Randy Lewis

World's #1 Ranked Trackchaser

HILLTOP SPEEDWAY, MILLERSBURG, OHIO



As a boy, I loved seeing old stock cars in junkyards.








Today's route took me past the Muskingum County Speedway.  I have never seen racing here.








The guy who owns this barn must be a big Beatles fan!








It was a long drive but I finally made it to the Hilltop Speedway.  Of course, the track sits atop a hill.








Who would I run into shortly after I arrived at the track.  Indiana's #1 trackchaser, Roger Ferrell.








We sat through a one hour plus delay while they watered the track and packed it in.








The sun was setting rapidly over the track's pit area.








Even though they spent so much time watering the track, it was very dusty and gritty the moment the late models took to the track for their feature event.








Despite the difficult viewing conditions, this was one of the best races I've seen this year.  The winner came from deep in the pack.








You might not be able to tell it from this photo, but these people are being sandblasted!  The sun is nearly down, and everyone is wearing sunglasses.  It's not to protect them from the sun.  The racecars were sending the dust and dirt into the grandstands at a record rate.








Note the dirt on my notepad.  This is after only a few laps.








This guy had one of the CLEAN shirts on!








Nevertheless, I hung in there.  You can only get so dirty right?  The mods put on a great feature race.  The racing here was very good.  Unfortunately, the viewing conditions were not.

TODAY’S HEADLINES


Gordon Killian makes gains in National Geographic Diversity lifetime standings …….…….details in “Lifetime National Geographic Diversity Standings.”

 

Well placed “secret operatives” help RANLAY Racing from time to time……………….details in “And the Readers Respond.”

 

Why can’t all worldwide trackchasers get along?..............details in “The People.” 





AND THE READERS RESPOND

 

 

From time to time interested readers write me about one thing or another.  Many times, I feel that my readers would be interested and/or amused by the comments I get.  Most of the responses I get are via email but some are by phone.

 

This weekend’s weather had me diverting from Cincinnati to Atlanta.  When I landed in Atlanta, I had this phone message from reader, Brian Tredway.

 

“Randy, Brian Tredway here.  I don’t know if you’ve landed in Cincinnati yet or not, but the weather is terrible here.  Most all of our Friday night tracks have cancelled.  However, the Hilltop Speedway is going to run on Sunday night since they were rained out tonight.”

 

I was just clearing the Atlanta airport and listening to Brian’s message when my call-waiting feature kicked in.  I took the call.  It was Brian calling.  I replied with, “Hey Brian, how’s it going?”  In hindsight, that was a dumb comment of sorts.  I had never talked to Brian before.  Nevertheless, since I had corresponded with him via email many times, I felt like I already knew him.  Brian wanted to make sure I had the latest information.

 

My staff at RANLAY Racing and I do most of the research that goes into the trips I take.  Nevertheless, words cannot describe the appreciation I have for people like Brian Tredway.  There are several folks stationed in remote outposts (not that Ohio is a remote outpost) who help the “World’s #1 Ranked Trackchaser” in his never-ending uphill battle against the “East Coast Trackchasers Support Group.”  Without these important people giving me the latest or the most obscure track information, I could not have much success.  Brian, thank you very much for looking out for me!






GREETINGS FROM VINTON, OHIO AND THEN MILLERSBURG, OHIO

 

 

 

 


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/june8102007.htm









I WOKE UP IN WINCHESTER, OHIO.  I WENT TO SLEEP IN FLORENCE, KENTUCKY BEFORE FLYING HOME TO SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA ON MONDAY MORNING.   THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.







PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

The Strategy     

 

Six tracks in three days, meets and surpasses my overall trackchasing strategy of seeing as many tracks as I can in a reasonable amount of time.  I could not have done it without the help of others.   




The Trip

 

Southern and Eastern Ohio is very rural.  Very little of my track to track driving was on interstate highways.  My GPS unit had me on two lane roads most of the time.  Some of my driving was so far out in the country, I was on one-lane GRAVEL roads.  I crossed several one-lane bridges.  You can see how rural things were at www.ranlayracing.com.   

 

When I’m out and about, I pass a number of churches.  They frequently have clever sayings on their Church signs.  I liked this one.  “Be the fishers of men.  You catch them and God will clean them.”

 

I passed several locations advertising Walleye fish suppers, moonshine festivals and tractor pulls.  If I could get this amount of cultural diversity at home I would never leave Orange County.

 

I filled up at a country gas station.  The pump next to me showed a sale for $5.00 that provided 1.5 gallons of gas.  I wondered what type of lifestyle would prompt someone to stop for just 1.5 gallons of gas.  Money must have been tight.

 

When I first started driving, I NEVER got more than one dollar’s worth of gas at a time for my ’55 Pontiac Chieftan.  Of course, back then that bought 3-4 gallons.  I could drive 60-80 miles on that much fuel, which probably lasted me more than a week in my little town.

 

 

 

The People

 

When I go to the tracks I visit, normally the track announcer will let the crowd know that I’m in the house.  Often this will give me a chance to visit with the track announcer over the P.A. system.  This gives me a great chance to be an ambassador for the trackchasing hobby.

 

There is also a somewhat secondary benefit to a track P.A. announcement.  Other trackchasers who might be in the house are alerted to my attendance.  I got this idea several years ago.  I tired of hearing my fellow trackchasers write something to the effect, “Gee, I wish I had known Joe Blow was at the track tonight, I would have loved to have talked to him/her.”

 

I can’t even count the times I’ve met up with trackchasers because they heard over the P.A. I was at the track.  Tonight was another example of meeting up with a wayward trackchaser, Roger Ferrell of Majenica, Indiana.  I’ve trackchased with Roger on several occasions over the last few years.  The last time I saw him was this winter in Missouri.  At that track, Roger and Trackchasing’s First Mother had a chance to meet and hit it off quite well.  It always seems that everyone loves Carol.

 

Roger always has the latest trackchaser scuttlebutt.  I love listening to him.  Sometimes I have to correct his impressions of what I’m up too, but I don’t think he really minds.  Although Roger, like many trackchasers, bemoans his economic fate, he definitely has a mind for financial numbers.  In another world, he might have been an investment banker.

 

Roger had located me up in the fourth turn area of the track.  He told me he had been sitting with Steve Stone, another long-time trackchaser.  Steve has seen a good number of racetracks.  I suspect that number is north of three hundred.  Nevertheless, Steve is not a member of the trackchaser group.

 

I asked Roger why Mr. Stone would elect not to join the group.  “He doesn’t like some of the trackchasers,” was Roger’s reply.  I had gotten a similar answer from Stumpy Stone, Steve Stone’s brother when I talked with Stumpy while he was working as a track announcer in Ohio last summer.  I was puzzled.

 

I continued to talk with Roger.  I always like to know a little something about each trackchaser’s personal lives.  We can’t always talk about trackchasing!  I inquired about Roger’s lovely wife, Brenda.  They been married for nearly 23 years and I have met Brenda on several occasions.  I know that Brenda has seen more than 300 tracks, but is not listed in the trackchaser standings.  Was the Trackchaser Commissioner discriminating against women?  No, he was not. 

 

It seems Brenda does not want her trackchasing achievements linked to the trackchaser group.  I asked Roger why.  “She doesn’t like some of the trackchasers” was his answer.  Hey, it sounded like there was a trend going on here.  I was relieved to know that both Steve Stone and Brenda Ferrell had come to these conclusions before I ever joined the group, so I couldn’t be blamed for their exclusionary preferences.

 

What/who was forcing these people to avoid our group?  During my conversation we discussed two other trackchasers who are included in the group’s standings but don’t keep the Trackchaser Commissioner informed of their trackchaser achievements.

 

Allan Brown, currently ranked at #2 in the world objects to the trackchaser ruling that requires each trackchaser countable track seen to be added to an individual’s totals.  He has his own counting system and won’t cooperate because the overall trackchasing community won’t use his system for counting his tracks. 

 

As I have mentioned many times, if we have 50 worldwide trackchasers who have seen the qualifying 200 lifetime tracks, we probably have 50 different ways that trackchasers would like to count their tracks if they were king.  I think in life we all have to remember we can’t always be “king.”  It would be nice if we were, but most of the time we actually have to cooperate with the group.  In this case, the Trackchaser Commissioner and all members of the trackchasing group have developed a common set of rules for everyone to play by.

 

We have another trackchaser, Rick Schneider, who currently is ranked in the 4th position in the worldwide standings.  Mr. Schneider has been in a squabble for a few years now, regarding what he perceives as an unfair ruling over one or two of his tracks.  Although I can see his point on the ruling in question, I cannot agree with his reluctance to cooperate on an overall basis.

 

I’d be willing to give Mr. Schneider a pass on the track(s) in question.  My feeling is not so much to kowtow to  anyone, but to recognize that the rule was not perfectly clear at the time.  From what I can tell the ruling was also retroactive, which I think was a bad idea.

 

Trackchasing is for fun.  Both of these folks are trackchasers.  How difficult is it to “play by the rules?”  I have used the birthday party metaphor in the past.  You’ll all heard or seen the mother who is exasperated by the couple of five year olds over in the corner who can’t seem to “play along.”  I wonder how these lives have been affected by an unwillingness to get along with others in the past.  What’s the Trackchaser Commissioner to do?  One leading trackchaser wants to have FEWER of his tracks counted and another wants to have MORE of his tracks counted.  What do you do with that?

 

What have the existing trackchasers done to the two people mentioned above who won’t join the group because they “don’t like some of the trackchasers?”  I don’t know.  Don’t blame me for bringing this up.  I am only the messenger.  I didn’t create the problems noted above.  I only observed them.

 

I suggest that all trackchasers go out and have fun seeing their tracks.  Play by the rules of the group and don’t criticize others when they play by the rules of the group.  Then make sure that the Trackchaser Commissioner has the information available to give credit where credit is do.  It’s pretty simple.  Yet, I don’t expect anything to change.

 

Roger wasn’t done with the information he was sharing with me.  The subject of Ed Esser came up.  Ed, according to him, has nearly had to declare bankruptcy on several occasions due to the increasing expense of trackchasing.  Just when he is reportedly ready to file Chapter 11, he rallies and sees more than 100 tracks for the last several years.

 

Roger says there is a rumor about that I am Ed’s “Secret Santa” (sponsor.)  Presumably, folks think I am providing financial resources to Ed so that he can more rapidly overcome the East Coast elite and take over second place in the worldwide rankings.  Ed is now less than 100 tracks from getting into second place.  Gee whiz!  I can hardly afford to do this trackchasing myself, let alone pay for someone else to do it.  I’m thinking Ed may have secretly won the Wisconsin lottery!

 

Nevertheless, it’s always great seeing Roger Ferrell.  I can’t wait to hear what he’s up too the next time we run into each other.

 



 

RACE TRACK STATS:

 

VINTON SPEEDWAY, VINTON,  – TRACK #1,206


Track details

 

Website:  http://www.vintonraceway.com/index.htm

 

Weather:  Absolutely beautiful.  What a way to spend Sunday afternoon.

 

Track type:  oval

 

Surface:  Some clay, but mostly loose dirt and sand.

 

Length:  Ľ mile

 

Grandstands:  They feature a small wooden grandstand located under several large shade trees near the middle of the front stretch.  They also had a three-row flat bed trailer with theatre style seats.  I used these mainly.  There was plenty of room to sit in your own lawn chair in the shade as well.

 

P.A.:  Good P.A. system, but it was not used to broadcast racing information.  See extras.

 

Announcer:  None

 

On time:  Scheduled start time was 1 p.m.  I arrived at 1:06 p.m. and the National Anthem was being sung.

 

Pit area:  Beyond turns three and four

 

Classes:  6-cyliners (4), 4-cylinders (6)

 

Radio Frequency:  No track radios here

 

Concessions:  I didn’t buy anything but they did have some good-looking sno-cones

 

Scoreboard:  No

 

Extras:  These folks had live country and western and blue grass music!  It was outstanding.  They had a little stage setup over in the shade.  There they had two guitar players.  They had at least two different women who sang.  One of the guitar players is the track’s owner.  The other guitar player sang while attached to an oxygen tank.  I was told he had sold a number of songs to Waylon Jennings.  The guitar players were closer to aged 80 than any other number.

 

The racing was fun, but the music was the best.  They played music all afternoon and even continued during the races.  The music was piped throughout the grounds, so it could be heard everywhere.  These people play their music “down at the store” in Vinton (population 320) every Friday and Saturday night.  There are only two stores in town so you can’t miss it.  This was one of the most enjoyable trackchasing adventures I have ever had in my more than 1,200 trackchasing stops.

 

The Vinton Raceway opens in April and races every Sunday afternoon through October 28.  They even race lawn mowers here from time to time.  If you get a chance go there.  It’s a blast from the past.

 

 

 

HILLTOP SPEEDWAY, MILLERSBURG, OHIO – TRACK #1,207

 

Track details

 

Website:  http://www.hilltopspeedway.net/

 

Weather:  It was a comfortable early evening under cloudy skies.

 

Track type:  oval

 

Surface:  clay

 

Length:  Ľ mile

 

Grandstands:  There was a good deal of seating at this track that had been dormant for many years.  There was a huge crowd on hand considering tonight’s program was run only because of Friday’s (two days ago) cancellation.  Many in the crowd wore sunglasses even as the sun went down on a cloudy day.  Were they trying to act cool?  No, they were being sandblasted and the sunglasses were the only way to protect their corneas.

 

P.A.:  Good

 

Announcer:  Solid professional race announcing.

 

On time:  I was told the 4 p.m. scheduled show began 55 minutes late.

 

Pit area:  Beyond turns 3 and 4

 

Classes:  Late Models (20+), Modifieds (17) and 2 other stock car classes

 

Radio Frequency:  463.5375

 

Concessions:  I didn’t buy any food, but did receive a complimentary copy of RPM Racing News.

 

Scoreboard:  No

 

Extras:  Dust, dirt, and lots of it!  No, you don’t understand.  There was LOTS and LOTS of dust and dirt.

 

 

These were 47th and 48th lifetime tracks to see in Ohio.  Unbelievably, this gives me only tied an 11th place Buckeye state ranking.  I first started going to Eldora Speedway in 1980.  I have been there on 35 separate racing days.  Nevertheless, that doesn’t help my trackchasing state ranking any.  You can expect me to visit Ohio enough more times in 2007 to reach at least 10th place.  Of course, that’s assuming the Weather Channel can give me a positive forecast.  Norm Wagner, whom I have never met, continues to lead the state with 110 tracks.  A large number of trackchasers, 55, have seen at least one track in Ohio.

 

 

 

 

 

RACE TRACK NEWS:

 

VINTON RACEWAY


The racing at the Vinton Raceway wasn’t the best this weekend of the six tracks I visited, but I had the best time at Vinton of any of the tracks I went too.  I wish every one of my readers could spend a Sunday afternoon at the Vinton Speedway.

 

Stock car racing started in the south in the 40s.  That was sixty years ago.  If you want to experience what southern stock car racing was back then, you still can.  Simply stop by the Vinton Speedway this year!

 

The track is cut out of a tall trees forest.  It’s been here for 18 years.  They don’t have any lights.  The city probably would like them racing late into the night I was told.

 

I spoke with the track’s manager, Rick Seagraves.  They call him “big in,” because he is.  He was most happy to have a leading trackchaser visit the Vinton Raceway.  He took several minutes to tell me about the history and the people of the track.  He is very proud of the Vinton track and he should be.  He even told me he met one of the two trackchasers who visited over the past couple of month either Ed Esser or Paul Weisel.  I suspect it was Ed because “big in” wondered if he had seen his 1,000th track yet.

 

Was I out in the boonies?  I didn’t have any cell phone coverage.  Yep!  I was out in the boonies.  I couldn’t see the guitars from here but I could hear them.  Literally!  The country and blue grass music was the best.  They even played music while the cars were racing.  I loved it.

 

My favorite song was, “I put a golden band of the right left hand this time.”  These folks in this part of the country are big smokers, more so that just about anywhere I visit.

 

 

 

HILLTOP SPEEDWAY

 

I arrived at the Hilltop Speedway at 6:20 p.m.  The program was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.  Roger told me they did not start racing until 4:55 p.m.  I was in time to see two consolation races before they went to intermission.

 

The track then began to water their track.  After a few laps of water, they put 3-4 trucks on the track to run it in.  They do this to keep the dust down for the spectators.  The watering and drying process took approximately one hour and 15 minutes.  That’s a long time.

 

They didn’t run the first feature event until 8:03 p.m.  That was more than four hours after the scheduled start time.  That is not good.

 

I must say, however, that the 25-lap, 17-car late model feature event was one of the very best races I’ve seen this year.  The winner came from deep in the pack.  It was an exciting race. 

 

However, the dirt and dust were so bad it was nearly unbearable.  A father and his young son were sitting next to me.  The dust was so bad, the father took his race goggles (yes, veteran race fans bring clear goggles to the track so they can see the race through the dust and dirt) off and gave them to his seven year old son.  I had my Eldora Speedway purchased race goggles on as well.  I reached into my camera bag and pulled out my sunglasses so the father could see the race.

 

The modified feature was up next.  They ran eighteen of them for 20 laps.  This was a very good feature event.  It was now pushing 9 p.m.  I had nearly three hours to drive back to Cincinnati so I could be in position for my early Monday morning flight.  I got up, shook a couple of pounds of dirt from my clothing and hopped in the car.  I had a good time, but I was more than glad that Trackchasing’s First Mother missed this one.


 

 

 

 

RENTAL CAR UPDATE

 

Louisville, KY – Saturday/Sunday/Monday

 

I drove this car just 775 miles.  I paid an average price of $3.16 per gallon.  I have a practice of not re-fueling until my tank has only fumes remaining.  When I fill-up, I always top off to the point of overflowing.  This way I have the best chance of making the smallest number of fuel stops possible.  Yes, I learned all of this by watching NASCAR pit stops on TV.

 

This strategy worked perfectly on this trip.  I used two very full tanks of fuel, saving myself 10 minutes for what would have been a third fuel stop if my RANLAY Racing trackchasing fuel strategy (RRTFS) had not been used.  My Pontiac Grand Prix gave me 23.6 M.P.G. in fuel mileage at a cost of 13.4 cents per mile.  The car cost 12.7 cents per mile to rent, all taxes included. 

 

I used to budget about 10 cents per miles for gas.  Imagine throwing a dime out the window for every mile you drive!  O.K., I admit that is negative imagery, sorry I mentioned it.  Now my fuel costs are in the 12-14 cents range.  Now, imagine throwing a dime and a handful of pennies out the window every mile you drive.  Does this make you feel better?

 

 

 

Atlanta, GA – Friday/Saturday

 

The Pontiac Grand Prix I picked out had only 655 miles on it.  Rental cars are a great consumer value.  Would you rent me your brand new car for 30 bucks a day and let me drive it as far as I wanted?  I doubt it.

 

This rental car had something I’ve never seen before.  It’s got a hologram of sorts.  From the driver ’s seat, an image appears when I look through the windshield.  As if by magic, just a foot or so above the hood line, three pieces of information are displayed just like they are hanging in mid-air.  The car’s direction, speed and outside temperature are shown in green digital numbers and letters.  It’s the dangest thing I ever saw!

 

I drove this car 260 miles.  I paid an average price of $2.96 per gallon.  This is one dollar less per gallon than last week’s gas prices in Alberta, Canada.  Georgia has just about the lowest gasoline and hotel prices of any place I travel too.  My Pontiac Grand Prix gave me 23.3 M.P.G. in fuel mileage at a cost of 12.7 cents per mile.  The car cost 13.2 cents per mile to rent, all taxes included. 

 

 

 

 

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:

 

There are no longer any trackchasers within 100 tracks of my lifetime total.  It’s not my fault!

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,207

 

 

 

 

 

LIFETIME NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY STANDINGS

 

2007 (current thru 6/11/07)**

 

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 6.71

2. Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 6.96

3. Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 7.55

 

Here I was minding my own business, waiting for the Hilltop Speedway to water their racetrack, when the speedway gave me a free racing newspaper.  The paper, RPM Racing News, featured an article by National Geographic Diversity competitor Gordon Killian.  I found the paper easily worth the money I paid for it. 

 

I noticed in the printed copy that Mr. Killian had made a racing trip to both Tennessee and Mississippi.  He mentioned something about consulting the “Weather channel” for areas featuring the best weather forecasts, before deciding upon his destination.

 

Have the airlines changed their advance booking policies?  Has the Weather Channel begun making accurate forecasts some 2-4 weeks in advance.  Does Mr. Killian have a secret airline sponsorship deal that allows him to book on a moment’s notice?  These questions and many others seemingly have no logical answers. 

 

Hmmmph!!  (Said with a stern face.)  Weather forecast?  Did Mr. Killian’s choice of geographical locale have more to do with clouds or NGD points?  It just so happens that the tracks he saw in Tennessee (2) and Mississippi (1) moved him from out of the top 10 in each of these state’s rankings into the top 10.  As loyal and long-time readers of the Trackchaser Report know, being ranked out of a state’s top 10 carries a penalty.  Folks who rank worse that 10th in an individual state receive 15 NGD points for that particular state regardless of whether their rank is 11th and 111th.  If a trackchaser ranks in the top 10, they get the number of points their ranking gives them (ex.  4th = 4 points.)  The lowest score wins in the NGD contest, so eliminating as many states as possible where a trackchaser has a worse than 10th place ranking is the preferred method of travel.

 

Mr. Killian entered his trackchasing weekend some 20-25 positions behind first place.  Each position equates to .02 NGD lifetime points.  With his foray into the dreaded south, Mr. Killian now trails by only 13 positions.  Mr. Killian has a worse than 10th place standing in only seven states (Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico and Utah.)

 

He stands to gain quickly and easily by seeing just two tracks in Georgia or one new track in Kentucky, New Mexico and Utah.  I’ll keep you posted on any gains Mr. Killian might achieve.  Don’t be surprised to see Mr. Killian’s weather forecasting abilities sending him to any of these four states in the near future.

 

Nevertheless, I must congratulate Mr. Killian for competing.  Yes, I said that terrible word in some trackchaser’s vocabulary, “competing.”  Mr. Killian is throwing his hat in the ring and going for it.  That’s great.  The odds against his success in 2007 are long, but then you never now.  I wish him all the best in his National Geographic Diversity endeavors.

 

 

**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.

 

30.  Dwight Bucks, Topton, Pennsylvania – 324

31.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California - 319

 

 

 

 

 

2007 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 69

 

2.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 46

 

3.  Roland Vanden Eynde, Vilvoorde, Belgium - 31

 

4.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 25

 

4.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania - 25

 

6.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 20

 

7.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 15

 

7.  Roger Ferrell, Majenica, Indiana – 15

 

9.  Bing Metz, Tatamy, Pennsylvania – 14

 

9.  Pam Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 14

 

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

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser

If you’re lucky enough to live at the beach, you’re lucky enough.

 

 

 

 

 

CUMULATIVE TRAVEL DISTANCES:

 

AIRPLANE

 

Orange County, CA – Atlanta, GA – 1,920 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR – ATLANTA, GA

 

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – trip begins

Ringgold, GA – 128 miles

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – 260 miles - trip ends

 

 

AIRPLANE

 

Atlanta, GA – Louisville, KY – 321 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR - LOUISVILLE

 

Louisville International Airport – trip begins

Washington Courthouse, OH – 202 miles

Peebles, OH – 264 miles

Russellville, OH – 286 miles

Vinton, OH – 409 miles

Millersburg, OH – 583 miles

Louisville International Airport – 775 miles - trip ends

 

 

 

AIRPLANE

 

Cincinnati, OH – Orange County, CA – 1,877 miles

 

 

Total Air miles – 4,118

 

 

Total auto and air miles traveled on this trip – 5,153 miles

 

 



TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

 

Boyd’s Speedway - $10

Fayette County Fairgrounds – Free

Brush Creek Motorsports Park - $12

Brown County Speedway - $12

Vinton Speedway - $10 (included admission to pit area)

Hilltop Speedway - $12

 

Editor’s note:  It appears a $12 admission fee is the new $10 admission fee.

 

Total racetrack admissions for the trip – $56

 

 

 

 

 

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 can’t go trackchasing next weekend.  It’s Father’s Day AND the U.S. Open is being played.  However, if I don’t go trackchasing because of these more than noble reasons, my fellow competitors might gain an advantage.  What should I do?

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

1,192. Madison International Speedway (inner oval), Oregon, Wisconsin – May 25

 

** Madison International Speedway (outer oval), Oregon, Wisconsin – May 25

 

1,193. Thunderbird Stadium (figure 8), Bremerton, Washington – May 26

 

1,194. Thunderbird Stadium (oval), Bremerton, Washington – May 26

 

1,195. Whispering Pines Motorsports Park, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada – May 27

 

1,196. Magic Valley Speedway, Twin Falls, Idaho