GREETINGS FROM STAFFORD SPRINGS, CONNECTICUT

 

AND THE READERS RESPOND

 

From an Ontario, Canada reader, regarding my comments about the unusual number of rules and regulations we found at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Fair Haven, Vermont.

 

“Both Devil's Bowl and Albany Saratoga (Malta NY) have the same draconian rules. the Richards family aren't the most fan friendly promoters, I would not attend another one of their shows if it was across the street from my house.”

 

 

 

ALL PICTURES HAVE BEEN UPDATED FROM THIS TRACKCHASING TRIP AT WWW.RANLAYRACING.COM

 

 

 

 

CAROL AND I WOKE UP IN RUTLAND, VERMONT.  THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.

 

 

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

 

The Strategy

                                                                                        

Our trackchasing strategy worked very well on this trip.  We were overnight for six days.  For the trip, Carol saw nine new countable tracks and I saw seven.  We would have seen more except for a rainout and another track that cancelled when enough racecars did not show up.

 

You would not believe how much time I put into planning the logistics of a trackchasing trip.  Nevertheless, as soon as the plane lands, the entire trip can be thrown into a state of flux if the weather does not cooperate.  Unbelievably, we did not end up seeing even half of the tracks that were on the original schedule because of bad weather or a bad weather forecast.

The Trip

 

Today we would have time for a TTA (Trackchasing Tourist Attraction).  We did have nearly 300 miles to drive to tonight’s track, but that would still leave us a couple of hours to do some local sightseeing.  We had two such things in mind.

 

The first potential stop was the Basketball Hall of Fame (http://www.hoophall.com/).  The entire Lewis family had visited this place about 20 years ago.  It’s one of the best halls of fame I have ever visited.  I believe the museum has expanded a good deal during the past several years.

 

They have all kinds of interactive displays and basketball memorabilia.  Growing up in East Peoria, Illinois exposed me to the NIBL (National Industrial Basketball League).  Caterpillar Tractor Company has their world headquarters in nearby Peoria, Illinois.  “Cat” had an entry in the NIBL appropriately called the “Caterpillar Cats.”  The coach of the Cats was Warren Womble.  Coach Womble was the head coach of the gold medal winning U.S. basketball Olympic teams in 1952, ’56 and ’60.  This is all documented in the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

 

Our other TTA choice was located in Shelburne, Vermont.  It was the Vermont Teddy Bear (http://vtbear.stores.yahoo.net/) Factory.  I’m sure you’ve heard this company’s radio commercials around Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.

 

The TTA choice was Carol’s.  I tried to explain the pros and cons of each visit based upon location, what we were likely to see, etc.  I was secretly chanting to myself, “Pick the Hall of Fame, Pick the Hall of Fame.”

 

Upon significant reflection, Carol picked the Vermont Teddy Bear factory.  That’s O.K. with me; I’ll just be on the look out for a chance to see the Basketball Hall of Fame some other time, hopefully soon.  We headed to “Bear” country and took the 12:30 p.m. tour (one hour tours are given each 30 minutes).  Surprisingly, there is a $2 charge for the tour.  By the way, www.factorytoursusa.com was our source of information for this factory tour.

 

Our guide was great and we were able to see women actually making the bears.  It was a bit awkward at first.  When our tour started, the women were having their lunch at their sewing machines.  With a tour group of 30 people, I felt like we were staring at animals at the zoo.  Nevertheless, the workers appeared more comfortable with us watching them eat lunch than I did and finished eating and relaxing.  We also visited the “Bear Hospital” where abused teddy bears are returned for refurbishment. 

 

This factory tour seemed to focus on selling much more so than other tours we take.  Carol did buy one for her mother.  Nevertheless, if you’re in the area, I recommend a brief stop at this place.  If just goes to show that you never know where trackchasing might take you.

 

I would be remiss if I did not comment on how bad getting into and out of Boston is.  The city has now taken over first place in the “Worst traffic” anywhere sweepstakes.

 

To begin the trip, the traffic was so bad it took us four hours to go 40 miles.  Some tunnel ceiling tiles that fell unexpectedly and killed a motorist exacerbated this traffic problem.

 

We ran into one horrific traffic jam when returning to the airport area on Monday night.  I had strategically picked a hotel just three miles from the airport, so we wouldn’t have a traffic problem for our early Tuesday morning flight.  Following tonight’s races, we reached the airport area at about 11 p.m.

 

When we were within about three blocks of our hotel (Rodeway Inn, Revere, MA), we encountered police blockades.  These blockades prevented us from getting to our hotel.  Instead, we were rerouted in a circle that would not allow us to reach our hotel at all!  It seems a gasoline tanker had overturned a few blocks from the Rodeway Inn and all traffic was being prevented from entering the area.

 

After being in bumper-to-bumper traffic for an hour with no end in sight, I took matters into my own hands.  When the police weren’t looking, I crashed a police barricade.  Yes, I can admit it now.  It was an act of desperation.  Nevertheless, I was successful.  We reached our hotel at just past midnight.  Our wakeup call came at 5:20 a.m. (That’s 2:20 a.m. California time).  The significance of California time related to Tuesday night’s activity.

 

After flying cross-country from Boston to Los Angeles we had (by direction of Carol) to go to a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball game against the Cleveland Indians.  Recall, we have a mini-season ticket package that takes us to 10 games.  I have to plan all of my trackchasing activities around these 10 baseball dates.  This trackchasing trip butted up against our game tonight.  Getting up at 2:20 a.m. California time and then getting back home after the ball game at nearly midnight California time made for a very long day. 

The People

 

We spent six nights out on this trip and met or reunited with several nice people.  It was great seeing you all.  We did have a few observations of people, in general, that we met or observed.

 

New Englanders seem to love their ice cream.  We were surprised at all the ice cream stores we saw.

 

We were also surprised at seeing a Dunkin’ Donuts store on nearly every corner.

 

Carol thought it was a waste of resources to have live people handing out tickets at the toll road ticket booths.  I suspect this has something to do with union contracts that protect jobs.

 

We were surprised to learn from Bruce Spencer that the state of New Hampshire has neither a state income tax nor a sales tax.  I didn’t know that existed anywhere, although I think Alaskan residents may have the same advantage.

 

Carol will need 400 tracks to become an eligible voter.  I am already assembling a consortium of voters to pass a new rule.  I think trackchasers should only be allowed to visit one venue per day.  Yes, I have benefited from seeing multiple venues in a day; however, it comes with a cost.  If there was such a limitation, then we would see a dramatic increase in Trackchasing Tourist Attractions.  This would go a long way in making the typical trackchaser a much more rounded person. 

 

We saw an abnormal amount of golf driving ranges on the trip. Almost none of them were being used.  This was probably due to the excessive heat and humidity.

 

RACE TRACK STATS:

STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY (INNER OVAL), STAFFORD SPRINGS, CONNECTICUT - TRACK #1,079 – 7/17/06

CAROL’S TRACKS INCLUDED – STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY (INNER OVAL), STAFFORD SPRINGS, CONNECTICUT - TRACK #268 – 7/17/06

 

This was only my seventh lifetime track to see in the Nutmeg state.  The family and I lived in Ridgefield, Connecticut for 15 months during 1979-80.  During that time period, I saw two new tracks in the state.  My last visit to Connecticut was in 2002.  This was my 29^th trackchasing state of the year.

 

Today’s track moves me from a tie for 10^th place into a tie for 9^th place with John Osowski.  This improves my state NGD score by one point.  Even though I saw seven new tracks during this trip, this was the first NGD point gain during the entire trip.

 

This was Carol’s second track in this state giving her a tie for 27^th place in the state.  She added an incredible nine new tracks during this trip.  This accomplishment is even more remarkable considering we had one track rained out and another cancel due to lack of competitors showing up.

 

 

RACE TRACK NEWS:

 

STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY (INNER OVAL)

 

I last visited the Stafford Motor Speedway back in 1980.  That’s 26 years ago!  I went there on two different occasions in ’80.  Geoff Bodine and Ron Bouchard, both winners in NASCAR’s Winston Cup, won those two races.

 

I remember Stafford Springs as being a very old looking town back then.  I wanted to show Carol that town.  It’s still old, but didn’t look as old as my imagination made it.  We had dinner at the House of Pizza in downtown Stafford Springs.  There is not a lot to choose from, but this is not a bad place.

 

Tonight we were here to see the Senior Champ Karts race on the track’s inner oval.  The inner oval’s main straight overlaps with the outer oval’s main straight.  The asphalt inner oval is about 1/5 mile in distance.  Tonight there was a surprisingly large field of 13 Senior Champ Karts.  All of them ran in one heat race and then one feature.

 

I was surprised at the $8 admission price, which seemed high.  During intermission, I asked the ticket seller how many tickets she had sold tonight.  Her answer, “62.”

 

The place seats 4,000-5,000 so just 62 adults and a few kids had room to spread out.  The announcer did announce the races, which is unusual for go-karts races.  The major drawback is that the speaker system only worked in the pit area, which is located behind the grandstand.  We could hear the P.A. perfectly in the parking lot, but not very well in the grandstand.  Go figure!

 

There were about eight classes of go-karts.  The Senior Champ Karts were the only trackchaser countable class racing tonight.  The group started a few minutes late, but once they did start the races ran off smoothly even though the starts were the most ragged I’ve seen this year.  The big track’s lights were turned on when the feature racing started at about 9:30 p.m.

 

The racing wasn’t much but where else can you go to get a track that races almost each Monday night in the summer?  If I were a racechaser, I would love to come back to see the modifieds run on the Stafford Motor Speedway outer oval again.

CAROL’S COMMENTS

 

All of the tracks we’ve seen on this trip were very efficient.  I don’t know why the P.A. only worked in the pit area.  I have never seen a track with so many blue placarded handicap parking spaces.  (They had more than 30.)  It was a good trip for getting many tracks.

 

 

WEATHER CONDITIONS

 

Again, it was hot and humid.  Surprising to us the heat and humidity followed us all the way back to San Clemente.

 

RENTAL CAR UPDATE:

 

The Massachusetts plated National Rental Car Racing Pontiac Grand Prix increased my rental car mileage for the year to 25,101 miles.   I have now traveled a little more than 105,000 miles (airplanes and cars) for my 2006 trackchasing.

 

 

Wednesday total driving miles – 204 miles

Thursday total driving miles – 462 miles

Friday total driving miles – 428 miles

Saturday total driving miles – 296 miles

Sunday total driving miles –  323 miles

Monday total driving miles – 394 miles

Tuesday total driving miles – 6 miles

 

 

The driving portion of this trip covered 2,113 miles.  I filled up five times.  I paid an average price of $2.95 per gallon.  The Pontiac Grand Prix gave us 25.5 M.P.G. in fuel mileage at an average cost of 11.6 cents per mile.  The car cost 12.5 cents per mile to rent, all taxes included.

 

 

 

 

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 – 1,079

2.  Rick Schneider – Bay Shore, New York - 1,046 (-33)

3.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,037 (-42)

4.  Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 1,021 (-58)*

5.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania – 1,018 (-61)*

6.  Andy Sivi, Clairton, Pennsylvania – 1,015 (-64)*

7.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 914 (-165)**

 

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

 

** Special exemption.

 

The widespread use of the “*” is causing my printer cartridges to run dry much faster than they should.

 

 

 

Other notables

 

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

 

34.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania – 278 (+10)

34.  Sammy Swindell, Bartlett, Tennessee – 278 (+10)

36.  Dale Danielski, Onalaska, Wisconsin – 269 (+1)

37.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California - 268

37.  Bob Schafer, Oshkosh, Wisconsin - 267 (-1)

 

 

 

2006 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 88

2.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 54

3.  Roland Vanden Eynde, Vilvoorde, Belgium – 46

4.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania - 44

5.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 38

6.  Paul Weisel, Orefield, Pennsylvania – 36

7.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 32

7.  Roger Ferrell, Majenica, Indiana – 32

7.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 32

10. Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan - 24

 

 

 

 

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 -  Boston, MA – 2,567 miles

RENTAL CAR

 

Logan International Airport – trip begins

Little Valley, NY – 547 miles

Claremont, NH – 1,037 miles

Canaan, NH – 1,074 miles

Loudon, NH – 1,207 miles

North Woodstock, NH – 1,258 miles

Wentworth, NH – 1,290 miles

Fair Haven, VT,  – 1,686 miles

Stafford Springs, CT – 2,016 miles

Logan International Airport – trip ends – 2,113 miles

AIRPLANE

 

Boston, MA - Los Angeles, CA -  2,567 miles

 

 

 

Total air miles – 5,134 miles

 

Total auto and air miles traveled on this trip – 7,247 miles

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

 

Little Valley Speedway – $12

Twin State Speedway - $10

Canaan Fair Speedway $10 senior rate (Reg. $15)

New Hampshire International Speedway - $50

White Mountain Motorsports Park - $15

Legion Speedway - $10

Devil’s Bowl Speedway - $12

Stafford Motor Speedway - $8

 

Total race admissions for the trip – about $127

 

 

 

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 needed to take this coming weekend off from trackchasing.  It’s British Open weekend.  This is probably my favorite golf tournament of the entire year.  Yes, I watched eight hours of coverage each day for four consecutive days.  I would have watched more if I could.  Of course, I watched it on a recorded basis, which probably saved me two hours each day. 

 

The next time you hear from me, I’ll be with daughter Kristy trackchasing somewhere in this great country of ours.  Stay tuned.

 

 

 

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

 

1,066. Lake Ozark Speedway, Eldon, Missouri - June 29

 

1,067. Poplar Bluff Speedway, Poplar Bluff, Missouri - June 30

 

1,068. Indianapolis Motor Speedway (road course), Indianapolis, Indiana – July 1

 

1,069. Rush County Fairgrounds, Rushville, Indiana – July 1

 

1,070. Rock Castle Speedway, Mount Vernon, Kentucky – July 2

 

** Windy Hollow Speedway (oval), Owensboro, Kentucky – July 2

 

1,071. Heartland Park Topeka (dirt oval), Topeka, Kansas – July 3

 

1,072. Thunderhill Speedway, Mayetta, Kansas – July 3

 

1,073. Little Valley Speedway, Little Valley, New York – July 13

 

** Twin State Speedway (oval), Claremont, New Hampshire – July 14

 

1,074. Twin State Speedway (figure 8), Claremont, New Hampshire – July 14

 

1,075. Canaan Speedway (asphalt oval), Canaan, New Hampshire – July 14

 

** New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire – July 15

 

1,076. White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, New Hampshire – July 15

 

1,077. Legion Speedway, Wentworth, New Hampshire – July 15

 

1,078. Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Fair Haven, Vermont – July 16

1,079. Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford Springs, Connecticut – July 17