GREETINGS FROM PALMERSTON NORTH, NEW ZEALAND (THAT’S WHERE THE DAY BEGAN)

ALSO DON’T MISS THE ALWAYS ENTERTAINING (FOR THE STATISTICALLY MINDED ANYWAY) RANLAY RACING ANNUAL REPORT.  IT WILL COME TO YOUR EMAIL MAILBOX TOWARD THE END OF JANUARY 2007.  IT IS NEARLY FINISHED.

SPECIAL NOTICE!

 

I just wanted to alert all of my Trackchaser Report readers to an important point regarding the timing of when you receive these reports.  I have a few guidelines that I will stick too.

 

First, I will maintain my policy of never sending more than one Trackchaser Report email per day, except in the most unusual of circumstances.  I will always send the TRs in the chronological order in which the tracks were seen.

 

There may be times, like the New Zealand trip, when a few days pass before I send out my reports.  Often this will be caused by a lack of suitable email facilities or simply because I don’t have time to get the reports out as quickly as I would like.  You can always scroll to the bottom of the Trackchaser Report to see the exact date when I visited the track.

 

Finally, I will continue to offer as many subject headings as possible, just as a newspaper does.  This way, if you don’t have time to read the entire report, you can skip to those areas that you find most entertaining.  Alternatively, you can go to www.ranlayracing.com and see the trip’s photos followed by the Trackchaser Report for each track I see.

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

This is the FIFTH AND FINAL report in a multi-part series that will detail our 17-day trackchasing and touring adventure to New Zealand and French Polynesia.  The format of this Trackchaser Report will differ from those you have been reading all season. 

 

Our activities will be listed chronologically by day and divided into “Trackchasing” and “Tourist” categories.  You will get a glimpse into how another family approaches and takes a long and exotic trip like this.  I hope you enjoy reading about our adventures, until you and your family head out on your next tour of the world.

 

Warning:  If you do not want to experience the feeling of “being there” I recommend that you not read the descriptions of what went on or view the pictures of what was seen.  I would not want any future visits to these faraway parts to be ruined by the realism you are about ready to experience in words and pictures.

 

If you are receiving this Trackchaser Report via email, you can view the pictures at www.ranlayracing.com.

 

 

Part V

 

 

 

Saturday, January 6, 2007

TOURIST ACTIVITY

 

Carol ended the day with 301 career tracks.  Forty-five tracks within her total have been seen outside the United States.  That means that nearly one track in every six she sees is located in a foreign country.  There is no other United States based trackchaser who comes anywhere close to this total.  I only see about one track in eleven outside of the United States. 

 

The best thing about trackchasing outside of the United States is that it gives us the opportunity to experience other cultures.  We also get to see some really beautiful and unusual sights.  The track visits themselves take up about three hours a day.  The rest of the time is spent exploring.  That’s what we did in New Zealand.  It’s a beautiful country.  If you have the chance to visit, do it.

 

Following our two weeks in New Zealand we stopped over in Tahiti for two days.  We didn’t see any tracks there…..because they don’t have any.  We just relaxed.  If you would like to read a little bit about what Tahiti was like check out the tourist activity section below for January 7-9, 2007.   

 

 

 

TRACKCHASING-AFTERNOON

 

TAUPO MOTORSPORTS PARK, TAUPO, NEW ZEALAND – RANDY’S TRACK #1,144 & CAROL’S TRACK #300 – 1/6/07

 

The Taupo Motorsports Park was special for Carol.  It marked here 300^th lifetime track.  Below is a listing of her other milestone tracks.

 

SUMMARY OF “MILESTONE” TRACKCHASING ACHIEVEMENTS

 

# 1 – Davenport Speedway (1/4M) – Davenport, Iowa – circa 1970

 

# 50 – North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina (Neil Bonnett – winner) – April 21, 1985 

 

# 100 – Barford Raceway, Barford, England – August 6, 2000

 

# 150 – Southern Speedway, Hattiesburg, Mississippi – May 28, 2004

 

# 200 – Bay County Fair Derby Arena, Bay City, Michigan – August 10, 2005

 

#250 – Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada – June 3, 2006

 

#300 – Taupo Motorsports Park, Taupo, New Zealand – January 6, 2007

 

We never would have seen this track without the heads up from Colin Smith, sportswriter for the Bay of Plenty Times.  Today’s program was not one of their major events.  They were prepping for an A1GP event in two weeks.  Here is what they had to say about the recent renovation of the track for that event.

“That dream will become reality when Taupo's $13 million racetrack hosts the A1GP on January 21.  Mr Abbott said a chance meeting with an Australian motor racing promoter over coffee in 2002 set in motion the idea of transforming the Taupo Car Club track into a venue for international events and a motorsport-related business park.

"It wasn't a field of dreams where you build it and they would come – we had to go out there and sell the track to get people here.

"But we knew Taupo would be a good venue because it was centrally located in the North Island within four hours drive of nearly two and half million people."

MIT Developments was formed to sell the idea to the Taupo District Council and Taupo Car Club. The council gave the concept the green light.  "We were lucky there were some pretty ballsy councillors who were prepared to take the risk on something they didn't know would fly or not," Mr Abbott said.

The council paid $2 million for farmland to extend the 1.4 kilometre track to 3.5 kilometres and granted resource consent.

A $2 million government grant from the major regional initiative fund was available if the track could attract an international event.

It was originally intended to hold the grand prix in 2008 but negotiations between MIT and Mr Giltrap brought the date forward a year. "If we had not got the A1GP this year we would have missed our chance and it would have gone to Asia instead," Mr Abbott said.  The franchise has contracted to host the event in Taupo for the next three years.

"What we have now is something pretty close to what was planned back in 2002 – the concept of a motorsport business park together with an internationally rated racetrack with control tower and grandstand seating for 25,000 spectators.

"When you think Shanghai spent nearly US$120 million (NZ$175 million) for a track, we have got a bargain for NZ$13 million."

Though the A1GP is the immediate focus, there were a few more rabbits to come out of the hat, including a MotoGP round, he said.  Tickets to the A1GP on January 21 are still available from $175.

Apart from the grandstand seating, the embankments can hold 3000 people. Corporate hospitality accounts for a further 5000, bringing the crowd capacity to 33,000. Corporate and embankment seats are sold out.  The race will be telecast live around the world.”

Maybe the newness of the operation contributed to the staff confusion that greeted us.  We pulled into one area of the facility that appeared to be the paddock area.  We were told to drive about two miles to the other end for admission.  Once we reached that entrance, we paid our $20NZ admission and were directed to park.  This put us in a paddock area that was home to flat go-karts only.  This didn’t seem right.  I tried to drive down a road that paralled the course, only to be told by a woman, who was probably exceeding her authority, that we could not go that way.

 

I was getting a little frustrated.  I didn’t know what the race program was for the day.  I didn’t want to miss any countable racing due to some beaurocratic decision-making.  I took matters into my own hands as I am want to do in sticky situations like this.  Soon I was moving barrels out of the way and speeding down a dirt road while road-racing practice was going on.  I instructed Carol not to make eye contact with anyone as we entered the road-racing paddock.  We had made it.  We discreetly got out of the Subaru Outback and tried to blend in immediately.

 

We had arrived at 12:30 p.m.  It was 68 degrees and the weather was fine, except that it was windy.  They were still in the midst of constructing some of the grandstands.  We found one that was mostly finished and plopped our backsides down in those comfortable rounded plastic bucket seats.

 

The portable speakers and P.A. did a pretty good job of telling us what was going on.  The first actual race was a flat go-kart event.  Of course, flat go-karts don’t count in trackchasing so we tried to look away when they came into our view……just kidding.

 

The first countable race was for SS2000s.  They had 22 of them.  The announcer told us that Ruapuna on the South Island was having a major road-racing event today.  Before we left the South Island, we had seen a few road racing cars moving about the island and wondered what they might be up too.

 

Carol liked the announcing.  There were several trailers set up to sell food.  We didn’t try any since we had just eaten before arriving at the track.  This was your typical road racing facility.  We had plenty of opportunity to explore the entire place.  They have a ways to go, before it’s done.  Holding an event for 25,000-30,000 people seems like a bit of a stretch at this point.

 

We watched three races.  Each race was about 30 minutes long.  This track was special for two reasons.  First, it was Carol’s 300^th lifetime track.  That’s a pretty special occasion.  She is only 100 tracks short of the magic 400 now.  What’s so magical about 400 tracks?  At that point, she will become an eligible trackchaser voter.  She has plenty of progressive ideas, so I can’t wait to the time she gains this eligibility.

 

The second reason this track was so special is that it wasn’t part of our original plan.  The original plan called for twelve New Zealand tracks.  On December 28, we were completely rained out.  This surprise addition to the schedule ended up getting us back to the original 12-track plan.

TRACKCHASING-EVENING

 

WAIKARAKA PARK INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – RANDY’S TRACK #1,145 & CAROL’S TRACK #301 – 1/6/07

This evening we picked up our second day/night trackchasing double.  It was totally unexpected until last night.  Nevertheless, that’s the best kind of double…..the one you didn’t plan on getting.

 

I had been talking to the promoter of the Waikaraka Park International Speedway in advance.  They were looking forward to a visit from the “World’s #1 Ranked Trackchaser.”  This was the last track of our trip.  Waikaraka was our 12^th track of the trip.

 

The track is a ¼ mile flat dirt oval.  Virtually all of the oval tracks we have seen in New Zealand have been like this.  The facility is located in an industrial area of Auckland.  It’s only a few kilometers from the airport.  That was awfully convenient since we would be flying out of the Auckland airport tomorrow afternoon.

 

Tonight’s racing included saloons, street stocks, modifieds and winged mini-sprints.  The weather was overcast with a temperature of 66 degrees.  We had some difficulty finding the track since we were now dealing with an urban, more congested area.  I needed three stops (that’s not too bad) to find it.  A European Indian cabbie was the most helpful.

 

Upon entering the track, I was whisked up to the commentator’s booth.  There I met a young announcer named Aaron.  Aaron was enthusiastic.  He whipped the crowd into a frenzy with his energetic style.  Aaron had the same enthusiasm for trackchasing.  This really transferred well to his audience.  We talked about trackchasing for several minutes.  I even got an email upon my return from an American couple who were in the audience.  They were excited and surprised that anyone did such a thing as trackchasing to this extent.

 

Aaron offered what would normally be a unique idea.  He wanted Carol and me to take a ride in a two-seated sprint car.  Obviously, he didn’t know we had done that just five days before.  I considered his offer and declined.

 

We had been there done that.  I really didn’t want to press my luck since that ride was a little bit on the edge.  Aaron understood my position.  The sprint car ride they were offering was the very same car driven by Rob Allen that we rode in at Meremere.  However, tonight the car took its passengers around the track with no other competitors to contend with.  Riding in a sprint car at speed with other cars nearby made our ride at Meremere extra special.

 

I did several newspaper and track interviews during this trip.  I was asked several questions, some expected and some not.  Aaron came up with something I’ve never been asked, “Have you ever been too the Chili Bowl?”  Yes, I had I told him and the crowd and went on to describe the outstanding event held in Tulsa each January.

 

Following my interview, Aaron arranged for me to watch several races in the track’s infield.  There were only a few race officials and the track photographer in the flat dirt/grass infield area.  It was a little intimidating standing out in the open like that.  I’ve seen and read about people getting hurt in these situations.  I was able to watch the saloon heat race and give a wave to its winner when he headed back to the pit area.  Who was that?  Steve Williams!  Steve had ended up winning the seven night DHL Saloon Series Speedweeks by one point after the last two nights were rained out.  This was an open competition event for Steve who tries to race about thirty times a year between his golf gigs.

 

We had a fun night of racing but we were about ready to experience something that had never happened to me in nearly 1,150 nights of trackchasing.  What could that possibly be?  Could it be that the track commentator would sit down with me in the stands and do an interview?  Nope, I’ve already done that.

 

How about if the track commentator came into the stands to interview Carol?  Yes, that’s it!  Carol has never had an interview before.  She just missed her chance earlier in the trip at the Blue Chip Speedway, but when the show ran late, she got cut. 

 

Aaron, tonight’s commentator, had told me earlier in the night that he planned to come up into the grandstand and interview Carol.  I was excited for Carol to hear that.  I didn’t mention anything to her about it.  I didn’t want her to get nervous.

 

After ten or twelve races, who should appear at the corner of the double-decker grandstands?  It was Aaron.  I gave him a nod and soon he was sitting in the row in front of us next to Carol.  It wasn’t long after that when Carol was talking a blue streak about the New Zealand trip and her trackchasing career.  I have a great picture of her and Aaron at www.ranlayracing.com.  Don’t miss it, this was Carol’s first ever interview and she did a great job.

 

Finally, the Waikaraka Park International Speedway shared this on their website (http://www.waikarakapark.com/) regarding our trackchasing visit.

 

“We also had Randy "Ranlay" Lewis present at the track. Randy Lewis is from San Clemente, California (USA), and is currently ranked as the #1 Track Chaser in the world, having visited over 1,000 tracks worldwide. The commentary team interviewed Randy over the PA and he was very interesting to listen to. Randy's website is also a good read, check it out by going to www.ranlayracing.com. Thanks for visiting Waikaraka Park Randy, and we look forward to reading about your travels to NZ on your website with much interest!” 

 

 

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 – 1,145

2.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,077 (-68)*

3.  Rick Schneider – Bay Shore, New York - 1,064 (-81)*

7.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 965 (-180)**

 

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

 

** Special exemption.

 

 

Other notables

 

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

 

31.  Chris Economaki, Ridgewood, New Jersey – 302 (+1)

34.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California - 301

32.  Gary Jacob, Turlock, California – 301 (+/- 0)

33.  Ron Rodda, Lincoln, California – 297 (-4)

 

 

 

 

 

2007 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

1.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 7

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 7

3.  Ron Rodda, Lincoln, California - 1

 

Tracks have been reported from three different worldwide trackchasers through January 6, 2007.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

#1 Trackchaser Living West of the Mississippi

 

Your best bet is to work your butt off, reach your goals and enjoy your rewards.

 

 

 

CUMULATIVE TRAVEL DISTANCES:

 

AIRPLANE

 

Los Angeles, CA – Sydney, Australia – 7,490 miles

Sydney, Australia – Auckland, New Zealand – 1,340 miles

RENTAL CAR – AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

 

Auckland International Airport – trip begins

Driving all over New Zealand

Auckland International Airport – 2,648 miles (4,236 kilometers) - trip ends

 

 

AIRPLANE

 

Auckland, New Zealand – Papeete, Tahiti – 2,540 miles

Papeete, Tahiti – Los Angeles, CA – 4,110 miles

 

 

 

 

Total Air miles – 15,480 miles

 

 

Total auto and air miles traveled on this trip – 18,128 miles

 

 

 

 

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

 

Western Springs Speedway - $20NZ

Blue Chip Speedway at Baypark – Free

Upper Hutt Family Speedway - $20NZ

Stratford Speedway - $15NZ

Huntly Speedway – Free

Meremere Raceway – Free

Meeannee Speedway - $15NZ

Top of the South Speedway – $12NZ

Woodford Glen Speedway - $12NZ

Robertson Holden International Speedway - $20NZ

Taupo Motorsports Park – $20NZ                   

Waikaraka Park International Speedway - $15NZ

 

Total racetrack admissions for the entire trip - $149NZ

 

That’s about $102.81US.

 

 

 

 

 

Past trackchasing reports are available at:

www.ranlayracing.com

 

Official trackchaser standings can be viewed at:

www.trackchaser.net

 

Some of my standings data comes from www.trackchaser.net

 

 

 

 

 

UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS

 

G’by, mate.  Yep!  Our trip could not have been any better.  The people were great, the scenery was beautiful and the racing better than in the states.  However, all good things must come to an end.  However, I won’t be on the trackchasing sidelines for long.

 

 

 

 

 

RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2007 (** not the first time to visit this track)

 

 

1,139.  Meremere Dirt Track Club, Meremere, New Zealand - January 1

 

1,140.  Meeanee Speedway, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand - January 1

 

1,141.  Top of the South Speedway, Richmond, New Zealand - January 2

 

1,142.  Woodford Glen Speedway, Christchurch, New Zealand - January 3

 

1,143.  Robertson Holden International Speedway, Palmerston North, New Zealand - January 5

 

1,144.  Taupo Motorsports Park, Taupo, North, New Zealand - January 6

 

1,145.  Waikaraka Park International Speedway, Auckland, New Zealand - January 6