TODAY’S HEADLINES

Trackchaser rescues elderly couple! …….details in “The People.”

 

Esser does not deny link with Eastern Trackchasers Support Group (ETSG)……..details in the “And the readers respond.”

 

NASCAR pricing analysis, what’s the truth?.................details in the “Race Track News.” 

GREETINGS FROM CONCORD, NORTH CAROLNA

AND THE READERS RESPOND

 

Trackchaser Ed Esser is a long-time reader of the Trackchaser Report.  He had this to say regarding the story that ran about him in the last TR.  Note, he did not disavow any possible link he may have with the Eastern Trackchasers Support Group (ETSG).

“I enjoyed the write up.  I just finished cleaning the Optimist grill and put it in storage for another year.  With a few more Badger Midget races this summer I may stay home more too – BUT Charter Powercom burned last week so those two races are on hold.  I will need some mid-week shows to keep up!  I like Carol’s idea to disband – I may want to vote for it!!!  …….I will look for summer dates soon and Lee should have the website up again in a couple of weeks.  See ya soon, Ed”

 

 

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/may24282007.htm

I WOKE UP IN SAN CLEMENTE ON WEDNESDAY MORNING AND FLEW TO ATLANTA.  I HAD TO FLY IN A DAY EARLY BECAUSE THURSDAY’S RACE STARTED IN THE LATE AFTERNOON.  AFTER AN OVENIGHT STAY IN A VERY DIRTY SUPER 8 IN ANDERSON, SOUTH CAROLINA, I REACHED THE LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY.  I SPENT THE NIGHT IN JONESBORO, GEORGIA.  THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

The Strategy                                                                                    

 

In trackchasing as in life, I want to be both productive and efficient.  I believe I met that goal with today’s trackchasing.  I racked up two tracks at one location on a Thursday night before Memorial Day.  It don’t get much better than that!

The Trip

 

Most of my trackchasing trips from California to the East coast get me into the airport in the late afternoon.  I then have 2-4 hours to get from the airport to the racetrack.  That’s how it works most of the time, but not today.

 

The first countable new track at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway was scheduled to begin racing at 4:45 p.m.  My flight options did not allow me to leave on the day of the race, Thursday morning, and get to the track on time.

 

Therefore, I had to leave on Wednesday morning.  That was O.K.  It gave me a little breathing space.  I arrived into the Atlanta airport at about 5 p.m. on Wednesday, rescued an elderly couple (see “The People”), and continued on to the Waffle House in Anderson, South Carolina.  It was all in a day’s work.  The drive from Atlanta to the track near Charlotte was about 275 miles, but I had nearly the full day to get there.

 

 

 

 

The People

 

O.K.!  Maybe the headline that drove you to this section was a little strong.  Nevertheless, since you’re here let me tell you what happened.

 

I was assigned to seat 33D on my flight from Salt Lake City to Atlanta.  An elderly couple was seated next to me in the window and middle seat.  They didn’t have much to say to me until we neared the end of our flight.

 

Finally, the older gentlemen leaned over and nudged me.  “Pretty powerful looking piece of equipment, ya’ got there,” he said as he looked at my laptop.  Yes, it was.  I struck up a conversation with him.  His wife snuck in a comment or two whenever he needed correcting or some interpretation about what I was saying to him.  Yes, that’s what wives do.

 

It turned out this couple had lived in Dayton, Ohio where he worked and retired from General Motors.  They now live in South Carolina and were returning from a three-week trip to Salt Lake to visit their daughters.  According to the gentleman, they had not flown in 15 years.  His wife confirmed with a nod of her head that her husband was indeed telling the truth.

 

We continued the conversation until we got on the subject of golf.  My new friend wanted to tell me his golf joke.  It seemed a golfer friend of his insisted on bringing two pairs of pants with him whenever he played golf.  See, Kristy, I’m not the only one who tells this joke!  For those who don’t know the rest of the story, the golfer brought two pairs of pants along in case he got a hole in one!

 

He went on to tell me that he didn’t care much for flying.  He told me the last time he flew he carried with him a large bucket full of dirt.  When he got on the plane, he put is foot in the middle of the dirt in that bucket.  He wanted to keep one foot on the ground when he was flying (botta boom!).  No, I couldn’t make things like this up.

 

As our flight neared its completion, we learned we were going to be some 30-40 minutes late.  My friends were connecting in Atlanta to Charleston, South Carolina.  Had we landed on time, they would have more than one hour to make their connection.  As it was, they would have only 20 minutes.  They were really concerned about being able to navigate the large Atlanta airport.  I wasn’t connecting anywhere.  I would have some time on my hands.  I volunteered to help them get to their connecting flight.  He told me he appreciated my help.  She nodded her head in agreement.

 

We were seated toward the back of the plane.  It took nearly 10 minutes to get off that airplane.  We landed at gate A10.  My friend’s flight was leaving out of gate C32.  These two gates were a very long way away and we had only 18 minutes until their plane departed.

 

They never would have made it on their own.  I told them they were going to have to walk as fast as they could.  They told me, “We’re walkers.”  Good.  They would have to be.  We considered the motorized carts that you see running around airport terminals but, apparently, in Atlanta those are not used to switch from one concourse to another.

 

It was a 200-300 yard walk from our landing gate to the escalator that would take us down to the interconcourse train.  That escalator is easily more than five stories tall.  We rode the escalator down so we could board the train that would take us from concourse A to concourse C.  We waited two minutes for the train.  We were on the train for 3-4 minutes.  Time was flying by and we didn’t have much more of it until their flight left.

 

I was concerned their 5:15 p.m. departure might be the last flight of the day to Charleston.  If it was, they would have to go through the entire rigmarole of getting a hotel, etc.  For them, that would have been bad.

 

The train took us to concourse C.  Again, we had a five-story escalator ride up to the gates.  Concourse gates in Atlanta run from 1-36.  The escalator dumps passengers off in the middle of the concourse at about gate 18.  Their gate, C32, was some 300-400 yards down the hall. 

 

I told them it was going to be close.  I looked at my watch.  I had only one choice.  I told them I would run ahead, while they walked.  This way I could tell the gate agent they were coming.  When I reached gate C32, the gate agent was making an announcement.  “All passengers must board in the next minute.  After that this flight will be closed,” she said.  Wow! 

 

I hurriedly explained what was happening.  The gate agent and I looked off down the hall for my friends.  Soon, they came into view.  They were going to make this flight by the very skin of their teeth.  The elderly woman told me, “You’re our guardian angel.  We never would have made it without you.”  Of course, that made me feel good.  I was glad to help.  Their appreciation was an excellent reward for me.

 

Of course, after having done a good deed, I was hoping that good karma would come my way.  Maybe my next curling downhill 13-foot putt will slide in on the right side of the cup.  That would be nice.

 

I decided I would try to see what good karma I could get immediately.  I had not made a rental car reservation because I wasn’t certain what time I would be landing based upon my standby status.  I called National Rental Car.  They had no cars!  So much for good karma. 

 

What did I learn from this experience?  When you volunteer to help, people don’t expect anything in return.  Just do it for the sheer pleasure of knowing you can help someone else.  Yes, trackchasing can reinforce even the most basic human principles.

 

 

 

 

RACE TRACK STATS:

 

LOWES MOTOR SPEEDWAY (INNER OVAL), CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – TRACK #1,190

 

LOWES MOTOR SPEEDWAY (ROAD COURSE), CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – TRACK #1,191

 

These tracks were my 35^th and 36^th lifetime North Carolina tracks.  I move up from 8^th place in the Tar Heel state to tie for sixth place with the racing Eckels.  I am only one NC track out of Andy Sivi’s fifth place position.  Guy Smith leads the states with a more than healthy 67 tracks.

 

 

 

RACE TRACK NEWS:

 

LOWES MOTOR SPEEDWAY (INNER OVAL)

 

The LMS inner oval was a pure bonus for me.  I was going to this location for the SCCA race on the specialized road course.  When I went to the Lowe’s Motor Speedway website to see what the schedule was going to be for the road course racing, I discovered that earlier in the day (4:45 p.m.) they were going to be racing legends and bandeleros on the quarter-mile asphalt oval.

 

Several of the Bruton Smith owned NASCAR tracks (Las Vegas, Texas and Lowe’s) have this type of track.  Their quarter-mile tracks share a common straight with their larger oval big brother.  I think the smaller ovals in Texas and Vegas only run following a NASCAR racing event.  That’s why I was most surprised to learn the quarter-mile oval at Lowe’s was racing today.  Occasionally, the hours and hours of research I put into this hobby pays off with an unexpected bonus.

 

Today’s racing included two semi-pro legends feature races as well as an outlaw bandelero race.  All of these races were run by adults so each was trackchaser countable.  The young gun bandeleros raced today, but they are not countable because of the driver’s age.  Their drivers are limited in age from 11-15.

 

It was a beautiful afternoon and evening for racing.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that a friend of mine was starting in the front row of the first semi-pro legends race.  I’m talking about Steve Shaw of Mooresville, North Carolina.

 

Steve was the producer of my TV pilot program called “Trackchasers”.  At the time, he was working for the Speed Channel.  He’s with ESPN now.  We’re still thinking about how our creative project might work, but right now it’s on the back burner for both of us.

 

Steve had a beautiful while legend numbered “01.”  He started on the outside front row of the 12-car event.  Unfortunately, there was all kinds of spinning and crashing including a spin by Steve himself.  There must have been 5-6 yellow flags in the first couple of laps.  Finally, the checkered flag was thrown after only about five of the scheduled 20 laps were finished.  I’m sure Steve was disappointed in his fellow drivers and their inability to keep their cars straight.

 

The remaining three feature events had fewer stoppages, but the racing was only so-so.  Nevertheless, this track was a pure bonus, so I’m not complaining.

 

Today, Thursday, was the first racing day of the “World 600” weekend.  By the time you read this that race will be history.  I won’t be home to post photos from this track for a few more days.

 

I always like to report on the pricing of items at NASCAR tracks.  Some folks think their pricing is way out of line.  I have even been accused of selectively picking NASCAR tracks where prices are artificially low in my comparisons.

 

In point of fact, I provide a price analysis for EVERY NASCAR track I visit.  Here’s what I consumed today.

 

Bottle Water - $3

Soft pretzel - $3

Italian ice - $4

Bottled Diet Coke - $3

One slice Domino’s Pizza - $3.50

 

Frankly, I don’t think these prices are out of line.  Compared to other major sporting events, these prices are equal or even a bit lower than those places offer.  Parking at the track was free.  At Angels Stadium, it’s either $8 or $10.  My ticket cost $20 for today’s action, although if I had bought it in advance it would have cost only $12.

 

That ticket gave spectators admission all day.  This included NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch Series practice, the Legends and Bandeleros race, Nextel Cup qualifying and the SCCA road course race.  All of that for 12 bucks sounds more than fair to me.

 

I don’t car much for time trials, except for the Nextel Cuppers.  I enjoy listening to the drivers and crew chiefs on the race scanner.  Today, I paid $10 to have my scanner pre-programmed with the radio frequency used by each Nextel Cup driver.  When that driver took to the track, I could quickly click on their frequency and hear the latest comments.

 

I was surprised by how calm the driver’s sounded.  They normally didn’t say anything while they were running their two laps.  As soon as they received the checkered flag on lap #2, the crew chief would ask them for the water and oil temps.  Then they would talk about how the car performed.  Most had a complaint or two, about how the car pushed or was loose.

 

The only driver to swear was Ward Burton.  He only went with calling his car an SOB.  He didn’t make the show.  The top 35 cars in points are locked into these races.  One place is reserved for a past champion.  That left 14 cars battling for seven spots.  Once again, Michael Waltrip did not make the show.  Some don’t like Michael’s direct approach but I never like to see one person have such hard times as he has had this year.  Cryin’ Ryan Newman was the fast qualifier.  As part of his fast speed celebration, he was given a pecan pie.  This was his second fast time ever in this race.  He told the crowd this would be only the second time in his life that he had eater pecan pie!

 

 

 

LOWES MOTOR SPEEDWAY (ROAD COURSE)

 

There are a few racing facilities that offer more than one countable track.  Often a track has both an inner oval and a larger outer oval.  Sometimes a track has both an oval and a figure 8 track.  It’s fun to go to these kinds of tracks for a “same location double.”

 

There are even some tracks that have even more than two countable tracks on their property.  Today, I finished off the “mother lode” at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  They have FIVE countable tracks at their place!!  Yes, I said five.

 

Now before you try to cancel your Trackchaser Report subscription by crying, “Randy, if you can get five countable tracks in just one location, then your lifetime total of 1,191 tracks ain’t no big deal,” I ask you to hear me out.

 

First of all, I did not go to the Lowe’s Motor Speedway just one time to see five different tracks.  I actually went to this Concord, North Carolina facility four times before I saw their five countable tracks. 

 

Back in 1990, Carol and I saw the NASCAR Winston Cuppers race on the 1.5-mile asphalt oval.  Rusty Wallace won that race.  I remember being aghast at the $59 ticket price.  Nowadays, that wouldn’t be too bad.  By the way, I only went to TWO new tracks during the 1990 season!  I can only imagine what records I could have set if I had only gone to 30 tracks a year from 1981-94, a fourteen-year period when I averaged only 11 new tracks each year.

 

Then in 2002, my good friend, George Robertson and I visited the Dirt Track at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  It was a terribly cold and dusty evening.  Just last year, I ventured over to the Outback track located in the parking lot of the Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  This 1/5-mile asphalt oval runs legends and bandeleros.

 

This brought me too today.  I had heard on XM satellite radio about an upcoming special event at Lowe’s to be run on a road course.  This was not their traditional infield road course, but a specially derived road course primarily based upon their large oval track.  The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Speed World Challenge GT Series was going to be racing.

 

Here’s how the event took place.  They started some 21 “sports” cars including Porches, Corvettes, Dodge Vipers and a couple of Cadillacs.  There were two 20-minute racing segments.  The first segment used a standing start and the second one went with a flying start. 

 

The cars started at the flag stand of the 1.5-mile asphalt oval.  They raced down toward turn one where they encountered a small chicane some 150 yards in length.  According to the announcer, they went from 165 M.P.H. on the straights to just 35 M.P.H. in the chicane.  The chicane required a near 90 degree left turn from the banked oval, then a 90-degree right-handed turn followed by a near 90-degree left hand turn that took the cars back into the oval’s first turn.  This entire procedure was repeated when the cars came into the oval’s third turn.

 

NASCAR cuppers Jimmy Johnson and Kasey Kahne were scheduled to race in this event.  However, when the group’s point leader Lawson Aschenbach (that’s a mouthful) blew his engine in practice Johnson gave up his ride to Mr. Aschenbach.

 

Andy Pilgrim won the race in a Cadillac.  Yes, this might have been the first time I’ve ever seen a race won by a Cadillac since the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock.  Can you imagine a Cadillac beating a field of Porches and Corvettes?

 

Bottom-line was this was a very relaxing night of racing.  I saw two new tracks and enjoyed the Nextel Cup qualifying.  I didn’t even mind, very much, my 277-mile drive back to Atlanta after the races that saw my reaching my airport Motel 6 at 3 a.m.  My 7 a.m. wake-up call came quickly.

 

 

 

 

WEATHER CONDITIONS

 

Beautiful weather!  Temps in the lows 80s during the day and the 70s during the evening.

 

 

 

 

RENTAL CAR UPDATE – ATLANTA, GA

 

My rental car wasn’t the cleanest one I’ve ever rented.  I had to move two other cars so I could get to one that had XM radio, but it was worth it.  This will likely be the first of four rental cars on this trip.

 

Wednesday total driving miles – 131

Thursday (and early Friday morning) total driving miles – 422

 

 

I drove the car 553 miles.  I paid an average price of $2.99 per gallon.  The Chevy Impala Prix gave me 28.2 M.P.G. in fuel mileage at an average cost of 10.6 cents per mile.  The car cost 17.7 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 – 1,191

 

2.  Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 1,106 (-85)*

 

3.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,092 (-99)*

 

7.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 1,005 (-186)**

 

* 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 - 315

 

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 - 53

 

2.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 40

 

3.  Roland Vanden Eynde, Vilvoorde, Belgium - 22

 

3.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania - 22

 

5.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 21

 

6.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 15

 

7.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 12

 

8.  Roger Ferrell, Majenica, Indiana – 11

 

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

 

10.  Paul Weisel, Orefield, Pennsylvania – 9

 

10.  Pam Smith, Effort, 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

 

Orange County, CA – Salt Lake City, UT - 588

Salt Lake City, UT – Atlanta, GA – 1,589 miles

 

RENTAL CAR - ATLANTA

 

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – trip begins

Concord, NC - 273

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – 553 miles - trip ends

 

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

 

Lowe’s Motor Speedway - $20

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

That’s it for North Carolina this Memorial Day weekend.  Right now, it looks like Wisconsin, Washington, British Columbia and Idaho before I/we head home.  That travel plan should keep me busy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

1,185. Rocky Mountain Raceways (figure 8), Salt Lake City, Utah – May 12

 

1,186. Modoc Speedway, Modoc, South Carolina – May 18

 

1,187. Possum Kingdom Super Speedway, Belton, South Carolina – May 19

 

1,188. Laurens County Speedway, Laurens, South Carolina – May 19

 

1,189. Fairplex at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, Pomona, California – May 20

 

1,190. Lowes Motor Speedway (inner oval), Concord, North Carolina – May 24

 

1,191. Lowes Motor Speedway (road course), Concord, North Carolina – May 24