DAY 1 – ROCKY MOUNTAIN SUMMER TRACKCHASING TOUR

TODAY’S HEADLINES

SPECIAL NOTICE

The ongoing series of Trackchaser Reports from Belgium’s Roland Vanden Eynde continues with his fourth report of five.  You can read about his adventures at the bottom of this Trackchaser Report.

OTHER HEADLINES

 

Do you remember when “curbies” came to your car?...................more in “ROADFOOD Restaurant Review”.

 

Carol and I had the most fun we’ve ever had at a figure 8 race tonight ………………..details in “Race review”.

 

RANLAY Racing Trackchaser Report reader wins another fine prize offered to loyal readers. ………………..details in “And the Readers Respond”.

 

I have a special connection to Wyoming ………………..details in “The People”.

Click on this link or paste it in your browser to take you to today’s Trackchaser Report via my website at www.ranlayracing.com

 

http://www.ranlayracing.com/july26302007.htm

 

AND THE READERS RESPOND

 

In my last Trackchaser Report, I wrote:

 

UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS

 

I was seriously pondered making this a 12-day “Monster Midwest” tour rather than just 10 days.  Toward the end of the trip, I even began wearing some clothing for a second day in a row (but not the shirt I wore to the Windy Hollow Speedway!) in order to have enough clothes to last 12 days.  However, good reason came over me.  Had I stayed out 12 days, I would have been home only 12 hours before the next trip was to begin!

 

By the time you read this, Trackchasing’s First Mother and I will be in Wyoming on our next trackchasing trip.  By the way, the first person, and only the first person responding, who can tell me what the capital of Wyoming is will receive an In N Out Burgers t-shirt in his/her own personal size choice.

 

This is the first response I received.  This proves you don’t have to always respond (although many time you do!) quickly.  Russ’ message came back nearly a day after the Windy Hollow figure 8 Trackchaser Report was sent.  Of course, you had to read to the very bottom of the report to find your potential reward.

 

Randy,

I'm sure someone has beat me to it by now.  But just in case they haven't, the capital of Wyoming is Cheyenne.

Russ

 

 

GREETINGS FROM JACKSON, WYOMING.

 

 

 

 

WE WOKE UP IN SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA THIS MORNING.  WE WENT TO SLEEP IN JACKSON, WYOMING.  THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.

 

 

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

 

 

 

The Strategy     

 

This trackchasing trip’s purpose is one of the following two choices.

 

1.     A simple tourist trip where we can visit “Old Faithful” in the Yellowstone National Park, see the Blue Angels perform at an air show in Bozeman, Montana and visit Carol’s sister and family in Saratoga, Wyoming.

 

OR

 

2.     Try to gain at least a tie for first place in trackchasing in both Wyoming and Montana. 

 

You make the call.  

The Trip

 

We began the trip with everything going perfectly for the day.  Our flight didn’t leave until 7:50 a.m., which is much later than some of the flights we take.  The flight was wide open and we were given exit row seats with extra legroom.  We landed on time and picked out a good rental car.

 

Next up was lunch at a ROADFOOD recommended restaurant.  It was noon when we set off on a pleasant 300-mile drive up through Utah, then Idaho and finally into Wyoming.  I had the good sense to make our hotel reservations in advance in Jackson, (aka Jackson Hole) Wyoming. 

 

We pulled into the Virginian Lodge at 5 p.m.  Jackson looks a lot like Lake Tahoe to me.  The scenery has similarities and there’s a good deal of tourist traffic.  There are several large hotels (ours has 170 rooms) and many of them are sporting “no vacancy” signs.  I don’t normally book a hotel in advance.  There’s too much risk that bad weather will alter our evening plan.  However, I have absolutely no backup for tonight’s Thursday night county fair race at the Teton County Fairgrounds in Jackson Hole.

 

By the way, Jackson Hole is located in a valley surrounded by the Grant Teton mountains that bring the skiers here in wintertime.  The valley is 13 miles long and 55 miles wide.  The area is located just a few miles south of the Grand Teton National Park and the Yellowstone National Park.  To get here we crossed over the Grand Teton Pass at an elevation of 8,429 feet.  The elevation of the valley ranges from 6,200-6,800 feet, so the air is thin.

 

At the hotel, we asked and received a recommendation to the best steakhouse in town.  We were hungry.  We were in Wyoming.  We needed meat.  The Gun Barrel Steakhouse within walking distance of our hotel was A+. 

 

The only downside of our entire travel day was the weather.  Weather.com called for rain to move into the area in the late afternoon with a 50% chance of precipitation.  The skies were cloudy and the rain did come in.  Fortunately, a call to the fairgrounds office told us they would race “rain or shine”.  That was great news.  Had we been coming to see an oval track, tonight’s rain would have surely resulted in a cancellation.  July is the second driest month of the year, so today’s rain surprised me.  Jackson Hole averages only 1.07 inches of rain each July.

 

After Carol and I enjoyed our steak dinner with all the trimmings, we waddled out of the Gun Barrel Steakhouse and over to the Teton County Fairgrounds.  The fair was less than a mile from our hotel and restaurant.  It was pure luck that everything was located so conveniently close to each other.  If you’ve read very many of these reports, you know that is usually not how it works out.

 

Our day finished up with the most fun and entertaining figure 8 racing I’ve seen in 2007.  I’ve already seen 11 figure racetracks this year, so tonight’s racing was extra special.

 

 

 

 

 

The People

 

Wyoming is not a frequent stop for most trackchasers.  However, Wyoming holds a special place in my heart.  Carol graduated from Downers Grove North High School in Downer Grove, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.  During the summer following her graduation, Carol’s parents decided to move the family from Illinois to Dayton, Wyoming.  Carol had already been accepted at Northern Illinois University near Chicago for the upcoming fall season.

 

I first met Carol at Northern Illinois University during our sophomore years.  We dated steadily from that point on.  At the end of each of our last three years of college, Carol would return to Wyoming for the summer.  When I finished my college summer job working the graveyard shift in a Caterpillar Tractor Company factory, I would take a week to go visit Carol and her family in Wyoming.

 

Her family owned the Foothills Motel and Campground in Dayton, Wyoming.  This was a small operation with 10 cabins and about 50 campsites.  The town of Dayton was a mere 300 people.  Dayton sits at the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains in a very picturesque setting.  Of course, when I went to visit the Polakovic’s (Carol’s maiden name) I was the “city slicker” even though they had only been in Wyoming a short time.  So!!  That’s my connection to Wyoming.  It was a fun time bringing Carol back to where we first knew each other and had so many fun times.

 

 

 

 

 

ROADFOOD RESTAURANT REVIEW

 

HIRES BIG H

425 S. 700 E

Salt Lake City, UT

801-0364-4582

 

The Hires Big H drive-in offers curb service!  Yep!  Just like when my mother would take my sister and me to the A&W Root Beer stand (yes, we called it a “stand”) in Creve Coeur, Illinois back in the mid-late 50s.  A few things have changed.  Back in the day a small root beer went for a nickel and a large one a dime.  Today a root beer at the Hires Big H drive-in sells for $1.95.  That’s a 20-fold increase!  Can you imagine a glass of root beer going for about $40 in 50 years?  That would be a 20-fold increase.  I guess I won’t be around to worry about it, but if you’re younger than me you might want to start saving.

 

Our overall experience at the Hires Big H was wonderful.  It couldn’t have been five minutes after I said to Carol, “let’s try to eat a little healthier on this trip,” that I found the Big H listing (page 506) in my ROADFOOD book.

 

Hires serves drive-in food.  They have a long list of hamburgers as well as all the fried stuff (fries, onion rings) that go along.  I ended up with a cheeseburger swimming in cheese and chili that filled a large plastic container.  Carol went with a bowl of chili that came with a generous slice of garlic bread.

 

The book recommended the root beer.  They also mentioned a marshmallow chocolate malt.  However, I had my eye on the cherry limeade drink.  It was tasty and tart.  I couldn’t tell which competing sugar had the strongest flavor, the sugar that came from the lime side or the cherry side.  When I was finished I was surprised to see a lime and a cherry at the bottom of my glass.

 

When we were finished we did as the restaurant’s sign instructed us, “turn on lights for service”.  That’s just the way Mom did it back at the A&W.  Our trip could not have gotten off to a better start.

 

 

 

 

CAROL’S COMMENTS

 

I loved our server at the Hires Big H.  (Editor’s note:  I wish you could see the face Carol made when I recommended she try the marshmallow chocolate shake.)  Her only verbal comment was, “You have a lot of ways to get me chubby”.

 

Tonight’s racing was mayhem.  The crowd loved it and so did I.  I never thought I’d get my 12 bucks worth, but I did after the first race.  I noticed there were very few overweight people.  That’s so different than when we go trackchasing in most other places. 

 

Editor’s comment:  I often ask Carol if she would have any interest beginning a trackchasing trip on the evening of Memorial Day and returning home on Labor Day.  For non-Americans reading this who might not be familiar with these holidays, that would be about a 100-day trip.  I would love to do this. This was Carol’s reply.

 

I won’t do it.  You can if you want.  You can circle around so you end up in California a couple of times so I can do your laundry.

 

Editor’s comment:  You just gotta love Trackchasing’s First Mother don’t ya?

 

STATE RANKINGS

This figure 8 track was my seventh lifetime track to see in the Cowboy state.  It was my first ever figure 8 track to see in Wyoming.  Figure 8 racing is not very popular or prevalent in the 13 far western states.  I trail Allan Brown’s eight tracks here for the state lead. 

 

I’m doing well in my quest to be the state leader in all 13 far western states (x California).  I currently lead in six of them and that could increase to eight by the end of this trip.

RACE REVIEW – TETON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS (FIGURE 8), JACKSON, WYOMING – TRACK #1,237 (CAROL’S TRACK #331)

Carol and I had the most fun night of figure 8 racing we’ve ever had.  Maybe it was the fact we were in Wyoming.  Maybe it was the fact that with the rain, any other type of race would have been rained out.  Maybe, it was the fact that every aspect of the first day of this trackchasing trip had gone flawlessly. 

 

Actually, it might have been because I wasn’t really expecting much from tonight’s show.  I’ve seen so many figure 8 races that have just three or four cars and that’s it.

 

Let me tell you some specifics about tonight’s program and event that made it so far above average.  First, I have never see a figure 8 crowd, or maybe any crowd, that was more “into it” than these folks tonight.  We sat in the covered grandstand.  It was packed.  There was also seating, fully occupied, in five other good-sized aluminum bleacher areas.  Every time ANYTHING happened on the track or in the race the crowd cheered, yelled, stood up and/or applauded.  It was like taking the wildest fan you’ve ever seen at an event and multiplying that person by just about the number of people who showed up tonight.

 

This was a four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive figure 8 show.  There were 30 cars racing in five heats.  Those heats were followed up by a heat for the third place finishers, then the second place finishers and finally a final “heat” not feature for the winners of the first seven heat races.

 

The start of each race was hilarious.  For the first time ever, in figure 8 racing, we saw a LeMans style start.   Each of the cars were parked in front of a bull-riding shoot.  The drivers walked across the arena’s dirt floor to the opposite side of where the cars were parked.  At the starter’s command, they RAN about 60 yards over to their cars, opened the driver’s door, snapped on their seat belt and drove onto the track to race.

 

The crowd absolutely went nuts cheering these cowboy-booted and blue-jeaned drivers running to their waiting cars across a very muddy arena area as their helmets bobbed up and down.  It was so unusual we laughed our heads off.

 

I had spent a few moments talking to the driver of the #89 car while we were in the pit area.  I was quizzing him on other figure 8 racing in the area.  At the end of our conversation, we told him he would be our favorite driver for the night.  In his race, he ran across the arena and jumped in his car to start the race.  He couldn’t get his shoulder belt to pull across his body.  You’ve probably had that experience when, for some unknown reason, you seat and shoulder belt locks up temporarily and won’t allow you to pull it across your body.  The crowd could see this big driver pulling frantically on the shoulder belt.  It wouldn’t budge.  He got out of his car and pulled.  No luck.  Finally, after his fellow competitors had been racing for about four of the fifteen laps each heat was run, he got his seat belt to work.

 

He then slammed his passenger door shut and was ready to race.  Unfortunately, the door latch on his door wasn’t working.  The harder he slammed it, the more it banged away from the car.  He wasted another two laps trying to get his door closed until he was finally off.  The crowd was going berserk watching this action.

 

The track’s racing surface was flat and the track was very narrow.  The racing area was probably only about two cars widths wide.  I feared this would make for bad racing.  I was wrong.  Most of the crowd’s favorite action at a figure 8 race happens at the “X”.  That was not the case tonight. 

 

The action happened going into the turns.  Each of the turns of the figure “8” were essentially circles with an interior boundary made up of 24 eight-foot long railroad ties.  The outer barrier was simply about three feet of loose dirt.  The best way for one car to disable another was to do a “follow-in”.  I first learned this term while watching banger racing (one of my favorites) in the United Kingdom.

 

In a “follow-in” one car gets behind another, and at full speed, pushes the car ahead directly into a barrier of some kind.  In the U.K., it is often a fixed steel or concrete wall.  Tonight, it was a three feet high dirt berm.  The crowd could anticipate when this was going to happen and appreciated every one of them.

 

From time to time a couple of the cars would get tangled together and couldn’t get untangled.  Others would get stuck in the loose dirt of the outer barriers.  A red flag would be thrown when this happened and the race would be stopped.  At other figure 8 tracks, they would likely bring out a wrecker to fix the problem.  Not here.

 

EVERY time one of these stoppages occurred, they simply brought out 6-8 cowboys.  These guys pushed and pulled until the problem was fixed.  If looked just like they were out there doing some farm chore.  I’ve never seen anything like it.

 

Due to the rain, one of the turns had a huge mud puddle.  This puddle might have been more than a foot deep and ran the width of one turn and was more than 20 feet long.  When the cars raced through here, they created huge muddy splashes.

 

Overall, this was one fun night of figure 8 racing.  After the first five heat races, we moved from the covered grandstand to one of the aluminum bleacher section by the mud puddle.  When we sat down, a fan who looked to be about 45 years of age, tapped me on the shoulder.  “I would like to ask you just one question and then I promise not to bother you anymore.  Is that O.K.?”, he asked.  I told him it was.  “Do you get mistaken for Bill Clinton very often?”  I told him “all the time”.  I once walked into a restaurant and a woman looked up at me and dropped her fork on the ground.  I learned a few moments later she thought I was former President Clinton.  Do you see the resemblance?

RENTAL CAR UPDATE

 

Salt Lake City – Thursday-Tuesday (5-day rental)

 

The National Rental Car location in Salt Lake is one of their worst in the country.  They don’t have full Emerald Aisle or Executive Selection service.  This means they pick the car for me and I don’t have any control over the car I get.  Their cars don’t have XM satellite radio.  That’s especially noteworthy since we will be traveling in some remote areas where AM/FM radio reception is poor.  Salt Lake has some of the higher rental car prices as well.  Finally, the employees at this location at unconsciously incompetent.  That’s means they don’t know they are incompetent.  Some folks know they’re doing a poor job and don’t car.  They are consciously incompetent.  I don’t know which is worse to be consciously incompetent or unconsciously incompetent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser

I live in my own world.  People know me here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

AIRPLANE

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

 

Teton County Fairgrounds - $12

 

 

 

 

RANKINGS

 

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:

 

There are no trackchasers currently within 100 tracks of my lifetime total. 

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,237

 

 

 

 

Other notables

 

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

 

 

29.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 331

 

30.  Tom Schmeh, Knoxville, Iowa – 330

 

31.  Dwight Bucks, Topton, Pennsylvania – 325

 

 

 

 

2007 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 99

 

2.  Roland Vanden Eynde, Vilvoorde, Belgium - 61

 

3.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 60

 

4.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania – 43

 

5.  Paul Weisel, Orefield, Pennsylvania – 37

 

5.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 37

 

7.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 32

 

8.  Pam Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 25

 

9.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 21

 

10.  Roger Ferrell, Majenica, Indiana – 20

 

Tracks have been reported by 37 different worldwide trackchasers this season.

 

 

 

 

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

 

We’ll spend the next five days in Wyoming and Montana.  This is unusual and beautiful country.  I would recommend a visit to this part of the world for each of my Trackchaser Report readers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 – May 28

 

1,197. Owyhee Motorcycle Raceway Park, Boise, Idaho – June 1

 

1,198. Race City Motorsports Park, Calgary, Alberta, Canada – June 2

 

1,199. Edmonton International Raceway, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada – June 2

 

1,200. Castrol Raceway, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – June 2

 

1,201. Hidden Valley Motorsports Park, Drumheller, Alberta, Canada – June 2

 

1,202. Boyd’s Speedway, Ringgold, Georgia - June 8

 

1,203. Fayette County Fairgrounds, Washington Courthouse, Ohio - June 9

 

1,204. Brush Creek Motorsports Park, Pebbles, Ohio - June 9

 

1,205. Brown County Speedway, Russellville, Ohio - June 9

 

1,206. Vinton Speedway, Vinton, Ohio - June 10

 

1,207. Hilltop Speedway, Millersburg, Ohio - June 10

 

1,208. I-70 Speedway – dirt (outer oval), Odessa, Missouri - June 13

 

1,209. L A Raceway, La Monte, Missouri - June 14

 

1,210. Valley Speedway, Grain Valley, Missouri - June 22

 

1,211. Jamaica Raceway, Jamaica, Iowa - June 23

 

1,212. Calhoun County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Rockwell City, Jamaica, Iowa - June 23

 

** Hamilton County Speedway, Webster City, Iowa – June 23 (new for Carol only)

 

** Iowa Speedway (outer oval), Newton, Iowa, Iowa – June 24 (new for Carol only)

 

1,213. Butler Motor Speedway, Butler, Missouri - June 24

 

** Peoria Speedway, Peoria, Illinois – June 25

 

1,214. Kart Kanyon Raceway, Aztec, New Mexico - June 30

 

1,215. Aztec Speedway, Aztec, New Mexico - June 30

 

1,216. Sunvalley Speedway, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada – July 1

 

1,217. Georgetown Speedway, Georgetown, Delaware – July 6

 

1,218. Delmarva Motorsports Park, Middleford, Delaware – July 6

 

1,219. Hunterstown Speedway, Hunterstown, Pennsylvania – July 7

 

1,220. Shippensburg Speedway, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania – July 7 (Randy only)

 

** Hagerstown Speedway, Hagerstown, Maryland – July 7 (new for Carol only)

 

1,221. Blanket Hill Speedway, Whitesburg, Pennsylvania – July 8

 

1,222. Lincoln County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Troy, Missouri – July 13

 

1,223. Pike County Speedway, Pittsfield, Illinois – July 13

 

1,224. Iowa Speedway (road course), Newton, Iowa – July 14

 

1,225. Mitchell County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Osage, Iowa – July 14

 

1,226. Scott County Fairgrounds (oval), Scottsburg, Indiana – July 15

 

1,227. Barry Expo Center (figure 8), Hastings, Michigan – July 16

 

1,228. Lycoming County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Hughesville, Pennsylvania, Michigan – July 17

 

1,229. Delaware County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Muncie, Indiana – July 18

 

1,230. Delaware County Fairgrounds (oval), Muncie, Indiana – July 18

 

1,231. Van Buren County Youth Fairgrounds (road course), Hartford, Michigan – July 19

 

1,232. High Banks Speedway (oval), Philpot, Kentucky – July 20

 

1,233. High Banks Speedway (figure 8), Philpot, Kentucky – July 20

 

1,234. SOIL MX, Bone Gap, Illinois – July 21

 

1,235. Western Kentucky Speedway, Madisonville, Kentucky – July 21

 

** Windy Hollow Speedway (oval), Owensboro, Kentucky – July 23

 

1,236. Windy Hollow Speedway (small figure 8), Owensboro, Kentucky – July 21

 

1,237. Teton County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Jackson, Wyoming – July 26

 

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