GREETINGS FROM AUBURNDALE, FLORIDA

 

 

1,000 tracks!  I’m going to Disneyworld!!

 

 

 

SPECIAL NOTICE

 

Tonight I saw my 1,000^th lifetime racetrack.  Below is a list of when and where I saw other “Century” mark tracks.

 

 

 

SUMMARY OF “CENTURY” TRACKCHASING ACHIEVEMENTS

 

# 100 - Red River Valley Speedway, West Fargo, ND (Sammy Swindell winner) - July 13, 1981

 

# 200 - Sumter Rebel Speedway, Sumter, SC - March 28, 1992

 

# 300 - Brownstown Speedway, Brownstown, IN (Billy Moyer Jr. winner) - April 19, 1997 -

 

# 400 - Barren County Speedway, Glasgow, KY - October 1, 1999

 

# 500 - Freedom Raceway, Delevan, NY – July,

27, 2001

 

# 600 - Trail-Way Speedway (figure 8 course), Hanover, PA - July 20, 2002

 

# 700 - Thunder Alley Park, Evans Mills, NY (with Will White & Rick Young) - April 22, 2004

 

# 800 - Five Flags Speedway, Pensacola, FL - December 3, 2004

 

#900 - I-96 Speedway (inner oval), Lake Odessa, MI - July 15, 2005

 

# 1,000 – Auburndale Kartway, Auburndale, Florida – February 10, 2006

 

On the occasion of my 900^th track, I wrote the following.  I don’t think I can add much to those words.

 

“Today is a special day - #900.  I am happy about that.  I would like to thank everyone who has supported me or shown an interest in my trackchasing hobby.   Special thanks go to Carol for being so tolerant of my obsession.  She is a smart woman and recognizes that it is a good idea to let me pursue my hobbies from time to time.  Also, thank you to all of the trackchasers who have provided me information and support along the way (you know who you are) and to those trackchasers who have motivated me through other methods (you know who you are).”

 

I’ll add a special thanks to Guy Smith for inventing, if you will, the entire trackchaser concept.  I’ll also offer special thanks to Trackchaser commissioner Will White for formalizing the trackchaser statistics, which make the hobby even more fun.

 

It took me 52 ½ years to see my first 500 tracks.  At that point, I told the boys at the golf club that I would be cutting back on my trackchasing.  I missed that one by a bunch!  In the following 4 ½ years I have added another 500 tracks.  Most people would never have expected that, including me.

 

Whenever someone reaches a milestone in trackchasing of this nature, they are congratulated and immediately charged with hitting some higher plateau such as 1,500 tracks or 2,000 tracks.  I don’t have any goal like that.

 

My objective is simply to see the next new track.  At all costs, I want to avoid the “1,000 track curse.”  Let me explain. 

 

To date, four other trackchasers have crossed into the hallowed ground of 1,000 tracks.  Like me, none of them are spring chickens.  They are………fall chickens.  Each of those four greater than 1,000 track trackchasers has slowed down a good deal since hitting the 1,000 mark. 

 

 

CURSE OF 1,000 TRACKS?

 

Rick Schneider – reached 1,000 tracks on approximately August 1, 2003 - currently has 1,038 tracks – annual track average since reaching 1,000 tracks - 15

 

Allan Brown – reached 1,000 tracks on August 12, 2004 - currently 1,020 tracks – annual track average since reaching 1,000 tracks - 13

 

Andy Sivi – reached 1,000 tracks on September 17, 2005 - currently 1,007 tracks – annual track average since reaching 1,000 tracks - 18

 

Guy Smith – reached 1,000 tracks on October 4, 2004 - currently 1,007 tracks – annual track average since reaching 1,000 tracks - 21

 

Is there a “Curse of 1,000 tracks?”  Maybe, maybe not.  Up to now, these four men have been our most prolific trackchasers.  Now that they have reached 1,000 tracks, they have averaged just 13-21 new tracks a year.  I’ve been averaging more than 100 tracks a year for the past several years.  Am I doomed for a precipitous decline because of the “Curse of 1,000 tracks?”

 

Each of these trackchasers has their own story regarding their declining track numbers up to this point.  Actually, three of the four have indicated they expect their numbers to be below average in the future.  If and when I get within five tracks of each of these people, I will give you a quick profile of the trackchaser.  I’ll give you some background on how they got to where they are and where they might be going in the future.

 

In the meantime, I will do my best to avoid the “Curse of 1,000 tracks.”  I suspect it won’t be easy, but I’ve never been as motivated about trackchasing as I am now.

 

I offer my apologies to readers who signed up some 400 or 500 tracks ago.  Maybe you thought these emails would cease, or at least become less frequent, as time went on.  I hope you received some entertainment value and maybe even a cost-saving tip or two.  If you have, then it’s all been worth it for me.

 

 

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

The Strategy

 

One of my basic strategies I try to achieve when trackchasing is to see local attractions and/or visit friends during the trip.  We lived in eight different locations during my corporate career so we’ve been able to make friends all across the country.  At the same time, most of my sales force co-workers lived in different cities all across the U.S.  This makes it fun to travel because I can always “Look people up.” I’ll tell you more about that in “The people” section.

 

 

The People

 

Carol’s and my four-day celebration trip commemorating my 1,000^th track began on Thursday.  After landing in Orlando, we drove up to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.  We were going to spend time with long-time co-worker, friend and fellow race fan, Jim Sabo and his wife Jane.  Jim and I started with Richardson-Vicks, now Procter & Gamble, within a few months of each other in 1972.

 

Jim and I have been going to races together since the mid-80s.  We’ve been to the World 100 at Eldora many times.  Tonight for dinner, Betty Golden, also a co-worker of mine of some 25+ years and her S.O., Jim, joined us.  Our dinner in a little Italian bistro was just what we needed to get our 1,000^th track celebration off on the right foot.  All of the current and former RVI/P&G employees should know that both Betty and Jim are doing very well.

 

For the next two nights, we would be staying with my stepfather, Bill Virt and his wife Betty.  Bill was married to my mother, also named Betty, for 34 years.  Bill remarried after my mother died in 1997.  Bill has been to 180-190 tracks himself.  I’m always encouraging him to get his track list together for possible inclusion in the Trackchaser.com world-ranking list.

 

 

 The trip

 

You might wonder why I was in Florida on Monday earlier this week, flew back to California for less than three days, and then hopped a plane back to Florida on Friday morning.  I’m into efficiency of time and money.  This travel plan didn’t seem too efficient did it?

 

Permit me to elaborate.  Trackchasing can take up my time, but I don’t want it to take up too much of my time.  I have commitments to others including Carol, our children and my other hobbies.  Although it may seem like I spend a lot of time trackchasing (and I do), it’s important to have as many other interests as time allows as well.

 

The big mid-week item on my agenda, which required a return trip to California, was the play “700 Sundays.”  You may have heard of 700 Sundays.  It was a major hit on New York’s Broadway and stars actor/comedian Billy Crystal in a one-man show.  Billy’s father died of heart failure when Billy was only 15 years old.  Billy figured he had about 700 Sundays with his dad.  It’s a very poignant and funny family story and holds your attention for a full three hours.  I recommend it.

 

We enjoyed our pre-theatre dinner with daughter Kristy and her boyfriend James, at “The Stinking Rose, a Garlic Restaurant.”  They weren’t kidding when they said garlic.  I love the stuff.  We even finished off the evening with garlic ice cream.  By that time, I had eaten so much garlic I couldn’t even taste it in the ice cream even though everyone else could.

 

Carol and I were out the door at 4:30 a.m. on Friday morning.  She did ask me what that funny smell was coming from my side of the car.  I pleaded total garlic insensitivity and can only hope my fellow airline passengers will be scent tolerant.

 

Not only is this a significant trackchasing trip for me, it is for Carol as well.  If everything goes well, she will move into 41^st position, passing the young and handsome Andy Ritter as she does it.  A trackchaser needs 200 or more tracks to be “Listed.”  Beyond that, a trackchaser needs to rank in the top 40 to be “Ranked.”

 

We used our “Co-trackchaser efficiency check-in procedure” at LAX.  The CECP simply means that I drop Carol and the bags at curbside.  While she has the bags checked, I park the car at the Parking Spot a mile or so from the terminal.  While I’m parking the car, Carol should be making it through security.  Since I now have no bags to check, I can print my boarding pass in advance at home and bypass the airline’s check-in procedure.

 

Even though we left San Clemente at 4:30 a.m., for our 7:10 a.m. departure and used CECP, I still barely made it for the platinum advanced boarding procedure.  Carol is a “Gold” AAdvantage member and enjoys early boarding status as well.  Our coach exit row seats gave us plenty of legroom for the nearly 5-hour non-stop flight to Orlando. 

 

 

 

RACE TRACK STATS:

 

ABURNDALE KARTWAY, AUBURNDALE, FLORIDA #1,000 – 2/10/06

 

This is my 43rd Florida track.  It’s Carol’s 8^th track in Florida.  I have now moved into second place in the important Sunshine state standings. Carol comes in at 38^th in the state.  Ed Esser leads everyone in Florida with 47 tracks. 

 

This was my 109th consecutive trackchasing day without a rainout and my 160^th track seen during this incredible streak.  I am extremely concerned about tomorrow’s weather forecast for the race at Ocala.  I have no backup and the weather doesn’t look good.  Today’s weather conditions brought us a perfectly blue sky under very breezy conditions.  The temperature was 59 degrees when we entered the track.

 

 

RACE TRACK NEWS:

 

ABURNDALE KARTWAY, AUBURNDALE, FLORIDA

 

Wouldn’t you just know it?  Even though I’ve now seen 1,000 tracks, it’s amazing how often I see something for the very first time.  It happened again tonight.  This was only the second time ever that the Auburndale Kartway had raced.  Their first ever event was last Friday night, February 3.  On that night, they had no countable cars in the only countable class, Senior Champ Karts, scheduled to race.  Tonight they had one Senior Champ Kart racing and that was the only countable class scheduled to race.

 

Trackchaser, Will White, almost always on top of his game, chose to address the “One countable racer” issue to the worldwide electronic trackchaser group several months ago.  He was attempting to give his ruling before anyone submitted the circumstances that trackchasers Ed Esser, Carol Lewis and I encountered tonight.  That was wise on his part.  Here’s what the commissioner had to say.  His quotes in BLUE font define the countability of our track tonight.

 

Randy's other questions were about whether a track counts if only one or two countable cars race, but the race wasn't limited to one or two cars.  When the rule covering that subject was rewritten in 2003, I tried to make the direction we were going with it a little more clear, while still leaving it open to future interpretation. The fact that I didn't call for a set 3 car minimum in all cases indicated that I felt we might want to leave some room for exceptions.

 

Following are possible scenarios that fall into this area and how I would look at each one:

 

In scenario number one, TrackChaser A goes to Track Z. The only countable class scheduled to run that day is the Micro Sprint class.  Usually a handful of these cars are in competition at the track, but on this afternoon only two show up. They run their normal heat and feature. TrackChaser A can count the track.

 

In scenario number two, TrackChaser B goes to track Y. The track has only one countable class, the Senior Mini Cups. However, they also run a Junior Mini Cup class for kids. On this night, only one Senior Mini Cup shows up. The officials decide to combine the Senior Mini Cup with the 6 Junior Mini Cups on hand and run their races together. TrackChaser B can

count the track.

 

In scenario number three, TrackChaser C goes to Track X. This oval lists Junior Micro Stocks and Sportsman Micro Stocks as regular classes. There are no other countable classes in competition. TrackChaser C shows up on an evening when just one Sportsman Micro Stock is in the pits, along with 4 Junior Micro Stocks. Management will not waver from their normal

procedure of running each class in its own separate races. The lone Sportsman Micro Stock runs solo in her heat and feature. In this case TrackChaser C cannot count the track.

 

To recap, my feeling is that a race with at least two cars (but not

limited to 2), of which at least one is in a countable class, should count. I think we should consider any race with only one car as not a real race, therefore not countable.

 

Note: This is the first time I have given an official opinion on a one car race.

 

Will

 

Both Ed and I knew that Will had addressed the minimum car count, bud we couldn’t recall his exact wording.  We left the track not knowing for sure if we had seen a countable track or not.  I told Ed I would look it up in the trackchaser email group message archives.

 

I drove Betty, Bill and Carol back to the Virt house in Auburndale.  They live less than 10 miles from the Auburndale Kartway.  They don’t have a wireless internet connection at their house.  Although it was nearly 11 p.m., I went searching for an internet connection.

 

I have the capability of driving by someone’s house or a commercial business and finding out if they have an unsecured wireless internet connection.  If they do, I can “Tap into it” so I can use the internet.  “Steal the signal” seems like such a poor choice of words.  Of course, if they have thought to “Password protect” their connection, I won’t be able to “Break in.” 

 

I was not enthusiastic about parking out in front of someone’s house at 11 p.m. at night with a bright computer screen illuminating my face in a darkened automobile interior.  You can get shot down here doing that!

 

I ventured out onto one of the commercial highways in Auburndale.  It didn’t take long until I found a connection.  I pulled off to the side of the road and parked.  Now my worry was not a concerned citizen, but an Auburndale police officer.  He might be wondering why I was parked all by myself, in front of Ray’s Gun Shop at nearly midnight.

 

Once I had hacked into the system, I spent the next 45 minutes going through the trackchaser email database.  We average 200-300 messages per month.  I thought Will had delivered his ruling preferences about 5-6 months ago.  I started with the group’s messages in October, 2005.  I kept going back a month until I reached August 2003.  That time frame must have covered 3,000-4,000 messages.  I couldn’t find it!

 

Just as I was about to give up, I decided to do a “Key word search.”  Bingo!  I should have thought of that to begin with.  I found what I was looking for.  Fortunately, the rulings supported my point of view and we had a countable track.

 

Let me tell you about the racing.  First of all, it was not surprising to me, that there would be so few racecars in the only countable class scheduled for the evening.  I had called the track’s website contact and she told me there were no Senior Champ Karts in attendance at their first ever race last week.

 

Racing was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. tonight.  We pulled into the track at 6 p.m.  I explained to the two women selling tickets/pit passes at the entrance gate that I “Just wanted to check to see if there were any Senior Champ Karts racing tonight.”  If there were none, we weren’t going to stay.  They allowed me to drive the fully occupied National Rental Car Racing Pontiac Grand Prix into the pit area some 500 yards from the track’s entrance.  However, they must have recognized me.  They made me give them my driver’s license as “Collateral.”

 

I found no Senior Champ Karts on the premises, but I did find another worldwide ranked trackchaser, Ed Esser.  That guy will do anything to stay ahead of me in Florida!  We talked briefly.   I invited Ed to join us for dinner, but he had already eaten.  I promised to return after the four of us had our off-sight dinner. 

 

We drove to a nearby Sonny’s BBQ restaurant.  It was located only a mile or so from the Auburndale Kartway.  Our plan was to see a movie, “Walk the line” after dinner if there were still no Senior Champs at the track.

 

At 7 p.m. we returned to the track.  It was dark now.  The two pit ladies now had their jackets on as the temps had dropped to 59 degrees.  They still required my driver’s license as a deposit to let me go in and look around.  I asked them why.  “So you’ll come back and pay if you decide to stay!”  I couldn’t put anything past these women.

 

When we entered I found that one Senior Champ Kart had shown up.  The race organizer told me the Senior Champ Kart would be racing with a Junior Champ Kart.  That’s exactly what they did.  These two karts ran both a heat and a feature race.

 

There were eight classes of karts racing tonight.  There weren’t that many karts in total.  I would guess there were maybe 50 entrants tonight.  The semi-banked track sits behind the main grandstand of the full-sized Auburndale Speedway.

 

The Kartway has good lights, but no permanent seating yet.  After seeing there was the one Senior Champ Kart and learning that he would be racing against another competitor, I bundled everyone back into the car for the ride to the pit entrance.  There I plunked down $40 for everyone and we were given pit passes.  That seemed awfully expensive to see one Senior Champ Kart race.  No one ever said trackchasing would be cost-effective.

 

It was helpful given the colder temperatures that the Senior Champ Kart raced as the first class.  I’ll thank Wayne Miller for towing his Senior Champ to the track tonight, so I could get my 1,000^th track.  Thanks to both you and your son, Travis for the racing action.

 

 

Betty’s Comments

 

I enjoyed the races but it was too cold.  I was surprised there were “That many people from out of town.”  Ed was nice and seemed like a jovial type person.

 

 

Bill’s Comments

 

The track’s surface was excellent and it was dust-free.  The lighting was excellent and the race was interesting.  We’re all looking forward when they get the bleachers set up!  (Editor’s note:  I brought everyone a three-legged golf stool to sit on)  Ed was very informative and had obviously “Been there, done that before.”

 

Carol’s Comments

 

The track will be nice, but they’re still putting it together.  Randy’s 1,000^th track was anti-climactic since it wasn’t exactly a rip roaring finish to the two car feature race.  I liked seeing the full-sized Auburndale Speedway.  (Editor’s note:  she was obviously eyeing the track’s asphalt oval and figure 8 tracks for a future visit).  It was chilly, but at least it wasn’t raining.  I was happy to see Ed witness your 1,000^th track.  She felt I was lucky the pit entrance lady didn’t keep my driver’s license!

 

 

 

RENTAL CAR UPDATE:

 

This will be the second consecutive week I’ll be driving a National Rental Car Racing Pontiac Grand Prix.  I like that car.  It’s probably my “Car of choice” from what major rental car companies call “Full size” cars.

 

 

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:

 

These worldwide trackchasers are within 100 tracks (plus or minus) of my current trackchaser total.

 

1.  Rick Schneider – Bay Shore, New York - 1,038 (+38)

2.  Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 1,021 (+21)

3.  Any Sivi, Clairton, Pennsylvania – 1,007 (+7)

4.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,007 (+7)

5.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,000

6.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania – 990 (-10)

 

 

 

Other notables

 

These worldwide trackchasers are within 10 tracks (plus or minus) of Carol’s current trackchaser total.

 

40.  Don McAuley, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - 235 (+2)

41.  Andy Ritter, Mansfield, Pennsylvania - 233 (+/- 0)

41.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California - 233

43.  Colin Casserly, Stevenage, England 232 (-1)

44.  Bernie Harlen, Goshen, Indiana - 229 (-4)

45.  Alan Skinrood, Livermore, California - 223 (-10)

 

 

 

 

2006 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 9

2.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 6

3.  Roger Ferrell, Majenica, Indiana – 5

4.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 4

5.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 3

5.  Rick Young, Maxville, Ontario, Canada - 3

7.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 2

7.  Will White, Quakertown, Pennsylvania – 2

9.  Several trackchasers – 1

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

Randy Lewis

Trackchasing’s #1 trackchaser of the 21^st century

 

Trackchasing doesn’t have to be fun to be fun.

 

 

 

 

CUMULATIVE TRAVEL DISTANCES:

 

 

AIRPLANE

 

Los Angeles, CA – Orlando, FL – 2,210 miles

 

RENTAL CAR

 

Orlando International Airport – trip begins

Auburndale, Florida – 389 miles

 

 

 

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

 

Auburndale Kartway - $10

 

 

 

 

Past trackchasing stories are available at:

www.ranlayracing.com

 

Official trackchaser standings can be viewed at:

www.trackchaser.com  

 

Some of my standings data comes from trackchaser.com

 

 

 

 

UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS

 

Ocala Speedway (asphalt oval), Ocala, Florida – February 11

 

Ocala Speedway (figure 8), Ocala, Florida – February 11

 

 

 

RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2006 (** not the first time to visit this track)

 

992.  Watermelon Capital Speedway, Cordele, Georgia - January 14

 

993.  Cross Roads Motorplex (asphalt oval), Jasper, Florida - January 15

 

994.  Norfolk Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia - January 20

 

995.  Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California - January 21

 

996.  Oregon State Fair & Expo Center, Forster Livestock Arena, Salem, Oregon - January 28

 

997.  Morosso Motorsports Park, Jupiter, Florida – February 4

 

998.  Thunderbowl Speedway of Ocala, Ocala, Florida - February 4

 

999.  Cross Roads Motorplex (dirt oval), Jasper, Florida - February 5

 

1,000. Auburndale Kartway, Auburndale, Florida - February 10