GREETINGS FROM WAUSAU, WISCONSIN

CAROL AND I WOKE UP IN WEST MIDDLESEX, PENNSYVANIA THIS MORNING. THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.

 

It may take me a few days to get photos up for these races.  Please bear with me.  Soon you can click on www.ranlayracing.com to see photos of this week’s trip.

 

 

 

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

The Strategy

 

Recall the trip started out with a race near the Ohio/Indiana state lines in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.  At that point, we had to decide to go east or West depending upon what might offer the best weather options for the rest of the trip.

 

I passed up a race in Wisconsin (West) for a race in Pennsylvania (East).  However, following THAT race, I knew the weather would be better in the West than the East.  That meant moving our bodies from the East to the West for the balance of the trip.

 

What that really meant was driving 723 miles in one day to get “Re-positioned.”  If that was what was required to keep from being rained out, then that is what we had to do.  You see we are like “Carnies” (Carnival workers).  We must follow the show.  This is what we do and we must do it.

 

The trip

 

The first question Carol asked me this morning was, “What day is it?”  To be honest I had absolutely no idea.  Why didn’t I know what day it was?  Because I had no NEED to know.  If I don’t need to know something, then I don’t worry about knowing it.  Nevertheless, when Trackchasing’s First Mother asks me a question, then all of a sudden I NEED to know the answer. 

 

What day was it?  I gave that question some thought.  Well, Wausau, Wisconsin was racing today and they only race on Thursday.  “It’s Thursday”, I pleasantly replied to the former “Littlest trackchaser living west of the Mississippi.”  She seemed pleased.

 

Our trip was not without its unusual happenings.  First, the thunder and lightning storm on Wednesday night was something to behold.  All through the night, it was raining cats and dogs.  The lightning was so pervasive that it seemed like daytime when the bolts illuminated the sky, which seemed to happen about every 30 seconds.  This was followed by claps of thunder that made it sound like the room was caving in.  On two occasions, when the thunder was the loudest, the hotel fire alarm went off!  I have never ever had that happen in 35 years (about 4,000 nights) of hotel living.

 

During our drive today, we stopped for gas along the I-80 toll road in Indiana.  Little did I know I was re-visiting a spot that had nearly ended my trackchasing career.  You may recall during July of last year when I ended up flat on my back in a ditch along the freeway at three o’clock in the morning.  I guessed my malady came from food poisoning I had contracted earlier in the day at a toll plaza Hardees restaurant.

 

Where would the National Rental Car Racing Nissan Altima decide to run low on fuel?  You may have guessed the “Ernie Pyle” Plaza in Howe, Indiana.  This was and is the very spot the infamous Hardees operates.  This is the most run down decrepit rest area/toll plaza in America!! 

 

The same ne’er-do-well employees slouched around the counter wait to serve three-day old hamburgers to unsuspecting travelers.  We fooled ‘em this time.  We decided to eat at the Fazole’s directly next to the Hardees counter.

 

But first, let me tell you about this rest area.  When Carol went to the ladies bathroom there was a sign on the stall that read, “Keep your purse off the floor.  Place it on the hook above to prevent purse snatching.”  She had never seen a sign like this before.  What kind of people do they have in Howe, Indiana anyway?

 

Back at Fazole’s I ordered the spaghetti and Carol had a chicken salad.  Honest to God, as soon as I started to eat my spaghetti, I began to get a stomachache.  Carol complained that her salad “Was all old and brown on the bottom” and was turning “Slimy.”  The tables didn’t look like they had been cleaned since the last time I was here.  Please, if you never take any of my outstanding financial or travel advice, do me one favor.  Do not stop for any reason at the “Ernie Pyle” toll plaza in Howe, Indiana.

 

Our encounters with the unusual for the day continued.  Long-time readers of the Trackchaser Report remember when I used to stay in some of the all-time dives of the American hotel industry.  I had to stop that for several reasons including the fact that they don’t offer wireless internet.  No wireless internet means no good weather.com information which would mean more lost tracks due to rainouts.

 

When I’m by myself, I’m perfectly happy to stay in Super 8 or Motel 6 properties.  They offer the three “Cs.”  They are clean, consistent and cheap.  However, I feel a fiduciary responsibility to Carol when she’s on the trip.  She always (O.K., almost always) gets an upgrade on the hotel front.

 

While we were driving north into Wisconsin, I began searching for a hotel that would reward her for her constant support and attention.  I tried a Marriott hotel, but both their toll-free customer service number and the hotel itself offered the same price.  Since I couldn’t get them to bid against each other and could not get them to offer any substantial discounts, I waited until we came across a billboard advertising the “Stoney Creek Inn.”  This would be perfect.

 

I phoned them when we were less than 10 miles from the track.  They had an upgraded room that offered a 10% AAA discount at a reasonable rate.  Following the races, we drove less than 10 miles to find a modern but rustic hunting lodge themed resort.  Perfect.  Trackchasing’s First Mother would be pleased.

 

After completing the registration process, we were given our key and proceeded to the elevator to our third floor (this was the top floor) room.  Since we both had to use the bathroom facilities in the worst way, we couldn’t get to our room fast enough.

 

I inserted my plastic key into the electronic lock and both a red and green light went on.  That was strange.  The door did not unlock.  Carol tried, with no luck.  We continued to try for another minute or so, until the door opened!  A man about my age answered the door.  The room was obviously occupied.  I told him we were sorry to disturb him but our keys told us to come to this room.  He said we had not disturbed him at all.  After looking at Trackchasing’s First Mother, he told us we could share his bed if we wanted.  Uh, “No thanks, but thanks for the offer.”

 

I trudged downstairs for another room, while Carol was left waiting in the third floor hallway with the bags.  Just as I walked out of sight, I could see her crossing and re-crossing her legs.  Yes, this was a bad time for this to happen.  There were no bathrooms in the hallway.

 

I feel I was born to exploit situations that appear to be going against me.  First, I have sympathy on my side for being disadvantaged (I’m talking about the room situation and not any of my personal shortcomings.)  This gives me an advantage when I seek relief from the problem that was obviously caused by my adversary (the hotel in this case.)

 

When I returned to the desk, no one was there.  I rang the hotel bell several times and no one appeared.  By this time, I was starting to cross and re-cross MY legs.  By and by, the hotel clerk came back to her post.  She was incredulous that she could possibly put someone in a room that was already occupied.

 

I must admit that I am also incredulous at people who cannot admit their mistakes.  I know I am not one of those people.  I am constantly apologizing to Carol for screwing up!  Nevertheless, the clerk had made an error and she must pay.

 

After some discussion, I was being given the key to “Hunter’s Haven”, room 204, the best suit in the entire 100-room hotel.  Our room had a large stone fireplace, Jacuzzi, fridge, microwave and hunting themed everything.  This seemed like fair compensation (at our original rate) for the discomfort we had experienced with the key problem.  By the way, the Hunter’s Haven suite had a waiting bathroom as well!

 

I think I would have made a great lawyer who would represent disadvantaged people all over America.  As long as I was getting my 40% cut of any cash settlement they might be entitled too, it would be a perfect arrangement.

 

As I was just finishing typing this, Carol came from the bathroom with this comment.  “It’s nice to not have to rush this morning (Today’s track was just 2.5 hours away).  A lot of people who read your stuff think they could do this, but they couldn’t.  It sounds like a lot of fun, but it’s really work.”  She is absolutely right, but it’s not work for me.

 

It had been a good day.  We woke up in Pennsylvania.  Then we drove across the entire state of Ohio and the entire state of Indiana.  We crossed the northeastern corner of Illinois and battled the horrendous traffic of Chicago.  This city has the worst roads, most tolls and just #$%^%& traffic.  I should know, I get to most cities in America every year or so.  Then we finished up the trip by driving about 2/3 of the North/South length of Wisconsin, all in the search of that next new track on the schedule.

 

The People

 

Considering we drove 729 miles together “The People” today was pretty much just Carol and I.  She does a nice job of helping with the driving chores.

 

I will make this comment about the Wisconsin people.  Remember, my observations about people that I encounter do not apply to all people in a group.  They probably don’t apply to most people in a group.  They do apply, in my opinion, to a disproportionate share of people in a group.

 

I have never seen people who like to drink alcoholic beverages more than Wisconsinites.  I first learned this when Bernie Sandlin and I would drive up to Wisconsin at age 18-20 in search of 3.2 beer and the ladies of Wisconsin who drank this brew.  I don’t know that we ever drank that much or came in contact with the girls who did, but we enjoyed our trips.

 

A recent visit to the Angell Park Speedway saw the feature winner determining how long the half-priced beer would be offered.  As an example, if the second starting driver won the feature, the beer sale went on for 20 minutes.  If the eighth place starter won, the sale lasted for 80 minutes, etc.

 

Tonight each feature winner and one member of their pit group was invited to a track sponsoring bar to “Drink for free.”  Yes, the residents of Wisconsin drink more than anywhere I have ever visited.

 

For our part, we visited the concession stand and jointly consumed a brat, cheese curds, chili and two Budweisers.  Of course, we were lightweights compared to our fellow spectators.  Carol considered using the track’s portable toilets, but after overhearing a very negative review (which cannot be reprinted here) from the five male spectators sitting behind us, declined.  Frankly, I think it’s good she hears language like this from time to time because it keeps her grounded.

 

By the time the final checkered flew at about 10:30 p.m., it was getting cool for these shorts wearing Californians.  Very few of the Badger fans were wearing shorts.  This track is a bit on the rundown side, but provided very competitive racing.  The announcer told everyone that tonight’s crowd of a thousand or so was their best of the year, by far.

 

 

 

RACE TRACK STATS:

STATE PARK SPEEDWAY, WAUSAU, WISCONSIN - TRACK #1,061 – 6/22/06 – CAROL’S TRACK #255

 

This track was my 44th lifetime Wisconsin track and Carol’s 22^nd track in the state.  I have now tied Rick Schneider for 8^th place in the state (one more NGD point).  Ed Esser continues to lead the state totals with 94 tracks.

 

 

 

 

RACE TRACK NEWS:

 

STATE PARK SPEEDWAY

 

The State Park Speedway races weekly on Thursday nights.  That’s perfect for a trackchaser.  They have also been going out of business or selling the property nearly every year recently.  That didn’t deter me.  I knew that someone else would always be standing in the wings to “Try it again” and they were this year.

 

There were four classes of stock cars racing on the ¼ mile slightly banked asphalt oval.  The lights aren’t great, the P.A. system is marginal, but the announcer was very good.

 

The car counts were skimpy.  An unnamed stock class ran a 15-lap feature with eight cars.  Then six street stocks contested a 25-lap feature.  Next up was a 52 ½-lap feature event for their Super Late Model class.  I have been to 1,061 different tracks.  I don’t ever recall seeing a race of this distance and I am sure I have not.  The last stock car class was for 15 mini-stocks running for a distance of 6.25 miles (that’s 25 laps for those of you reading without a calculator.)

 

Overall, the racing was very competitive.  The cars routinely ran side-by-side lap after lap.  The six car street stock feature ran in its starting formation for more than 15 laps.

 

One of my all-time stock car favorites, Dick Trickle, was from nearby Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.  Trickle won more feature events than any other driver anywhere did ever.  He also raced weekly at the State Park Speedway.  Obviously, since tonight the State Fair Park was a new track for me, I never saw him race here, but I wish I had.

 

 

 

CAROL’S COMMENTS

STATE PARK SPEEDWAY

It was a very long drive covering five states.  Chicago traffic was grueling.  Everywhere we go out here there is major road construction.  After a 700+ mile drive, we found our freeway exit to the track closed for construction.  There was lots of good racing and passing at the State Park Speedway.  They had a good crowd.  I liked the way they lit up the flag stand so drivers could see him.  It was fun seeing one of Dick Trickle’s home tracks.  Even though I find Trickle somewhat arrogant and obnoxious at times, he was a great racecar driver.  Jimmy would have liked the cheese curds.  The brat was small, but tasty.  Fireworks were cute.  I wouldn’t go pee there because it was so crowded and so primitive.  It was our chilliest night of the trip, but not too bad.   

WEATHER CONDITIONS

 

It rained on us in both Ohio and Indiana.  By the time we moved into southern Wisconsin, the weather was near perfect.  I just love www.weather.com.  As the race night wore on, it did cool down.  By the time we reached our hotel at 11 p.m., the temperature had dropped to 60 degrees.

RENTAL CAR UPDATE:

 

The National Rental Car Racing Nissan Altima is getting almost 500 per tank.  That means we don’t have to stop until that orange low fuel warning light burns for a while.

 

Tuesday total driving miles – 123 miles

Wednesday total driving miles – 563 miles

Thursday total driving miles – 729 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 – 1,061

2.  Rick Schneider – Bay Shore, New York - 1,040 (-20)

3.  Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 1,021 (-39)

4.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,020 (-40)

5.  Andy Sivi, Clairton, Pennsylvania – 1,007 (-53)*

6.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania – 1,004 (-56)*

 

* 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.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California - 255

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

40.  Virginia Schuler, Allentown, Pennsylvania - 248 (-6)

41.  Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana – 246 (-8)

 

 

 

 

2006 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 70

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.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 25

7.  Roger Ferrell, Majenica, Indiana – 23

8.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 18

9.  Linda Thomas, Watford, England - 15

9.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 15

 

 

Trackchasers everywhere are scurrying to be well-positioned by June 30, 2006.  At that time, I will provide my annual review and predictions for the balance of the 2006 season for the current top 10 trackchasers.

 

 

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

Randy Lewis

#1 Trackchaser Living West of the Mississippi

 

I should never care to argue for anything that would lesson the difficulty of the game because difficulty is its greatest charm. 

 

 

 

 

CUMULATIVE TRAVEL DISTANCES:

 

AIRPLANE

 

Los Angeles, CA – Indianapolis, IN – 1,810 miles

RENTAL CAR

 

Indianapolis International Airport – trip begins

Lawrenceburg, IN – 123 miles

Knox Dale, Pennsylvania – 586 miles

Wausau, Wisconsin – 1,405 miles

 

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

Lawrenceburg Speedway – $7

Thunder Mountain Speedway - $10

State Park Speedway - $12

 

 

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

 

We’ve seen four tracks in the first three days of this trip.  We may be able to match that total on the final three days of this trip.

 

 

 

 

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

 

1,056. Spring Valley Raceway, Millport, Ohio – June 11

 

1,057. Rialto Airport Speedway, Rialto, California – June 17

1,058. Lawrenceburg Speedway (figure 8), Lawrenceburg, Indiana -  June 20

1,059. Lawrenceburg Speedway (temporary oval), Lawrenceburg, Indiana -  June 20

1,060. Thunder Mountain Speedway, Knox Dale, Pennsylvania -  June 21

1,061. State Park Speedway, Wausau, Wisconsin -  June 22