GREETINGS FROM MERIDIAN, IDAHO

 

 

 

 

SPECIAL NOTICE #1

 

I am most pleased to report that our daughter’s wedding to James was an all-round success this past weekend.  More than 100 guests joined us for a three-day long celebration in the central California cities of San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles.  The weather was gorgeous, the guests lively and the ceremony romantic.  Check out www.ranlayracing.com for a photo of the happy couple.

 

The wedded couple (www.jamesandkristy.com) are now sunning themselves in Italy with a stop in the Tuscany region.  I am most pleased to report that the father of the bride’s wedding toast has been delivered successfully.  Since Kristy is our only daughter, I guess I will not be doing that again.  In an attempt to help all potential future fathers of the brides, I have posted my toast at www.ranlayracing.com.  Check the “toasts” tab.  I’ll leave it up for a few days.

 

SPECIAL NOTICE #2

 

This past weekend, Ed Esser of Madison, Wisconsin saw his 1,000^th lifetime track.  Ed is only the seventh trackchaser of all-time to reach this magic number.  As I’ve said in the past, Ed is my most difficult near-term trackchasing competition.  There is a very good chance that Ed could improve his lifetime world ranking from his current seventh to fourth place by the end of the year.  I think it’s more than likely that he could be in second place by the end of 2008.  If I could maintain all or most of my current 177-track lead over Ed through 2008, I will consider that success.

 

By the way, it may be a long time before any other trackchasers reach the coveted 1,000-track mark.  My prognostication department indicates it may be several years (3-5) before we see another currently known trackchaser going past the 1,000-track mark. 

AND THE READERS RESPOND

 

I visited tonight’s track with Debbie and Frank Eich.  I’ll talk more about them later in this report.  Since the Eichs have not been to many races, I invited Frank to write his version of tonight’s goings on.  His words are provided verbatim below.  I could debate Frank’s version of how long the standing ovation lasted, but I won’t.

 

“Once again, the Treasure Valley of southwestern Idaho was pleased to welcome the World’s Number 1 Trackchaser, Randy Lewis, to the area……Randy’s second trip in as many months.  This time the venue was the Meridian Speedway, Meridian, Idaho.  This track was originally opened as a dirt track in 1951, and, in 1962, an asphalt track was laid down.  The venue is located in beautiful, downtown Meridian.

 

My wife Debbie and I, arrived at the track parking lot precisely as planned at 6 p.m., joining a few hundred vehicles in the parking lot, which had arrived early for some of the prelim racing.  I put the car in park and called Randy’s cell phone to determine his location.  He answered his phone, and literally 15 seconds later pulled up right next to us……….what are the odds of that happening……..

 

We traveled to the nearby Countryside Café to enjoy a quick Idaho home cooked dinner and returned to the track for the races.  We enjoyed several classes of racing as well as some very good racing.  Of course, for us, the highlight was Randy’s introduction by the announcer…….something like…….‘Ladies and Gentlemen, we are honored to have with us tonight, at the Meridian Speedway, the World’s #1 Trackchaser……Randy Lewis…….Randy, would you please stand’……..once the standing ovation subsided……..a good one to two seconds…….Randy was able to again take his seat and continue to educate us on the details of our racing experience.

 

As our evening came to an end, he departed in his rental car, heading off to Twin Falls and ultimately to meet Carol in Salt Lake City the next morning…….his parting words of wisdom for Debbie and I was ‘remember, Frank, STRESSED spelled backwards is DESSERTS’…..words to live by.”

 

 

 

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/may11122007.htm

I WOKE UP IN SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA THIS MORNING.  THEN I WENT TO SLEEP IN TWIN FALLS, IDAHO.  THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

The Strategy                                                                                    

 

This weekend I’m trackchasing in the western part of the United States.  This satisfies my trackchasing strategies on several fronts.  I expect to see three new tracks in just two days.  That supports the overall trackchasing strategy of seeing as many new tracks as possible.

 

The weather in this part of the country is much drier in May than most other parts of the country.  Idaho averages just 1.1 inches of rain in May.  Tomorrow’s trackchasing state, Utah, averages just 1.8 inches.  Contrast that with Florida (6.2), Arkansas (7.0), Indiana (4.0), Texas (4.9) or Pennsylvania (3.7) and you can see why it makes meteorological sense to spend the month of May out here.

 

Finally, trackchasing in the west, supports my strategy of state leadership in the 13 Western states.  This weekend, I hope to add one more state from this group where I can sit atop the state standings.

The Trip

 

I was going to go trackchasing in Meridian, Idaho today.  The only question was how I was going to get there.  I had two choices.  Both of these options had the same plan A, but a different plan B.

 

Plan A involved flying from Santa Ana, California to Salt Lake City, Utah.  My morning flight was absolutely wide open so getting on that flight was the “known” part of this equation.  Plan B was the “unknown.”  Option 1 of plan B was to get on a connecting flight from Salt Lake to Boise.  Option 2 of plan B was to drive from Salt Lake to Boise.  I had plenty of time to use either option.

 

The flight to Boise was fully booked in advance.  The only way I could get on was if someone cancelled at the last minute or did not make a connection into Salt Lake, Delta Airline’s hub.  As I waited to see if this flight was going to clear, I was at peace.  Although the drive was going to be some 350 miles if I didn’t make the flight, that didn’t see too bad.  I had all afternoon to kill and the scenery in this part of the country is absolutely gorgeous.

 

Delta Airlines provides flat screen TVs at each of their gates in Salt Lake and most other airports where they operate.  They use those TVs to list all standby passengers by name (I’m LEW R).  The screens provide live time updates on how many first class and coach seats are still open.  This way each passenger can do the math and assess their likelihood of getting on the airplane.

 

When I checked in at the gate in SLC, the agent told me “the flight is full, we’ll see what happens.”  I really wasn’t expecting much because I had been checking this flight’s status all week and it didn’t look good.  With just five minutes before departure, the other few standbys had been cleared.  Now the flat screen TV flashed “LEW R” as the only passenger still waiting for a seat.

 

Although I’ve only had my sponsorship for 9-10 months, this was the 94^th segment for both Carol and I to use under the program.  From that point of view, I don’t think I’m a rookie with the standby program anymore.

 

There were still two passengers with confirmed seats who had not checked in.  There were now just three minutes before the flight was scheduled to depart.  An announcement went out over the P.A. telling the two tardy passengers that their seats were about to be given away.  The clock ticked.  I calmly waited.

 

With 90 seconds remaining, the agent told me she would take me down the jet way.  At that point, she would physically go on the plane to see if their count was correct and there really was an open seat on the plane.  In the meantime, they prepared to check my largest piece of luggage.  With a last minute luggage check, I feared I might not ever see my bag again or at least not anywhere close to Boise, Idaho.  I scrambled for my sweatshirt and enough electrical adapters to keep my cadre of trackchasing technology operating in a pinch.

 

I got the last seat!  I was in the last row with a middle seat.  However, I would be getting from Salt Lake to Boise with just 41 minutes of flying time.  I guess that beat five hours plus of driving 340.9 miles from Salt Lake to Boise.  If you’re interested in how the rental car situation worked with this last minute change check it out below in the rental car section.

 

 

 

 

 

The People

 

When I go trackchasing, I am either joined by Carol, joined by family and friends or go by myself.  I think I prefer to have my trackchasing days spread evenly across these three options.  So far, in 2007 I’ve been trackchasing 34 days.  Carol has been with me on 12 trackchasing days.  I’ve been trackchasing by myself for 16 of those days.  Finally, I’ve been trackchasing with family and friends for seven days.  I’m comfortable with that balance.

 

Tonight was special.  I was joined by Frank & Debbie Eich who live in the Boise area.  This was the Eich’s second trackchasing tag along in the past several months.  They joined Carol and me for a visit to the Caldwell Rodeo Arena in early February.

 

Tonight’s visit at an asphalt oval track is night and day different from the indoor rodeo arena track where they saw little cars and motorcycles.  We all met up in the track’s parking lot at 6 p.m. in advance of the track’s 7 p.m. starting time.  From there we drove a mile or so for a nice informal dinner in downtown Meridian. 

 

 

 

 

 

RACE TRACK STATS:

 

MERIDIAN SPEEDWAY, MERIDIAN, IDAHO - TRACK #1,182

 

 

This was my fifth track to see in Idaho.  This track moves me up from a third place ranking into a second place tie with Nancy Brown.  I trail first place trackchaser Allan Brown by only one track is the state that calls the Western White Pine its state tree.

 

Today’s track supports my primary trackchasing strategy of trying to become the #1 ranked trackchaser is all 13 Western states by 2009 (except California).  At the bottom of this report, you can see where I rank in each of these states as of today.  You can also find out what the state bird of Idaho is! 

 

 

RACE TRACK NEWS:

 

MERIDIAN SPEEDWAY

 

The Meridian Speedway has been racing for 56 years.  There are not many tracks that can say that.  I can’t think of any really bad tracks that having been racing since the fifties.

 

The track started racing during the 1951 season with 1932 and 1934 Ford open wheelers.  During the 1962 season, the track was paved.  By the way, this is the normal order of things regarding track surfaces.  If a track does change surfaces, it is likely to go from dirt to asphalt rather than the other way.

 

I was admitted for the seven-dollar “senior” rate.  I am surprised that most businesses do not specify what makes for a “senior.”  If there is no age mentioned, I simply ask for “one senior.”  I figure that if they don’t think I meet their requirements, they can say so. 

 

Tonight’s racing facility was top notch.  Of course, it did not compare to the mega facilities like the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland or the Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas.  I would compare it to something like the Rockford Speedway.  The Meridian Speedway is a solid above average operation.

 

I should point out that there is only one countable track at the Meridian Speedway.  The track shows a picture taken in 2005 of the facility on their website.  That photo clearly shows a dirt inner oval inside the asphalt oval track.  However, that dirt inner oval has been allowed to go to seed as pictures at www.ranlayracing.com clearly show.  There has been no racing on the old dirt inner oval is some time and it doesn’t look like any is planned for the near future.

 

Tonight there were four classes racing.  They had two heats and a feature for the legends, late model lights and non-winged sprint cars.  The Northwest Sprint Racing Associated (NSRA) was a visiting group this evening with 17 cars.

 

There were only 5-6 cars in most of the heats.  The quarter mile nearly flat asphalt oval did not provide much opportunity to pass.  The inside groove was preferred.  The best race of the night was probably the late model feature.  They ran two abreast for their 16-car field for several laps before a fiery crash sent one car slamming into the first turn wall.  The turns are protected by several plastic 55-gallon barrels filled with water.  A couple of those were smashed by the car’s impact.  The clean-up of the track following this accident took more than 20 minutes. 

 

During intermission, the quietness of the track’s P.A. system was broken when the announcer wanted to recognize a visiting trackchaser.  Of course, Frank and Debbie couldn’t figure out how I had been “recognized.”  They had several hypotheses but none turned out to be accurate.  A few minutes after this episode, the announcer came down to our seat location and said hello.  He then handed me a bag full of goodies that included a t-shirt, racing hat, seat cushion, water bottle and NASCAR press kit.  That was a very nice gesture and much appreciated.

 

Debbie, Frank and I spent the evening trying to guess which cars would win each race.  I’ve found that when I’m with folks who don’t attend many races, the enjoyment level is ratcheted up when each person is “rooting” for a special car.  I must say I believe they picked more winners than I did.

 

 

WEATHER CONDITIONS

 

This was one of the best weather evenings I’ve had in 2007.  The temperature hung around the mid-70s with very little wind.  I was most comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt, even with my white ankle golf tan.

RENTAL CAR UPDATE:

 

I’ll be going with a National Rental Car Racing Chevy Impala LT with Washington plates on this trip.  I didn’t know in advance whether I would be renting a car in Boise or Salt Lake.  Therefore, I made a reservation in both locales.  It doesn’t cost any more to do that, so I was covered regardless of whether I made the flight from Salt Lake to Boise or not.

 

Rental car companies don’t look on one-way rentals very favorably.  As a matter of fact, they normally want to charge you an arm and a leg, if you don’t return the car where you picked it up.  I had two options with the rental car.

 

If I made the flight from Salt Lake to Boise, I would then rent a car in Boise and drive it to Salt Lake on Saturday morning.  I couldn’t fly because the space availability was too tight to risk missing Saturday’s racing in Utah.  My internet travel resource, www.sidestep.com told me that it would cost me more than $100 for just one day for a one-way rental.  Ouch!  I’m a recent Father of the Bride graduate.  I can’t be spending that kind of money.

 

If I did not make the flight, I could drive from Salt Lake to Boise for tonight’s racing and then drive back to Salt Lake on Saturday morning.  By picking up and returning to Salt Lake, my daily rate was a measly nineteen bucks.  Yes, I would have a $40 increment gasoline expense (Salt Lake to Boise).  I would also spend an incremental five hours or more of my time driving if the flight to Boise didn’t pan out.

 

As you know by now, I made that flight to Boise.  However, I did not pay $100+ to rent a car for one day.  My associate sponsor, National Car Rental gives me a preferred $59 per day plus tax rate for one-way rentals.  However, including all taxes and fees, that amounts to more than $75 per day.  I had an ace up my sleeve.

 

I rent more than 40 cars per year from National.  Each time I rent from them, I earn points that can be used for future “free days” of rental.  I learned over time that it’s much more beneficial to use a “free” day when my daily rate is going to be $75-100 than when I’m getting a great rate of $15-20 per day.  Net, I used a free day rental coupon and paid only the tax on my one-way, one-day rental. 

 

By the way, it takes much more time to explain this than it does to do it.  Why do I take the time to explain it?  Because I respect the time of my loyal Trackchaser Report readers.  If you make the effort to read these reports, you should get a reward.  That reward today comes in the form of a travel tip regarding one-way car rentals.  If I can save just one person some time and/or money, it will have been worth it to me.

 

Friday total driving miles – 151

 

Saturday total driving miles – 228 – (BOI-SLC rental car)

 

 

I traveled 379 miles with this rental car before returning it to Salt Lake.  I paid an average fuel price of $3.16 giving me a 12.3 cent per mile fuel charge.  The Chevy Impala provided fuel mileage of 25.7 M.P.G.  The car cost only 3.0 cents per mile to rent, all taxes included.  This abnormally low rental charge came about because I used a free day coupon, provided by my associate sponsor, National Rental Car.  Net, all I had to pay was the tax.

 

 

 

 

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 – 1,182

 

2.  Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 1,106 (-76)*

 

3.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,091 (-91)*

 

7.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 1,004 (-178)**

 

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

 

** Special exemption.

 

 

 

 

LIFETIME NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY STANDINGS

 

2007 (current thru 4/29/07)**

 

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 6.84

2. Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 7.10

3. Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 7.55

 

The current difference between first and second places in the lifetime NGD standings is just 13 overall state positions.  It’s tough to gain a major advantage in the lifetime rankings.

 

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

  

 

 

Other notables

 

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

 

31.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California - 311

 

32.  Chris Economaki, Ridgewood, New Jersey – 302 (-9)

 

33.  Gary Jacob, Turlock, California – 301 (-10)

 

 

 

 

 

 

2007 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 44

 

2.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 39

 

3.  Roland Vanden Eynde, Vilvoorde, Belgium - 21

 

4.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania - 17

 

4.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 17

 

6.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 14

 

7.  Roger Ferrell, Majenica, Indiana – 10

 

7.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 10

 

7.  Rick Young, Maxville, Ontario, Canada - 10

 

10.  Paul Weisel, Orefield, Pennsylvania – 9

 

 

 

Tracks have been reported by 34 different worldwide trackchasers this season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

New Mexico’s #1 Trackchaser

That’s all the news that’s fit to print from San Clemente where the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and all of the children are above average.

 

 

 

 

CUMULATIVE TRAVEL DISTANCES:

 

AIRPLANE

 

Santa Ana, CA – Salt Lake City, UT – 588 miles

Salt Lake City, UT – Boise, ID - 290 miles

 

 

 

RENTAL CAR – BOISE, IDAHO

 

Boise Air Terminal/Gowen Field – trip begins

Meridian, ID – 21 miles

Salt Lake City International Airport – 379 miles - trip ends

 

 

 

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

 

Meridian Speedway –  $7

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

Contrary to popular belief, it looks like I will be able to continue trackchasing despite having fully funded our daughter’s wedding!  This is Mother’s Day weekend.  I think I’ll entertain our children’s mother for a bonus far west trackchasing outing for my next trackchasing day.

 

 

 

 

 

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 13

 

1,147.  Angels Stadium of Anaheim (outer oval), Anaheim, California - January 13

 

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

 

1,164. Tazewell Speedway, Tazewell, Tennessee – March 18

 

1,165. Malden Speedway, Malden, Missouri, Tennessee – March 23

 

1,166. Dacosa Speedway, Byhalia, Mississippi – March 24

 

1,167. Swinging Bridge Raceway, Byram, Mississippi – March 24

 

1,168. Florence Motor Speedway, Florence, South Carolina – March 25

 

1,169. Foothills Raceway, Easley, South Carolina – March 30

 

1,170. Mileback Speedway, Gray Court, South Carolina – March 30

 

1,171. Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida – April 1

 

1,172. Vegas Grand Prix, Las Vegas, Nevada – April 8

 

1,173. Huntsville Speedway, Huntsville, Alabama – April 13

 

1,174. Low Country Kartway, Aynor, South Carolina – April 14

 

1,175. Dillon Motor Speedway, Dillon, South Carolina – April 14

 

1,176. Valley Dirt Riders, Berthoud, Colorado – April 15

 

1,177. Antelope Valley Fairgrounds, Lancaster, California – April 22

 

1,178. Sertoma Speedway, Tularosa, New Mexico – April 27

 

1,179. Sandia Motorsports Park (outer oval), Albuquerque, New Mexico – April 28

 

1,180. Sandia Motorsports Park (inner oval), Albuquerque, New Mexico – April 28

 

1,181. Hollywood Hills Speedway, San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico – April 29

 

1,182. Meridian Speedway, Meridian, Idaho – May 11

 

 

 

 

The state bird of Idaho is…………….the Mountain Bluebird

 

 

 

 

 

In the business world, the U.S. is often divided up into geographic areas that are referred to as East, Central and the “eleven Western states plus Alaska and Hawaii.”  No, I don’t know why they don’t just say the “thirteen western states.”  Those states include  Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming and, of course, Alaska and Hawaii.

 

The far west probably has the most beautiful scenery per square mile anywhere in the United States.  This got me to thinking.  Over the next 2-3 years, I’d like to put a “full-court” press on these far west states for trackchasing purposes.  I want to establish a goal of becoming the number one trackchaser in each of these states except California by the end of 2009.  Becoming #1 in California is not a realistic goal at this time. 

 

Below is a listing of these thirteen Far Western states.  The state’s name is followed by my current rank and how many tracks I need to see to gain at least a tie for 1^st place.  As an example, I’m currently in ninth place in Alaska and trail first place by three tracks.  I’m looking forward to spending more time than usual is the Far West, a great part of our country.

 

Alaska – 9^th - 3

 

Arizona – 1^st

 

California – 2^nd by 48

 

Colorado – 2nd by 1

 

Hawaii – 3^rd by 1

 

Idaho – 2nd by 1

 

Montana – 2^nd by1

 

Nevada – 2^nd by 2

 

New Mexico – 1st

 

Oregon – 1^st

 

Utah – 2^nd by 1

 

Washington – 2^nd by 2

 

Wyoming – 2^nd by 2

 

As you can see I don’t have far to go in most states.  However, if I have to get most of these tracks on a one track per trip basis, it could take some time.  Each time I see a Far Western U.S. track, I will keep you posted on my progress.  We’ll see how it goes.