DAY 1 – HIGH PLAINS LATE SUMMER TRACKCHASING TOUR

NEW NEWS!

GUY SMITH REACHES SECOND PLACE IN TRACKCHASING WORLDWIDE RANKINGS

 

 

 

I am retired from Procter & Gamble.  P&G is a large company.  The company has 22 different brands that each exceeds $1 million in sales.  These brands include Tide, Pampers, Folgers, Pantene, Crest, Pringles, Iams, Head & Shoulders, Charmin, Gillette, Actonel, Braun, Downy, Ariel, Bounty, Wella, Crest, Always, Duracell, Olay, Oral-B and Dawn.  Procter & Gamble did not get to be such a large and successful company without keeping an eye on their competition. 

 

 

Capitalism and the American way were built on competing in a fair and above board manner in order to generate a profit, reward shareholders for the risks they were taking and provide jobs for the working man and woman.  Of course, who could disagree with all of this mom and apple pie stuff?

 

 

“But Randy,” you might ask.  “What does all of this Procter & Gamble success have to do with trackchasing”?  I’m glad you asked.  Recently a new trackchaser has taken over second place in the worldwide lifetime rankings.  This trackchaser’s name is Guy Smith (first name rhymes with “I” not “E”).  Mr. Smith is commonly referred to as the “father of trackchasing” even though he is the youngest member of the top 10 worldwide trackchasers. 

 

 

Back in about 1999, Guy came up with trackchasing’s first “guidelines”.  These guidelines would be reviewed and approved by the top 10 trackchasers of that era.  They would later provide the basis for the trackchasing rules that are now available at www.trackchaser.net and administered to the best of his ability by Trackchaser Commissioner, Will White.

 

 

As a novice trackchaser at the time, I read something in a racing periodical about this hobby of trackchasing.  The article mentioned to its readers that they might like to contact Mr. Smith if they had seen a significant amount of tracks themselves.  I was trackchasing in my own little world and figured I have seen a good number of tracks.  I cannot recall exactly what my total was the day I read that story.  Nevertheless, as a rookie, I figured I would contact Mr. Smith with the details of my trackchasing results such as they were. 

 

 

After my information was sent on down the line, I would wait patiently at my mailbox each day for a reply.  I kept telling my friends, “I was going to be part of the trackchasers”.  Alas, after many days, no weeks, of religiously waiting for the mail to come, no response was forthcoming.  You can imagine the disappointment I felt at not being invited to be part of the trackchasing group, after the newspaper story had seemed to encourage rookies like me.  I certainly hope that no other young trackchasers had their spirit so crushed that they gave up the hobby entirely.  Nevertheless, now we must move to the present.

 

 

Guy Smith is a high school teacher.  FBI records indicate he is approximately 48 years old and goes about 5’ 8” and weighs 176 pounds.  Mr. Smith is also a columnist for the Area Auto Racing News, a respected Northeastern racing paper.  In this column, Mr. Smith gives his view of the trackchasing hobby, much as I do in the RANLAY Racing Trackchaser Report. 

 

 

Being a schoolteacher, other than being retired, is just about the best occupation one could have for trackchasing.  Can you imagine all the tracks that could be seen each and every summer when tracks seem to race seven nights a week.

 

 

Guy hails from Pennsylvanian and lives with his wife, Pam, in Eastern Pennsylvania.  This area is rich with racetracks.  Guy has seen well over 100 tracks in Pennsylvania and New York and nearly 100 in Ohio.  He has more than 400 tracks in just those three states.  Guy’s three state totals alone would best all but the top 25 trackchasers’ lifetime totals in all of their states and countries!

 

 

I don’t know if you’ve ever been on the trackchaser website (www.trackchaser.net) but for the statistically minded, you can find a good deal of interesting data.  Of course, the webmaster, Mr. White must go by the information he gets from each trackchaser.  Some trackchasers are a little more diligent about getting their information to the webmaster than others.  The very best will provide the name of the track and the date they saw their first race at this track.  A few of the elite trackchasers even have their own websites where they post photos and race reports for all to enjoy.

 

 

Mr. Smith is one of the very best at providing a specific date to designate his first visit to a new track.  Of the current 1,118 tracks he has seen, he has individual dates for all but 11 of them.  This is excellent.  As this is being written, I have seen 1,255 tracks.  I have individual dates for all but 72 of those tracks.  I simply list the date for those 72 tracks as “pre-1980” because I saw them before the 1980 season.

 

 

It just so turns out that Guy Smith had seen 12 tracks before the 1980 season.  I had seen 72 tracks by that time.  Of course, in 1980, I was 31 years old and Guy was 21.  Had I been able to access www.trackchaser.net at end of the 1980 season, I could have been proud that I was leading the “father of trackchasing” by some 60 tracks.  Of course, in 1980 Guy was not the “father of trackchasing”.  Will White was not the trackchasing commissioner.  Moreover, there was no www.trackchaser.net.  In fact, I did not get my first computer, an IMB XT 40 Meg desktop, until about 1985.

 

 

That meant we were all “trackchasing in the dark” much as Carol and I dined in the dark not long ago.  Under those conditions, it’s difficult enough to figure out what you’re doing, let alone what your fellow diners are up too and, in the case of trackchasing, your fellow competitors.

 

 

In hindsight, I was lucky I did not know what Mr. Smith was up too.  As I mentioned, after the 1980 season, I was 60 tracks better than Mr. Smith was.  It would take me 26 years to increase that lead (see table at bottom).  Actually, Mr. Smith would eat into my 1980 lead until he overcame my lifetime tracks total in 1986.  After that, it was a real bloodbath.  If I were a football coach, I would have forfeited the game.  Look at some of these scores:

 

1986 – Guy 31 – Randy 8

1987 – Guy 41 – Randy 7

1988 – Guy 42 – Randy 6

1989 – Guy 40 – Randy 2

1990 – Guy 25 – Randy 2

 

 

Wow!  Forty to two!  I’m REALLY glad I did not have to wake up each morning in 1989 and see those scores on www.trackchaser.net!  However, things started to change.  They didn’t change fast, but they did start to change.

 

 

In the late 90s, I started to pick up the pace.  Guy maintained a solid pace himself.  As a matter of fact, he was the first beneficiary of the “temporary” track phenomenon.  In the late 90s and early 00s (is that how you say that?) the northeast started running all kinds of figure 8 and oval temporary tracks.  Guy noticed this and began to build his track total while staying fairly close to home.  This is how we compared in the late 90s.  By the end of the 1999 season, I was trailing Mr. Smith by what seemed like an insurmountable total, 266 tracks!  I was still losing to him each year, but I wasn’t getting thumped.

 

 

1995 – Guy 31 – Randy 22

1996 – Guy 41 – Randy 29

1997 – Guy 54 – Randy 27

1998 – Guy 45 – Randy 35

1999 – Guy 49 – Randy 47

 

 

It was not until the 2000 season, that I was finally able to beat Guy’s season total.  I had not won a single a seasonal contest against Mr. Smith for 21 years!  However, if the tables were starting to turn in some minor way in the late 90s, they would be flipped over in the first few years of the 21^st century.

 

 

Guy continued on a solid pace and greatly benefited from the availability of temporary tracks.  I, on the other hand, could see the light at the end of the retirement tunnel.  I didn’t best Mr. Smith by much in those early years of the new century, but at least I proved I could beat him once again.  This is what those years looked like.

 

 

2000 – Randy 61 – Guy 42

2001 – Randy 80 – Guy 46

2002 – Randy 76 – Guy 68

2003 – Randy 60 – Guy 58

 

 

Yes, I was now starting to defeat the “father of trackchasing” on a regular basis.  In 2003, I had seen two more tracks that Mr. Smith.  However, after that season, I still trailed him by some 203 tracks in the lifetime standings.  At this rate, it would take me more than 100 years to catch him.  I didn’t have 100 years!

 

 

It was also at this point that fate stepped in.  Sometimes that happens.  Fate, for me, came in the form of a sore shoulder.  After repeated visits to the doctor and a series of cortisone shots, I was scheduled for rotator cuff surgery.  I had been playing golf about 100 days per year.  I was retired.  Soon, I would be going through six months of shoulder rehab.  During that time there would be no golf for me.

 

 

I had to have a substitute activity for the time I had been playing golf.  I had a replacement for golf.  It would be trackchasing!

 

 

I have so fallen in love with trackchasing, that golf has never retained its #1 spot in my daily planning calendar.  I still play 70-80 times per year, which sounds like a lot if you don’t play golf. However, compared to the golfers I play with; it’s not much at all.

 

 

Now with trackchasing taking up a much bigger piece of the activity pie, my results against Mr. Smith really began to change.  This is what the results have looked like since 2004.

 

 

2004 – Randy 127 – Guy 56

2005 – Randy 182 – Guy 64

2006 – Randy 147 – Guy 72

2007 – Randy 117 – Guy 41

 

 

The football like scores that I was losing by in the early 1900s had changed to basketball looking scores in my favor.  Again, as this is written, I now lead Guy Smith by 132 tracks and am pulling away.

 

 

Some of my fellow supports might say, “Why doesn’t Mr. Smith just throw in the towel?  Why doesn’t he simply spend more time on continuing education classes and try to make a real difference in his student’s lives?”  Of course, these are all worthwhile questions.  Nevertheless, I don’t suspect Mr. Smith will “throw in the towel” any time soon.

 

 

Other fellow supporters might say, “Randy, don’t stop now.  Guy is ten years younger than you are.  If you stop he can make up his deficit in no time”.  Of course that comment is 100% true.  I must continue to trackchase.  At this stage, the trackchasing race is similar to a track & field event being run on a quarter-mile track.  I am running in the inside lane and have the advantage.  However, when my inside lane advantage goes away, the runner in the far outside lane (Mr. Smith) can catch up quickly.

 

 

I have no choice but to see as many tracks as I can.  Let’s just say that Mr. Smith and I give up trackchasing at the very same age, whenever that might be.  That means that he will have ten years to erase whatever deficit exists when I retire from the hobby.  I simply need to build up such a significant advantage that he won’t be able to catch up.

 

 

“Randy, do you think Mr. Smith will ever catch you”? the interested reader might ask.  I really don’t know the answer to that.  There are so many variables to consider.  I hope that we both get to trackchase and live to exceed our IRS life expectancies.  If we do, I think that will work to my advantage.  I hope that no outside influences (terrorism, global warming, or electric cars) alter the patterns of auto racing.

 

 

“What could Mr. Smith do in order to erase his deficit?  We all know he is being affected more and more by the limitations of his Geographical Driving Circle”, the strategic thinking reader might ask.

 

 

I am certainly not in a position to be giving Mr. Smith any advice or ideas about trackchasing.  Remember, he is the “father of trackchasing”.  Nevertheless, I think he really has only two options.

 

 

First, he must travel beyond his 500-mile Geographical Driving Circle and he must do it consistently.  In the past, he has shown very little interest in getting very far away from home.  Of all of the Eastern Region trackchasers, his impact into the Central and Western regions ranks near the bottom.  If he is willing to get on an airplane some 15-20 times per year or more each and every year, then he can escape his GDC.

 

 

If Mr. Smith is unwilling to fly the “friendly skies” then he is left with only one other alternative.  As far as I know and FBI records indicate, Guy has never been a resident outside the confines of the Keystone state, Pennsylvania.

 

 

If he and his wife Pam, were to move to let’s say Dodge City, Kansas he might have a future in trackchasing.  Guy would have to move to an area where he has no current trackchasing penetration.  If he does this, then he can once again trackchase happily within 500 miles of his home until he reaches the #1 position in the worldwide rankings.

 

 

The fight for trackchasing supremacy is not just between Mr. Smith and me.  There are others who could enter the fray.  I suspect that Wisconsin’s Ed Esser will top Mr. Smith’s total by late 2008 or early 2009.  However, Mr. Esser is two years older than I am, so he will be at an age disadvantage in this long race.

 

 

Political dissidents, Mssrs. Brown and Schneider, both aging trackchasing superstars could end their various boycotts and become trackchasing factors again.  RANLAY Racing prognosticators, who are paid to study issues like this, do not think this will happen.

 

 

On the other hand, it really wouldn’t take much from a young person to some day be the world’s leading trackchaser.  If a 26 year old racing fan could average just 40 new tracks each season, she would best my total by the time she reached my age of 58.  A 33 year old could do it by averaging only 50 tracks a year.

 

 

It will be interesting to see what the future holds.  I wish Mr. Smith well in his endeavors.  He is to be congratulated upon his ascension to second place in the lifetime trackchasing world rankings.  He is a more than solid trackchaser.  It will require a good deal of my concentration to keep him behind me.

 

 

 

 

Guy Smith vs. Randy Lewis – Season by Season Trackchasing Comparison

 

 

Date source:  www.trackchaser.net  Results posted through August 21, 2007. 

 

Here is how to read this table.  As an example, in 1987, Guy saw 41 new tracks and I saw 7 new tracks.  At the end of 1987, Guy’s lifetime total exceeded mine by 51 tracks.

 

 

Pre-1980 – Randy 72 – Guy 12 -------- Randy by 60

1980 – Guy 42 – Randy 20 -------- Randy by 38

1981 – Guy 18 – Randy 16 -------- Randy by 36

1982 – Guy 19 – Randy 19 -------- Randy by 36

1983 – Guy 19 – Randy 12 -------- Randy by 29

1984 – Guy 24 – Randy 8 -------- Randy by 13

1985 – Guy 18 – Randy 11 -------- Randy by 6

1986 – Guy 31 – Randy 8 -------- Guy by 17

1987 – Guy 41 – Randy 7 -------- Guy by 51

1988 – Guy 42 – Randy 6 -------- Guy by 87

1989 – Guy 40 – Randy 2 -------- Guy by 125

1990 – Guy 25 – Randy 2 -------- Guy by 148

1991 – Guy 29 – Randy 15 -------- Guy by 162

1992 – Guy 36 – Randy 17 -------- Guy by 181

1993 – Guy 28 – Randy 19 -------- Guy by 190

1994 – Guy 27 – Randy 11 -------- Guy by 206

1995 – Guy 31 – Randy 22 -------- Guy by 215

1996 – Guy 41 – Randy 29 -------- Guy by 227

1997 – Guy 54 – Randy 27 -------- Guy by 254

1998 – Guy 45 – Randy 35 -------- Guy by 264

1999 – Guy 49 – Randy 47 -------- Guy by 266

2000 – Randy 61 – Guy 42 -------- Guy by 247

2001 – Randy 80 – Guy 46 -------- Guy by 213

2002 – Randy 76 – Guy 68 -------- Guy by 205

2003 – Randy 60 – Guy 58 -------- Guy by 203

2004 – Randy 127 – Guy 56 -------- Guy by 132

2005 – Randy 182 – Guy 64 -------- Guy by 14

2006 – Randy 147 – Guy 72 -------- Randy by 61

2007 – Randy 117 – Guy 41 -------- Randy by 137

 

 

 

TODAY’S HEADLINES

 

What does a traveling trackchaser like me do with nine consecutive days at home?...................more in “The Trip”.

 

I have the best source for keeping me up to date with electronics and technology.  I hope this will postpone my “old fogey” days. …………..details in “The People”.

I did a household chore.  I never do household chores.  What could it be?. …………..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/august24262007.htm

 

 

GREETINGS FROM HASTINGS, NEBRASKA.

 

 

 

 

I WOKE UP IN SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA AND WENT TO SLEEP IN HASTINGS, NEBRASKA.  THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.

 

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

 

 

 

The Objective 

 

Information and convenience is king in trackchasing.  Actually, information is a requirement and convenience is simply a creature comfort that goes to the good planner.  The electronics equipment I have added this week will go a long way in providing real time information.  Convenience will be a by-product of this effort as well.

 

 

The Trip

 

I just spent nine straight days at home.  That’s right, nine days!  This wouldn’t be noteworthy other than the fact that this is only the second time in 2007 I have been home for as many as nine consecutive days.  During the first 7 ½ months of the year, I have spent 102 nights on the road.  Remember, this is all voluntary, so it should give you some indication that I enjoy the lifestyle.

 

What does a trackchaser like me do with nine days at home?  Lots of things!  I accompanied Trackchasing’s First Mother to see the Angels whomp those dreaded Yankees when the Halos scored 18 runs.

 

I must comment that when the Yankees, Red Sox and Tigers come to town their fans, presumably folks who have relocated from the East to California, wear their Yankee, BoSox and Tigers paraphernalia.  I say when you come to America learn to speak English.  When you move to California, buy an Angels and Dodgers hat and get on with your life.

 

The most obnoxious fans you are likely to see at a sporting event, other than those lowly usc trojan #$%^&#s, are these overbearing East coast fans.  I’m pretty sure that if a number of Angel’s fans went to Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park, you would never even know they were there.  I don’t have a problem with fans from any team we might play against.  I just expect everyone to behave in a gentlemanly or ladylike fashion.  Remember, you’re out in the public!  What’s the matter with these East coasters anyway?

 

Carol and I continued on with a visit to Los Angeles theatre with the Peters’ twosome.  We saw the “Jersey Boys” musical about the life and times of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.  It was special and I highly recommend it.  By the way, when anyone tells me they couldn’t live in California because they would miss the Four Seasons, I tell them the group broke up a long time ago.

 

The balance of my time was spent golfing and beefing up my systems for a late season trackchasing run.  I’ll tell you more about that in the “People” section.

 

 

 

The People

 

I consider myself to be on the leading edge, for people my age, when it comes to the use of systems and technology.  On the other hand, when I am compared to the twenty something/thirty something crowd, I know that I am really just in the rookie league overall.

 

Son J.J. was in town for a couple of days.  He knows as much about electronics and technology as anyone I know.   J.J. cannot afford to own all of the technology that he learns about.  Therefore, I become his “beta” test.  Carol is usually on the receiving end of this outcome, where I am trying to explain why I needed the latest thingamajig that cost hundreds of dollars.  I can usually win this argument by appealing to her motherly instincts and the logic that “J.J. made me do it”.

 

Recently J.J.’s latest technology idea was to consolidate most of the family into a “friends and family” cell phone plan.  Conveniently, upgrading this plan would allow us to get better “free” phones.  The price seemed right, so I went with a new Samsung model.  It wasn’t long before I was seeing the features of J.J.’s new Motorola model.

 

His phone can get video communication from CNN, ESPN and The Weather Channel among other options.  Of course, he can check his email, order pizzas and launch the space shuttle as well.  It just so turns out that I had 30 days from the time I got my new Samsung to decide if I liked it.  If not, I could turn it in for another phone.  With just four days remaining on my time clock, I returned the Samsung phone.  If you see me and you’re wondering if it’s raining outside, just ask me to check the weather on my new Motorola razor phone.

 

J.J.’s next piece of news was that my high definition TIVO unit was soon going to be partially obsolete.  It seems that DirectTV, which currently offers 5-6 HD channels, will be expanding their lineup to 30+ HD channels.  If you have not tried high definition TV, you need too it rocks!  This meant I would need to get a new HD DVR (digital video recorder) for our plasma TV, the only HD TV of our nine household TVs.

 

J.J. told me we could move the old HD TIVO unit down into my office and I could still get the original DirectTV HD channels on my office TV.  Of course, my office TV was not a high definition TV so it would not be able to play the HD TIVO recordings.

 

J.J. had a solution to this minor problem.  Costco was selling Visio 32” LCD HD flat screen TVs for a more than reasonable price according to him.  By the way, Visio sold more flat screen LCD TVs last quarter than any other manufacturer.  We needed to check out those flat screen TVs, J.J. told me.  Soon we were lugging TWO of these sets back home.  It turns out that my Aerobics Loge TV set gets its TIVO signal from my office, so I might as well have an HD TV where I exercise.  J.J. explained that I would be upgrading my exercise area (Aerobics Loge) from a “1995 health club atmosphere to a 2007 health club atmosphere”.  It made sense to me.  Would it make as much sense to Carol?

 

Of course, with two new HD TVs maybe it wouldn’t be such a good idea to stick with the old HD TIVO that would get only 5-6 HD channels.  J.J. seemed to think a second HD DVR unit was necessary to fully utilize the two new HD LCD screens.  How could I argue with such logic?

 

Of course, we would need a 130-foot HD compatible cable to make this work and well as a couple of down rezzers, whatever they are.  J.J. promised to come back and do as much of the installation work as he could.

 

In the meantime, I actually did a household chore.  Recall, I do not do chores, but I had self-interest in this one.  I actually hung one of the LCD flat screen TVs on the wall in the Aerobics Loge (Carol calls this the “exercise area”).  No, it did not go perfect the first time I tried.  Yes, I had to return the Costco wall mount because it didn’t fit my TV.  Yes, I had to drive through rush hour traffic to the Visio headquarters to get a wall mount that did fit.  Yes, I had to go to Lowes and buy a drill and some drill bits for the installation (my toolbox has no tools in it, just a MasterCard).  Yes, I had to return to Lowes to return the drill bits when I discovered we had the same package of drill bits in Carol’s toolbox (HER toolbox has about 35 screwdrivers and a hammer).  Yes, this is how home improvement projects go for me, but I don’t let it bother me.  I EXPECT it to go this way and it always does.

 

When I hung the new TV at the same height as the wall unit of the old TV (using the same holes in the wall as a timesaving efficiency idea), the new TV was much too low.  This meant dismantling the entire thing and drilling new holes.  Now the TV looks like a professional installed it.

 

Nevertheless, check back in this space of some future Trackchaser Report to read about how it all came crashing down! 

 

 

 

 

STATE RANKINGS

This was my 23^rd lifetime track to see in the Cornhusker state.  This gives me a second place ranking here just five tracks behind Ed Esser’s state leading 28 tracks.  Forty-two trackchasers have seen at least one track in Nebraska.

RACE REVIEW – KAM RACEWAY, HASTINGS, NEBRASKA – TRACK #1,256

It was touch and go with the weather tonight.  I had a long drive (283 miles) from the Kansas City Airport.  It was heavily overcast most of the way.  I did run into a steady rain early in my drive.  However, the worst of the weather had moved East and by the time I reached Hastings, Nebraska the weather was going to cooperate well enough for me to see my 1,256 lifetime track.

 

The KAM Raceway looks to be about 1/6 of a mile in length.  The dirt oval resembles a miniature American track with a quality catch fence, good P.A. system and decent lights.  The fencing is the steel Armco barrier type, which is plenty for the types of cars they were racing tonight.  They’ve been racing here since at least 1982.

 

The program was supposed to begin at 8 p.m.  They started 20 minutes late.  Then in the middle of the program, a hard crash caused a 30-minute delay while the young female racer was placed on a backboard and transported to the local ER.  Intermission was taken up with a time-consuming kid’s bike race.  They didn’t get to the features until 10:30 p.m.  For a program of this type, that’s not good.

 

There were four classes of flat karts racing tonight.  There were a total of about 25 of these racers.  They also had eight 600cc-restricted mini-sprints.  I’m pretty sure this class is limited to teen-agers.  They also had 14 600cc Mini-Sprints that the announcer referred too as “600 midgets”.

 

This last group was the only trackchaser countable class racing tonight.  The mini-sprint racing was actually quite good.  On a small track, the cars begin to look like full-sized sprint cars after a while!  The best thing is when they spin or wreck, they normally just put the car in gear and drive away.  Self-starters rock!

 

Each car racing tonight ran in two separate heat races before the feature events began.  I’m not sure that was a good idea, since the fields were small and the same people seemed to win each race.  The announcer was a fact based individual and didn’t do much to entertain the crowd.

 

The grandstand was a well-worn, waterlogged 12 row high wooden structure.  Some fans also parked their lawn chairs about three feet from the turn four fence.  They almost came to regret that.

 

During one of the “600 restricted” heats the driver mentioned above lost control and drove directly into the turn four wall just inches really from where several people had plopped their lawn chairs.  The announcer told us this was the hardest hit he had ever seen at the track.  It WAS a hard hit and the driver had to be placed on a backboard and transported to the hospital.  This could have been serious.  I hope it wasn’t.

 

Overall, the “600 midget” races were good.  However, starting 20 minutes late, having a 30-minute crash delay and a 20+ minute kid’s bike race really slowed down the program.  As usual, I was lucky to even see a race tonight with the weather as it was.

RENTAL CAR UPDATE

 

Kansas City – Friday-Monday (3-day rental)

 

As I have mentioned on earlier trips to the Kansas City airport, this rental car facility is gigantically huge.  I looked down a rather long row of cars and found just one with XM satellite radio.  I grabbed it.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser

Never laugh at a passing hearse.

 

 

 

 

 

AIRPLANE

 

Los Angeles, CA – Kansas City, KS – 1,361 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR – KANSAS CITY, KS

 

Kansas City International Airport – trip begins

Hastings, Nebraska – 283 miles

 

 

 

 

 

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

 

KAM Raceway - $5

 

 

 

 

 

RANKINGS

 

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:

 

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

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,256

 

 

 

 

Other notables

 

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

 

 

29.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 333

 

30.  Tom Schmeh, Knoxville, Iowa – 330

 

31.  Dwight Bucks, Topton, Pennsylvania – 328

 

 

 

 

2007 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 118

 

2.  Roland Vanden Eynde, Vilvoorde, Belgium - 78

 

3.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 75

 

4.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania – 66

 

5.  Pam Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 45

 

5.  Paul Weisel, Orefield, Pennsylvania – 45

 

7.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 43

 

8.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 39

 

9.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 36

 

10.  Roger Ferrell, Majenica, Indiana – 27

 

Tracks have been reported by 39 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

 

This will be a traditional out Friday, back Monday trackchasing trip for me.  Friday should be the most questionable weather day with the balance of the weekend looking nice and dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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