Randy Lewis
World's #1 Ranked Trackchaser
VICTORVILLE AUTO RACEWAY (FIGURE 8) - VICTORVILLE, CALIFORNIA
I don't know why, but the local police always seem to hang out at my hotel. I might need to upgrade my accommodations on future trips.
Most trackchasers face miles of endless highway. This is my view on nearly every trip I make. Airplanes, airplanes and more airplanes.
I left Tyler, Texas this morning and flew from Dallas to Los Angeles. Before I knew it, I was out in the Southern California high desert. I don't see scenery like this in very many places where I trackchase. Of course, the scenery usually comes with a 10-lane wide highway. That's the price of California sunshine.
Carol and I love Chinese food and UCLA football. In order not to miss any of the game while we drove to the track, we had to eat our meal in the car while we listened on the radio as the Bruins smashed Oregon State 40-14.
That's a pretty snazzy sign for a county fairgrounds. The fairgrounds sits on old Route 66.
Everything seems to cost a little more in California. What do you think a hamburger went for at this temporary food stand? How does six bucks sound!
The fair has a nice sized grandstand for the Victorville Auto Raceway events.
At all three tracks I visited this weekend the grader had to be used. That's not a good sign.
The white fence in the center of this picture is the wall for the Wheel to Wheel Raceway. They run winged karts there. The track surface of that track and the oval at the Victorville Auto Raceway are less than a pitching wedge apart.
I was here tonight to see the racing on the figure 8 track. I had seen the oval track back in 1992. This is the "X" of the figure 8 track. This is a permanent figure 8 track.
The track is well-lit. The retaining wall is just like Ascot's was. The track ran a great 20-car wingless sprint car feature event. The event reminded me very much of Ascot Park which closed in 1992.
I was very impressed with the Victorville Auto Raceway. They even had box seats if you wanted to sit closer to the action.
DAY 2 – GO WHERE THE WEATHER IS BEST TRACKCHASING TOUR
AND THE READERS RESPOND
From time to time interested readers write me about one thing or another. Many times, I feel that my other readers would be interested, informed and/or amused by the comments I get. Here’s what a
Randy,
I agree that I don't want anyone cheating in any activity that I participate in. I agree that if anyone does cheat, he/she should be penalized.
But I'm not sure I agree with you regarding accusations not being made public until they're proven or disproven.
Think about our justice system. When someone is accused of a crime, that is made public, but it is understood that they are innocent, until proven guilty. There is a reason it's made public. That is so no one can say later that there was a cover-up, or that it wasn't fully investigated.
I'm sure your trackchasing commissioner is an honest and capable person. But what if a commissioner in another hobby was dishonest, or was prone to poor judgement? If someone brought an allegation of cheating to this dishonest or incapable commissioner, he might just say "Well, I don't believe this is worthy of pursuing". And that would be that, and no one would know any different, because it had not been made public; no one else would know about it except the dishonest or incapable commissioner.
In my view, put any allegations out on the table, where all can see them, and make sure that everyone understands that the person is innocent -- until they are proven guilty. In the situation you described, no one could prove the person was guilty, so they are innocent of the cheating charges. Case closed. That's just the way it would be handled in our justice system. (Unless Johnnie Cochran came back from the grave and someone hired him -- then, who knows what might happen???!!!)
I always enjoy reading your reports, Randy, keep up the good work.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
The Hawkeye Racing News had recently published my memorial to Darrell Dake. I’ve been receiving emails from HRN readers like crazy. Darrel was loved by many people. I have also received new photos from Darrell Dake’s racing career from Bob Dixon of
I now have more than 10,000 photographs on my website.
TODAY’S HEADLINES
Hey great granddaddy. Who was that guy?....................more in “The Objective”.
What do you think of “multi-tasking?” Can you do more than one thing at once? …………..details in “The Trip”.
When is it O.K. to change your child’s diaper? …………..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/sep27282007.htm
GREETINGS FROM VICTORVILLE, CALIFORNA.
I WOKE UP IN
PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS
The Objective
“Hey, great granddaddy. I’ve been looking at your old trackchasing records. Who’s this guy that went from southern
“Well, sonny. That fella was from out there in
The Trip
Saturday afternoon
Do you ever try to “multi-task”? I do all the time. I’ve read stories that you can’t get 100% out of any activity when you’re doing two or more things at once. I figure if I can get 75% out of two activities at the same time, that’s 150% from my time rather than just doing one thing at 100% efficiency. Of course, if something is important, I will devote all of my focus to it.
I have spent a good deal of my life in airports. Some might think that’s a bad thing. Obviously, I would disagree. I was just telling someone at the golf club this past week how much I loved
My trip today first involved a two-hour drive from
Today I was flying back to
When I arrived at LAX, I picked up my car at the Parking Spot that I had parked just 31 hours ago. Even the parking situation involved a bit of multi-tasking. During the 31 hours that I have been gone, J.J. had flown in from Tucson, picked up my car, drove it to San Clemente for an overnight, then drove it back to LAX and went back to work with a flight to Wichita. By the time I returned to LAX the car was patiently waiting for me just as if it had never left the Parking Spot. We Lewis’ are multi-taskers.
Saturday late afternoon
The Lewis multi-tasking effort was not finished on this day. I had just landed at the
Here was our challenge. It was 3 p.m. when I landed at LAX. Tonight’s racing was to begin, for us, at 7 p.m. I wanted to minimize the total miles that both Carol and I drove tonight in getting to the races. The three points of the triangle were LAX,
We could both meet at the track. This option would require a total driving mileage of 404 miles since we would be using two cars. Alternatively, I could drive home to
We settled on Carol driving northward to
Of course, our multi-tasking did not stop there. On the drive up to the track, we listened to the
Once we reached Victorville, we found our Chinese restaurant. To avoid missing the second half of the game, we decided to order takeout. I needed to talk to three people at the restaurant before I could get someone who spoke English well enough to take our order. By the way, that is exactly the type of Chinese restaurant you want to eat at. We don’t eat in “Taco
Once we were at the restaurant, I came up with a new idea. If the restaurant had a TV we could eat our food “in” and watch the game. It was a “Chinese fire drill” (pun intended) trying to explain this concept to our friendly Chinese hosts. They did their best with the limited resources of the “Dish Network” trying to find the game. However the “Dish” people weren’t broadcasting the UCLA game. Maybe, that’s why I have DirectTV, which rocks and is adding 100 HD channels by the end of this year.
We were back to the original plan. We would eat our egg drop soup, pot stickers and shrimp chow mien in the car. While Carol was unwrapping all of our food as well as our chopsticks, I was powering up the laptop in hopes of watching the game on our Slingbox system powered by my Dell laptop. For whatever reason, (a possible simultaneous J.J. upgrade?) I couldn’t get that system to work. By the way, it is quite the challenge to balance a laptop, a bowl of egg drop soup and a pair of chopsticks while dipping a pot sticker in a bowl of teriyaki sauce. However, it is well worth the effort.
By the time we had reached our current location in Victorville, our local AM radio station’s signal for the UCLA game was fading. No problem, we simply switched to XM radio and listened to the
With our Chinese dinner fully consumed and not too much of it spilled on the interior of the Carol Lewis owned and Life of
So……what have we learned from the above? I can only imagine what you’re thinking right now. I suspect many of my foreign as well as
However, I don’t think of myself as an Engineer. Engineers remind me too much of work. I think of myself as a salesman. I’m trying to communicate. I’m trying to find compelling reasons for you to buy my product. “What is your product, Randy?” the quizzical reader might ask.
I have a simple product to sell. Not everyone needs this product. Not everyone wants this product. Heck, not everyone can even understand this product. Here is what I am selling.
I am selling the idea of “thinking out of the box”. I see so many people that limit themselves by seeing all the reasons that something cannot be done, why something isn’t right, etc. The use of technology is a prime example. Technology can be difficult to understand. However, when used properly, technology can give you so many more options in life. Granted, I have three children who as my grandma used to say, “are smart as a whip” (whatever that meant). They “keep me current”.
However, I am not just talking about technology by any means. I’m talking about a “mind set” really. That mind set means challenging yourself at whatever age you might be to be more, learn more, do more. “More” can be a good thing.
Anyway, that’s how my travel day went. I have to get on my elliptical machine and pump away while watching the President’s Cup golf match on my DVR. I only have an hour until Carol gets back from church and we’re off to our Sunday afternoon race.
In my own personal effort to “be more, learn more, do more” I’ve made a mental note to learn more about “covered call stock options” as mentioned by son, Jim and long-time, loyal Trackchaser Report reader Mr. Tomasek. My goal is to place a covered call option, if that’s how you say it, before the end of the year.
The People
I see things at nearly every track I visit that I have never seen before. The Victorville Auto Raceway did not disappoint in this area. The track is located on the property of the San Bernadino County Fairgrounds. Tonight there were several activities going on in the adjacent fair buildings.
There were at least three major Mexican weddings and parties going full blast. The Mexican bands were playing their favorites and everyone was having a good time.
When we approached the ticket window, I saw something I have never seen in my previous 1,276 track visits. The ticket seller was changing the diaper on her two-year old! I tried not to look. If you do this long enough, you will see everything.
After Carol and I were comfortably seated in the fifth row of a spacious county fair grandstand that sits back from the track some, I passed my trackchaser press release up to the announcing booth. Less than sixty seconds later, the announcer was telling the crowd they had a “celebrity” in their midst. Yes, we SoCalers are accustomed to dealing with celebrities with the movie industry nearby. Carol and I craned out necks to see what famous person might be seated in the grandstand.
Alas, the announcer was referring to the “World’s #1 Ranked Trackchaser”. I never could have guessed! He asked me to come up and talk with him and I did. This announcer was most enthusiastic about tonight’s races and about the hobby of trackchasing.
He told the crowd what counted and didn’t count in the world of trackchasing tracks. I figured if the Victorville crowd could understand the requirements after hearing the rules explained just once, then our long-time trackchasers shouldn’t have any trouble understanding the rules.
I told him a little about where I had been in 2007. The announcer told the crowd that he himself had traveled a good deal with “monster truck shows”. However, he was a bit taken aback with my travel schedule. “You’re not home much are you?” he offered. Well, I am home nearly every Tuesday and Thursday to play golf with the Priestly group. I simply think of myself as an “active senior”.
While all of this was going on, a fellow over in the corner of the press box was taking copious notes. I would later learn that he was a reporter for The Daily Press, Victorville’s local newspaper. Soon I was being introduced to J.J. Calvacca. J.J. told me he will be placing a story about trackchasing in the paper in the next few days. When I get the copy I will share it with all Trackchaser Report readers.
It was a full people night. My experience at the Victorville Auto Raceway exceeded my expectations.
STATE RANKINGS
This is my 103rd lifetime track to see in the Golden state. The late legendary Gary Jacob leads in
The oval and then the figure 8 tracks were Carol’s 59th and 60th lifetime
RACE REVIEW
VICTORVILLE AUTO RACEWAY,
Wow!! Was I surprised. I really wasn’t expecting much from the Victorville Auto Raceway. I had seen racing on the oval back on July 31, 1992. Back then the track was called the Victorville Grandstand Arena. The race I saw was the inaugural event for oval racing at this location in Victorville. Between then and now the track was also called the Route 66 Raceway as Victorville sits on what used to be the famous Route 66 highway.
I was here to see the figure 8 racing. Luckily for Carol, she would get credit for both the figure 8 and oval tracks as she had not accompanied my on that special night in 1992. I was expecting a small town track with far west car counts and quality, meaning “bad news”.
However, we were in for a treat. I had called ahead to confirm the figure 8 racing. In the past, the only time this location ran figure 8s was during the Thanksgiving weekend. This year they’ve been running figure 8s every two or three weeks. By the way, according to a flyer handed out at the track, they will be racing over the Thanksgiving weekend but will not be running figure eights.
My contact at the track confirmed they would run figure 8 races. Although he cautioned “it’s only the four-cylinders”. I didn’t care if it was Reliant Robins, I would be there. He also advised that heat races began at 5 p.m. He told me I would be safe in seeing the figure 8 races if I arrived no later than 7 p.m. “That’s when the feature racing starts. A lot of people show up then”. Given my arrival from
As noted above, Carol and I dined on fine Chinese cuisine in the Carol Lewis owned and Life of
For some reason this track is eerily like the shuttered
They are funny and informative. You feel like they are talking to you and they are entertaining. They are not “DJ style” announcers who seem to talk a lot but don’t know their racing very well. They are not “wallflower” announcers that rarely speak at all. They are not “curmudgeon” announcers who are not very friendly or informative. SoCal announcers like we had tonight are in a league of their own.
The racing fields were full. The tracks website at http://www.victorville-auto-raceway.com indicates eleven divisions have raced there in 2007. Tonight there were five classes racing. This included the mini-stocks, sport compacts senior, sports compact junior, sprints and figure 8s.
The mini-stocks and sports compact seniors were very similar looking divisions. They each ran a 20-car feature with nice looking cars. The track was well lit, they didn’t screw around with a lot of yellow flag delays and the racing was excellent.
What was most fantastic were the wingless sprint cars.
I wasn’t expecting much from Victorville’s sprint car class. I figured with Perris running wingless sprint cars on a nearly weekly basis, a track like Victorville located just 63 miles away couldn’t have much of a sprint car count. Wrong! They brought 20 wingless sprints to the dance. Twenty wingless sprints on a banked quarter-mile dirt oval was perfect.
Maybe I was catching them on a good night. The web site told me that seven sprint car races had been run to date. Only five cars had made all seven races and only seven cars had made more than four races. I was also surprised to see that 49 different cars had raced in the sprint division at least once.
Nevertheless, there were twenty of them tonight. They put on a great race. This was easily one of the best five races I’ve seen in 2007. There was plenty of two-groove racing, several runs from the back to the front and a couple of minor crashes including one after the checkered flag with the second place finisher. I love wingless sprint cars. I will likely park across the street and watch street stocks before I will be interested in winged sprint cars.
The figure 8 race was the last of the night. There were ten starters. The race was run on a traditional figure 8 track. That means they use the turns of the oval for the turns of the figure 8 track. This is a permanent figure 8 course. There was a little action at the “X” but not much. For the most part this was a figure 8 “race” and not a figure 8 “derby” like most of the figure 8 racing I watch in the East and
The entire program was finished by 9:05 p.m. This had rekindled my interest in non-winged sprint cars. I just might make a return visit to Perris or even Victorville in the future. The only problem is I’m never in SoCal on a Saturday night.
Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,
Randy Lewis
Everything I know, I learned from someone else.
AIRPLANE
Los Angeles, CA – Dallas, TX – 1,237 miles
RENTAL CAR –
AIRPLANE
Dallas, TX – Los Angeles, CA – 1,237 miles
PERSONAL CAR
Total Air miles – 2,474 miles (2 flights)
Total auto and air miles traveled on this trip – 3,179 miles
TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:
Victorville Auto Raceway - $10
Total racetrack admissions for the trip – $20
RANKINGS
LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:
There are no trackchasers currently within 100 tracks of my lifetime total.
1. Randy Lewis,
Other notables
These worldwide trackchasers are within 10 tracks (plus or minus) of Carol’s current trackchaser total.
27. Ken Schrader,
28. Max Allender,
29. Carol Lewis,
2007 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS
1. Randy Lewis,
2. Roland Vanden Eynde,
3. Ed Esser,
4. Mike Knappenberger,
5. Paul Weisel,
6. Pam Smith, Effort,
7. Carol Lewis,
7. Guy Smith, Effort,
9. Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs,
10. Roger Ferrell,
Tracks have been reported by 40 different worldwide trackchasers this season.
LIFETIME NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY STANDINGS
Results current thru 9/29/07**
1. Randy Lewis,
2. Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs,
3. Allan Brown,
** Results are unofficial.
Past trackchasing reports are available at:
Official trackchaser standings can be viewed at:
Some of the data in this report comes from www.trackchaser.net
and my Garmin GPS
UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS
Now that I’m back on my original California weekend plan, Carol and I will trackchase together again tomorrow in Southern California less than ten miles from the Mexican border.
RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2007 (** not the first time to visit this track)
1,139. Meremere Dirt Track Club,
1,140. Meeanee Speedway,
1,141. Top of the South Speedway,
1,142. Woodford Glen Speedway,
1,143. Robertson Holden International
1,144.
1,145.
1,146. Angels Stadium of
1,147. Angels Stadium of
1,148.
1,149.
1,150. Grand Prix De Lanaudiere,
1,151. Ste-Eulalie Ice Track,
1,152. St Guillaume, St
1,153.
1,154.
1,155. Northeast Pond Ice Track,
1,156. Lee Pond Ice Track,
1,157. New Hendry Country
1,158.
1,159. Honeoye Lake Ice Track – Road Course,
1,160.
1,161.
1,162. Dawgwood Speedway,
1,163. Toccoa Speedway,
1,164. Tazewell Speedway,
1,165.
1,166. Dacosa Speedway,
1,167. Swinging Bridge Raceway,
1,168.
1,169. Foothills Raceway,
1,170. Mileback Speedway,
1,171. Grand Prix of
1,172. Vegas Grand Prix,
1,173.
1,174. Low Country Kartway,
1,175. Dillon Motor
1,176. Valley Dirt Riders,
1,177.
1,178. Sertoma Speedway,
1,179.
1,180.
1,181. Hollywood Hills
1,182. Meridian
1,183.
1,184. Rocky Mountain Raceways (oval),
1,185. Rocky Mountain Raceways (figure 8),
1,186. Modoc
1,187.
1,188.
1,189. Fairplex at the
1,190. Lowes Motor
1,191. Lowes Motor
1,192.
**
1,193. Thunderbird Stadium (figure 8),
1,194. Thunderbird Stadium (oval),
1,195. Whispering
1,196.
1,197.
1,198.
1,199.
1,200. Castrol Raceway,
1,201. Hidden
1,202. Boyd’s
1,203. Fayette County Fairgrounds,
1,204.
1,205.
1,206. Vinton Speedway,
1,207. Hilltop
1,208. I-70
1,209. L A Raceway, La Monte,
1,210. Valley
1,211.
1,212.
**
** Iowa
1,213.
**
1,214. Kart Kanyon Raceway, Aztec,
1,215. Aztec
1,216. Sunvalley Speedway,
1,217.
1,218.
1,219. Hunterstown Speedway,
1,220. Shippensburg Speedway,
**
1,221. Blanket Hill
1,222.
1,223.
1,224. Iowa
1,225.
1,226.
1,227.
1,228. Lycoming County Fairgrounds (figure 8),
1,229.
1,230.
1,231. Van Buren County Youth Fairgrounds (road course),
1,232. High Banks
1,233. High Banks
1,234. SOIL MX, Bone Gap,