisville, Anderson and Salem in addition to major Late Model events at Queen City Speedway in Cincinnati Ohio, I-70 Speedway in Missouri and the Maple Leaf 250 at Cayuga. In NASCAR Modified competition in 1977, he won at Trenton NJ and finished 2^nd to Harry Gant at Charlotte. His best finish in ARCA Menards Series competition was 4^th at Flat Rock in 1981. Makara drove his final race in 1992 at Toledo Speedway.