GREETINGS FROM DENISON, IOWA

I WOKE UP IN SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA (FOR THE SECOND TIME ON THIS TRIP) THIS MORNING. THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.

 

 

You can click on www.ranlayracing.com to see photos from my Memorial Day, six tracks or maybe more, Upper Midwest tour (May 25-29).  After you receive the Trackchaser Report for each track, I’ll have photos posted on the website for that track for you to see.  This will allow you to put pictures with the words.

 

 

 

AND THE READERS RESPOND

 

Rather than identifying my readers by name in the “And The Readers Respond” section, I will identify them by their geographical region.  This will allow some to offer more direct points of view.  By the way, I can neither endorse nor be responsible for any reader’s point of view.  It’s a free country and everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.

 

From a long-time Midwestern reader regarding my comment about less than cooperative Brainerd International Raceway employees.

“Like you, I've found Minnesota residents to almost always be nice people.  The ones you ran into maybe were from Peoria.  East Coasters would have been surly, but not dumb.  To get both, gotta' be from Central Illinois.”

Editor’s note:  This reader has resided in Central Illinois for more than 50 years.

 

SPECIAL REPORT

 

Today’s special report will replace the normal Strategy, Travel and People sections.  I hope you enjoy it.

 

A couple of weeks ago, I received a congratulatory note (at least I think it was a congratulatory note) from one of the trackchasers ranked in the top 10.  In the midst of his note, he stated, “We both know it’s a waste of your time and money” to continue to trackchase.  This assertion was based upon the fact that I might find my way to the number one world ranking.

 

This was a surprise to me.  I had not realized I was wasting my time and my money.  Carol had not told me I was wasting my time and money.  Long-time Trackchaser Report readers will likely vouch for me that I go out of my way not to waste my time or my money.

 

I gave this fellow’s comments some more thought.  After a bit, I started to understand how Al Gore might have felt when George Bush told him, “You’re really wasting your time and money trying to get those Florida votes counted.”  I guess when you get advice, you have to decide who stands to benefit.

 

Anyway, I tried to be nice and simply stated that I did not intend to change my trackchasing habits regardless of my world ranking.  I simply enjoyed the hobby too much.  My trackchasing competitor came back with a reply that there was only one reason to enjoy trackchasing.  That was a love of racing.  He went on to prove his point by saying that he had recently passed up an opportunity to get a new track.  Instead, he went to see racing at a track he had visited previously because the racing would be better.

 

I gave those words some thought.  He wasn’t telling me why he loved trackchasing.  He was telling me why he loved Racechasing.  You see trackchasing is the love of going to a track for the very first time regardless of the quality of show you might see.  Racechasing is going to a track because you look forward to the racing regardless of whether you have been there before or not.  I should know I’ve been both a racechaser and now a trackchaser.

 

I was being told there could be only one reason to enjoy the hobby of trackchasing.  Initially, I was embarrassed.  I had so many more reasons that I liked trackchasing.  Was I wrong for thinking there could be many reasons to enjoy this hobby?

 

On each and every trip, I’m literally smiling as I drive down the highway just thinking about why I enjoy trackchasing.  I decided to list all of the reasons I could think of.  In the space of ten minutes, I had come up with nearly 20 of them.  Rather than waste a good ten minutes of writing, I thought I’d share why I like trackchasing with you the loyal Trackchaser Report reader.  Here goes!

 

 

Why do I enjoy trackchasing?

 

I enjoy trackchasing for many different reasons.  Depending upon the day you talk to me one reason might rank higher than another.  Overall, every one of the items I’ve listed below contributes to my enjoyment of the hobby.  That’s right, every one of them.

 

I enjoy trackchasing …………….

 

-- because it lets me visit places all over the United States and the world.  As an example, I love it when I can visit a peanut factory in Virginia or the world headquarters of SPAM in Minnesota.  However if I wasn’t already in the area for trackchasing I would never take the time to see these places.

 

-- when I come over the hill or around the bend and see the racetrack in the distance.  It’s as fun to walk through the track’s front gate today at age 57 as it was for me to walk through the gate of the Peoria Speedway at age five.

 

-- and the planning that it takes to pull off a successful trip.  During January-March I can happily sit at my computer for hours (O.K., really days) checking out track and race sanction websites looking for those allusive race dates that will make up a trackchasing trip in the coming year.

 

-- because I have a wife that’s just as happy to see me having fun in trackchasing whether she’s going along on the trip or not.  I can’t underestimate this point enough.  Having a supportive spouse is like oxygen, without it you don’t live for long.

 

-- when I need to leave the house at 4 a.m., head to the airport, fly all day, drive 300 miles to the first track, then sit on a board in cold weather for two hours.  If everybody could or would do this, I wouldn’t get the level of self-satisfaction that I do.

 

-- when I can sponsor a contest or help someone out on a trip that they would not have been able to make without a little support from me.

 

-- when another trackchaser shares his/her information without an expectation of personal gain.

 

-- when I can develop a trackchasing strategy that no one else could have come up with.  It’s like creating your own piece of art.  Again, I will sit for hours sifting through thousands of pieces of information before I come up with my final “Tentative” plan.  I never really finish the planning and strategic development of each trip.  I just stop strategizing when it’s time to leave for the airport.

 

-- when it gives me the chance to meet up with friends and family during my trackchasing travels.  During any given year, I will get the chance to have dinner, play golf or just socialize with friends and relatives that I would hardly ever see if I wasn’t out on the road like I am.  I don’t know anyone who gets the chance to do this more often that I do.

 

-- and seeing the cars race.  That’s not the same as saying I enjoy the racing offered in my hobby of trackchasing.  If I wanted to see great racing I would go to Peoria Speedway every Saturday night or go to the World 100 at Eldora or see the midgets at Ventura or go to more than 100 different places that offer entertaining racing.  I am definitely not in trackchasing for the quality of racing I see, but I enjoy seeing the cars race.

 

-- when I get to meet up with other trackchasers at the track.  It’s fun hearing from people who enjoy this hobby as much as I do.

 

-- and the sense of achievement I get when I reach a trackchasing milestone and/or climb in the trackchaser world rankings or even the Nebraska state rankings for that matter.

 

-- when I write my Trackchaser Reports and send them to my friends, relatives and racing contacts I’ve met along the way.  It’s a great way to keep in touch with more than 1,000 people on a frequent basis.  Hardly a day goes by that I don’t get a phone call or email from someone on the list mentioning something about my hobby.

 

-- because it gives me something fun to do in retirement.

 

-- when I get a chance to re-visit any one of the great restaurants I’ve discovered during my 35 years of traveling the United States for business and pleasure.

 

-- when others achieve trackchasing milestones.  I could not have been happier to see the smile on Carol’s face when she received so many congratulations for seeing her 200^th track and becoming a listed trackchaser or to learn Ed Esser had won the Cheese Challenge or when any one of my readers wins a $5 Wal-Mart gift certificate.

 

-- because it’s like running my own race team.  I get all of my tools together at the start of a race season, i.e. laptop, cell phone, race scanner, XM radio, digital camera, video camera, power sources and on and on, just like a NASCAR crew chief who has planned for nearly every contingency.  With all of this preparation, I’m prepared to go into trackchasing battle.

 

-- and creating my own trackchasing website at www.ranlayracing.com.  This gives me the chance to share my experiences with others in words and pictures.  Many of my website visitors, I don’t even know personally. 

 

-- when I get to meet track announcers and promoters.  They seem so genuinely enthused about my coming to their track.  They’ve poured their heart and souls into their business and they’re proud to show it off to someone who has traveled thousands of miles to see their “little baby.”

 

Of course, there are some things I don’t like about trackchasing but they pale in comparison to all of the things I really do like.  Here are some that come to mind:

 

-- I don’t like rainouts

 

-- I don’t like having to sit in a middle seat on a non-favored airline.

 

-- I don’t like trackchasers who are jealous of other’s achievements.

 

-- I don’t like racetrack promotions that don’t provide an evening of entertainment.

 

-- I don’t like rental cars that don’t have active power sources.

 

-- I don’t like overhanging trees that interfere with my XM radio’s reception.

 

-- I don’t like cold weather (below 60 degrees) or hot weather (above 80 degrees).

 

-- I don’t like racetrack operators that don’t return an email request for information when their website directed me to request information by email.

 

-- Did I say I don’t like race promotions that can’t entertain their customers?

 

 

This is why I like trackchasing.

 

Barring accident, illness or injury, I plan to keep on trackchasing just as much as I always have.

 

 

 

 

RACE TRACK STATS:

 

CRAWFORD COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS (FIGURE 8), DENISON, IOWA - TRACK #1,045 – 5/28/06

 

This was my 56th track to see in the Hawkeye state.  I’m in fourth place with no real chance of going any higher in the near future.  Jack Erdmann leads Ed Esser and Max Allender 76-71 for the Iowa state lead.

 

 

RACE TRACK NEWS:

 

CRAWFORD COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS (FIGURE 8)

 

I first visited the Crawford County Speedway in Denison, Iowa back in 1998 for their oval races.  Just recently, I discovered they were running figure 8 races at the fairgrounds.  Tonight was their second show of the year.  They have a few more planned for the remainder of 2006.

 

It was a leisurely drive of 150 miles down from last night’s stay in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  This would be my shortest one-day drive of the trip.  The racing program started at 7 p.m.  I grabbed a motel in Denison earlier in the afternoon and spent my time watching the Indy 500 (a great finish) and the Coca-Cola 600.

 

My Super 8 motel was just a mile from the track.  I showed up at the starting time to join some 200-300 people is a very large and new aluminum grandstand.  I recall an old wooden fairgrounds grandstand from 1998.

 

The figure 8 racing was very average.  There were two classes, front-wheel and rear-wheel drives.  Each class had about 20 cars.  They raced around tractor tires that were placed about 50 yards apart.

 

The announcer was poor at giving the crowd much information.  From the looks of things, he was also the scorer and kept his head down recording information more than he talked to the crowd.  This left the crowd to talk to themselves.

 

The graduation season has just come to a close in Iowa.  The lady in front of me told her companions she had gone to 11 graduations.  I feel the same about graduations as I do about weddings.  If my family isn’t in them, it’s not my favorite thing to do.  That being said, if my friends are involved, I’ll go just to enjoy their enjoyment.

 

I’m glad to get a figure 8 show out of the way that only runs a few times each year.  I would have preferred the show to be in a location that was NGD point beneficial, but you can’t have everything.

 

The show was finished by 8:30 p.m.  This gave me time to get a hot fudge sundae on a Sunday at the local Dairy Queen and get back to the motel for the last 100 miles of the Coca-Cola 600.  In hindsight, I would have rather not gotten a motel that early in the day.  I have an 800-mile roundtrip planned for Sunday and Monday morning.  I could have gotten some of those miles behind me tonight had I known the show would checker so early.

 

 

 

WEATHER CONDITIONS

 

It continues to be hot (92 degrees), dry and windy.  The wind blew a steady 20 M.P.H. plus all evening.

 

 

 

RENTAL CAR UPDATE:

 

I’m going through a tank of fuel a day with the National Rental Car Racing Chevy Impala.  These tracks in the plains states and upper Midwest aren’t exactly right next to each other.  There seems to be very little traffic on the highways especially considering that this is a three day holiday weekend.  It must be the gas prices that are keeping people at home.

 

 

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:

 

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

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,045

2.  Rick Schneider – Bay Shore, New York - 1,039 (-6)

3.  Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 1,021 (-24)

4.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,016 (-29)

5.  Andy Sivi, Clairton, Pennsylvania – 1,007 (-38)

6.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania – 999 (-46)

 

 

 

Other notables

 

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

 

37.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania - 257 (+9)

38.  Spike Rixon, Watford, England - 252 (+4)

39.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California - 248

39.  Virginia Schuler, Allentown, Pennsylvania - 248 (+/- 0)

41.  Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana – 246 (-2)

 

 

 

 

2006 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 54

2.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 32

3.  Roland Vanden Eynde, Vilvoorde, Belgium – 28

4.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania - 23

5.  Roger Ferrell, Majenica, Indiana – 18

5.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 18

7.  Paul Weisel, Orefield, Pennsylvania – 17

8.  Linda Thomas, Watford, England - 13

8.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 13

10.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 11

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

Randy Lewis

The World’s #1 Ranked Trackchaser

 

Eat all your sandwiches.  You’ll need them for the pursuit.

 

 

 

 

 

CUMULATIVE TRAVEL DISTANCES:

 

AIRPLANE

 

Santa Ana, CA – Denver, CO – 844 miles

Denver, CO – Omaha, NE - 470 miles

 

RENTAL CAR

 

Omaha Airport – trip begins

Jefferson, South Dakota – 115 miles

Superior, Wisconsin – 620 miles

Brainerd, Minnesota – 758 miles

Canby, Minnesota – 1,030 miles

Denison, Iowa – 1,301 miles

 

 

 

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

 

Park Jefferson Speedway – $18

Superior Speedway - $20

Brainerd International Raceway – Free

Canby Speedway - $10

Crawford County Fairgrounds - $7

 

 

 

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

 

I’ve been to races in South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa in the last four days.  I hope to cap the trip off in Kansas on Monday.  I’d probably go to South Dakota if I could, but the weather forecast is better in Kansas.

 

 

 

 

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

 

1,001.  Ocala Speedway (asphalt oval), Ocala, Florida - February 12

 

1,002. Speedworld Speedway, Surprise, Arizona - February 19

 

1,003. Lowe’s Motor Speedway (1/5 mile asphalt oval), Concord, North Carolina - February 25

 

1,004. Concord Raceway, Concord, North Carolina - February 25

 

1,005. Antioch Speedway, Antioch, North Carolina - February 25

 

1,006. Green Valley Speedway, Gadsden, Alabama - February 26

 

1,007. East Bay Raceway (inner oval), Gibsonton, Florida – March 17

 

1,008. Volusia Speedway Park West (1/6M oval), Barberville, Florida – March 18

 

1,009. Speedway Park, Fruitland Park, Florida – March 18

 

1,010. Sand Mountain Speedway (road course), Fort Meade, Florida – March 19

 

1,011. Anderson Motor Speedway, Anderson, South Carolina – March 31

 

1,012. Westminster Speedway, Westminster, South Carolina – March 31

 

1,013. East Lincoln Motor Speedway, Stanley, North Carolina – April 1

 

1,014. Margarettsville Speedway, Margarettsville, North Carolina – April 2

 

1,015. Sunny South Raceway, Grand Bay, Alabama – April 7

 

1,016. Barber Motorsports Park, Leeds, Alabama – April 8

 

1,017. Coldwater Raceway, Coldwater, Alabama – April 8

 

1,018. Talladega Short Track, Talladega, Alabama – April 8

 

1,019. Ballymena Raceway, Ballymena, Northern Ireland - April 14

 

1,020. Oulton Park, Little Budworth, England - April 15

 

1,021. Somerset Rebels Banger Raceway, Rooks Bridge, England - April 16

 

1,022. Mendips Raceway, Shipham, England - April 16

 

1,023. Oval Raceway, Angmering, England - April 17

 

1,024. Arlington Stadium, Eastbourne, England - April 17

 

1,025. Southside Speedway, Midlothian, Virginia - April 28

 

1,026. Motor Mile Speedway, Radford, Virginia - April 29

 

1,027. Wythe Speedway, Wytheville, Virginia - April 29

 

1,028. Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point Circuit, Summit Point, West Virginia - April 30

 

1,029. Old Dominion Speedway – inner inner oval, Manassas, Virginia - April 30

 

1,030. Shenandoah Speedway, Shenandoah, Virginia – May 4

 

1,031. Bridgeport Speedway (inner oval – front), Bridgeport, New Jersey - May 5

 

1,032. Empty Jug, Hawley, Pennsylvania - May 6

 

1,033. Oakland Valley Race Park, Cuddebackville, New York - May 6

 

1,034. Thunder Mountain Speedway, Center Isle, New York - May 6

 

1,035. Motocross 338, Southwick, Massachusetts - May 7

 

1,036. Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, Fultonville, New York - May 7

 

1,037. Calumet County Speedway, Chilton, Wisconsin - May 19

 

1,038. Grant County Speedway, Lancaster, Wisconsin - May 20

 

1,039. Blackhawk Farms Raceway, Rockton, Illinois - May 21

 

1,040. The Milwaukee Mile (Road course), West Allis, Wisconsin - May 21

 

** Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – May 21 (new track Carol only)

 

1,041. Park Jefferson Speedway, Jefferson, South Dakota - May 25

 

1,042. Superior Speedway, Superior, Wisconsin - May 26

 

1,043. Brainerd International Raceway, Brainerd, Minnesota - May 27

 

1,044. Canby Speedway, Canby, Minnesota - May 27

1,045. Crawford County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Denison, Iowa - May 28