Randy Lewis
World's #1 Ranked Trackchaser
GILLETTE THUNDER SPEEDWAY, GILLETTE, WYOMING
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RANLAY Racing Trackchaser Report
DAY 1 – IT’S GREAT TO BE IN THE FAR WEST TRACKCHASING TOUR
TODAY’S HEADLINES
Do young women know how to get from point A to point B?..................more in “The People”.
I will put my rainout record up against any other U.S. based trackchaser …………..details in “The Objective”.
One young trackchasing couple reached the 1,700 track level today, an achievement never recorded until now…………..details in “The People”.
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 an Illinois reader had to say about my attending Kristy’s baby shower recently:
“Wasn't this the second baby shower you've ever been to? I remember George throwing one for Marji and I, and the Galinskis roughly 10 years ago!”
The reader is correct.
Click on this link or paste it in your browser to take you to today’s Trackchaser Report via my website at
Don’t forget to try my new picture format at my website. There are more pictures to see and they load a lot faster.
GREETINGS FROM GLENROCK, WYOMING AND THEN GILLETTE, WYOMING.
I WOKE UP THIS MORNING IN SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA. I WENT TO SLEEP IN GILLETTE, WYOMING. THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.
PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS
The Objective
When I fly on airplanes, I spend some of my seat time reading my racing newspapers. I only subscribe to two of them, the Hawkeye Racing News and National Speedsport News. I am usually 2-4 weeks behind in getting to the papers.
I was very much surprised when I picked up a mid-April copy of the Hawkeye Racing News, which is published in Vinton, Iowa. Almost all of the columnists were bemoaning the fact that the winter had been long and hard. Spring had not treated them much better with low temperatures and high winds along with sleet and rain.
I grew up in Central Illinois, but have spent more than 30 years living in Southern California. I guess I’ve forgotten how unforgiving the weather can be in nearly 90% of the United States. The winters in the Midwest can be bad. However early spring can actually provide some of the most uncomfortable weather there is. I don’t think there’s anything worse than a 40-degree day with strong winds and rainy conditions. At least when it’s 20 below zero most people know enough to stay indoors. When it’s springtime, people want to get outside. That’s when they are hit with those cold, rainy and windy March, April and sometimes May days.
I have now been trackchasing for 34 days in 2008. During that time, I have seen 41 new tracks. In all of 2008, I have had only one rainout. At 90% of the tracks I visit, the North Georgia Speedway conditions would never have caused a cancellation. That track held the fans hostage for four hours, during which time there was no rain at all, before deciding to cancel the event. If it wasn’t for the God awful NGS management I would have a perfect weather record for 2008.
Over the years, I believe my rainout out record has been better than any trackchaser in the United States. During my last 656 new track visits, I have had 17 trackchasing rainout days. I find that one of the most amazing statistics of anything I’ve done in trackchasing.
The Trip
My experience tells me that flight loads are the lightest on Saturday. My typical trackchasing weekend has usually begun on a Friday with a return to California on Sunday or, more likely, Monday. My airline sponsors are much more willing to provide sponsorship support when I leave California on Saturday rather than Friday.
At the same time, I’m finding it is somewhat more difficult to find new Friday trackchasing opportunities. I still have plenty of Friday choices but it’s not as wide open as it used to be. Therefore, I suspect I will begin more of my weekend trackchasing trips on Saturday.
Prior to landing my airline sponsorship deals, it didn’t make economic sense to fly somewhere for a one or two day trackchasing trip. Now that economic roadblock has been removed. I can now implement a short flying trip in much the same manner than my fellow competitors do with the one or two day driving trips. This will make me more competitive in the years to come.
This weekend I will be trackchasing in the American Far West. I really love pursuing my hobby out here. Typically, the tracks are far apart. There are not very many blended double opportunities in these rural and somewhat desolate parts. The racing season is also much shorter out here. Tracks in the Far West often start a month later than their Midwestern or Eastern counterparts start and end their season sooner as well. I guess because Far Western trackchasing is the rarest of any major U.S. geographical segment, when I do get a new track out here, I really appreciate it.
Today’s logistical trip was pretty simple. I was up at 4:30 a.m. This wasn’t that difficult since I’m still recovering from being on Central European time. My flight departed Orange County, California at 6:45 a.m.
From Denver, I would have a 260-mile drive up to Glenrock, Wyoming for their 4 p.m. start. After the Glenrock show, I would drive at high speeds up to Gillette, Wyoming. The Gillette track is 140 miles from the Valentine Speedway. This would make for a perfect “day/night” trackchasing double, my third of the season. After paying nine dollars a gallon for fuel in Denmark, $3.75 seems like a real bargain.
The People
Tonight marked the 1,700 track lifetime total for young trackchasers, Randy and Carol Lewis. Some might say that Carol is not holding up her part of the bargain with a trackchasing total of 361. I would strongly disagree. She’s already been on the road overnight for trackchasing 31 days this year and it’s only the middle of May. No other female trackchaser comes anywhere close to that number.
I couldn’t go trackchasing nearly as often as I do if she wasn’t taking care of the home front as she does. On top of that, she (and I) have grandbabies on the way, any day now. We’re very pleased to have reached this trackchasing milestone.
No more convenience stores directions for me (almost)
I pulled into the speedway at about 9 p.m. after a 150-mile or so drive up from Glenrock. I had intended to arrive earlier but two things slowed me down. I stayed to watch the 11-car dwarf feature event at the Valentine Speedway. Secondly, I had a bit of a GPS problem (human error – mine!) that delayed my arrival. The cumulative result was an arrival into the Gillette Thunder Speedway about one hour later than expected. Since the sunsets now in Gillette at 8:25 p.m., this put my entrance into the track at slightly after dark. This made it difficult to get good pictures. I did the best I could.
Why did I have a GPS problem? I used Google Earth to get the base longitude and latitude data. Google Earth had a nice picture of the track’s oval photographed by satellites that orbit the earth. I plugged in those coordinates and away I went.
What I did not realize is that the Gillette track relocated about five years ago. I was headed for the old track and in the dark no less. Of course, there was no activity at this location. I was not traveling with any maps or a National Speedway Directory. I had to resort to my old way of finding tracks………..convenience stores!
I don’t want to offend any genders who might be reading, but I fear I might. My first stop at a Conoco store yielded a young woman working the counter. I cringed. Young women don’t know where anything is. I believe that is true because they don’t have to know where anything is. They have “people” (parents, boyfriends) who take them everywhere.
Let me explain for the incredulous reader who might challenge the accuracy of any statement that begins with “young women don’t know where anything is”. I am not saying that young women don’t know where anything is 100% of the time. I’m just saying that they don’t know where anything is more often than is statistically likely. Let’s say the average person “doesn’t know where anything is” 25% of the time. Young women might not know where anything is 40%, 50% or 90% of the time. The point being, they are likely to not now where something is more often than they should.
After the clerk turned up clueless, I encountered a young man just getting out of his pickup in the parking lot. All the young men, and most men for that matter drive pickups in Wyoming. Now here we go again. I don’t really mean “all” the young men of Wyoming drive pickup trucks. I mean a disproportionate share of men drive pickups in Wyoming.
Anyway, this young man first thought about directing me to the “old” location for the Gillette track. He had TOO much geographical data in his brain. Then he realized his error and directed me flawlessly to the new and correct location. I will say this. I’m glad I rarely have to use the “convenience store” method of finding tracks anymore.
RACE REVIEW
VALENTINE SPEEDWAY, GLENROCK, WYOMING
I’ll admit I’m the biggest sucker when it comes to believing what people tell me that was ever born. I just figure why would anyone want to lie to me. I try to be precise in my communication. If anything, I’m too direct. Maybe I just need BS people at times, so they can hear what they want to hear.
When I call a racetrack and ask them details about their operation, I expect just two simple things. One, I would like them to be honest. Two, if they don’t know the answer to a question, just say so.
Earlier in the week, I called the track to find out what time they would be racing. The website said “racing” would begin at 4 p.m. However, it’s always important to confirm with a live being that the website information is still correct. My phone contact assured me that racing would indeed begin at 4 p.m. I questioned him further. Was he talking about time trials, hot laps, or wheel-to-wheel racing. “We will begin our races at 4 p.m.” he insisted.
I showed up in Glenrock, Wyoming at the Valentine Speedway at 3:30 p.m. It was a sunny and windy day with a temperature of 77 degrees. I paid my six bucks (season passes are $90) and was given a one-page “program”. The program listed six classes of racecars as well as a class of quads.
The track looked dry. I could tell that on a sunny and windy day like today, this place would likely be a dustbowl. At just before 4 p.m. with no activity in the pit area or the track, the announcer came over the P.A. and told the spectators, “We’re going to be starting late today. We’re waiting on some more racecars to show up”. Oh my!
A little bit later, he told us the green flag would drop at 4:30 p.m. “We’re waiting on the ambulance. We can’t run a race without an ambulance”. Now which was it, were they going to start late because they were waiting on racecars or because they were waiting on the ambulance?
At about 4:15 p.m., they called the drivers for a driver’s meeting. Could they have maybe had the driver’s meeting BEFORE the scheduled start time?
I don’t mean to be cranky about this but if you have a perfect weather day and no other time delaying problems (no lights, no flagman, no whatever) shouldn’t you start on time? I think a track should, but then 80%+ of all the tracks I visit start more than 15 minutes late. Sometimes they start much later than that.
Finally, at 4:42 p.m. the first heat of dwarf cars came onto the track. I have to give them credit, they didn’t waste any more time running hot laps or time trials.
While I waited in my car, I grabbed an internet connection, even though I was in the boonies of Wyoming, and made a reservation at the Motel 6 in Gillette, Wyoming for later on this evening. Motels can be expensive and scarce in this part of the country, especially in the summer. I’ll be trying for a day/night double if the Valentine Speedway runs an efficient program.
I think this speedway used to be called the “Big Muddy Speedway”. There was no mud today. The parking lot, pit area and racetrack all had a dry sandy soil top layer. Spectators parked around turns three and four as well as next to the front stretch fence. I found a spot along with 8-10 other vehicles just beyond turns three and four. The advantage of this location was its elevation. I was some 50 feet or more above the racing surface. Yet another advantage was that the wind was blowing the dust away from me.
The Valentine Speedway does not have any track lighting. The P.A. system is weak, but the announcer did try to entertain the crowd with his banter and knowledge of the local racers. Concessions were dispensed from a travel trailer. However, my location did not lend itself to easily visiting the concession trailer. The car next to me held the winning 50/50 ticket. I didn’t buy one!
Despite the tardy start, they did run the races efficiently. This was helped by a low car count and very few yellow flag delays. Here were the classes and car counts: Dwarfs (11), quads (6), mod 4s (5), mini stocks (2), mini-sprint (1) and hobby stocks (3). These are very low car counts but probably not unusual for a location like Wyoming.
The heat races began at 4:42 p.m. All of the heat races were completed in 25 minutes. Then they took an intermission to water the track. The trophy dashes commenced at 5:27 p.m. They took 20 minutes to run the dashes. Then they took another intermission to BS, draw the 50/50 ticket and water the track. Feature racing began at 6:14 p.m.
Since the dwarf cars were the only division with enough cars to run two heats, I bailed after their feature race. There really was not much action today. Daytime racing on a dry and sandy surface never produces good racing. However, given the limited resources the area and the track seem to have they are definitely trying to do a good job.
RACE REVIEW
GILLETTE THUNDER SPEEDWAY, GILLETTE, WYOMING
I was shocked to find out that the Gillette Thunder Speedway is a quality racetrack. I would put it’s raceability and overall quality near or in the top 50 tracks in America. They have upcoming appearances of both the World of Outlaws sprint cars and late models this year. That should tell you something about the track and facility quality.
Most tracks in Wyoming are of the general “Podunk” variety. I’m not trying to be negative. I’m just saying there’s a difference between eating at McDonalds and eating at Ruth’s’ Chris Steakhouse.
I arrived at 9 p.m. They were just finishing the last heat race. Then they went to intermission. This is actually a perfect time to arrive at the track if you can pull it off. You miss all of the useless and definitely time-consuming preliminary events. With an arrival at this point, the spectator is in line to see the feature events. It’s like sitting down to the table to find only the moist inner circle of a cinnamon roll on the plate. You won’t have to do all of the work of eating the exterior cinnamon roll rings. You’re only left with the center section prize.
I make this analogy because I heroically passed up the “world famous cinnamon rolls” of Johnson’s Corners just north of Denver yesterday. I did this mainly because I’m already too fat. It’s one of my world top 10 dessert stops in all of the, well, world. As you can see, I am still affected a day later by that choice.
Since it was intermission, I spent some time talking with both track announcers. This is how I learned the track had both an “old” and a “new” location. I was also told that in order to accommodate the large expected crowd for the upcoming World of Outlaws sprint car show, they will need to put people inside their track infield. Right now, the infield is simply a large flat dirt space inside the 3/8 mile oval. I saw a WOO sprint show from the spectator infield in Fargo, North Dakota many years ago. My arms were like windmills trying to fight off the state bird (mosquitoes) all night. It was probably my worst mosquito experience in trackchasing ever.
By the way, I did ask about figure 8 racing at the Gillette Thunder Speedway. Ed Esser saw such a race back in 2003. The announcers told me they only tried it once and it was not successful. Therefore, there are no plans for figure 8 racing in Gillette.
There was a nice crowd on hand tonight. The adults paid $12 to watch. Seniors (over 60) paid just five dollars. I should have come next year! Folks sat in bleachers, on dirt hillsides (in lawn chairs) and in crudely constructed V.I.P. sponsor boxes.
The racing was outstanding. The travelling Colorado Late Model Association was the featured attraction. Following intermission, they ran a six-car dash to determine how the first three rows of their feature would line-up. A 71-year old driver won the race from the front row.
This was not some lame group of rural late model racers. These guys were on the gas. They looked as good as any late model racing group in the country.
There were six divisions racing tonight. I watched the features for the Thunderstox (7), Crate Late Models (11), Midwest Modifieds (20) and Colorado Late Models (18). The Midwest mods were the best although all of the racing was very good.
It was 55 degrees, I had driven more than 400 miles today and flown nearly another 1,000 miles. I was starting to drag a bit and decided not to stay for the “A” modifieds and the enduro cars. Under normal conditions, I would have stayed for the modifieds, one of my favorite classes.
Overall, getting two new tracks in one day in a state where all other trackchasers (except Lewis’) got only one new track in all of 2007 seemed like a pretty good catch. This puts me firmly in first place in Wyoming. I should stay there for a while.
STATE RANKINGS
Wyoming
This afternoon and this evening, I saw my 9th and 10th lifetime tracks in Wyoming. This breaks my tie with Allan Brown for first place in the Cowboy state. Only 23 trackchasers have ever made it to Wyoming to see a race. Just nine of those trackchasers have seen more than one Wyoming track.
Trackchasers don’t come to Wyoming very often. In 2007, there were 966 new track visits in the United States. Only four of those were in Wyoming. Three of those visits were by the Lewis clan and the fourth was a Casper Speedway stop by Ed Esser.
Now you can see the entire up to date trackchaser rankings for the state. Just click on this link or paste it in your browser:
http://trackchaser.net/statregion.asp?country=USA®ion=WY
RENTAL CAR UPDATE
Denver International Airport – Saturday/Sunday
I made a reservation with the National Rental Car Company to rent a full-sized car for $64.20 for two days. Then I checked www.hotwire.com and found a deal for just $41.41 for a two-day rental of a full-sized car. I elected to go with the higher price. Why would I do that?
I will be driving about 1,000 miles during the next 48 hours. I know that might seem like a lot, but in my world, it hardly breaks a sweat. I am a member of the “Executive Selection” group of National’s Emerald Club frequent renter program. The benefits of being a member of this group are several.
The primary one is that I get to pick my own car. When the rental car bus gets out to the car lot, I get to leave the bus first and select any of the cars in the Executive Selection group. These cars have lower mileage, usually come with upgrades like leather seats, moon roofs (sunroofs?) and often times XM satellite radio.
I’m going to be driving in some very remote country over the next two days. This is country where it can be impossible to get reception in a single AM radio station. I think it’s worth an extra 20 bucks to get the best car possible for this weekend’s trip.
I must point out that when I rent with Hotwire.com or Priceline.com I often get a car as good as what National might give me. Sometimes the car I get from these two discounters is actually even a National Rental Car, although at a lower price than even my preferred status gives me at National. I just didn’t want to chance getting a higher mileage car with a bad radio for a 1,000-mile drive.
I did get a great rental car. I’ll tell you more about it in my next Trackchaser Report.
Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,
Randy Lewis
Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser
Back in the day, I had wine for dinner. Now I have wine WITH dinner. TRAVEL DETAILS
AIRPLANE
Orange County, CA – Denver, CO. – 845 miles
RENTAL CAR
Denver, International Airport – trip begins
Glenrock, WY – 260 miles
Gillette, WY - 416 miles
TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:
Valentine Speedway – $6
Gillette Thunder Speedway - $12
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 – 1,339
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, San Clemente, California – 361
2008 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS
1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 41
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 – 1,700
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
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
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
I have some unfinished trackchasing business in Colorado to handle.
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
1,333. Virginia Motor Speedway (oval), Jamaica, Virginia – May 1
1,334. Natural Bridge Speedway (oval), Natural Bridge, Virginia – May 2
1,335. Sturup Raceway (road course), Malmo, Sweden – May 10
1,336. Ring Djursland, (road course) Tirstrup, Denmark – May 11
1,337. Nisseringen (road course), Naestved, Denmark– May 12
1,338. Valentine Speedway (oval), Glenrock, Wyoming – May 17
1,339. Gillette Thunder Speedway (oval), Gillette, Wyoming – May 17
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
Arizona – 1st by 8
Colorado – 2nd by 1
Idaho – 1st by 3
Montana – 1st by 1
Nevada – 1st tie
New Mexico – 1st by 4
Oregon – 1st tie
Utah – 1st by 2
Washington – 1st by 3
Wyoming – 1st by 2
