Randy Lewis
World's #1 Ranked Trackchaser
NATURAL BRIDGE SPEEDWAY, NATURAL BRIDGE, VIRGNIA
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| 08-05-02 Natural Bridge Speedway |
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RANLAY Racing Trackchaser Report
DAY 2 – IT’S A LONG WALK FOR A SHORT SLIDE TRACKCHASING TOUR
NEW TRACKCHASER REPORT FEATURE!!
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
Today I needed the service of AAA. This option is one of the very best values of anything I buy all year...................more in “Rental Car Update”.
Just how competitive is this hobby of trackchasing anyway? …………..details in “The Objective”.
From sleeping overnight is an interstate rest stop, to flying first class to attending my first ever baby shower, it’s all in a day’s work…………..details in “The Trip”.
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 NATURAL BRIDGE, VIRGINIA.
I WOKE UP THIS MORNING IN RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. I WENT TO SLEEP IN AN INTERSTATE REST AREA JUST SOUTH OF THE WASHINGTON DULLES AIRPORT. THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.
PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS
The Objective
When I began my retirement back in 2002 (age 53), I had visions of just sitting out on the deck watching the surfers all day. I had absolutely no idea, I was about to get myself into the most competitive situation anyone my age could ever imagine.
Heck, I thought life was competitive back in the fourth grade. I recall sitting in a classroom after school with a large group of boys who were all in the fifth and sixth grade. Delmar Reineholt, was the Jefferson School principal, teacher of both the fifth and sixth grades as well as school’s basketball coach. Yes, he was multi-tasking before it was even a term.
Our four-room schoolhouse was small, but it had a modern indoor basketball gym. The people of Illinois always had their priorities straight! Mr. Reineholt was getting ready to announce who had made the school basketball team. There were eight elementary schools in East Peoria, Illinois. Each school played the other in a home and home schedule during the basketball season.
Somehow, Mr. Reineholt had come up with 10 brand new emerald green and white satin basketball uniforms. He was a man of few words. I was 10 years old at the time and he seemed like he might have been older than sixty. Mr. Reineholt’s method of letting someone know they had made the team was to walk up to the school desk they were sitting at and lay down a brand new full uniform on the boy’s desk.
He did this one by one until he had only one uniform left in his hands. I, along with several other older boys still had not received a uniform. This was pressure. This was competitive. In a move that stunned many (most?) in the room, I was given that last uniform. Even though I would turn out to be the team’s sixth man that season, it bordered on heresy to have a fourth grader on the fifth and sixth grade team.
I would continue to be in a competitive world from that point forward. Yes, as you might expect, it was very competitive advancing up the corporate ladder at a company as big and bright as Procter & Gamble. It was ultra completive trying to become the best golfer in my peer group, a position I have achieved for only a couple of months during the past 15 years.
It is with this background of personal competitiveness that I approached retirement. Ah yes, retirement. My golden years! This would be a nice time to kick back and simply enjoy the fruits of my labor. However, this was not to be. I joined up with the trackchasers. It’s sort of like the Mafia. Once, you join, you can never quit. They won’t let you.
I have been trackchasing for many years now. Competitors come at me from all angles. I’m going to tell you about several, but not all of the trackchasing competitions that fill my plate. As you will come to find out, trackchasing is one very competitive activity.
Lifetime World Rankings
My nearest short-term competitor is Ed Esser of Madison, Wisconsin. Although Ed is currently in fifth place in the world rankings, by the end of 2009, he will most likely be in second place, right behind me. If Ed does not have a race at his home track of Angel Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, he will be out SOMEWHERE trackchasing. He is relentless. He never gives up. Ed is the new “Andy Sivi” of trackchasing.
My nearest long-term competitor is Guy Smith of Effort, Pennsylvania. He might be called the “Benny Parsons” of trackchasing. He’s sort of a stroker, who just keeps plodding along, one track a weekend all year. This is actually a very good strategy. You all remember how the race between the tortuous and the hare turned out. While Ed Esser is a couple of years older than me, Guy is some ten years younger. He is a schoolteacher. I’m sure his students sometimes wonder why Mr. Smith is staring longingly out the window. I’m sure he thinks about one thing when he daydreams. “When’s that guy (Randy) ever going to slow down?” There is a very good chance that Guy Smith may someday become the #1 ranked trackchaser in the world. My job is to make sure that it’s after he’s had two knee replacements, a hearing aid and triple bypass surgery on at least three bodily organs. In other words, it is my responsibility to delay his potential climax as long as I can.
I would also not be fair if I did not include a mention of a trackchaser who a few feel has seen the most tracks of anyone in the world…..today. This trackchaser has not documented his list. He shows no interest in participating in the trackchaser game even though everyone knows he has been an avid trackchaser. There are some who wish he would come out of hiding and actively contend for the #1 ranking.
Who might I be referring too? The one and only………Grant Young of Ontario, Canada. I have met Mr. Young. He told me he has seen more than 2,000 tracks. I have challenged him to provide a complete list of his trackchasing accomplishments to the trackchasing commissioner. So far, he had declined my, and others, invitations. My take is simple. You’ve seen the tracks when they appear on trackchaser.net. Until that happens, you’re playing in the trackchaser “fantasy” league.
Short-term threat – Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin
Long-term threat – Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania
Fantasy threat – Grant Young, Ontario, Canada
2008 Annual World Rankings
I will not have time to actively try for another trackchasing championship this season. With so many other non-trackchasing commitments this year, the best I can do is commit to getting slightly more than 100 tracks. However, I will do my level best to get my ninth consecutive podium finish (top 3) in 2008.
The problem is this. There are three trackchasers who have the capability of beating me this year. Who would those people be and are they the only people I have to be concerned with? My three biggest challengers are Ed Esser (imagine that), Roland Vanden Eynde and Mike Knappenberger. Although it’s not impossible, I doubt anyone else has the firepower to see 100 or more tracks in a season. Each of the three chasers noted above does have one or more 100 track seasons already under their belts. Here’s a rundown on my three primary competitors in this category.
Ed Esser has seen 100 or more tracks in each of the past five seasons. Heck, during the past five years, he has averaged 111 new tracks a year. Ed tells me he might be around 75 tracks this year. However, in the very same message, he issues a stern warning of “Don’t count me out yet!”
Roland Vanden Eynde first cracked the 100 new tracks in a season number in 2007. During the past four years he has averaged 94 new tracks a year. Roland tells me (and others) that this year he is taking a new tact. He will only go trackchasing at locations that will be fun. He will not go trackchasing simply to pad his totals. Roland lives in Belgium an area the size of Maryland. He has already seen about 140 different tracks just in Belgium and apparently there are more to come from this fertile racing ground.
Finally, we have relative newcomer Mike Knappenberger. Mike has already recorded 32 new tracks in 2008. He has personally told me he expects to finish the season with about 85 tracks. Mike’s going to have a lot of spare time on his hands when he reaches 85 tracks by the middle of August!
I’d also like to address an issue about Mike’s trackchasing before it gets out of hand. I’ve been receiving emails from trackchasers and at least one fan who have been tracking Mike’s track list and count in 2008.
Last year, Mike told me that he might very well adopt a unique and mostly untried trackchasing strategy. He said, he was thinking about just pulling into a track for a very short amount of time, seeing a race and heading on down the road to another track. He figured he might be able to see three or even four new tracks each evening using this approach. I told him at the time that although that was not how I preferred to trackchase, what he was doing was fully within the trackchaser rules.
Now I am getting emails from people, who apparently do not want to share their opinions in the trackchaser forum, complaining about Mike seeing three nighttime oval tracks in different locations all in one evening. I agree with the complainants that it would be difficult to see much racing with such a strategy. However, it’s fully within the rules set up by trackchasing’s ancestors.
We have a wide diversity of views about how long a trackchaser should stay at the track. Allan Brown feels folks should not leave before the last race has checkered and every beer cup has been picked up and is safely on its way to the local recycling center. Ed Esser will normally stay until the very last Cadet feature has been run. It’s notable that both of these trackchasers normally sleep overnight in their cars. That means that when they leave the track, they are within steps of their hotel for the evening.
Roland Vanden Eynde from Brussels sees almost all of his racing during the daytime. He will often leave after just a very few minutes at a track if the entertainment is lacking. I don’t blame him. I’ve seen several of the autograss racing efforts in that part of the world and much of it isn’t very entertaining from a racing point of view.
My strategy is different from those listed above, but not so different than several other trackchasers. I also subscribe to the theory that it’s not worthwhile to stay at a track like a robot when the entertainment value is near zero.
I will occasionally try to see two differently located tracks during one afternoon or evening period. I have established some requirements for my own trackchasing. When I do attempt to see two tracks in an evening, I will spend a minimum of one hour at each track. The driving time between each track will be less than an hour. That means in the worst circumstance I will see at least two hours of racing. The driving time between each track will be less than an hour. Normally on outings such as these which account for only 2-3% of my total tracks, I will end up seeing 3-4 hours of racing in this type of double.
We have another trackchaser by the name of Norm Wagner. I have never met Mr. Wagner. However, when I first joined trackchasers, his name was whispered about and spoken only by people standing in the shadows. Apparently, the voices said, Norm Wagner would stay at one track and watch just one race. The story went that he might spend only 5-10 minutes at each facility. According to the rumormongers, Mr. Wagner was short on funds and this was the only way he could go trackchasing. The gossipers seemed to think that because of Norm Wagner’s financial straits his method of trackchasing was OK. I will tell you this. I checked his track lists. He does not have actual dates associated with each track he has seen in many cases. Nevertheless, I never saw any evidence of Mr. Wagner being guilty of the practices he was accused.
This brings us back to Mr. Knappenberger’s trackchasing methods. The folks who set up the rules of trackchasing have only one thing to say about what needs to be seen in order to count a new track. This is what the trackchasing official rules say:
“To count a track you must see actual racing competition. No time trials are countable, even if multiple racers are on track simultaneously. No practice only counts. No visits on off days count.”
What is “actual racing competition”? I take that to mean if you see the green flag fall, or the yellow flag fall, in the case of a race starting under caution, you have seen “actual racing competition”. I was telling a fan last night who had asked me what amount of racing is required to count a track this. If I’ve seen one lap of racing, it starts raining like crazy and the program is rained out, the track is countable. The trackchaser can’t be blamed or penalized for a rainout, a brownout or a whiteout. There aren’t many shows that end this way, but we have to know how to handle them from a track counting point of view when they do.
So……stop with the emails. Mike K. is perfectly within the existing trackchaser rules. He can stay at each track as long as he wants too and leave for any reason he wants. I hope that fully explains my point of view on the subject.
Race to 30 International Challenge
I am in a trackchasing contest with Will White to see who can see racing in 30 different countries first. Right now Will has seen racing in 20 countries and my total is 14. This may be the truest of friendly competitions of any that I participate in. I believe Will knows that I would give him information and I know he would help me as well. I will say this. Someday one of us will reach the 30 countries total first. When that happens the other will probably have seen racing in nearly 30 countries. Will one of us have “lost?” I don’t think so. We will have the memories of visiting so many interesting places all over the world we will both be winners.
Will has a streak of 12 consecutive years of seeing at least one new country outside of United States. I expect he will continue that streak for years to come. I believe I will get to 30 countries before he does. If I didn’t feel that way, I never would have accepted his challenge.
National Geographic Diversity Lifetime Rankings
I am in competition with Gordon Killian of Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania. Gordon is really my only completion in the category. The NGD rankings recognize those trackchasers who do a good deal of traveling while trackchasing in the United States. Suffice it to say that if Mr. Killian could best me in this category…..he would.
Trackchasing Couples Lifetime Rankings
This is a relatively new category. Trackchasing typically is not looked upon as a “couples” sport. Most women don’t have much interest in tagging along with hubby to go to dusty old dirt tracks night after night. Nevertheless, we do have a few folks who trackchase as couples to one degree or another.
As a matter of fact, we have three couples who have each seen more than 1,600 tracks. That’s pretty impressive. Currently, the standings look like this:
1. Randy & Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,691
2. Allan & Nancy Brown,
3. Guy & Pam Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,668
These standings could flip back and forth all season long. I’ve got to give a shout out to fellow competitor Nancy Brown. Along with Carol, she is one of the most level headed trackchasers in the top 40.
Far West – 13 States battle to be #1
I’m trying to achieve a #1 ranking in each (x California) of the 13 Far Western states. So far I’ve made it to #1 in eight of those thirteen states. Ed Esser just bumped me out of first in Colorado. Considering this goal covers such a wide geographical base, it’s going to be a challenge to make this happen but I think I can do it by the end of 2009.
Competition Summary
And you thought this was just a hobby! Of course, it IS a hobby. As I said during a recent radio interview it doesn’t really matter if you finish first or tenth. If you had fun, then it was worthwhile. As the season progresses, I will keep you posted on my progress in the trackchasing categories listed above.
The Trip
I think I travel so much that even when unusual things happen, they don’t seem so unusual. As noted below, I had a flat tire on my rental car. I think I must have run over something. Fortunately, it was only a temporary delay and I was soon off “to the races” so to speak.
Following tonight’s races I was between somewhat of a “rock and a hard place” as we used to say back on the block. I left tonight’s racing at just past 10 p.m. I had a three-hour plus drive back to the Washington Dulles Airport. I figured I would get in there after gas and rest stops at about 1:30 a.m.
My early morning flight left Dulles for Los Angeles at 6:41 a.m. I would need to return my rental car and be at the airport by no later than 5:30 a.m. You can do the math. That left less than four hours for sleep. It did not make sense to rent a hotel room for a little more than three hours of shuteye.
Fortunately, there is an interstate rest area along Interstate 66 just 20 miles from the Dulles Airport. At 1:30 a.m. I pulled into the rest area. Although there were a few long-haul truckers sleeping in their rigs, I was the only car parking in the relatively small rest stop. I ignored a sign that read, “No overnight parking – two hour limit”. I figured they could wake me up if I went over their two hour limit. I set two different alarms, one on my cell phone and the other with my portable alarm clock. I hit the seat recline button and “crashed”. My three hours of sleep went by fast. I arrived into the rest area in the dark and left in the dark. There can be only one “World’s #1 Ranked Trackchaser” at a time. If this is what I have to do to maintain my standing, then this is what I will do.
I will tell you that I was less than thrilled when I showed up for my flight and found the word “canceled” on the departure screen next to my flight. I wasn’t so much disappointed in the fact that I had just slept overnight in an interstate rest area to make this flight. I was disappointed in the fact that this might jeopardize my getting to Kristy’s baby shower on time. With me, family comes first. Fortunately from a trackchasing point of view, now that our kids are grown, we don’t have as many family commitments as we did during the little league, school play, basketball days.
However, even though my airplane ride had been canceled, I had to continue to “fly the airplane”. Long-time readers know what that means. I closely studied the airlines departures TV monitor. With the first flight of the day being canceled to Los Angeles that meant it would be difficult to fly standby on the second flight of the day. All of the passengers from the first flight would be re-booked on the second flight making that flight easily “oversold”.
I got on my cell phone and began checking “load factors” for flights from Dulles to other destinations that might connect me to LAX. I found a flight to San Francisco and booked it. If it landed on time, I would have 20 minutes to catch a connection from SFO to LAX.
As my bad luck would have it, my flight to San Francisco departed Dulles 30 minutes late. This prevented me from making my planned connection to LAX. Now, I was in serious jeopardy of missing my first ever baby shower. However, when I landed in San Francisco, I noticed another flight leaving for LAX just 26 minutes after the one I had just missed.
Of course, that flight was in the exact opposite end of the airport from where my Dulles flight had landed. With my cell phone at my ear, I walked as fast as a “senior” carrying three carryon bags could walk. By the time, I reached gate 90 I had booked a seat on the new flight in first class no less.
I landed at noon, was picked up by son J.J. and arrived at the baby shower in Griffith Park before more than half the other guests did. It was close, closer than I wanted it to be.
I had a wonderful time supporting Kristy and James at their outing. They have a outstanding group of friends. Following the shower, Carol and I battled LA traffic back to our home in San Clemente. I would have less than 24 hours to watch the surfers before we would head back to LAX bound for our next trackchasing adventure in Europe!
The People
I watched the races from the backstretch side of the track. It costs two dollars more to see the races here than from the front stretch. Most of the folks along the backstretch fence simply backed their pickup trucks in toward the track. Then they hopped in the truck bed and watched the races. I’m guessing they charge two dollars more for this viewing area to make up for the food sales they lose to people watching and eating from their vehicles.
I had the pleasure (?) of being parked next to a couple of families who were out for an evening of relaxation. They had multiple kids who all appeared to be headed (or had just returned) from ADD summer camp.
I would say the men in the group did not provide much in the role model area for their children. They drank beer continually and dropped the F-bomb about every other paragraph as if they were down at the local pool hall. The kids were already overweight and seemingly hooked on hand-held video machines. I didn’t see any Harvard or even junior college graduates in this bunch. I hate to write those words. The parents are already lost. I just hate to see the kids getting so screwed up and locked out of a future at such an early age.
TRACKCHASING TOURIST ATTRACTION
I very much enjoy the racing when I go on trackchasing trips. However, I am not the type of person who would feel the trip was complete if I simply left home, went to the race and came back home.
I do a good deal of traveling. I want to do my best to see the local area when I come for a visit. There are almost always unusual attractions that one area is noted for more than any other locale. I want to see those places. I want to touch them and feel them. When I leave an area, I want to have memories of these special places that I call Trackchasing Tourist Attractions. I will remember those experiences long after the checkered flag has fallen on whatever race I have seen that day.
Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia
The ardent and enthusiastic reader might justly ask this question, “But Randy, you can’t call a visit to a race track a Trackchasing Tourist Attraction can you?” Yes, I can for one simple reason. I had absolutely no intention of seeing any racing today at RIR. I was simply going to watch the people and check out the souvenirs.
I’ve been to RIR a couple of times in the past (both old and new versions). It’s one of my favorite racetracks on the NASCAR circuit. I arrived at 11 a.m. this morning. I had 2-3 hours to spend just walking around.
Some folks (mainly staunch short-track fans) complain about the expense of going to a NASCAR race. I contend that although it is expensive it’s not as expensive as other forms of professional sports entertainment in baseball, football and basketball.
Today I pulled into the RIR grounds. I parked within 200 yards of the tallest grandstand the track. I was not charged anything to park. I could never visit Angels Stadium, for any reason, and not pay $8 to park. Fans were already starting to arrive for the Nationwide (preliminary) race for tonight (Friday). They are proud to fly the flags of their favorite drivers. They also like to fly the “Rebel” flag. I’m not too wild about that.
I took a walk through the souvenir area. If you’ve never been to a big league race, the souvenir section is a sight to see. Most drivers have a full-sized tractor-trailer decked out to sell caps, t-shirts, jackets and a million other things offered from your favorite driver. The more popular drivers (Jr., Jeff Gordon and a few others) have 2-3 trailers spread over the grounds.
Corporate sponsors also use this area to entertain their clients in what is called “corporate hospitality”. This is normally used as a perk for corporate customers and sometimes a reward for top-performing employees. If you’re not much of a race fan this is the way to have a great racing experience.
There are also several food vendors. There were a few chains (Rally’s, Famous Dave’s) and several independents on hand. I went with a private concern. They offered a “jumbo cheeseburger” that was worth the seven dollars they charged. However, four bucks for a 20 oz. bottle of Diet Coke seemed stiff. Nevertheless, the largest Diet Coke at Angels Stadium is more expensive.
My favorite driver in NASCAR is Jeff Gordon. However, I also like Dale Jr., who seems like a real nice person on and off the track. I was never much of a fan of his “daddy” (trying to suck up too my southern readers). I don’t care much for Junior’s new colors this year (mainly white, green and black). His famous Budweiser Red colors were dominant.
Overall, a nice mid-day spent at RIR. I was glad to get out of there before the place got really crowded. I would have loved to watch the NASCAR Sprint Cup race on Saturday night. However, a fan can probably “see” the race much better on their flat screen TV at home with multiple camera angles, less congestion and all kinds of commentary.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed it, but I think NASCAR racing is the best it’s ever been with the “Car of Tomorrow”. The finish of the Richmond race was fantastic. I felt sorry for Dale Earnhardt Jr., but you had to know that a driver like Kyle Busch was likely to dump him and he did.
RACE REVIEW
NATURAL BRIDGE SPEEDWAY, NATURAL BRIDGE, VIRGINIA
This speedway is located in a highly wooded rolling hills section of Southern Virginia. Despite having a flat tire along the way, I arrived early. The track’s answering machine told me that racing would begin “around 6:30 p.m.” That didn’t happen…..tracks rarely begin when they say will. This is one of the more disappointing aspects of the short track racing industry.
Although they did start hot lapping a little after 7 p.m., the first race did not begin until 7:50 p.m. The best thing about the entire program is this is a “features only” track. I love this idea, but rarely, if ever, see it being done on oval dirt tracks. Although the features only idea is not widely used, when it is, it’s normally done on asphalt ovals.
This is pretty much how a “features only” program works. It’s different from the type of race program more than 95% of all oval tracks work. Traditionally, with a field of let’s say 18 cars, the track might run three preliminary “heat” races of shorter distances. Then all eighteen cars or whatever is left following mechanical and accident victims, race in a feature event. Often, with such small car counts the heat races are a waste of time. With a “features only” format, each class races just one race, a feature race. Every car in an individual class races in that one race. I like that idea very much.
The Natural Bridge facility plays host to both a 3/8-mile dirt oval and a drag strip. Tonight they were running some sort of drag strip program at the same time the oval races were being run. The drag strip sits behind the backstretch of the oval.
When I entered the property, I bought my ticket while I was still sitting in my car. The ticket booth had a sign pointing in one direction for the oval and another for the drag strip. As you know, the official rules of trackchasing do not allow for the counting of drag races. Therefore, I chose to see racing on the oval tonight.
I also elected to view the races from the backstretch. Spectator tickets for the backstretch were $14, while tickets on the front stretch were only $12. What I liked about sitting on the backstretch was that I could watch the races from my car. This would allow me to work on my computer during “down” times. Tonight there was a significant amount of “down” time. Since I had arrived at 6 p.m., I had nearly two hours to tell you about my trackchasing adventures before the first race ever started!
All of the cars were pitted in the track infield. There were no tall racecar haulers, so the view of the entire track was unobstructed. However, the P.A. did not work very well on the backstretch. In addition, to the folks watching from their pickup trucks and cars, there was also a small set of bleachers for fans as well as a concession stand.
This is a quality racetrack. However, each of the three feature events I saw was beset with multiple yellow flags. The races distances ranged from 25-40 laps. Each race had at least ten yellow flags. That is not good.
All of the racing was done tonight by one form or another of full-bodied stock cars. Each race started about 20 cars, all of which were in good shape. Tonight was the opening night for the Natural Bridge Speedway, so that may have accounted for the good looking bodywork.
Natural Bridge normally runs their races on Saturdays as most tracks in America do. When I found out they were racing on a Friday night I jumped on the chance to attend. I find it somewhat difficult to visit tracks that normally race on Friday night. Rather than burn a “Friday night” track, it was a perfect trackchasing “strategic” fix to see a Saturday night track on a Friday night.
It took the track two hours and ten minutes to run three feature events. These three races accounted for about 90 laps of racing. A lap run at racing speed on this track takes about 20 seconds. That meant I saw 30 minutes of actual racing in the four hours I spent at the track.
Nevertheless, the weather was perfect. I had been able to sneak two new tracks in between a baseball game and a baby shower, both held in California. Sometimes I have to push the envelope to cover both personal family events and my trackchasing hobby. When there’s a will there is usually a way.
STATE RANKINGS
Virginia
Tonight I saw my 15th different track in the state for lovers. This puts me into a tie for 15th place here with Roscoe “Pappy” Hough and John Osowski. Guy Smith, leads in Virginia with 43 tracks.
In order to break into the top 10 (and avoid the National Geographic Diversity penalty for underperformance) in the state, I would need to see six more Virginia tracks. I have only 13 currently operating tracks in the state to choose from. This will make it difficult gaining a 10th place finish or better. I do think having seen 15 tracks in a state almost 3,000 miles from home is a nice accomplishment despite my lowly state ranking. A rather large number of 46 different trackchasers has seen tracks in Virginia.
Now you can see the entire up to date trackchaser rankings for Virginia. Just click on this link or paste it in your browser:
http://trackchaser.net/statregion.asp?country=USA®ion=VA
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
Washington-Dulles Airport – Thursday/Friday/Saturday
I have a three-pronged approach to renting cars. First, I check with the National Rental Car Company. I am a preferred renter with them. I also have a corporate discount with them that guarantees I will get a car no matter what if I make a reservation at least 24 hours in advance. Often in tight markets, my corporate rate is less expensive than any other.
My second step when renting a car is to check with Hotwire.com. They will quote me a price, although the exact rental car company is not known until the car has actually been rented. Their bookings are also non-refundable. Today, they gave me a price of $59.59, all taxes included. This was better than my National Rental Car corporate rate.
My third and final rental car reservation step is to check with Priceline.com. Priceline allows me to bid on the price of the car I would like to rent. Of course, for Priceline to make sense I need to use a bid price that is less than what Hotwire has offered me. Today, Priceline came in $47.53. They won my business.
I recommend a multi-step process like this in nearly all financial transactions you encounter. This way you will understand your options and save some money to be spent on other, more beneficial things.
I did encounter some trouble with my car today. I had cut a tire. This is “racing speak” for I had a flat tire. Yep! The right rear tire went flat just like they sometimes do for your favorite NASCAR driver. I had three options to get back and running down the road.
I could change the tire. The operative word is “could”. This would be my third choice. I could also use the free Avis road service option or my AAA road service choice. Yes, it’s a good idea to always have options.
Had I not had a cell phone and a GPS unit, I likely would have missed tonight’s racing. Of course, my cell phone was used to call AAA. I used my GPS system to back into telling the AAA rep where I was located. In about 35 minutes, help arrived.
My rental car had one of those small, temporary type spare tires. A call to Avis told me they were good for 3,000 miles at 55 M.P.H. I wondered how long they would last at 80 M.P.H..
I ended up driving the Avis Rental Car Racing Chrysler 300 579 miles in the two days I had it. I paid an average price of $3.50 per gallon. The Chrysler gave me an impressive 33.9 miles per gallon in fuel mileage at a cost of 10.3 cents (U.S.) per mile. The car cost 9.2 cents per mile to rent, all taxes included.
Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,
Randy Lewis
Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser
Do you want to ride the gravy train or throw rocks at it?
TRAVEL DETAILS
AIRPLANE
Los Angeles, CA – Washington, D.C. – 2,285 miles
RENTAL CAR
Washington-Dulles International Airport – trip begins
Jamaica, VA – 132 miles
Natural Bridge, VA - 371 miles
Washington-Dulles International Airport – 569 miles
AIRPLANE
Washington, D.C. – San Francisco, CA – 2,410 miles
San Francisco, CA – Los Angeles, CA – 363 miles
Total Air miles – 5,069 miles (3 flights)
Total auto and air miles traveled on this trip – 5,628 miles
TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:
Virginia Motor Speedway – $30 (pit pass)
Natural Bridge Speedway - $14
Total racetrack admissions for the trip – $44
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 – 1,334
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 – 36
2. Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania – 32
3. Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 23
4. Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 11
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 – 1,691
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
Now all I have to do is get back to SoCal, go to a baby shower, then take a shower and fly to Europe. Sounds pretty easy.
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