GREETINGS FROM VERNAL, UTAH AND THEN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

 

 

 

AND THE READERS RESPOND

 

I received this note from Rick Young in Ontario, Canada regarding my last Trackchaser Report.

 

“Shouldn’t that read ‘father of the bride’ in the opening section?”

 

Rick, the short answer is yes!

 

SPECIAL NOTICE #1

 

Recently, I was interviewed by “Jalopy Jack” of WLAR (New York City) fame.  If you missed that interview, you can now hear it at the www.ranlayracing.com home page.   Thanks to son Jim, for getting me an MP3 file so I could share this audio clip with you.

 

SPECIAL NOTICE #2

 

My new flying capabilities have drastically altered my trackchasing travel planning.  I no longer plan trips 3-6 weeks in advance.  The planning window is now more likely to be 3-6 DAYS.  I call it “just in time trackchasing” or JITT.  Because of my new situation, it no longer makes sense to look at racing dates very far in advance.  Therefore, effective immediately, I will discontinue the “future track dates” tab on my website.  I hope that over time this feature has been helpful to those trackchasers who chose to use it.

 

I will say that I have spent a good deal of time beginning to review the nearly 600 race sanction websites that I have accumulated over time.  I am surprised to see the large number of groups that offer no new tracks for me during the 2007 season.

 

 

 

 

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 TWIN FALLS, IDAHO THIS MORNING.  I PICKED UP CAROL AT THE SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN THE LATE MORNING.  THEN WE WENT TO SLEEP IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.  THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

The Strategy                                                                                    

 

I like getting trackchasing doubles.  As you might imagine, my track totals add up twice as fast that way!  Today was my sixth day/night double of the year.  It was my 11^th trackchasing double in 2007 out of thirty-five total trackchasing days.  I am very pleased with this trackchasing production and efficiency.

 

Today’s new tracks propel me into the Utah trackchasing state lead.  Sorry, Andy.  We can still be friends off the track.  Utah does not see much trackchasing activity.  Through 2006, only 38 new track visits have been made by all of the worldwide listed trackchasers.  By the way, you can go to www.trackchaser.net to see all kinds of trackchasing stats.  I love visiting that website and mixing and matching the data to provide comparisons that I am most interested in. 

 

One more note about Utah trackchasing.  There are only three states that been trackchased in less frequently than Utah.  Can you name them?  The answer to this trackchasing trivia question is at the very bottom of this report.

 

One final thing about Utah…..I was pleased that Carol joined my on this trip.  It was most appropriate because this was Mother’s Day weekend and she is the outstanding mother to our three children.  However, this was not the main reason I was pleased.

 

Her trackchasing work today helped my position in the National Geographic Diversity lifetime standings.  When she started the weekend, she was tied for 10^th place in Utah with FIFTEEN people.  That meant that every one of those 15 folks received a score of 10 NGD points for their Utah trackchasing results.  Recall, if a chaser is 10^th in a state he/she gets 10 points, 9^th = 9 points, etc.  Chasers outside the top 10 receive 15 points.  That’s a five-point penalty for not being able to rank in the top ten in any given state.

 

Today Carol picked up three new Utah tracks.  This brings her total to four and moves her from a 10^th place tie to a tie for second place.  At the same time, her advance moves all of those people who have just one Utah track into a tie for 11^th place.  Now, there are fourteen people tied for 11^th.  Of course, all of those folks now get 15 state points, not just ten, in Utah.  I just made a nice gain against some of my closest fellow competitors in the lifetime NGD results, not because of my efforts but because of Carol’s.

The Trip

 

I am really surprised that so many of the tracks I visit are located at just the maximum distances to make them work, considering the logistics needed to reach them.

 

Yesterday and today were perfect examples.  The Eich’s and I left the Meridian Speedway at 10 p.m. on Friday with one feature event to go.  We had been at the track for three hours and had an entertaining evening.

 

As they headed home, I looked forward to a two-hour drive over to Twin Falls, Idaho.  My Super 8 motel room (pre-booked with favorable weather) was awaiting me at midnight.  I had to be out of the room by 7 a.m. for a three-hour drive over to Salt Lake. 

 

With gas and food stops, I was on time to pick up Carol at 11 a.m. on Saturday.  We would be celebrating Mother’s Day weekend in Utah.  We had a three-hour drive over to the Diamond Mountain Speedway in Vernal, Utah for their 2 p.m. start.  Finally, following two hours of dust and wind at the DMS, it was a three-hour drive back to Salt Lake for the balance of the racing program at the Rocky Mountain Raceways.  Yes, we are active seniors.

 

In order to make renting a motel worthwhile, I need to be able to use it for at least six hours.  This trip met that requirement, but barely.  I then had just about the right driving distances so that I could see the lion’s share of each racing program while making sure my butt was not welded to a bleacher seat for longer than it should have been based upon the entertainment value.

 

Overall, this was an excellent trip from a logistical point of view.  I left Friday morning, saw three tracks over two days and landed back at home by 12 noon on Sunday.  It doesn’t get much better than that.

 

 

The People

 

I find the people is less populated areas, in this case Idaho and Utah, to be a little more friendly than tracks located in the more urban areas or often in much of the northeast.  How do I judge that?  One way, is how the tracks handle my trackchaser press release information.  In the small market areas, they seem a bit more impressed that someone would take the time to attend the races at their facility as well as make the effort to tell them about it.  Foreign countries like England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand really go out of their way to recognize folks like me.

 

This weekend, I was given the royal treatment I’ve come to expect when I visit tracks in areas like these.  Last night in Idaho, I received a very nice welcome as well as a prize pack that included all manner of goodies.  This afternoon the announcer gave my trackchasing exploits two very good mentions.

 

Tonight at the Rocky Mountain Raceways was special.  When the track announcer was walking up to the press box after interviewing drivers on the track, I motioned him over.  I told him who I was and why I was there.  I handed him my trackchaser press release.  He looked at it briefly and began to walk away, while saying, “Thanks for giving me this, I’ll mention it tonight.”

 

As he got about 10 paces from me, he stopped and turned toward me.  “Hey, let’s talk about this know, is that O.K.?” he asked.  I assured him it was.  He had a hand held remote microphone that was connected to a AAA sound system.  His first words to the crowd were these, “I’ve just been handed some information from someone who has a very interesting hobby.  I’m going to let this fellow tell you about it.”

 

With that, he thrust the microphone in my face.  Of course, I am trained to manage situations like these with ease.  I had been battle tested just last week while giving the “Father of the Bride” speech in front of all of my friends and family.  I also take pleasure in doing this because I can introduce the hobby of trackchasing to so many people at one time.  There were probably 3,000 plus folks in the stands tonight.  I suspect that almost all of them had never heard of trackchasing in their lives.  I like to think I have introduced this subject to more people via my at the track interviews, newspaper stories and radio and TV interviews than anyone else in the world.  As the current “World’s #1 Ranked Trackchaser” it is my responsibility to share the word with my fellow racing fans.

 

After I gave my standard trackchasing stump speech, the announcer jumped in with some questions.  “What’s your favorite track?” he wondered.  “The Peoria Speedway in Peoria, Illinois.  It’s a high-banked quarter mile dirt bullring,” was my response.  “How do you pay for it all?” was his next question.  I get this question in various forms frequently.  My reply was short and to the point, “I earned it, then I saved it and now I’m spendin’ it.”  The crowd seemed to think that was a fair way to put it.

 

Often my trackchaser interviews are recorded.  This was a good one tonight and would have made a great recording.  Unfortunately, Carol was off buying some popcorn and Churros at the time.  Fortunately, with such a good sound system, she was able to hear it all.

 

Often tracks seem to have a “people personality.”  If I’m in Kansas, it’s likely to be a farmer crowd.  If I’m in New England, it’s going to be folks with a thick New England accent.  What type of crowd would you expect in Salt Lake City?  If you responded with the word, “Mormon” you would be in the majority but you would be way off base from what I observed.

 

Tonight’s “people personality” was “heavy metal!”  I saw more people than would be statistically expected having more body piercings and tattoos than I see in six months worth of trackchasing.  They were all well behaved, but it was just something I wasn’t expecting in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 

 

 

 

 

RACE TRACK STATS:

 

DIAMOND MOUNTAIN SPEEDWAY, VERNAL, UTAH – TRACK #1,183 AND ROCKY MOUNTAIN RACEWAYS – FIGURE 8, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - TRACK #1,184

CAROL’S NEW TRACKS - DIAMOND MOUNTAIN SPEEDWAY, VERNAL, UTAH – TRACK #312.  ROCKY MOUNTAIN RACEWAYS – OVAL AND ROCKY MOUNTAIN RACEWAYS – FIGURE 8, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - TRACKS #313 & #314

 

 

 

Today’s trackchasing took me to my fourth and fifth lifetime tracks in Utah.  This moves me into sole possession of first place in Beehive state surpassing Andy Ritter’s four tracks.  Of course, when Andy saw his last race in Utah it was very special.  You see, Utah was the 50^th state where he had seen racing.  I am now riding along in first place in five different states now.  These include Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Utah.  If all goes well, and I don’t change my plan, I will have another first place state ranking next weekend.

 

Salt Lake City, Utah is a “hub” for Delta Airlines.  It is very easy for me to get from our home airport in Santa Ana, California to Salt Lake.  For some reason, the flights on this route always have a large number of open seats.  That part of the trackchasing travel equation is great.

 

However, after today, I no longer have any Utah tracks to see.  Although I’ve only seen five tracks here, there are no more to see!  I have only one other state, Rhode Island, where I currently have no more countable tracks to visit.  Therefore, I will have to use the Delta Airlines hub of Salt Lake to get me to other nearby states like Montana and Idaho.

 

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).  Now that I lead in Utah, I sit atop the standings in four Western states.  At the bottom of this report, you can see where I rank in each of these states as of today. 

 

 

RACE TRACK NEWS:

 

DIAMOND MOUNTAIN SPEEDWAY

 

Carol and I were the first trackchaser couple ever to visit the Diamond Mountain Raceway.  This is only the second year of operation for this 1/3-mile, nearly circular, high-banked dirt oval.

 

This track is located in one of the most remote parts of both the United States and the state of Utah.  The surrounding scenery is high dessert mountains.  This is a very beautiful location.  As always, photos of the track the area are now offered at www.ranlayracing.com.

 

This show was the “day” portion of today’s day/night trackchasing double.  The DMS normally runs at night but they do have a few early season efforts that run during the day.

 

With a temperature of about 90 degrees on a mainly blue sky and very windy day, it was more than a challenge to keep the track’s surface together.  If today’s racing is any indication, this track will never be known for its efficiency.

 

One of the track’s workers told me that last Saturday’s show started at 2 p.m. and ended at almost 10 p.m.  That was not the kind of show I was looking for.  Today the track was very dusty early.  At one point, it was nearly impossible to see any of the eight street stocks that were racing.

 

These dusty conditions were tolerable because the wind blew strongly AWAY from the grandstand.  Had the wind been blowing into the stands, it would have been impossible to watch the races at all.  They did water the track after every race or two.  They had one of the slowest water trucks, I have ever seen.  We timed one water truck lap.  How does one minute and fifty-three seconds sound when covering a distance of one-third mile?

 

Carol and I sat in the middle of a seven-row wooden bleacher section.  There was a good-sized crowd on hand for this type of event.  We guessed there were about 300 people here today.  In this geographical area, that’s not bad.

 

The racing left a lot to be desired.  The flagman was too quick with the yellow flag.  The drivers made no effort at all to get going after a spin, until the yellow flag was displayed.  The cars would spread out quickly and there was very little passing for any position whatsoever.

 

The P.A. system was strong.  I received a nice trackchaser mention.  I was also able enter the edge of the pit area so I could take unobstructed view photos of the modifieds racing.  I enjoyed my conversation with the pit entrance guard.  He provided a good bit of detail regarding the track’s recent history.

 

There were four racing classes today.  The pure stocks brought 11 cars, the street stocks had 8, the modifieds twelve and the dwarf cars had a dozen.  Each class ran two heats (except the streets) and a feature event.

 

This track’s facilities are rustic.  They go with porta-potties, a well used house trailer for their concession stand and a rutted crushed rock parking lot.  Nevertheless, I was happy to see a new track being built.  I was even more pleased to see an oval racing on a Saturday afternoon.

 

This track is located in such a remote location; I doubt that very many trackchasers if any will come for a visit in the future.  The track does have some potential, but probably not during the day.

 

CAROL’S COMMENTS

I wasn’t sure which would be affected more by these dusty conditions, my lungs or my contacts.  I don’t know how they can see to drive.  After seeing racing in New Zealand, I don’t think I can stand all of these yellow flags.

 

 

 

ROCKY MOUNTAIN RACEWAYS – FIGURE 8

 

I first visited this facility back on July 24, 1985 when the track was called the Bonneville Raceway Park.  On that special evening I saw racing action on their oval track.  Tonight, I am back.  Some things are different this time around.

 

First, the track’s name is now the Rocky Mountain Raceways.  Secondly, I have Trackchasing’s First Mother in tow.  Finally, I am here to see the figure 8 track, while Carol will get a “same track” double, by seeing both the oval and figure 8 tracks.

 

I was most impressed with the RMR facilities.  It’s one of the best oval track operations I’ve seen anywhere.  What makes a great facility?  Lot of things!

 

In no particular order, I will list this track’s plusses.  First, there was ample close in parking on a paved parking lot.  Often, track parking lots are so rutted it’s like a minefield when you park your car in the daylight and even worse when you go to retrieve the car in the dark following the races.

 

RMR accepts credit cards.  I always like to conserve my cash when I’m traveling.  Only the most progressive tracks (about 1-2%) offer the convenience of credit card purchasing.  The track was well lit.  It was easy to read the racecar’s numbers when they were on the backstretch.

 

The track had an excellent announcer and a stadium quality sound system.  The announcer didn’t talk too much and he didn’t talk too little.  When there was a break in the action, they went to music from the 50s and 60s.  They even played the “chicken dance” song and the crowd broke into their best version of the chicken dance.  The Perris Auto Speedway is another place where the crowd dances to the music at intermission periods.

 

This track had multiple concession stands.  They had their menus and pricing that were easily accessible and readable BEFORE you got up to the window to place your order.  Many tracks have their menu come into view only after you reach the window and even then you have to crane your neck to see what is being offered.  There was little or no wait at the multiple concession windows.  The food, drink and snack selections were varied.

 

There was a large number of track and security folks on hand.  I counted maybe 15-20 or more folks working in this capacity.  Often, tracks have absolutely no one in view working this type of job. 

 

The track safety crew was outstanding.  During the 40-lap non-winged sprint car feature there was a major crash.  A sprinter spun into the turn three wall tail first.  The impact of the crash broke the car’s fuel cell.  From my vantage point, I could see the liquid (racing fuel) spreading across the track.  The car slid down the steep banking into the infield.  Just at that point the fuel ignited into flames up near the crash wall.  In a second or two, the flames followed the spilled fuel down the track and into the infield.  When the flames reached the disabled racecar, the sprinter’s fuel tank burst into a huge fireball some 25 feet in the air.  In less than five seconds, two fire safety trucks were on hand to extinguish the fire.  Both the fireball and the quick safety crew action were impressive!

 

We arrived at 8 p.m.  We would have been there 30 minutes sooner, but I mishandled our GPS system while Carol did the driving.  We saw the 20-lap dwarf car feature and then the 12-car non-winged sprint feature.  In reviewing the track’s results on their website, I noticed we missed the 3-car Hornet feature and the 10-car Ford Focus midget final. 

 

There was a delay in airlifting the sprint car driver to the hospital while safety personnel attended to the stunned driver.  The track management ended up shortening the event from 40 laps to thirty because of this delay.  The oval track gave Carol her third lifetime Utah track.

 

The final events of the evening would add my fifth lifetime Utah track to the tally.  I’m talking about the track’s figure 8 track.  The first countable event on this track was a seven-car traditional figure 8 race.  With such a small field there really wasn’t much action in this 15-lap affair.

 

Nevertheless, we were going to see some more figure 8 racing action.  The final event of the night was the “train” race.  How do you race trains on a figure 8 track?  It’s easy!  First, a “train” is made up of three stock car type racecars chained together.  The first car’s driver provides the power and the steering.  The middle car has no one aboard.  It’s simply there as a “spacer” between cars one and three.  The third and final car is occupied by an individual who has no steering or engine power.  What DOES that third car control?  The brakes!

 

There were TEN train teams of three cars each.  That’s a total of 30 cars racing around the asphalt figure 8 track.  You might have played “crack the whip” as a child.  If you did, you know that the person on the outside of the whip can really get some centrifugal force going.  That’s the way it works in train figure 8 racing as well.

 

This race was wild.  At one point, the middle car from one train team flipped over and was being dragged along on its top while the power car and brake car were unaffected.  Another three-car train team was sponsored by Budweiser.  Budweiser was spelled out on the three cars like this, “Bud,”  “Weis,”  “Er.”  Yep, just like the frogs use to say it.  The “brake” car in this train had some of the most violent twists and turns from the “crack the whip” phenomenon, you could possibly imagine.  It was a fun novelty race to watch.

 

What’s the final ingredient that a top-notch track should provide?  They finished the show at a reasonable hour.  Tonight’s final checkered flag flew at just before 10 p.m.  Then the announcer invited all of the fans down to the pit area where “for no extra pit fee you can see all of the cars and drivers close up.”  Yes, the Rocky Mountain Raceways know what they’re doing to entertain the large crowd they had tonight.

 

CAROL’S COMMENTS

 

The facility was very professional, much nicer than I expected.  It looked like NASCAR should be running there.  The announcer was great and the P.A. was outstanding.  I could hear it clearly everywhere I went all night.  The train figure 8 race was super.  I loved it!

 

 

WEATHER CONDITIONS

 

It was nearly 90 degrees this afternoon in Vernal.  By the way Vernal, Utah was bigger than we expected.  Their main drag was several blocks long and featured the leading chain restaurants and retailers.

 

The temperature was a most pleasant 75 degrees or so during the evening at RMS.  I was bitten a time or two by bugs (mosquitoes.)  I’m still itching today.

 

 

RENTAL CAR UPDATE:

 

On Saturday morning, I dropped off the rental car that I had picked up in Boise at the Salt Lake City airport.  I was hoping to simply close out the contract on this car and then rerent it for just one day in Salt Lake.  This way I could minimize my total rental car charges and not have to transfer my luggage from the Boise car to another one in Salt Lake.

 

Alas, National’s policies prevented me from doing this.  At least my new rental was parked right next to the car I was returning.  The Salt Lake City National Rental Car outlet is a franchise location.  They aren’t very friendly and seem limited in their flexibility compared to company owned locations.

 

 

Friday total driving miles – 151

 

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

 

Saturday total driving miles – 420 – (SLC only rental car)

 

Sunday total driving miles - 5

 

I traveled 425 miles with this rental car.  I paid an average fuel price of $3.18 giving me a 11.2 cent per mile fuel charge.  The Pontiac Grand Prix provided fuel mileage of 28.4 M.P.G.  The car cost 6.1 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 – 1,184

 

2.  Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 1,106 (-78)*

 

3.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,091 (-93)*

 

7.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 1,005 (-179)**

 

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

 

** Special exemption.

 

 

 

 

LIFETIME NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY STANDINGS

 

2007 (current thru 5/14/07)**

 

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 6.82

2. Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 7.12

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 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 - 314

 

There are no trackchasers within 10 tracks (either above or below) of Carol’s current total. 

 

 

 

 

2007 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 46

 

2.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 40

 

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

Utah’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

Boise Air Terminal/Gowen Field – 379 miles - trip ends

 

 

RENTAL CAR – SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

 

Salt Lake City International Airport – trip begins

Vernal, UT – 201 miles

Salt Lake City, UT – 404 miles

Salt Lake City International Airport – 425 miles - trip ends

 

AIRPLANE

 

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

 

 

Total Air miles – 1,466 miles

 

 

Total auto and air miles traveled on this trip – 2,270 miles

 

 

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

 

Meridian Speedway –  $7

 

Diamond Mountain Speedway - $8

 

Rocky Mountain Raceways - $15

 

 

Total racetrack admissions for the trip – $30

 

 

 

 

 

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 from www.trackchaser.net

and my Garmin GPS

 

 

 

 

 

 

UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS

 

I’ve having some good luck chasing tracks out west.  Therefore, I will stay out here just a little bit longer.  I like not having to deal with major time zone changes.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

1,183. Diamond Mountain Speedway, Vernal, Utah, Idaho – May 12

 

*** Rocky Mountain Raceways (oval), Salt Lake City, Utah – May 12  This track was new for Carol only.

 

1,184. Rocky Mountain Raceways (figure 8), Salt Lake City, Utah – May 12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 by 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 by 1

 

Nevada – 2^nd by 2

 

New Mexico – 1st

 

Oregon – 1^st

 

Utah – 1st

 

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.

 

 

 

Alaska, Hawaii and Rhode Island have all received less trackchasing attention than Utah has.