Randy Lewis

DAY 2 – ROCKY MOUNTAIN SUMMER TRACKCHASING TOUR

 

 

 

TODAY’S HEADLINES

 

 

SPECIAL FEATURE

 

This Trackchaser Report will focus primarily on the results of our top trackchasers through the first six months of this year (June 30, 2007).  In the past, I have made predictions on how I think the standings will end up by the season’s completion on New Year’s Eve.  In order to make this year’s prognostications as objective as possible, the 2007 season predictions will be made not by me but by the editorial staff at RANLAY Racing.  These rankings and predictions are always looked on with great anticipation and interest within the trackchasing industry.

 

The base data comes from www.trackchaser.net and includes  tracks visited during the time period from January 1, 2007 – June 30, 2007.  The study was completed with all data posted by July 25, 2007.  Of course, I can’t wait forever for anybody tardy in reporting his or her tracks.

 

 

So here we go.  This is my take on the current top 10 trackchasers and their chance for a podium finish based upon their track totals after the first six months of 2007. 

 

 

But first, a few interesting tidbits…………through the first half of the year.

 

This year’s top 10 has seen a combined 367 tracks, last year’s top 10 saw 352 tracks in the first half of the year.  This is a 4.2% increase in tracks seen by the top 10.  However, this increase comes primarily from the top three trackchasers.  Trackchasers ranked in positions 4-10 showed a 5.8% decline vs. year ago.

 

Only four of the worldwide top 10 career trackchasers rank in the top 10 for the first half of 2007.  This might be because of the “maturity” of many trackchaser’s lists.  It’s just harder for many trackchasers to see new tracks when they’ve already seen a large number.

 

A new feature this year shows each trackchaser’s final annual ranking for the past five years.  This data follows the number of tracks seen by the chaser through June 30, 2007.   

 

 

THE RESULTS AND THE PREDICTIONS

 

Here is my take on the current top 10 trackchasers (through June 30, 2007) and their chance for a podium finish. 

 

 

10.  Roger Ferrell – Majenica, IN – 19 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-7, ’05-7, ’04-4, ’03-8, ’02-19)

 

Roger is coming off four consecutive top 10 finishes during 2003-2006.  His best ever finish was fourth in 2004.  He won’t get that high this year, but will definitely improve his current position.  Roger is the all-time leader in his home state of Indiana with an impressive total of 112 tracks.  Roger has reached a trackchasing level where he is beginning to bump up against the outer boundaries of his Geographic Driving Circle.  He is fortunate to live in the direct center of one of the most fertile trackchasing areas in the country.  Roger operates in some of the bigger circles of agriculture in his Hoosier state.  This experience should aid him in his quest to move up in this year’s rankings.

 

 

9.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, PA - 21 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-9, ’05-15, ’04-10, ’03-15, ’02-8)

 

Gordon came into the 2007 season as the most traveled United States trackchaser according to the prestigious National Geographic Diversity rankings.  Current records show he spends nearly 50% of his trackchasing time outside of his home Eastern Region.  This is quite remarkable as most Eastern based trackchasers do not routinely travel outside of their track laden region.  His most recent production has been sporadic with three top 10s in the past five years.  It remains to be seen whether or not he will hold onto a top 10 position this year.

 

 

8.  Pam Smith, Effort, PA – 22 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-10, ’05-10, ’04-17, ’03-14, ’02-20)

 

Pam has been steadily improving her trackchasing performance over the past several years.  She is coming off two straight top 10 performances, her first ever.  She is off to a solid start this year and should be expected to again maintain a top 10 finish.  It’s very likely she will have a best ever annual ranking in 2007.  She will be a strong contender for the 2007 women’s title and might even win it.

 

 

6. – (tie).    Guy Smith, Effort, PA – 24 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-6, ’05-5, ’04-8, ’03-4, ’02-3)

 

Guy is the leading “Regional” trackchaser of all time.  Most of his tracks come from the North American Eastern Region.  If he were in NASCAR, he would be considered a “fuel mileage” racer.  He is rarely the fastest, but he never stops.  It doesn’t matter how you get to the finish line as long as you get there.

   

The Geographical Driving Circle will impact Guy more than any other trackchaser at this stage in his career.  However, Guy will fight harder than any trackchaser to date to resist the slings and arrows of outrageous consequence thrown at him by nature’s Geographic Driving Circle.  In the end, he will have to give in or travel frequently.  Maybe, he will have to move.  No one in the history of trackchasing has ever uprooted his or her family in order to gain a trackchasing advantage.  Guy will end up with a middle top 10 finish for the year.

 

 

6. – (tie).  Paul Weisel – Orefield, PA – 24 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-5, ’05-4, ’04-18, ’03-24, ’02-9)

 

During the past couple of years, Paul has shown more improvement than any other leading trackchaser.  He like so many other trackchasers promised a major cutback in his 2007 trackchasing.  In addition, like many trackchasers, he has found it difficult to resist the call of the road.  Paul is not far from being capable of a podium finish, but not quite this year.  He has a great chance of cracking the top five and I expect him to do it.

 

 

5.  Carol Lewis – San Clemente, CA – 32 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-8, ’05-6, ’04-22, ’03-26, ’02-27)

 

Carol owns the highest ever-recorded season finish (6^th) among women trackchasers.  Historically, trackchasing has been a male dominated sport.  However, she went a long way toward breaking down some of those barriers by becoming the first woman to ever visit a new track in a new state unaccompanied earlier this year.

 

Carol also benefits from some new found trackchasing sponsorship with her partner airlines, SkyWest, United and Delta.  Of all the listed trackchasers who reside in the United States, she has one of the highest percentages of tracks seen outside of North America, trailing only National Speed Sport News’ Chris Economacki and sprint car star Steve Kinser.  I expect she may drop a spot or two from her mid-year ranking but will easily finish in the top 10.

 

Carol is the two-time defending women’s trackchasing champion.  She has a slight lead going into the last six months of the year as she tries to defend her title.  It’s going to me nip and tuck and it’s much too early to draw any firm conclusions.

 

 

4.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, PA – 38 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-2, ’05-11 ’04-24, ’03-23, ’02-25)

 

Mike came out of nowhere last year to win the RANLAY Racing  “Rookie of the Year” award.  I don’t think anyone could have predicted, based upon his past performances that he could take second place last year.  It was a remarkable season for young Mike.

 

Due to a death in the family, Mike got off to a slow start this year.  I expect him to have a strong second half finish.  Mike is willing to drive and still has a large number of tracks within reasonable driving distance of his Pennsylvania home.  I expect him to finish up with a fourth place ranking in 2007 and come out strong in 2008, possibly even contending for a ’08 title.

 

 

3.  Ed Esser – Madison, WI – 54 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-3, ’05-2 ’04-2, ’03-1, ’02-4)

 

Ed has podium finishes (top 3 for you non-formula one fans) in each of the last four years.  Every time I look back I see Ed Esser.  This guy never seems to stop trackchasing.  I expect that Ed will once again top the century mark, which would be his fifth consecutive year, a record.

 

It was shocking to see Ed overtaken for second place last year by Pennsy’s Mike Knappenberger.  This year Ed and Roland Vanden Eynde are locked in one of the fiercest trackchasing battles ever seen.  I don’t think Ed liked losing second place last year and I expect him to do everything he can to regain the runner-up spot.  I really have no idea which of these trackchasers in going to prevail.  I do know that it will be most interesting to see these two fellows battle it out. 

 

 

 2.  Roland Vanden Eynde – Vilvoorde, Belgium – 56 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-4, ’05-3 ’04-3, ’03-6, ’02-26)

 

Roland is coming off three consecutive top four finishes.  He like Paul Weisel and actually most other trackchasers has downplayed his potential 2007 production.  Now his fellow competitors are seeing what Roland is capable of doing.  Roland will definitely be standing on the podium.  It only remains to be seen which trophy he will be holding.

 

It’s good that international politics has been removed as an obstacle for Roland to visit the United States.  The U.S. is the oxygen support system necessary to keep Roland in the rarified air of the most elite trackchasers. 

 

 

 1.  Randy Lewis – San Clemente, CA – 77 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-1, ’05-1 ’04-1, ’03-3, ’02-2)

 

Randy finished up the first six months of the ’07 season with one more track than he had on June 30, 2006.   He is trying to make trackchasing modern-day history by winning four consecutive trackchasing annual championships.  At this point in time, all signals point to a successful defense of his title. 

 

 

 

All others

 

Bing Metz, Titamy, PA – 14 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-12, ’05-9 ’04-48, ’03-NR, ’02-NR)

 

If anyone can move into the top 10 who isn’t there now, it would be Bing.  He has the ability and wherewithal to travel without much geographical inhibition.  I would not count him out of a 10^th place finish or better.

 

 

Allan Brown, Comstock Park, MI – 16 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-11, ’05-12 ’04-7, ’03-13, ’02-5)

 

Apparently, Allan is withholding his track submissions due to a dispute over rules interpretations by the Trackchaser Commissioner.  I hope this will be resolved and Allan will once again report his tracks in the same manner all worldwide trackchasers do.  Until he does, there is absolutely no chance of earning a top 10 finish.

 

 

Will White, Quakertown, PA – 12 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-13, ’05-17 ’04-6, ’03-12, ’02-7)

 

Will, trackchasing’s commissioner, has not had a top 10 finish since 2004.  He operates on a skeletal budget for his domestic trackchasing preferring to reserve his funds for exotic international travel forays.  In the long run all worldwide trackchasers probably benefit from this decision as he spends more time on his website at www.trackchaser.net and trackchaser data management.  No chance for a top 10 this year.

 

 

Rick Young, Maxville, Ontario, Canada – 14 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-20, ’05-25 ’04-39, ’03-35, ’02-37)

 

Rick is the “rabbit” of trackchasing.  Yes, just like at the dog track, the rabbit always jumps into an early lead.  He is an ice racing and cold weather specialist.  With global warming bearing down on us, Rick’s cold weather modus operendi may not be the best strategy.  When Rick wins the lotto he will garner a top 10 finish.

 

 

Long shots

 

 

Andy Sivi, Clairton, PA – 9 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-21, ’05-13 ’04-5, ’03-2, ’02-1)

 

Andy has shown minor flashes of brilliance since his  championship season of 2002.  He was also the annual trackchasing champion in 2001.  The Geographical Driving Circle may have had a significant impact here.  I would not be surprised if at any moment Andy returned to the trackchasing fray with a vengeance.

 

 

Rick Schneider, Bay Shore, New York – 9 tracks (Previous rankings ’06-17, ’05-39 ’04-26, ’03-16, ’02-6)

 

This is another trackchaser who is in a squabble with the trackchasing hierarchy.  What good are rules and having the rules enforced, if every time the Trackchaser Commissioner does his job, the effected parties take there ball and run home?  Mr. Schneider last actively reported his tracks in mid-2003.  Nevertheless, during that time nearly 100 tracks have been added to his list when other trackchasers have reported his presence here and there.

 

 

 

Summary

 

It’s very difficult to make accurate predictions about the future.  Actually, it’s nearly impossible.  This is all done in fun.  I’ll be back with you after the first of the year, to let you know how everyone did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

GREETINGS FROM BELGRADE, MONTANA.

 

 

 

 

WE WOKE UP IN JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING THIS MORNING.  WE WENT TO SLEEP IN BELGRADE, MONTANA.  THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.

 

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

 

 

 

The Objective     

 

I am going to have to change this section’s name from “The Strategy” to “The Objective”.  True P&Gers and students of Deming’s Total Quality doctrine know this is the right thing to do.  Now that that is out of the way….

 

Today’s objective was to add one more Western state to the list of tracks where I have made it to the #1 spot.  There are 13 Western states.  I now lead in seven of them including Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington.  I also lead in one non-western state, Texas.

 

 

 

The Trip

 

Trackchasing Tourist Attractions make the trip.  There is so much to see in our great country, it would be a shame to pass it all by on the way to the next racetrack. 

 

We woke up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  Jackson Hole is a famous ski resort.  During the winter, temperatures average near zero.  It is not uncommon for the area to get several feet of snow.

 

If you think Jackson Hole is only a wintertime resort area that would be incorrect.  We found the place to be packed.  Most of the hotels posted “no vacancy” signs early in the evening.  When we woke up we had about an hour to spend exploring the town.  Our hotel clerk recommended a visit to the Hotel Wort.  This was an excellent recommendation.  This hotel is a national landmark.  It has been in business since 1904 and featured gambling back in the 40s and 50s.  The place burned down in 1980, but was rebuilt to the old specs.  We enjoyed an excellent breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, the Silver Dollar Bar & Grill.  We just missed the hotel’s other recommendation, the Cowboy Bar because it didn’t open until 11 a.m.  When you go here, you actually get to sit on a horse saddle while you have your favorite beverage at the bar. 

 

Following an hour’s tour and some window-shopping, (that’s what we called it back in East Peoria); it was time to head out on the day’s Trackchasing Tourist Attraction.

 

By the way, we had another excellent dinner at the Mint Bar & Café on East Main in downtown Belgrade.  The La Quinta Inn desk clerk put us onto this place.  It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but once inside we had too fight for a table when we came without a reservation at 6 p.m. on a Friday night.  This eatery is just 2-3 miles from the Gallatin International Speedway.

 

Carol and I ordered an appetizer of roasted garlic.  I had the BBQ shrimp as my entrée.  My meal was outstanding although quite messy.  Even thought the BBQ shrimp were very good, they would still rank behind what I get (and are pictured on the home page of www.ranlayracing.com) at Pascal’s Manale in New Orleans. 

 

I hope I am making it easier for all of my fellow travelers to match up with good restaurants when they travel to these far away places.  It’s a responsibility I take seriously. 

 

 

 

 

 

TRACKCHASING TOURIST ATTRACTION

 

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

 

Trackchasing takes me all over the country and all over the world.  Today’s Trackchasing Tourist Attraction (TTA) was top notch.  Just a few miles north of Jackson Hole, we entered the Grand Teton National Park.  It’s interesting to note that Jackson Hole’s commercial airport is located in the national park.  It is the only commercial airport in the United States to be in such a location.

 

After driving for 25 miles or so in the Grand Teton National Park, we entered the Yellowstone National Park.  Yellowstone’s park is larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.  Admission for the two of us was a somewhat healthy $25.  Our park pass did allow us use of the park for seven days.

 

Did you know that only 3% of the park’s three million visitors come in the winter?  Did you know that three times as many people are gored by bison in the park than attacked by bears?  Did you know that during the Lewis (no relation) and Clark exploration days there were 35,000 wolves.  Now, there are just 100-200 wolves in the park area.

 

How fast do you think a grizzly bear can cover 100 meters from a standing start?

A)  6 seconds

B)  20 seconds

C)  60 seconds

 

The correct answer is “A”.  I find it amazing that a big ole’ grizzly bear can run 100 meters almost twice as fast as an Olympic sprinter.  This is nearly unbelievable, but true.

 

The park was crowded, but not unduly so.  Our best recollection had us visiting the park only one time before.  That would have been in about 1970 during one of my visits to Wyoming before we were married.  Carol seemed to have more of a memory than me of that visit.

 

Our main objective was to see the Old Faithful geyser spout off.  It explodes on average every 92 minutes.  We were lucky.  When we arrived our fellow tourists were sitting on benches provided by the park for viewing.  We waited about 15 minutes until Old Faithful did its thing.  Of course, you can view the Old Faithful action and related park scenery and activities at www.ranlayracing.com.

 

We had about five hours to explore the park.  That brings up a point about Trackchasing Tourist Attractions.  Some might say that five hours in the Yellowstone National Park is not enough time to see it all.  They would be right.  They might also say that it takes five days to see the park in its entirety.  They might also be right in this assessment.

 

However, I look at the tourist thing differently.  I can see what I want to see at a place like Yellowstone in five hours.  I like to hit the highlights and move on.  This gives me more experiences in more locations than spending too much time in one place.  I’m not talking about just driving by a TTA and waving.  Too much or too little of anything is usually not the best way to handle things.

 

We stopped every couple of miles to get a better look at the magnificent views and to take pictures.  We took a 20-minute walk at the Midway Geyser Basin area.  This was better than watching Old Faithful.  The park has constructed a walkway that allows tourists to get a close up and personal view to the bubbling sulfur springs and hot springs geyser pools.  This was a highlight.

 

One of the few things I remember from my 1970s trip was getting close up with a moose.  I actually walked out in a meadow to take a better close-up picture with my Brownie type instamatic camera.  This action on my part was much to the chagrin of my traveling companions.

 

Today, we saw two forms of wildlife as we were within 15 miles of leaving the park in West Yellowstone, Montana.  First, I noticed a group of Elk grazing near a river.  We stopped and I took several pictures, the best of which appear on my website.  I also got a good shot of a bald eagle guarding a nest high up in a tall tree.

 

Overall, we had an excellent time in the Yellowstone National Park.  When Carol travels with me, I try to make our TTAs extra special.  I think I succeeded today.

 

 

 

 

 

The People

 

We sat next to two nice young men at the races who each had a toddler with them.  I guess mamma said, “Take the kid to the races and knock yourself out”.  We exchanged stories with these fellas.  They were pretty impressed with our lifestyle.

 

One of the men remarked that his son was having his second birthday tomorrow.  He also told us this was his son’s first ever car race.  I looked down at the little small fry.  Could this kid try to overtake me someday in the worldwide standings?  When his father wasn’t looking, I discreetly stepped on the small child’s bare toes.  Just kidding!

 

 

 

 

 CAROL’S COMMENTS

 

The mountain backdrop at this track was just awesome.  I was shocked by the size of tonight’s crowd.  I liked it when they decided against taking an intermission.  I was surprised to see the little asphalt inner oval.

 

Editor’s note:  I am contractually obligated to print ALL of Carol’s comments, even when she spills the beans on a heretofore unknown track.  Doesn’t she understand that information such as this is highly confidential?

 

 

 

 

STATE RANKINGS

 

This was my seventh lifetime track to see in the “Big Sky” state.  This ties me for first place with Allan Brown.

 

Carol entered the night with just one Montana track.  She was tied with 17 other trackchasers for 10^th place in the state.  With the Gallatin track being her second lifetime Montana track, she now occupies 10^th place all by herself.

 

Now, all of these people with one Montana track are in a massive tie for 11^th place.  Trackchasers who rank in 11^th or worse in any individual state get 15 lifetime NGD points.  A 10^th place ranking gives 10 NGD points.  Noted trackchasers such as Ed Esser and Guy Smith fall into this group of Montana ne’er-do-wells.

 

I often have a difficult time rising in the Eastern state’s standings because of the unintentional blocking by so many Eastern-based trackchasers.  There may be 10-15 people in these Eastern states who are frequent trackchasers.  It’s difficult to pass than many people to get a good state ranking. 

 

On the other hand, there are very few “blockers” in the Western states because so few trackchasers come out here to add to their totals.  It was a pleasant surprise to see Carol adding NGD points to so many people’s score.  Carol didn’t even realize she was blocking!

 

 

 

 

 

RACE REVIEW – GALLATIN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY – TRACK #1,238 (CAROL’S TRACK #332)

 

Tonight’s new track was my 100^th track of the 2007 season.  I become only the second trackchaser to ever string four seasons of 100 or more new tracks together in a single year.  The thing I will remember most about tonight’s track was the size of the crowd.  We arrived at nearly 7:35 p.m., the scheduled start time.  We were amazed at how many cars were in the parking lot.  My quick calculations estimated there to be nearly 1,000 cars in the lot.

 

It was so crowded that there were two women selling tickets outside the ticket booth to keep the line moving quicker.  When we walked into the grandstand, we saw long lines of more than 50 people waiting to get food at the concession stand.

 

The grandstand was large.  There were 25 rows or wooden bleacher seats attached to a concrete slab seating structure.  The grandstand ran from the fourth turn to the first turn of the 3/8 mile oval track.  It looked like nearly every seat was occupied. 

 

There are several factors that made this big crowd’s size difficult to understand.  First, it was a Friday night.  Most Friday tracks don’t draw as well as Saturday tracks.  Secondly, Belgrade, Montana, a suburb of Bozeman, Montana is not exactly a large metropolis.  A case can be made for areas like this having bigger crowds rather than smaller ones.  The theory that this “is the only game in town” might apply.

 

The crowd was dominated by twenty-somethings who liked their beer.  The track looked like the place to hang out in the greater Bozeman area.

 

The racing was O.K., but it certainly was not great.  The car counts were O.K., but not great.  There were four classes racing including modifieds (7), sprint cars (20), street stocks (17) and super stocks (?).

 

I was surprised to hear a sub-par P.A. system.  The huge crowd did not seem to mind.  The announcer began to talk about the track’s curfew early in the evening.  He never told us what it was, but I suspect they were working with a 10:30 p.m. curfew.

 

The track ran the super stocks and street stock heat races first, then the mods and the sprints.  I was most pleased to see them run the mod feature and then the sprint feature first.  I would love to see all racetracks run their best classes first.

 

A seven-car modified feature is not much to write home about.  The 20-car sprint feature was better but it did have its drawbacks.  There was a vast difference in the quality of the sprint cars.  The leaders were lapping the stragglers after just four laps.  A series of flips and yellow flags motivated the management to shorten the 25-lap race by five laps.  The next feature event, the 20-lap, 17-car street stock feature might have been the best of the night.  To beat the crowd, we left before the final feature of super stocks hit the track.

 

I have never seen a crowd like this for a regular Friday night program.  Somebody is making a ton of moola at this track.  This is in direct contrast to so many tracks I visit where the crowd is only 100-200 people.

 

 

 

 

 

RENTAL CAR UPDATE

 

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

 

Our National Rental Car Racing Chevy Malibu has been a good road car.  It seems minorly on the flimsy side but overall a good car.  I do miss the leather interior I normally enjoy.  My shorts seen to stick to the cloth interior.  This makes for an uncomfortable ride.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

RENTAL CAR – SALT LAKE

 

Salt Lake International Airport – trip begins

Jackson, Wyoming – 306 miles

Belgrade, Montana – 552 miles

 

 

 

 

 

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

 

Teton County Fairgrounds - $12

Gallatin International Speedway -$9 ($1 senior discount savings)

 

 

 

 

 

RANKINGS

 

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:

 

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

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,238

 

 

 

 

Other notables

 

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