SAD NEWS

Yesterday I received the news that racechaser, Gary Jacob passed away unexpectedly.  Gary was THE most ardent race-attending fan I have ever known.  I wanted to share some of the experiences I had with Gary so you might get to know him.

 

I probably knew Gary better than all but one or two trackchasers in our group.  Even at that, I did not know him all that well.  Carol and I first met Gary back in 1976 at the now shuttered Speedway 605 in Irwindale, California.  It was pure luck that we ended up sitting next to him.  I was somewhat new to California racing and he was a wealth of local knowledge.  We saw Freddy Fryar win that day and collect $10,000.

 

After that, I would run into Gary once or twice a year.  He was always seated high in the grandstand, often with a buddy of his.  I would usually go by, say hello, and sometimes sit down with him just to pick his brain about west coast racing.

 

Gary was not a trackchaser.  He used to tell me that he was amused at us trackchasers driving by the very best racing to see a new track where the racing probably wouldn’t be nearly as good as what we were passing up.

 

On the other hand, Gary was a racechaser.  For more than 30 years, he attended more than 120 races each and every year, usually at the same group of tracks.  Gary would go racing EACH AND EVERY WEEKEND of the year.  Nobody I know of goes that often and he did it every year for a very long time.

 

You have seen some of the ungodly drives that I and other trackchasers make to get to our tracks.  Gary was the king of long drives.  Almost all of his racechasing was done in California, Arizona and Nevada.  In that part of the country, the tracks are few and far between.  It was not uncommon for him to drive 10-15 hours in one direction for some rural western racing show with very small car counts.  Then he would drive that same distance back home just in time to get ready to go to work.

 

One of the last times I saw Gary was at the American Valley Speedway in Quincy, California.  I remember Gary telling me that when he came across something he liked in one of my Trackchaser Reports he would “Hurry up and print it, run downstairs and show his family” what that crazy California trackchaser was talking about. 

 

This compliment was noteworthy on two fronts.  First, Gary was not prone to spontaneous outbursts of euphoria.  He did have a very dry sense of humor.  Secondly, Gary was the king of auto race writing for the west coast tracks.  Therefore, a writing compliment coming from him was extra special. 

 

Gary wrote more than 1,000 stories each year about west coast auto racing for racing papers and his own internet racing news site.  I asked him once why he did that.  He told me that racers in these remote areas never got any press and they deserved to see a story written about them as much as anyone else.

 

Not too long ago, another trackchaser had mentioned his concerns about Gary’s eating habits.  It’s hard to eat healthy food at the racetrack.  I know that Gary also had heart disease in his family.  We don’t get that many wake-up calls in life, so I hope Gary’s death can help other people in this area.

 

Gary, I’m going to miss you.  I won’t have that great west coast resource to draw upon anymore.  I suspect you’ll have a great view of all the racetracks and won’t have to drive very far.  Rest in peace.

 

Currently, the website, www.whowon.com has a tribute to Gary that includes a biography he penned himself.  You might want to take a look.  I’m not sure how long it will be posted on the website.

 

GREETINGS FROM PONTOON BEACH, ILLINOIS

CAROL AND I WOKE UP IN LEBANON, MISSOURI THIS MORNING. THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.

 

 

I now have photos from each of the tracks we saw on this trip posted at www.ranlayracing.com.  If you have time, take a look.

 

 

 

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

The Strategy

 

A properly strategized trackchasing trip maximizes trackchasing production while at the same time not decimating the trackchasing landscape.  Think of me as a forester who must harvest the forest while managing the land so the forest will continue to produce for the next time it needs to be used.  Here is what I mean.

 

This is a recap of the trip and the reason each location was a good strategic choice.

 

Tuesday – Saw a trackchasing double at a track that races just once a year.  It does not get any better than this.

 

Wednesday – Saw a Friday night track racing a special on Wednesday.  It’s hard to get Wednesdays and it's better to go to a Friday track racing on Wednesday than a Saturday track racing on Wednesday.

 

Thursday – Got a somewhat geographically remote track that races regularly on a Thursday night, a difficult night to see racing on.

 

Friday – Saw a Friday race at a track that will race only four times this year.  That’s better than burning a regular Friday night track.

 

Saturday – Saw a trackchasing double at a geographically remote track.  The oval was racing for only the second time ever and the figure 8 for the first time ever.

 

Sunday – Saw a regular Sunday night show.  I would rather have gone to Owensboro, Kentucky (geographically remote), but they cancelled their figure 8 program.

 

The bottom-line is that we saw eight tracks in six days.  The weather was good.  During my last 155 days of trackchasing, I have just one day rained out.  During that period, I have seen 234 new tracks. 

 

 

 

The trip

 

Whenever Carol joins me on a trackchasing trip, I work hard to make free time available to see the local sights and eat at the best restaurants.  We were able to do both of those things today.

 

First, we started out by touring the Meramec Caverns in Stanton, Missouri.  Later in the afternoon, we stopped at “The Hill”, an Italian neighborhood in St. Louis.  This area is famous for their family Italian restaurants.  I’ve eaten here many, many times during my business career.

 

Today we ate at Guido’s.  I fully expected Tony Soprano and his minions to come walking in at any moment.  The toasted raviolis were outstanding as was the rest of our meal.  The table conversations in Italian outnumbered those in English.  If you’re in the St. Louis area, take the King’s Highway exit from Interstate 44 and you’ll be in an old time neighborhood with tens of great home-style family Italian restaurants.

 

The Meramec Caverns were a fun touring stop.  We took the cavern tour ($15 p/p).  The tour lasts one hour and 20 minutes and is totally underground.  The temperature is a constant 60 degrees all year round.  Again, I’ll have photos on www.ranlayracing.com to document our travels.

 

Here’s some information from the Meramec Cavern website that describes their caves. 

 

“Guided tours by trained rangers are conducted along well-lighted walkways.  Meramec Caverns is the largest commercial cave in the state of Missouri. Missouri is also known as the Cave state, hosting home to more than 6,000 surveyed caves. Meramec Caverns is open year round.

The history of Meramec Caverns is rich with the treasures of time. Going back through the centuries, local tribes of Indians used the cave as shelter. Later in the 1700's, a French miner, Jacques Renault, founded one of the Cavern's greatest natural resources, saltpeter. This substance was used exclusively for the manufacture of gunpowder.

During the Civil War, a Federal powder mill in the cave was blown up by Confederate guerrillas of whom Jesse James was a member. Local legend also says that the cave was used as a station on the "Underground Railroad" to hide escaping slaves. In the early 1870's, Jesse James and his band returned to the Cavern on numerous occasions because it afforded a complete hideout for men and horses after train and bank robberies.

In 1933, Lester B. Dill, noted caveologist, discovered the seven upper levels of the Caverns. Further exploration revealed 26 miles of underground passages. Meramec Caverns was opened to the public in 1935 as a tourist attraction.

 

Directions: I-44 West, Exit 230 Stanton Missouri 1-800-676-6105”

 

 

The People

 

Of course, it’s always great to have Trackchasing’s First Mother along for the trip.  How lucky can one fellow get to have his wife willingly (for the most part!) sit patiently for nearly 3,000 miles over just six days with the end result being a dust-choking dirt track?

 

We should never forget that Carol is a trackchaser as well.  She enjoys putting a licking on her fellow trackchasers from time to time.  She can get the fever; she just contains it better than I do.

 

 

 

RACE TRACK STATS:

TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY (INNER OVAL), PONTOON BEACH, ILLINOIS - TRACK #1,065 – 6/25/06 – CAROL’S TRACK #259

 

This track was my 68^th to see in Illinois, my birth state.  It was Carol’s 17th track in what is also her birth state.  I had seen the outer oval (1/2 mile) track here back in 1996.  Ed Esser leads the state of Illinois with 80 tracks.

 

 

 

 

RACE TRACK NEWS:

 

TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY (INNER OVAL)

 

Quarter mile dirt tracks are my favorite.  Tonight we would be seeing races on just such a track.  The Tri-City Speedway has both a ¼-mile dirt track and a ½-mile dirt track.  I saw the bigger track back in 1996.  I’ve had the quarter mile track on my radar screen for a long time.  Each time I planned to come here, the weather or location didn’t work out.

 

Carol and I pulled into the track’s parking lot at 3:30 p.m.  The show wasn’t scheduled to start until 6 p.m.  We entertained the idea of catching a movie, but the track is located in both a rural and industrial (old steel mills) area.  There wasn’t much happening anywhere nearby.

 

Therefore, we bought our tickets, placed our Sabo sponsored stadium seats in a premier top row location and went back to the car.  We parked under a shade tree, caught a little shuteye and listened to the NASCAR race from our home state in California, Sonoma to be exact.  At the scheduled time, hot laps woke us from our relaxation period. 

 

With the first late model heat lined up on the front straight before the 6 p.m. starting time, we expected an efficiently run program.  We would be disappointed in this area.  Our fleeting thoughts of getting out by 8:30 p.m. or 9 p.m., hot footing it to Indianapolis so we could catch an early Monday morning flight were just that, fleeting thoughts.

 

There were five classes racing tonight.  They included (number of heat races in ( )  ).  Late models (2), Modifieds (3), Sportsman (3), Factory Stocks (2) and Street Stocks (3).  Yes, that’s 13 heat races.  Not one heat race of 6-8 laps ran caution free.  Most had 2-4 yellow flag stoppages.

 

The heat races were followed by three dashes.  The dashes were followed by four “B” mains.  We had now watched 20 races and still no feature action.  Twenty races is a lot.  Twenty races with what I estimate to be 40-50 yellow flags, at a minimum, are way too much.

 

They did manage to run the Factory Stock “A” main before intermission.  This race had three yellows before the first lap was completed.  The track then took pity on the butt-challenged spectators by going to intermission.  The 10-minute intermission lasted nearly 45 minutes. 

 

At 9:52 p.m., the 25-lap late model feature took to the track.  The 19 starters put on a good show, with local favorite Ed Nixon (and Carol Lewis picked) winning.  That 25 lapper took 30 minutes to run when each racing lap lasted only 13-14 seconds.  You can do the math.  We departed the track at 10:22 p.m. after being on the property for nearly seven hours and in the grandstands for more than four hours.

 

The Tri-City Speedway is a quality facility.  The P.A. system is excellent and their young announcer does a nice job.  The track had good “W&S.”  That means the wind blew the dirt away from us and the sun sat almost at our backs.  They have a large 20-row high comfortable grandstand and sight lines are perfect. 

 

They watered the track briefly after each race.  Yes, the water truck was on the track frequently.  The track did not have the one spin and you’re out rule.  That meant that drivers drove into the turns way over their heads and frequently spun out.  Then the spinning driver was simply sit on the track until the yellow flag was displayed.  A one-spin rule would have kept the races moving and probably saved an hour or more for the working class spectators who had Monday morning work duties or retirees who had flights to catch.

 

Overall, what could have been a great night of racing, was only an almost good night of racing.  The greater St. Louis, Missouri area has the largest collection of good quarter mile dirt tracks of anywhere in the world.  They have 6-8 good ones within a 50-mile radius.

 

 

 

CAROL’S COMMENTS

TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY (INNER OVAL)

I liked it when the track worker drew a chalk starting line before each of the races began.  The program was slow.  I liked the car count.  The announcer was enthusiastic.  The facility was nice except for the cracks in the fiberglass coating of the grandstand steps.  I thought I was going to fall through.  (Editor’s note:  Of course, Carol knew that I would fall through before she would, giving her ample warning to evacuate the area.)  I appreciated their watering the track and liked the wind that blew the dirt away from us.

 

I was surprised the Meramec Caverns were privately owned.  It was crowded there.  I wasn’t chilly in the caves (a constant 60 degrees all year), but some in my party didn’t come properly clothing prepared.  The gift shop was huge, but the Rocky Road ice cream was not frozen enough.

 

I am making it a professional trackchasing goal to catch and pass (different than catch and release) trackchaser Mike Knappenberger.  Mr. Knappenberger, although more than a nice guy as told to me by Randy, must be passed.  It may not be this year, it might not be even next year.  Nevertheless, write this on a rock, Mr. Knappenberger must be passed.

WEATHER CONDITIONS

 

The weather was warm (85-90) when we arrived in the late afternoon.  We had blue skies with large white puffy clouds.  The wind blew 5-10 M.P.H. away from the stands.  That’s always good.  Later in the evening, we saw lightning off in the eastern distance.  After the races, we drove east for about 100 miles.  We encountered areas where significant rain had just fallen.

RENTAL CAR UPDATE:

 

I was pleased with the National Rental Car Racing Nissan Altima.  The four-cylinder engine never let us down.

 

Tuesday total driving miles – 123 miles

Wednesday total driving miles – 563 miles

Thursday total driving miles – 729 miles

Friday total driving miles – 275 miles

Saturday total driving miles – 652 miles

Sunday total driving miles –301 miles

Monday total driving miles – 165 miles

The driving portion of this trip covered 2,808 miles.  We stopped for gas six times.  We paid an average price of $2.86 per gallon.  The Nissan Maxima gave us 30.9 M.P.G. in fuel mileage at an average cost of 9.3 cents per mile. 

 

 

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 – 1,065

2.  Rick Schneider – Bay Shore, New York - 1,043 (-22)

3.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,026 (-39)

4.  Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 1,021 (-44)

5.  Andy Sivi, Clairton, Pennsylvania – 1,010 (-55)*

6.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania – 1,005 (-60)*

 

* 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.

 

36.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania - 268 (+9)

37.  Bob Schafer, Oshkosh, Wisconsin - 267 (+8)

38.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California - 259

39.  Spike Rixon, Watford, England - 252 (+7)

 

Steve Kinser’s name has been removed from this list due to non-performance.

 

 

 

2006 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 74

2.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 40

2.  Roland Vanden Eynde, Vilvoorde, Belgium – 40

4.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania - 34

5.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 29

6.  Paul Weisel, Orefield, Pennsylvania – 28

7.  Roger Ferrell, Majenica, Indiana – 23

8.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 21

9.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 19

10. Linda Thomas, Watford, England - 15

10. Will White, Quakertown, 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

Beaver Dam, Wisconsin – 1,614 miles

Wheatland, Missouri – 2,225 miles

Pontoon Beach, Illinois 2,553 miles

Indianapolis International Airport – 2,808 miles - trip ends

 

AIRPLANE

 

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

 

 

Total air miles – 3,620 miles

 

Total auto and air miles traveled on this trip – 6,408 miles

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

Lawrenceburg Speedway – $7

Thunder Mountain Speedway - $10

State Park Speedway - $12

Dodge County Fairgrounds Speedway - $15

Lucas Oil Speedway - $12

Tri-City Speedway - $10

Total race admissions for the trip – about $66

 

 

 

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 must return to San Clemente to attend a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball game.  We have tickets to 10 games for the season.  Carol is a big fan of the Angels.  I am committed to returning home for each of the games.  I will be in San Clemente for two days before I return to the trackchasing fray.

 

 

 

 

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

1,062. Dodge County Fairgrounds Speedway, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin -  June 23

1,063. Lucas Oil Speedway (oval), Wheatland, Missouri -  June 24

1,064. Lucas Oil Speedway (figure 8), Wheatland, Missouri -  June 24

1,065. Tri-City Speedway, Pontoon Beach, Illinois - June 25