GREETINGS FROM MIDVALE, OHIO

I WOKE UP IN PORTSMOUTH, OHIO THIS MORNING. THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.

 

You can click on www.ranlayracing.com to see photos from my trackchasing visits to Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and who knows where else (June 6 to??). 

 

 

 

RANDY’S RAINOUT POLICY

 

I thought I would take a moment to explain what constitutes a rainout in my trackchasing hobby.  My definition is short and too the point.  By the way, this definition applies only to me.  I suspect, like many things, there may be many individual definitions for other trackchasers.

 

“If I have planned to go trackchasing on a particular day and I do not see a race due to bad weather, I have been ‘Rained out.”

 

Let me provide some further explanation to my definition.  Almost every track I visit comes after flying into an area for the purpose of trackchasing.  If I fly into somewhere on a Friday and return home on a Monday, then my planned trackchasing days are Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  The only exceptions to this would be if there was no racing scheduled for one or more days of my trip (very unlikely) or if family/personal activities preclude any trackchasing being on the schedule.

 

By the way, these rainout definitions do not apply to any “Racechasing” I do.  Of course, Racechasing is returning to a track I have seen previously.  I consider “Racechasing” as exhibition events since I am a professional “Trackchaser.”  Racechasing is like spring training games in baseball or pre-season games in football, they’re fun but don’t count in the standings. 

 

I’ve considered defining rainouts many other ways, but it’s too difficult to decide when a track might be a “Rainout” or simply a passing fancy in my head that I never “Really” intended to visit.  How far does one have to go in their commitment to a track, before they are considered to have been “Rained out?”  Here are some examples of those types of situations.

 

Is it a rainout if…….

 

-        I look at the weather channel the night before and decide the weather is too iffy to drive to the track and the track is rained out?

 

-        I wake up in the morning and the weather looks bad at my planned racetrack’s location, so I don’t go and the track is rained out?

 

-        I’m all set to go to the track with questionable weather, I call them to confirm they are racing and they are rained out?

 

-        There is questionable weather in the area and I call track #1 with the full intent of going to their facility and they are rained out.  Then I call tracks #2, #3 and #4 and find out they are all rained out.  Would that be four rainouts for me?

 

-        I drive to the track under questionable weather conditions, park in the lot to see if the weather will cooperate, it doesn’t and they cancel?

 

-        I enter the track and they cancel the program before any events are run?

 

-        I see time trials, but no racing and they cancel?

 

-        I see only preliminary events, but no feature and cancel due to bad weather?

 

-        I see one or more feature events but not the main division feature and they cancel?

 

 

The cutoff as to what constitutes a “Rain-out” in the above examples is too difficult for me to make.  That’s why I have the simple definition that I have offered above.

 

In actuality, my definition may be tougher as a definition than any other.  When I land at my destination, I am committed to attending a track that day.  If I cannot attend any track on that day due to weather, then I’ve been rained out.  I don’t have the luxury of simply saying, “You know, the weather doesn’t look too good, I don’t think I’ll try to go to the track” thus avoiding a rainout by some definitions.

 

 

 

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

The Strategy

 

Today’s strategy was mapped out month’s ago.  Although it was a secondary plan, I hoped I could see a trackchasing “Triple.”  That didn’t come off, but it would have been a great plan.

 

My original Saturday plan involving this geography was to go to the Spring Valley Raceway (dirt road racing) for their 11 a.m. show and then over to Midvale for their 6:30 p.m. show.  I would save the Fayette County Fairgrounds in Washington Court House for Sunday afternoon.

 

However, the weather forecast for Washington Court House was bad for BOTH Saturday and Sunday.  The weather forecast was excellent for Spring Valley for both Saturday and Sunday.  In addition, even if the weather was bad, Spring Valley races (I’m told, but not sure I believe) rain or shine.  They are a DIRT road course.

 

If I rearranged Spring Valley to Sunday, I was nearly assured of getting a race in on Sunday and avoiding a rain cancellation day (see definitions above).  The new plan would be Washington Court House on Saturday afternoon (even though I knew before leaving the hotel there was very little chance they would run) and Midvale on Saturday night with Spring Valley on Sunday afternoon.  That’s the plan I went with and I got a new track on both Saturday and Sunday.

 

The trip

 

I’m in Ohio because the weather forecast for Iowa and Minnesota was somewhat questionable.  That Midwest weather just edged its way into Central Ohio canceling one of the events planned for the day.

 

I awoke at my Super 8 Motel in Portsmouth to the slightest of rain sprinkles.  A quick check of weather.com told me the Fayette County Fairgrounds was probably getting wet in Washington Court House, Ohio.  It was 10 a.m. and I had time on my hands.  I’d just drive over to WCH to see what the once a year racing layout looked like.

 

I’m glad I did.  On the way over, I saw a 1960’s style super modified (pictured on www.ranlayracing.com) sitting in a guy’s front yard.  I stopped to take a look.  The owner saw me snapping a few pictures and came out to talk.  The car’s “For sale” sign read, “$3,500.”  The first words the owner spoke as he approached me were, “If you’re interested, I’ll knock $600 off the price.”  This guy wasn’t driving a very hard bargain!  I’m sure if I was interested I could have gotten it for a lot less than that.  After a few minutes, I was rescued from the conversation by an old-timer driving a motor home who stopped to look at the vintage racer.

 

At the Fayette County Fairgrounds, I found some soggy conditions.  The rain had hit earlier than expected and there were large puddles everywhere on the fairgrounds.  Car owners and drivers were milling about while their racecars remained trailered.  This is what racing folks do when the weather turns bad.  It was not raining while I was there and the dirt/crushed stone track looked raceable too me.  They had not cancelled their show, but it didn’t look like they would race today.

 

That’s too bad.  The Antique Auto Racing Association races only one weekend a year at this place.  Maybe I’ll come back next year.

The People

 

Tonight was a special treat for me on the people front.  I was being joined by Ed M. of suburban Cleveland.  Ed and I first met nearly ten years ago via a mutual friend, the famous Mr. Sabo of Florida who also sponsors my stadium seat.

 

The three of us have been too the World 100 and the Dream late models races at Eldora many, many times.  We’ve also been to the Boone Nationals in Iowa.  This is an event that I heartily recommend for any racing fan.  I also tagged along with Ed this past April to see my UCLA Bruins play in the NCAA championship basketball game in Indianapolis.

 

I always enjoy talking with Ed.  I admire him for two reasons, I’ll mention today.  First, he has his own racecar.  He drives Porsches in NASA and SCCA events at all the road courses within 500 miles or so of Cleveland.  He evens “Trains” his car down to Sebring for their big events.

 

Ed is a part-time driving instructor.  He has instructed at Mid-Ohio, Gingerman and many other tracks that we trackchasers have visited over time.  Ed has driven with the Richard Petty Driving Experience program several times including having track time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

 

I also look up too Ed for his entrepreneurial skills.  He heads up his own industrial distributing company.  I admire Ed and my other company owning friends for their willingness and ability to take risks, make payrolls and enjoy the rewards of owning your own business.  They don’t complain about their company, they build it.

 

I spent my entire career at a Fortune 500 (really a Fortune 15) company.  In some ways, I had the best of both worlds working for such a large company where I could work from my home for most of my 30 years.  I had the security of a big company’s employment (at least it was secure during my tenure) and the entrepreneurial flexibility of not having to punch a clock and work a traditional 8-5 day.

 

Ed and I talked about this during our time at today’s track.  He mentioned that racing was a release for him, because he worked nearly every Saturday and Sunday on his business.  I told him I didn’t think I would make a very good entrepreneur.  He wondered why? 

 

“When I worked for a large company, there was a reward, personally but not so much monetarily, for doing a good job.  However, there wasn’t much reward for burning the midnight oil night after night to get the very last ounce out of an opportunity,” I said.

 

I had always been afraid that if I was a realtor or had some other occupation where the more you worked, the more you were paid, then I would never stop working.  The main reason I worked during my business career was for the money.  When I had saved enough money that I didn’t have to work, I retired.

 

In some ways, trackchasing is like owning your own business.  The more you work at it, the more it returns.  The downside, is that the work is never done.  I will never see every track and I will never run out of trips to take.  Given that situation, it’s important not to spend every waking moment trying to get more tracks.  It’s really a never-ending battle!

 

Nevertheless, I very much enjoyed my evening of trackchasing with Ed tonight.  Good luck with your future meeting with Richard Petty and maybe driving in one of this year’s Cleveland Grand Prix events.  See you down the road.

 

 

 

RACE TRACK STATS:

MIDVALE SPEEDWAY (OVAL & FIGURE 8), MIDVALE, OHIO - TRACKS #1,054 & #1,055 – 6/10/06

 

These were my 40^th and 41^st tracks to see in Ohio.  I’ve moved up to 12^th spot but am still nine Buckeye tracks short of cracking the top 10.  Norm Wagner, the only trackchaser in the top 20 I have never met leads in Ohio with an even 100 tracks.

 

 

 

 

RACE TRACK NEWS:

 

MIDVALE SPEEDWAY (OVAL & FIGURE 8)

 

I’ve been waiting to go to the Midvale Speedway for years.  The facility has a 3/8 mile asphalt oval and a paved figure 8 track that incorporates turns one and two of the oval but not turns three and four.  Unfortunately, for the trackchaser, they don’t run the figure 8 track each week.  Therefore, I waited for my opportunity to visit the venue when both tracks would be racing.

 

I had called the track earlier in the week to confirm the figure 8 class was racing.  The answer I received was hardly reassuring.  “We ask the compact drivers if they want to race in the figure 8.  We haven’t been getting very many cars.  Last time we ran them we only had four or five.”  That was not good news.  When a promoter says “Four or five” that might really mean two or three.  I’ve seen a few traditional oval tracks having a hard time getting enough figure 8 cars to run the program.  You might recall my disappointment in Ocala Speedway’s last minute figure 8 cancellation this past February.

 

The weather forecast and weather for central Ohio was for clouds and rain.  Midvale, in Eastern Ohio, had a near perfect weather forecast.  I left my hotel under very cloudy conditions, drove East, and found the Midvale Speedway under a cloudless blue sky with a temperature of 68 degrees.

 

The setting for this track is great.  The entire backstretch and turns three and four are backed up by steep hills and groves of green mature trees.  It looks like a forest and is.

 

Ed and I met up as planned at 6 p.m.  Our first stop was at the concession stand.  Although they were unorganized, the food was good.  I went with a meatball sandwich.  Later, Ed and I shared fries and I showed him my new French fry condiment…..mustard!  Try it, you’ll like it.

 

The premier group for the night was the U.S.A. modifieds.  After a trophy dash and “B” main, they ran a 25-car, 100-lap main event.  This was the first feature of the night.  It really wasn’t a very good race.  The track was too tight for this type of event.

 

There were several yellow flags and not one pass on the track for position amongst the first six drivers.  The only thing that made it somewhat entertaining was that both of us could listen into my race scanner.  Several of the drivers had in car radios and we could get the inside scoop on how their race was going.  The track’s radio communication was below average.  Isn’t that always the case when you’re trying to show a friend how one of your gadgets work?

 

If I had been at a track like this by myself and seen the main event 100-lapper, I might not have stayed for the Pure Stocks, Late Models and Compacts.  I would not be leaving tonight until I saw the figure 8 race and it was the last race of the night.

 

The support divisions were FAR MORE entertaining than the headline division.  They could race side by side for nearly every lap of their feature events and did.  The compacts had three features for their 50+ car group.  They were the best class of the night.

 

I met the announcer before the races started.  He told me that cars at Midvale used to run on an inner oval and a road course but no longer did.  The P.A. was O.K., the lights were good and the announcer gave me a brief trackchaser mention.

 

By the time it got near figure 8 racing time, the temperature had fallen a substantial amount.  I told Ed that I though it might be down to around 58 degrees.  “It’s every bit of that,” he replied.  When I reached the car after the figure 8 race at 11:02 p.m., it was 53 degrees.  This surfer short wearing SoCal trackchaser was freezing his butt off!  Hey, its mid-June what’s up with these temperatures?

 

I was not counting my figure 8 race, until they game onto the track.  The announcer did promote the figure 8s all night, but I wasn’t taken in by his banter.  I was at Lebanon Valley in New York one night and the announcers promoted their once a year figure 8 race all night.  At intermission, they came over the P.A. and told the crowd they were canceling it because there weren’t enough drivers to make it happen.  They then followed with this P.A. announcement, “I’ll bet that trackchaser guy from California is pretty mad with us about now.”  How right, they were.

 

Tonight’s figure 8 race wasn’t much.  There were five compact cars that raced for eight laps.  Each figure 8 lap took about 25 seconds.  The cars were evenly matched and there were no near misses at the “X”.  The entire affair was over in about three minutes and 20 seconds.  I am always amazed at some of the things I go through to get just one track counted (drive hundreds of miles, sit in the stands for eight hours, etc.) and then I encounter a track for less than four minutes and get to add another one.  Well, that’s trackchasing!

 

 

WEATHER CONDITIONS

 

At race time it was 68 degrees and sunny.  When the last checkered flag flew it was 53 degrees, dark but under a full moon and I was freezing.

 

RENTAL CAR UPDATE:

 

The National Rental Car Racing Pontiac Grand Prix has a great heater.  In no time upon leaving the track, I was warm and toasty.

 

Tuesday total driving miles – 273 miles

Wednesday total driving miles – 595 miles

Thursday total driving miles – 530 miles

Friday total driving miles -  522 miles

Saturday total driving miles – 288 miles

 

 

 

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 – 1,055

2.  Rick Schneider – Bay Shore, New York - 1,039 (-16)

3.  Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 1,021 (-34)

4.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,020 (-35)

5.  Andy Sivi, Clairton, Pennsylvania – 1,007 (-48)

6.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania – 1,004 (-51)*

 

* First warning, you are within 50 tracks of being removed from this list.

 

 

 

Other notables

 

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

 

38.  Spike Rixon, Watford, England - 252 (+2)

39.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California - 250

40.  Virginia Schuler, Allentown, Pennsylvania - 248 (-2)

41.  Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana – 246 (-4)

 

 

 

 

2006 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 64

2.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 38

3.  Roland Vanden Eynde, Vilvoorde, Belgium – 37

4.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania - 31

5.  Paul Weisel, Orefield, Pennsylvania – 27

6.  Roger Ferrell, Majenica, Indiana – 23

7.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 20

8.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 18

9.  Linda Thomas, Watford, England - 15

9.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 15

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

San Diego, CA – Minneapolis, MN – 1,530 miles

RENTAL CAR

 

Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport – trip begins

Hibbing, Minnesota – 213 miles

Alta, Iowa – 611 miles

Lebanon, Missouri – 1,243 miles

Coal Grove, Ohio – 1,870 miles

Midvale, Ohio – 2,164 miles

 

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

Hibbing Raceway – $15

Buena Vista Raceway - $10

Lebanon Midway Speedway - $15

Rocky Top Raceway - $12

Midvale Speedway - $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

 

This would be my only trackchasing double of the six-day trip.  The “Same facility” double AKA “Same track” double is the easiest type of double to get.  I’ll catch a road race tomorrow, then drive nearly 1,000 miles back to the airport, then fly 1,530 miles back to San Diego and drive another 60 miles back home until I’m in the waiting arms of Trackchasing’s First Mother.

 

 

 

 

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

1,046. Tri-State Speedway, Sisseton, South Dakota - May 29

1,047. Sheyenne River Speedway, Lisbon, North Dakota - May 29

1,048. Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, Pahrump, Nevada – June 3

1,049. The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada – June 3

 

1,050. Hibbing Raceway, Hibbing, Minnesota – June 6

 

1,051. Buena Vista Raceway, Alta, Iowa – June 7

 

1,052. Lebanon Midway Speedway, Lebanon, Missouri – June 8

 

1,053. Rocky Top Raceway, Coal Grove, Ohio – June 9

 

1,054. Midvale Speedway (oval), Midvale, Ohio – June 10

 

1,055. Midvale Speedway (figure 8), Midvale, Ohio – June 10