Randy Lewis
World's #1 Ranked Trackchaser
EVERGREEN SPEEDWAY (1/5-MILE OVAL), MONROE, WASHINGTON
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RANLAY Racing Trackchaser Report
DAY 2 – LET’S GO RACING WHERE IT RAINS TRACKCHASING TOUR
TODAY’S HEADLINES
Today I saw my fifth countable track at the Evergreen Speedway. Had I taken the easy road to get these five new tracks?...................more in “The Objective”.
When should a busy body be dismissed and when should they be shot? …………..details in “The Trip”.
The Western Washington Racing Association aka WWRA in a word “rocks!”…………..details in “The People”.
Why can the WWRA run the type of race program than more than 80% of other sanctioning groups and racetracks cannot?…………..details in “Race Review – Evergreen Speedway”.
Click on this link or paste it in your browser to take you to today’s Trackchaser Report via my website at
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GREETINGS FROM MONROE, WASHINGTON.
I WOKE UP THIS MORNING IN SEQUIM, WASHINGTON. I WENT TO SLEEP IN SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA. THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.
PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS
The Objective
One of my overriding objectives in the hobby of trackchasing is to see as many tracks as I can. So far that part of trackchasing is going pretty well. I’ve seen 1,332 different racetracks, which is more than anybody else can lay claim too.
It is somewhat concerning when people don’t understand the rules of trackchasing. Most of the trackchasing rules were already in place when I joined the other trackchasing hobbyists. I don’t spend much time complaining about the rules. Do I agree with all of them? No I do not.
Do I feel strongly enough about changing any rules to propose a vote on a replacement rule. No, I do not. I cannot think of any rule that I would like to change AND that I feel could get the needed majority vote to pass. Therefore, I support the trackchasing rules from a “consensus” point of view. Being in “consensus” support simply means that I like most of the rules and am willing to go along with the group on the rules that are not my favorites.
Today, I am seeing my fifth countable track at the Evergreen Speedway. “But, Randy, if this is your fifth countable track here, have you seen five countable tracks at EVERY location you visited. That would mean the 1,332 tracks you’ve seen were only at about 250 locations. That’s not so hot”, the quizzical reader might ask.
Actually, my records show that I have been to 1,183 different venues. Some folks would call each of the venues I’ve seen as “shows at one grandstand”. There are only a few locations that offer multiple countable tracks at just one location. Often this means the facility has both an inner oval and a larger oval. Sometimes it means they have an oval track and a connected figure 8 track. Those are probably the most common situations where one facility has one or more countable tracks.
As it turns out the Evergreen Speedway has FIVE countable tracks according to trackchaser official rules. They have three ovals. They are all (obviously) of different lengths measuring 1/5, 3/8 and 5/8 of a mile. They have a figure eight track that is part of the 1/5-mile oval as well as a road course that covers parts of several ovals.
I’m happy to report that I did not take the “easy way out” to get five new tracks at the Evergreen Speedway. I did not come up here just one time and walk away with five new tracks. I first came here in 1984 to see racing on the 5/8 mile oval. I came back in 1986 to see racing on the big oval again that featured a visit by NASCAR’s Bill Elliott.
Back in 2001, I came up to see racing on the 3/8-mile oval and the figure 8 track. In 2005, I made my fourth trip to the Monroe area speed plant to see the hornets race on a road course. Finally, today, I made my fifth and possibly final visit to the Evergreen Speedway for the 1/5-mile oval.
The only other facility that I can think of where I have seen five countable tracks is at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. I’ve seen racing on four different ovals there and a road course. At that property, they have three different grandstands for those five tracks.
Could I envision a scenario where I might be able to see even more racetracks at Evergreen? Possibly, yes. If they were to change racing surfaces from asphalt to dirt that could open up five more opportunities I guess. For everyone’s sake, I hope they don’t do that.
The Trip
I do my best to keep a positive attitude while I’m out on the trackchasing trail. Sometimes, it is difficult to do. This morning when I awoke, my shower did not provide any hot water. This is very unusual. On my way out of the hotel I mentioned this to the desk clerk. A guest overheard my comment and said, “My shower didn’t have any hot water either”.
The desk clerk could only shrug her shoulders and say, “The boilers are lit. People must be all taking a shower at the same time. They’ve been telling me this all morning.” Do the previous two sentences seem to contradict each other? How could everyone be taking a shower at the very same time, if they’ve been telling the clerk about the lack of hot water “all morning”? Heck, I can’t blame the clerk, she’s just making her seven bucks an hour and looking at the clock to see when she gets off. The motel owner likely doesn’t care as every expense he cuts is just more profit in his pocket…………at least for a while.
Do you ever go to the car wash and stand by the window until your car pulls through just to watch it get rinsed, soaped and then rinsed again? Me too! I love it. I feel like a kid in a car wash, when I get to ride on an auto ferryboat as well.
This morning, I boarded the Kingston to Edmunds auto ferry for the 5.6-mile ride across the Puget Sound. I can now say I’ve used airplanes, rental cars and ferryboats in my 2008-trackchasing journeys. However, I did encounter two people who attempted to rain on my parade. One person was actually trying to help me and the other was just being an ---hole.
When I drove up to the ticket booth for today’s ferry ride, the helpful ticket taker asked, “You wouldn’t happen to be 65 years old would you?” When you’re just 59 years old, this is not the type of question you want to hear. “No” I told him I was not yet 65 years of age. No, I did not get the senior discount and paid the full price of $11.35. I can’t really hold anything against the ticket seller. He was trying to help me, which I appreciate. I always have the fullest appreciation and respect for anyone who tries to help me.
Once I parked my car on the ferry, I put my laptop in the trunk and went to explore the boat. Like I say, I really get a kick out of the simple idea of driving my car on a ferry boat and exploring what there is too see.
I was taking pictures of several things I thought you might find interesting from my ferryboat adventure. When you visit www.ranlayracing.com you will see what I am talking about. During my photo taking time, an elderly woman (maybe SHE was 65 or more) came up to me and said. “You’d better watch out. They don’t like you taking pictures on the ferryboat”. I asked her if she worked for the Washington State Ferry Boat system. “No”, she told me, she did not. “They might get very mad at you for taking pictures” she continued.
Editor’s note: This was not an elderly senile type of individual. She was just that type of person who wants to control the behavior of others. There is a big difference. Probably in her personal life, if she has anyone in her personal life, no one ever tells her to ---- off.
With that, I grimaced at her and waited for her to step out of my shot of the ferryboat’s cafeteria. I continued to take me pictures. This act of defiance seemed to really “steam” the woman. She could not understand why I would not immediately lay down my camera at her request. She walked up to one of the cafeteria workers, whispered, and then pointed in my direction. She apparently did not understand that the cafeteria worker was making just seven bucks an hour and watching the clock until it was time to get off work.
There were no signs on the boat anywhere that I could see that prohibited the taking of photographs. During the announcement made over the P.A. system of the dos and don’ts (i.e., no smoking, no running, etc) there was no mention of a rule against taking pictures.
Maybe the woman had been watching too much Fox TV. I don’t know. I will say this. I love to listen to advice and new ideas from other people. However, I can’t stand nor will I tolerate to any degree whatsoever, a person who tries to control my behavior when they have ZERO authority or responsibility about what’s going on.
This woman did not work for the ferryboat system. I was not doing anything that violated any of the written or stated policies of the ferryboat system.
This reminds me of some trackchasers who want to control other’s behaviors when they have neither the authority nor responsibility to do so. I tell them what I meant to tell this old woman, “Go pound salt, baby.”
Later in our voyage, I saw my adversary walking through the boat deck with an employee of the ship. Was she bringing someone after me? I tried to stay out of sight, just in case….but continued to take photos for you to enjoy at www.ranlayracing.com.
When we were off the boat, I passed a McDonalds. Who was exiting the drive-thru lane and trying to blend into outbound traffic? Yes, it was the woman who had hassled me about the photo taking. Do you think I let her in front of me? I’ll give you two guesses and neither one counts!
The People
I will tell you that my “people” experiences took a dramatic upturn when I arrived at the Evergreen Speedway. Today the Western Washington Racing Association was sanctioning the races. They are in their 51st year of running races. They must be doing something right.
Last week, I discovered these guys when I called up the sanctioning body president Steve Schoenfeldt. We had a great conversation. Steve was surprised to hear that somebody would trackchase all over the world like I do. I was happy to hear that the WWRA (www.wwra.net) would be racing on the 1/5-oval at Evergreen and on a Sunday no less.
We hung up the phone and I promised to look Steve up when I got to the track. Then that very same afternoon, I received a surprise email. The emailer was requesting a trackchaser interview with me on the Everett (Seattle), Washington ESPN affiliate radio station. I’ve been interviewed a few times on radio but this would be my first with ESPN.
Later in the day, we did our interview. Steve Mortland, who handles the North Sound Racing 1380 AM ESPN racing program, was the interviewer. Steve does his program weekly each Thursday from 7-10 p.m. He’s got that natural radio voice and most importantly knows his racing. We did 15 minutes of talk that seemed like five. I hope you were able to catch it when the program aired live. If not, you might be able to hear it on my website soon.
Today, I arrived during the driver’s meeting. Unfortunately, I learned that Steve Schoenfeldt, my WWRA contact, had to work today and would not be at the races. That was disappointing although I was soon put in the capable hands of Jon Forsgren. Jon is a former past president of WWRA. He was great at giving me a good background of the club and what type of racing would be going on today. Mr. Forsgren, thank you very much.
I learned the Western Washington Racing Association has been in business for 51 years. They originally started out as the “Sky Valley Racing Association”. They raced at the Joplon Gravel Pit until the city decided the gravel was more valuable than the racetrack. Sound familiar?
That meant that in 1978, they moved down to begin racing at the Evergreen Speedway. When they’re not racing the club supports local food and clothing drives. Check out their website at www.wwra.net to see what their club is all about.
Jon introduced me to Denny Strimple of North Fork Photo. Denny is the WWRA official photographer. He and his wife both take pictures. They are so in demand that sometimes he must work at one track while she works at another. Denny was also a wealth of information. Thanks, Denny.
I was introduced at the driver’s meeting. They also made mention of my upcoming visit on their website. That probably went a long way in so many people coming up to talk as I toured the pits. I didn’t get most people’s names but I did hear several interesting stories.
I ran into one young man who was driving a green #7 racecar. He told me this was his second ever racing event. He just happened to be renting a place on the second floor of an auto racing dealership. They offered him the chance to race one of their cars. Many of the NASCAR success stories have not been any more unusual than that.
I also met the gentlemen manning the pit gate at the spectator side of the pit area. You’re going to have to visit www.ranlayracing.com to see this guy’s dashboard in his personal pickup truck. He was a long haul trucker for years. He collected so many knickknacks that he had to put them someplace. Let’s just say this, his dashboard is “busy”.
I met a threesome of rough looking guys who turned out to be some of the nicest I talked to all day. They had several racecars “back at the shop” and just one at the track today. We spent several minutes talking racing before I moved on. Check out their picture and see if they don’t look like some guys who you’d like to have “on your side”.
I also ran into Mary Schoenfeldt, wife of President Steve (boy, I hope I’ve got her first name right!). She drives the #6 car in the roadrunner division. She took time out of her busy schedule to say hello. I have a great photo of her leading the pack out of turn four.
I met several other folks in the pit area. What a great group of people just like the WWRA president had promised. It was great meeting you all. I hope you’ll stop by at www.ranlayracing.com from time to time to see where I’ve been traveling. I doubt I will run into a better group of racers anywhere I end up.
RACE REVIEW
EVERGREEN SPEEDWAY (1/5-MILE OVAL), MONROE, WASHINGTON
I would have to say I was given the royal welcome by the Western Washington Racing Association. What might constitute such a welcome? After talking to WWRA President Steve Schoenfeldt, I began receiving messages in my website guestbook welcoming me to the Evergreen Speedway and my visit was still a few days away!
Then, as mentioned, I received an email request asking me to be interviewed on ESPN radio. When I checked the WWRA website, the lead mention was directing everyone in the club to be on the lookout for me and to make me feel at home. When I actually did arrive at the track, I was introduced at the driver’s meeting.
During my original phone call with Steve, we talked about trackchasing and some of the travel that is involved. Steve immediately offered to get me “set-up” with one of the club members to stay over at their house.
I have had some very nice welcomes along the trackchasing trail. I don’t believe I have ever had a better overall one than that offered by the Western Washington Racing Association. They went over the top. What can I say…..they’re the best racing folks.
The WWRA offers low-budget stock car racing. They have decent fields of cars. They race side by side with lots of passing and a good deal of banging and bumping. They run one race after another with no delays. Moreover, one of the best things of all for all of their fans in the grandstands, there is no admission charge. It’s freeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Let’s break down the above paragraph. Where can you see all of the good things I just mentioned for free? I’ve been to more than 1,300 tracks. In the past several years I’ve been going to more than 150 new tracks each year. I’m not sure I can think of one place that offers what the WWRA does at the price they charge.
Today’s racing took place on both the 3/8-mile oval and the 1/5-mile oval. I was most interested in seeing racing on the smaller track since that was the one track that I was missing from the Evergreen quintet of tracks. The roadrunners and thunder cars race on the 1/5-mile.
We’re talking asphalt oval racing. The one good thing about asphalt racing compared to dirt racing is there are probably fewer delays. Often times, dirt tracks are difficult to get race ready and then require constant watering to keep them dust free. A special advantage of asphalt racing, especially at the Evergreen Speedway is they run “rain or shine”.
The Evergreen Speedway has a huge spectator grandstand. A roof partially covers the stands. I will say that some of the bleacher boards were in need of a new coat of paint. The P.A. system was stout.
I’ve a big fan of good track announcers. It seems like the quality of announcing is generally going downhill. Maybe, that’s just because I’m seeing some of the second-tier tracks nowadays. However, the announcer today at the Evergreen Speedway is one of the best I’ve heard in a long time.
He had that deep radio quality voice coupled with a great knowledge of racing. He also knew who all of the local drivers were. You’d be surprised at how often the announcers couldn’t tell you the names of more than half the drivers in a particular race. This guy could easily have a job at any of the big name tracks.
Following the preliminary races, fans are permitted down onto the track to meet and greet the drivers in what is called an “autograph session”. It’s amazing that the WWRA can spend 20 minutes or more with this type of thing, still run trophy dashes, heat races, feature events for five classes, and complete the entire show in three hours. If you’ve read many of my trackchaser reports, you know that it is extremely rare for most tracks to finish their programs in three hours. Most of those tardy tracks don’t run as many races or offer “meet and greet” programs either.
Finally, the racing was good ol’ slam-bang big iron stock car racing. When cars spun, either they got going again or the ensuing yellow flag period was only for a lap or two. When a yellow did come out there was not the incessant parade laps while officials struggle to get the line-up correct. They kept everything moving with one race fully staged and ready to go as soon as the last program was wrapped up.
Despite all of the great things the WWRA was doing, there was still a very small crowd in the stands. I suspect most of the fans were friends and family of the competing drivers. I also suspect there is little or no budget to attract new fans to these races. I guess you wouldn’t want to spend much money trying to get new fans who got in for free!
Overall, as an outsider, I would have to guess the WWRA exists for it members and their friends and family. They are not trying to make a profit. They simply want to have a good venue to be able to race at.
When I compliment or criticize something, I always offer very specific examples of what I thought was good and bad. There is a lot of “bad” in short track racing today. Bad fields, bad track prep, bad organization, bad announcing and bad racing. There isn’t any “bad” in the WWRA program. It’s all good!
STATE RANKINGS
Washington
This afternoon I saw my 22nd new track in the Evergreen state. According to my “all North American” tracks database, I have only four more tracks in Washington that I have not seen. I have now extended my Washington state tracks leadership position to three tracks over second place chaser Allan Brown. Allan has seen 19 tracks here. I am the #1 ranked trackchaser in eleven states in the U.S. Thirty-three listed trackchasers have visited the state of Washington in pursuit of their hobby.
Now you can see the entire up to date trackchaser rankings for Washington. Just click on this link or paste it in your browser:
http://trackchaser.net/statregion.asp?country=USA®ion=WA
COMPLETE TRACK TYPE CATEGORY RANKINGS OF NOTE:
Dirt Track Standings
http://trackchaser.net/statsurface.asp?surface=Dirt
Paved Track Standings
http://trackchaser.net/statsurface.asp?surface=Paved
Ice Track Standings
http://trackchaser.net/statsurface.asp?surface=Ice
Mixed Track Standings
http://trackchaser.net/statsurface.asp?surface=Mixed
Oval Track Standings
http://trackchaser.net/statoval.asp
Circuit (road course) Track Standings
http://trackchaser.net/statcircuit.asp
Figure 8 Track Standings
http://trackchaser.net/statf8.asp
Indoor Track Standings
http://trackchaser.net/statindoor.asp
RENTAL CAR UPDATE
Seattle, Washington – Saturday/Sunday
I’ll be driving the Alamo Rental Car Racing Chevy Malibu. I rented it via Priceline.com for the unbelievably low price of just $10 per day for the two days I will use it. Actually, the various taxes came to more than $22! That means the politicians get more revenue than the rental car company. That just seems wrong.
I drove the Alamo Rental Car Racing Chevy Malibu 272 miles in the slightly more than 29 hours that I had it. I paid an average price of $3.70 per gallon. The Chevy gave me 27.5 miles per gallon in fuel mileage at a cost of 13.5 cents (U.S.) per mile. The car cost 15.5 cents per mile to rent, all taxes included.
Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,
Randy Lewis
Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser
With each Trackchaser Report, you get a picture with a thousand words.
TRAVEL DETAILS
AIRPLANE
Orange County, CA – Seattle, WA – 976 miles
RENTAL CAR
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport – trip begins
Bremerton, WA – 60 miles
Port Angeles, WA - 139 miles
Monroe, WA - 228 miles
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport – 272 miles
AIRPLANE
Seattle, WA – Orange County, CA – 976 miles
Total Air miles – 1,952 miles (2 flights)
Total auto and air miles traveled on this trip – 2,324 miles
TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:
Bremerton Raceway – Free
Port Angeles Speedway - $10
Evergreen Speedway - Free
Total racetrack admissions for the trip – $10
RANKINGS
LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:
There are no trackchasers currently within 100 tracks of my lifetime total. I’m telling you, it’s not my fault!
1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,332
Full Lifetime World Rankings
http://trackchaser.net/trackchasers.asp
Other notables
These worldwide trackchasers are within 10 tracks (plus or minus or more) of Carol’s current trackchaser total.
26. Kevin Eckert, Indianapolis, Indiana – 450
27. Ken Schrader, Concord, North Carolina – 365
28. Carol Lewis,
29. Max Allender,
2008 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS
1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 34
2. Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania – 25
3. Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 18
4. Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 10
5. Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 9
5. Paul Weisel, Orefield, Pennsylvania - 9
Tracks have been reported by 25 different worldwide trackchasers this season.
Complete 2008 Trackchasing Standings
http://trackchaser.net/statyear.asp?year=2008
LIFETIME COUPLES TRACKCHASING STANDINGS
1. Randy & Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,689
2. Allan & Nancy Brown,
3. Guy & Pam Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,668
LIFETIME NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY STANDINGS
2007 NGD results are posted at www.ranlayracing.com
Official Trackchaser Rules
http://trackchaser.net/rules.asp
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 aka “Dusty”
UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS
Trackchasing’s First Mother and I are about ready to embark upon a major international trackchasing effort. It remains to be seen how much “pain and suffering” I want to put my body through to get even more new tracks before we leave on our big trip.
If history is any predictor of the future I will likely be more than willing to attempt those trips no other trackchaser would be willing to face. If I do, you will be the first too learn about it.
RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2008 (** not the first time to visit this track)
1,299.
1,300. Bira Circuit, Pattaya (road course),
1,301.
1,302.
1,303.
1,304.
1,305. Ozark Empire Fairgrounds (oval),
1,306.
1,307. Brainerd International Raceway Ice Track (road course),
1,308.
1,309.
1,310. Shawano Lake Ice Track –
1,311.
1,312. Mototown USA (oval) –
1,313. Moosehead Lake Ice Track (oval) –
1,314.
1,315.
1,316.
1,317.
1,318.
1,319. Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez (road course), Mexico City, Mexico – March 16
1,320. Hartwell Motor Speedway (oval), Hartwell, Georgia – March 22
1,321. Lavonia Speedway, Lavonia (oval), Georgia – March 22
1,322. Dover Raceway (road course), Brown’s Town, St. Ann, Jamaica – March 24
1,323. Lake Country Speedway (oval), Ardmore, Oklahoma – March 29
1,324. Swainsboro Raceway (oval), Swainsboro, Georgia – April 3
1,325. Screven Motor (oval), Sylvania, Georgia – April 4
1,326. Centerville Super Speedway (oval), Centerville, Arkansas – April 5
1,327. Central Arkansas Speedway (oval), Plumerville, Arkansas – April 5
1,328. Clinton Country Speedway (oval), Alpha, Kentucky – April 6
1,329. Pleasant Valley Raceway (oval), Boise, Idaho – April 20
1,330. Bremerton Raceway (road course), Bremerton, Washington – April 26
1,331. Port Angeles Speedway (oval), Port Angeles, Washington – April 26
1,332. Evergreen Speedway (1/5-mile oval), Monroe, Washington – April 27
FAR West “Chase to be #1”
In the business world, the
The far west probably has the most beautiful scenery per square mile anywhere in the
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 1st place. As an example, I’m currently in ninth place in
Colorado – 2nd by 1
Wyoming – 1st
