GREETINGS FROM CHATSWORTH, GEORIGA AND THEN TOCCOA, GEORGIA

VERY SPECIAL UPDATE

In my last Trackchaser Report, I explained our experience at the Houston Motorsports Park.  We visited this track on Friday, March 16.  In a nutshell, this is what happened.  Carol and I had gotten to the track late.  We ended up seeing the last race of the night.  We saw the last 28 laps of a 35-lap feature event for 27 thunder roadsters.  We were on the fence as to whether we should count this track or not. 

 

I asked Trackchaser Commissioner, Will White, for his feedback on the subject.  This is what Mr. White had to say on the subject,

 

“Randy,

 

I agree with your comments both from a personal viewpoint and as they relate to trackchaser track countability.  The way I see it, there is no doubt that Houston Motorsports Park is countable based upon what you saw.

 

Will”

 

Therefore, Carol and I will count the Houston Motorsports Park.  This will be my 1,161th lifetime track and Carol’s 306^th lifetime track.

 

 

 

 

IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO READ THIS TRACKCHASER REPORT DIRECTLY FROM WWW.RANLAYRACING.COM AND SEE THE PICTURES FROM THIS TRIP SIMPLY CLICK ON THIS LINK OR COPY AND PASTE IT IN YOUR BROWSER:

http://www.ranlayracing.com/mar16182007.htm

WE WOKE UP IN HOUSTON, TEXAS, FLEW TO ATLANTA, AND WENT TO SLEEP IN LAVONIA, GEORGIA.  THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

The Strategy                                                                                    

 

The overriding trackchasing strategy I employ is simple.  I want to see as many different tracks as I possibly can.  That line of strategic thinking had directed us to avoid Georgia on Friday (60% chance of rain) and favor Texas (10% chance of rain.)

 

The positives of that change gave us a clear night for racing and a trip to the French Quarter of New Orleans.  The downsides to that idea meant an extra trip to the airport (Houston) as well as an extra rental car.  Of course, it did guarantee that we would see a track on Friday night.  I did find that the Friday night track in Georgia was NOT rained out.  They raced.  That meant our extra effort did not give us any incremental gain.

 

I play the odds in life.  Over time that’s the best way to do it.  Many times playing the odds will not gain an advantage.  In some rare instances, playing the odds may actually give you worse results.  Happily, playing the odds will give tremendous benefits over the long run.

 

 

 

 

The Trip

 

We got back to our hotel near the Houston airport and hit the sack at just past midnight.  Our wakeup call for our 7:15 a.m. flight came at 5:10 a.m. (3:10 a.m. San Clemente time.)  According to plan, we were out the hotel room door at 5:45 a.m.  We reached the National car rental location at 6:00 a.m. again according to plan.  We were entering airport security precisely at 6:15 a.m.

 

As I was removing my shoes and placing my “gels and liquids” in a plastic bag on the security conveyer belt I was marveling at how well the daily plan was working so far.  My mental tranquility was broken with these words, “Excuse me sir, is that your wife over there?” (pointing some 15 feet away to the opposite security line.)  I looked up.  Although she was some distance away this woman did resemble Carol.  Yes!  It was Carol.

 

Why was the security guard asking me this question?  It seems Carol had been caught violating TSA (Transportation Security Administration) security policies.  Yes, she had a ONE-GALLON plastic bag filled with gels and liquids and other beauty care paraphernalia.  TSA regulations call for usage of only a ONE-QUART plastic bag.  Carol looked on forlornly at me.  Would they be cuffing her?

 

I should point out that Carol is strongly against any government regulation whatsoever.  She is especially against the TSA’s “gels and liquids” policies employed at every commercial airport in the country. 

 

I strongly believe that if Carol were not married to me she would be living in the Idaho Mountains (Ruby Ridge?) somewhere.  She would maintain her right to bear arms and probably have a firearms stash that would rival that of Lithuania.  If I were an FBI agent directed to storm the hill to take her into custody, I would decline my FBI commission and resign on the spot.  I do not ever want to be the governmental agent that tries to take on Trackchasing’s First Mother.

 

With that background explained, I return you to the security area of the Houston airport.  Carol had two options.  She could dump all of her gels and liquids.  Alternatively, she could go back to the ticketing area of the airport, check her bag and come through security again.  She chose the ladder. 

 

Now my mental tranquility was ruffled.  Mind you, I don’t really care what the governmental regulations are.  I treat them just like trackchasing rules.  I understand them and do what is necessary to stay within the rules while at the same time doing what I really want to do.  For me, that’s the best way to operate.

 

I was minorly concerned that there was not enough time for Carol to go through the process of checking her bag.  If we didn’t make the plane, we wouldn’t get our afternoon track in Northern Georgia.  Maybe I should be more specific.  If CAROL didn’t make her plane, then SHE wouldn’t get to the afternoon track.  Again, happily, she made the extra transition and we were off to Atlanta.  This governmental intervention did put Trackchasing’s First Mother in somewhat of a foul mood.  I could only nod in agreement that yes those airport security policies are worthless.

 

 

 

 

The People

 

I do believe that the airport TSA representatives are simply trying to do the job they were hired to do.  On the other hand, I believe a few of their folks are new to ever having power over others in any job they’ve held.  I’ve seen several examples of people in situations like this who abuse the power they have.  When that happens, it’s disappointing.

 

RESTAURANT REVIEW

 

I received a note that Dillons BBQ located in Chatsworth, Georgia was a good place to eat before today’s races.  Carol and I used Dusty to find the place.

 

We arrived at 1 p.m.  We were greeted by a sullen employee, who seemed most put out to have to serve us.  This was surprising since we were the only customers in the place that seats about 20 people.  Where was the southern hospitality?  This woman was not southern and I don’t suspect she has ever heard of Georgian, Jimmy Carter.

 

They have a wall mounted TV in the place.  I asked if I could change the channel to the NCAA bball games.  I was given the TV remote and directed to the back room to change the channel.  After going through some 700 channels I finally found the game!

 

I went with the BBQ beef plate with two sides.  The portions were very small.  One of my sides was onion rings.  There were four of the skinniest rings I had ever seen.  The baked beans had the smokiest flavor I have ever tasted.  They were great.  I even considered getting a pint to go.  Later in the evening, I was somewhat glad I did not.  The chopped beef BBQ was also excellent, although the portion was too small.

 

The décor seemed a bit manufactured.  It looked like they had just completed the place recently.  Carol complained about the portion size (and she doesn’t eat a thing) and the tastelessness of the cole slaw.  In addition, the corn bread was so dry; it required a refill from the soda machine.  Carol liked the fact that they had both sweetened and unsweetened tea, as she prefers the ladder.

 

Would we go back again?  Maybe, but probably not.  The BBQ and beans were great.  The service was below par.  The portion sizes were way too small.  I am certain there are much better BBQ places in the area.

 

 

RACE TRACK STATS:

 

DAWGWOOD SPEEDWAY, CHATSWORTH, GEORGIA - TRACK #1,161

 

TOCCOA SPEEDWAY, TOCCOA, GEORGIA - TRACK #1,162

 

These tracks were my 18^th and 19^th to be seen in the Peach state, home of the Brown Thrasher state bird.  I rank eighth in the state behind Paul Weisel and Guy Smith.  John Moore leads in Georgia with 34 tracks.  Forty-seven different worldwide trackchasers have seen at least one track here.

 

These two tracks were Carol’s third and fourth in Georgia.  She saw her first track in the state back in 1971 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.  A. J. Foyt won that NASCAR race and Governor Jimmy Carter was the race’s grand marshal.

 

 

 

 

 

RACE TRACK NEWS:

 

DAWGWOOD SPEEDWAY

It was great being able to see a short track race on a Saturday afternoon.  This doesn’t happen very often and it doesn’t happen often at the Dawgwood Speedway either.  They run three afternoon shows in the spring and then switch to Saturday evenings.

 

In many ways this was a typical dirt oval kart track.  They cater mainly to flat karts.  They also are not really trying to appeal to spectators.  The track’s management realizes that their bread and butter is satisfying competitors not spectators.

 

I had the opportunity to speak with the track’s promoter, Matt Benson for some time.  Matt is a first year promoter.  He bought the property out of a foreclosure sale recently.  He’s making several improvements to the 13-acre property.  He is in the midst of installing new lights.  Today the banked track surface was very smooth and dust free.  Matt has a good attitude and approach to operating his new venture as a successful and growing business.

 

There were only about 60 racing machines in the pit area today.  Matt tells me they routinely get more than 100 competitors each week.  Why was the kart count low today?  You’d probably never guess.

 

This is the weekend that NASCAR races at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Atlanta is about 100 miles from the Dawgwood Speedway.  The lowest turnout of the year comes when NASCAR races in Atlanta and the kart competitors go to see them race.

 

Flat karts don’t count in trackchasing.  They did have one countable trackchasing class.  That was the 600cc mini-sprints.  There were just three of them, but that’s enough for trackchasing purposes.  The mini-sprints were the last class, of many, to race.  The three mini-sprints ran a quick heat race and then the track went to intermission.  At that point, we left the track.

 

Following intermission, each class would also race a feature event.  It is common trackchaser protocol when there is just one countable class with a small car count not to stay around for subsequent “repeat” races.  That seems like a good practice.

 

By the way, the Dawgwood Speedway is the former North Georgia Mini-Speedway.  The North Georgia Speedway (1/3 mile dirt oval) is located across the street.  We drove over and looked at the track.  From what I could tell there is no inner oval at this track.  I was also told the North Georgia Motor Speedway did race last night, despite the 60% chance of rain. 

 

 

 

CAROL’S COMMENTS

 

I like the Gestapo type woman who operated the P.A.  She made sure every class was ready to go when it was there time to race.  The track was bigger and better than I expected.

TOCCOA SPEEDWAY

 

I was minorly concerned that the Toccoa Speedway might cancel their Saturday night show because of the cooler than expected weather.  Tonight’s low temperature was expected to be 31 degrees.  The track was also located in the opposite direction of where we would be heading for Sunday’s races.  I didn’t want to drive way out of the way and find an empty racetrack.

 

I called to confirm.  The person I reached told me “we won’t be cancelin’ unless it snows or an airplane comes a crashin’ on the track.”  Well, it could snow, but probably not. 

 

Once I saw the Toccoa Speedway, I was really looking forward to tonight’s event.  This is an old time quarter-mile high-banked dirt speedway.  It’s a rundown old wreck.  I didn’t see anything in the place that was manufactured or made after 1960!  That’s perfect.  I absolutely love tracks like this.  Imagine Interstate Speedway in South Dakota, Macon Speedway in Illinois or Legion Speedway in New Hampshire.  It was just like them.

 

The track had one of the steepest dirt bankings of any I have seen.  The concrete grandstands were extremely steep.  This gave everyone a great view.  Racecars were pitted in the infield of the track as well as beyond the backstretch.  The oval was surrounded by an old-time steel 2-foot high Armco guardrail. 

 

Races were scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.  We arrived fifteen minutes earlier than that.  We grabbed a spot in the steeply sloping heavily rutted dirt parking lot.  This strategy would be somewhat problematic later in the evening.

 

We could see they were not going to start on time.  That meant I could go up and meet Bill Kellett, the track announcer.  We had communicated via email earlier with an introduction from Dale Terry.  Bill and I did a quick interview over the track’s P.A.  Bill told me he would give a call over the loud speaker later in the evening.  He does a local TV program and wanted to interview me on camera for his show.  By the way, Bill told me that figure 8 racing was once very popular in the south.  Today, a trackchaser is hard-pressed to find a figure 8 race in this part of the country.

 

From there Carol and I grabbed some grub.  Not the healthy kind but the unhealthy kind that’s full of Trans fats.  I went with the fried bologna sandwich and onion rings.  Carol, ever the health nut stuck to coffee.  The food was very bland and not very warm.

 

Since the temperature was barely at 40 degrees, we hung out in the car listening to NCAA basketball games until they were ready to run their first race.  I listened on my race scanner (464.500) so we wouldn’t miss any races.  There just wasn’t anything of note happening on the track.

 

They finally ran the first heat race at 8:20 p.m.  I was not happy about this.  I give racetracks a 15-minutes grave period.  Any longer than that and they’re working with one foot in the grave with me.  With the late start, we watched two street stock heats and an eleven-car bomber feature.

 

Then they went to TIME TRIALS.  I do my best to speak up for my southern brothers against those northeastern-based critics who can’t seem to support anything from the south.  However, I’ve got to agree with the Northeastern boys and girls with regard to southern time trials.  I hate ‘em.  If you want to run time trials run them at five or 6 p.m.  Don’t take the heart of the racing evening (8-10 p.m.) to run time trials.  That just sucks!

 

The Toccoa Speedway started running time trials just a little before 9 p.m.  Mind you now, it’s really cold out.  Those time trials ran until past 10 p.m.  They time trialed three classes.  This meant they had a program that was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.  In more than three hours, they had managed just two street stock heat races and a 10-lap bomber feature.  That’s bad.  No….that’s terrible.

 

The only thing that saved us was that we could sit in the car and listen to UCLA nearly blow a huge lead against the Indiana Hoosiers in the NCAA tournament.  At maybe 10:30 p.m. or so, we heard them running a race of some kind.  Our basketball game was nearly over.  I could see the track’s yellow traffic light from our car.  The light came on every other lap or so for a problem on the racetrack.  That race took more than 30 minutes to complete. 

 

With our game over and another UCLA victory in the books, we re-entered the track.  During the entire time we had been outside the track (about two hours) they had run just one race.  When we entered the track, the Limited Late Model class was lining up for their 20-lap feature.  This was another caution filled event.  When they did race, the cars were really fast but ran mostly in a follow the leader fashion.

 

At precisely 11:30 p.m. the Limited Late Model feature was finished.  We had been at the track for nearly FIVE HOURS.  We had seen so little racing.  What a disappointment.  This track had so much potential for an entertaining program and they couldn’t run any races.  Surprisingly, the fans did not desert the concrete grandstand program nearly as quickly as I expected. 

 

Maybe they were starved for racing entertainment after a long hard winter.  Maybe they just wanted to wear their winter clothing at least one time this year.  I don’t know why they stayed around.  There just wasn’t any racing.  We left the track at 11:30 p.m.  The car’s thermometer read 35 degrees!!

 

During the time we had spent in the parking lot, we noticed people coming in and parking every which way.  At one point, every exit was blocked and only cars parked in the front row could leave.  I have never seen anything like this.  At 11:30 p.m. we were lucky to even be able to leave the parking lot.  It was a disappointing and cold evening.

 

 

 

CAROL’S COMMENTS

 

I don’t like being able to see my breath.  The track looked good but there were just too many yellow flags.

 

 

 

WEATHER CONDITIONS

 

It was cold.  When we left the track it was 35 degrees.  

RENTAL CAR UPDATE:

 

We picked out a white National Rental Car Racing Pontiac Grand Prix with a leather interior and XM radio.

 

Thursday total driving miles - 22

 

Friday total driving miles - 470

 

Saturday total driving miles - 210

 

 

 

 

 

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 – 1,163

 

2.  Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 1,106 (-57)*

 

3.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,090 (-73)*

 

4.  Rick Schneider – Bay Shore, New York - 1,067 (-96)*

 

7.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 983 (-180)**

 

 

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

 

** Special exemption.

 

 

 

 

LIFETIME NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY STANDINGS

 

2007 (current thru 2/18/07)**

 

With gains in Idaho, New Mexico and Wisconsin, I have now erased a .08 deficit (four positions) and have a .06 lead (three positions.) 

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 7.04

2. Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 7.10

3. Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 7.55

 

**Until the end of the year, NGD rankings are unofficial.  Rankings are affected not only by the leader’s activities but by other trackchasers impact on the leader’s position. 

  

 

 

Other notables

 

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

 

31.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California - 308

 

32.  Chris Economaki, Ridgewood, New Jersey – 302 (-6)

 

33.  Gary Jacob, Turlock, California – 301 (-7)

 

 

 

 

 

 

2007 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 25

 

2.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 18

 

3.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania - 15

 

4.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 14

 

5.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 13

 

6.  Rick Young, Maxville, Ontario, Canada - 8

 

7.  Will White, Quakertown, Pennsylvania – 5

 

7.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania – 5

 

7.  Roger Ferrell, Majenica, Indiana – 5

 

10.  Pam Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 4

 

Tracks have been reported by 27 different worldwide trackchasers this season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

#1 Trackchaser Living West of the Mississippi

 

God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked, the good fortune to run into the ones that I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

 

 

 

 

CUMULATIVE TRAVEL DISTANCES:

 

AIRPLANE

 

Los Angeles, CA – New Orleans, LA – 1,668 miles

 

RENTAL CAR – NEW ORLEANS

 

Louis Armstrong International Airport – trip begins

Houston, TX – 457 miles*

George Bush International Airport – 495 miles - trip ends

 

* This is not always the direct mileage from the airport to the first stop as detours along the way may add to the stated mileage.

 

AIRPLANE

 

Houston, TX – Atlanta, GA – 687 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR – ATLANTA

 

Hartsfield International Airport – trip begins

Chatsworth, GA – 113 miles*

Toccoa, GA – 240 miles

 

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

 

Houston Raceway Park – $32

 

Houston Motorsports Park - Free

 

Dawgwood Speedway - $10

 

Toccoa Speedway - $12

 

 

 

 

 

 

Past trackchasing reports are available at:

www.ranlayracing.com

 

 

Official trackchaser standings can be viewed at:

www.trackchaser.net

 

 

Some of the data in this report comes: www.trackchaser.net

Garmin GPS

 

 

 

 

 

 

UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS

 

East day of this trackchasing trip should take us to a different state.  Today’s state, Georgia, marks my tenth U.S. state to visit in the young 2007 season.

 

 

 

 

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

 

1,146.  Angels Stadium of Anaheim (inner oval), Anaheim, California - January 6

 

1,147.  Angels Stadium of Anaheim (outer oval), Anaheim, California - January 6

 

1,148.  West Valley Speedway, Surprise, Arizona - January 14

 

1,149. Sandia Motorsports Park (road course), Albuquerque, New Mexico - January 28

 

1,150. Grand Prix De Lanaudiere, Lavaltrie, Quebec, Canada – February 3

 

1,151. Ste-Eulalie Ice Track, Eulalie, Quebec, Canada – February 4

 

1,152. St Guillaume, St Guillaume, Quebec, Canada – February 4

 

1,153. Caldwell Rodeo Arena, Caldwell, Idaho – February 10

 

1,154. Balsam Lake Ice Track, Balsam Lake, Wisconsin – February 18

 

1,155. Northeast Pond Ice Track, Milton, New Hampshire – February 24

 

1,156. Lee Pond Ice Track, Moultonborough, New Hampshire – February 25

 

1,157. New Hendry Country Speedway, Clewiston, Florida – March 3

 

1,158. Florida Sports Park, Naples, Florida – March 4

 

1,159. Honeoye Lake Ice Track – Road Course, Honeoye, New York – March 10

 

1,160. Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, Texas – March 16

 

1,161. Houston Motorsports Park, Houston, Texas – March 16

 

1,162. Dawgwood Speedway, Chatsworth, Georgia – March 17

 

1,163. Toccoa Speedway, Toccoa, Georgia – March 17