Randy Lewis
World's #1 Ranked Trackchaser
PHILLIPS COUNTY RACEWAY - HOLYOKE, COLORADO
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RANLAY Racing Trackchaser Report
DAY 2 – IT’S GREAT TO BE IN THE FAR WEST TRACKCHASING TOUR
TODAY’S HEADLINES
Fan mail, it comes with the territory...................more in “And The Readers Respond”.
What was the real reason I went trackchasing in Colorado today? …………..details in “The Objective”.
Would a Wyomingite wear deck shoes and have an ankle golf tan?…………..details in “The People”.
AND THE READERS RESPOND
I get a lot of feedback from my readers. Of course, I am happy to hear from everyone. During the summer months, I often have to hire a temp just to handle the trackchasing fan mail. Today, I received three different (very different items) in my regular U.S. mail. I wanted to share the contents of those mailings with you.
The first mailing came in an envelope from South Africa. I had made a contact via email with a fellow living in South Africa when I was doing my pre-planning for our trip we made there in February. What was in the envelope? A DVD titled “South Africa Hot Rods”. My friend was disappointed that the short track he had recommended was a “no show” when J.J., Will and I showed up to watch the races. He wanted me to see what the hot rods really look like racing in South Africa. This was a wonderful surprise.
My second mailing came from Illinois. Enclosed was a local newspaper article telling their readers that the Guinness Brewing Company would be laying off more than half of their workforce! You may recall that Carol and I visited the Guinness location in Dublin, Ireland earlier this month.
They will be laying off more than half of their brewery workers, closing two plants and shifting their beer production to a new, high-tech plant in the Dublin suburbs by 2013. It’s sad, but accurate, to say but computers don’t cost as much as people. This is not a “corporate” problem or a “computer” problem. Consumers keep demanding that the products they buy cost less. In order for corporations to meet that consumer demand, they must decrease their costs. What is normally the largest expense for most companies? People! So, it’s not corporations laying off people, it consumers laying off people. Remember, the next time you buy the least expensive product; you are helping someone lose their job!
My third mailing was most unusual. Back on November 11, 2007, I visited the Pueblo Motorsports Park in Pueblo, Colorado. Carol and I had spent a Friday and Saturday in Los Angeles before I flew off to Colorado. In my Trackchaser Report describing our culinary experience around that outing in Los Angeles, I wrote the following:
I wish everyone reading this could sample these great treats. As a matter of fact, I have an offer for you. If you can make it to Los Angeles, the dining at these three establishments is on me. If you eat at all three of the places I’ve recommended (Mongol’s, Diddy Riese’s and the Empress Pavilion), I will reimburse you and a guest for the entire expense of your meals. Who says it doesn’t pay to read the RANLAY Racing Trackchaser Report. Heck, this offer could nearly offset the cost of your airfare. However, the offer does expire on December 31, 2007 and is available to the first three couples sending in their itemized receipts.
Yes, in today’s mail I received a nice letter with receipts attached taking me up on my offer. Here is the text of that letter.
May 20, 2008
Randy N. Lewis
World’s Number One Ranked Track Chaser
P.O. Box 4275
San Clemente, CA 92674
Dear Mr. Lewis,
As loyal fans and regular readers of your track chaser reports, my wife and I were very much excited to see the generous offer put forth in your November 12, 2007 report. “Correction!!! Pueblo Motorsports Park, Pueblo, Colorado – Track #1,289” encouraging track chasing fans to dine for free (to us anyway!) at some of your favorite Los Angeles area restaurants. We decided we were up for the challenge and enjoyed fantastic fare at Mongol’s Mongolian Barbeque, Diddy Riese Cookies and Empress Pavilion Dim Sum Restaurant.
Due to an unprecedented rise in dramatic life changing circumstances for us in late 2007 and the first part of 2008, we are only just now submitting documentation, though we visited each of the required establishments during a single, crisp November weekend in 2007. Below, for your reading enjoyment, is a brief description of our experience at each restaurant.
First Stop – Mongol’s Mongolian Barbeque (Westwood, CA) – Friday, November 16, 2007
Though we lived in Los Feliz, California at the time, a scant 20.32 miles from our first stop, Mongol’s, getting to the “West Side” of Los Angeles on a Friday night is no easy feat. It required traveling on four different freeways (the 5 South, the 110 South, the 10 West and the 405 North) and took approximately one and a half hours. This minor logistical issue simply served to heighten our appetites.
As you described well in your report, Mongol’s is a fantastic deal on fantastic food. I chose the Combination Number 1 which includes a heaping plate of Mongolian barbeque, sesame cakes, steamed rice and vegetable soup. My wife chose a Combination Number 2 which also features a massive main course, but substituted a soft drink (Diet Coke in this case) for the various appetizers. By getting one of each, we were able to maximize the variety of items we were able to enjoy. Delicious!
My “secret” recipe: broccoli, green peppers, mushrooms, bean sprouts, cilantro, water chestnuts, onions, green onions and pineapple.
Sauces: Spicy with garlic
My wife’s “secret” recipe: chicken, beef, lamb, water chestnuts, onion, green onion, celery, pineapple, bean sprouts, broccoli, cilantro, mushrooms, noodles
Sauces: Spicy with garlic
Total Bill for Two People: $17.90
Second Stop – Diddy Riese Cookies (Westwood, CA) – Friday, November 16, 2007
It’s true. There was a (fast moving) line around the block for this classic cookie establishment. We noticed a sign in the window stating that cookie prices went up slightly on November 1, 2007. Each cookie was still a bargain, especially when it’s comped by the World’s Number One Ranked Trackchaser!
My selection: mint chocolate chip ice cream squished between a chocolate chocolate chip cookie and a chocolate chip cookie (that’s the best part of the ice cream sandwich – you can fully customize your sandwich top to bottom!)
My wife’s selection: chocolate chip with walnut cookie and a carton of skim milk.
Total Bill for Two People: $2.35
Final Stop – Empress Pavilion Dim Sum Restaurant (Los Angeles Chinatown) – Sunday, November 18, 2007
This restaurant is located very close to our former home in Los Feliz, California. The drive took no more than ten minutes. We visited on a Sunday morning and just barely beat the crowd to get a nice table for two in the heart of the action. Despite our seemingly excellent location, many of “the good carts” seemed to just barely skip our section. As soon as a delectable looking kart (the food, not the person serving it) was headed our way, that car would make a sharp turn in another direction and we would be left trying to flag them down to reroute toward us.
The food, however, was excellent and we stuffed ourselves silly. Since dim sum is served on small plates with about four pieces per order, we shared most dishes. Highlights included a heaping plate of Chinese broccoli (special ordered from the kitchen), shrimp dumplings, shrimp buns, a huge bowl of congee (a mildly flavored rice soup with preserved eggs often served as a breakfast item in China – a favorite of my wife’s), pork buns and boba tea (a sweet milk tea with large tapioca balls sucked through an oversized straw). Though they were available, we did not partake in any phoenix claws (aka chicken feet) or pig’s knuckles because we want to leave something to look forward to on our next visit!
Total Bill for Two People: $27.57
The Final Damage
We were able to enjoy all of this delicious food for a very reasonable sum. Enclosed please find documentation (including original, dated receipts and business cards) from each of the relevant establishments. By my calculations, reimbursement for this challenge totals $47.82, or $52.82 inclusive of parking. Also enclosed please find a self-addressed stamped envelope to expedite remittance.
Truly yours,
Mr. and Mrs. XXXXX
Track Chasing’s Number 35,064 and 560,200 Fans
Enclosures
Our Westwood parking was a veritable bargain at $5.00. We have included this receipt for completeness’ sake – would it not be a glaring omission to fail to notify you of this expense considering how detailed the rest of the record is? We thought you would agree. Our Chinatown parking was free as we found a lovely street spot.
Editor’s note: I am always more than pleased to pay off on those exclusive RANLAY racing contests and food challenges. A check will be forthcoming to these fine fans that enjoyed some of the most unique dining opportunities that a large city the size of Los Angeles has to offer. Regretfully, I cannot reimburse parking as that was not part of the offer. Contrary, to popular belief even my fan recognition budgets have their limits.
CONGRATULATIONS
Special congratulations to trackchaser Ed Esser of Madison, Wisconsin. Ed recently saw his 1,100th lifetime track. Ed is one of only five people to record 1,100 tracks. Way to go, Ed.
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. Click on or paste this link in your browser to see the photos from this trip.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ranlay8/080518PhillipsCountyRaceway
GREETINGS FROM HOLYOKE, COLORADO.
I WOKE UP THIS MORNING IN GILLETTE, WYOMING. I WENT TO SLEEP IN DENVER, COLORADO. THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.
PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS
The Objective
Today’s trip was necessitated because one trackchaser apparently got lost during his trackchasing travels. Yes, that’s right. Just a few weeks ago, Ed Esser of Madison, Wisconsin must have lost his way in a blinding Badger snowstorm. Normally, this would not be much cause for concern at this isn’t my year to watch Ed.
However, when Ed showed up at the Colorado National Speedway figure 8 track, it was his 13th lifetime track in the state. This put him one track ahead of me in the Centennial state. Not only did I lose one National Geographical Diversity point, but more importantly, Ed’s new track knocked me out of first place in Colorado. As you know, I’m trying to gain a first place position in all of the 13 Far Western states (x California).
When questioned by the racing press, Ed admitted he might have some sponsorship support from an Eastern trackchaser who just might stand to benefit from my losing an NGD point. Of course, Ed admitted he’s always trying to avoid controversy so he didn’t mention anything about his “sponsorship”.
I guess I will give Ed a pass. Maybe he missed the road signs along the way to Colorado and did just end up there by mistake. There is plenty of the U.S. for Ed to trackchase in that he doesn’t have to go trackchasing in the “Far West” and certainly not in states where his being there would reduce my state ranking.
The Trip
My return trip to San Clemente saw me flying my 250th flight since receiving my precedent setting airline sponsorships. Actually, that is 250 flights for both Carol and me. She’s taken 45 of them. During that time, those 250 flights have flown us 287, 575 miles. We’ve been able to fly exactly 25% of those flights in first class. I will say the airline support came along at exactly the right time as my tracks began to get further and further apart. Special thanks to son, J.J., who negotiated the airline arrangements. I hope we can fly on another 250 flights as soon as possible!
Even though I am sometimes considered the “flying” trackchaser, I also put in my time behind the wheel of a rental car. It was more than a 400-mile drive from last night’s hotel in Gillette, Wyoming to the Phillips County Raceway in Holyoke, Colorado. Then it was nearly a 200-mile drive from the track to my hotel in Denver, Colorado. Why do I do this? So you don’t have too.
On today’s journey, I decided to take the “back roads”. My GPS unit would normally recommend interstate travel. However, back roads in Wyoming are just as good as or better than the four-lane interstates. There is very little traffic on the two-lane roads. With today’s gas prices, there is even less traffic. As I travel about, I am definitely seeing less vehicular traffic on the roadways. I hope that trend transfer to the airlines this summer, so I will have an easier time moving around.
A benefit today of traveling the two-lane roads is that it allowed me to pass through Newcastle, Wyoming. New Castle is home to the Weston County Speedway or at least I thought it was.
I stopped in a convenience store in Newcastle to inquire about the track. Of course, the young woman working the counter was clueless. However, she did recommend I talk to the four gentlemen sitting at a nearby table having their morning coffee, so I did.
These folks were the authentic article, real Wyomingites. They knew I wasn’t from “around here”. My deck shoes that sport my ever present “golfer’s tan” told them that. Nevertheless, they were quite helpful. They directed me to take the “bypass” out to the “fairgrounds”. I did just that.
I found a rough oval, maybe 1/6 of a mile in length. You can see pictures of it at www.ranlayracing.com. I have reason to believe they will be racing there this year. However, now that I have the Wyoming state lead, it’s unlikely I will make another personal appearance in Newcastle. I’m sort of like a Presidential candidate in the primary elections. I only spend time in places that will be beneficial to me.
The People
I had a nice mention from the track announcer tonight. Then, I went up into the old covered grandstand and took a seat in the top row. I was seated next to a bearded gentleman who was wearing a Donnie Moran t-shirt. The man was taking notes and looked like he might be a knowledgeable race fan.
As is my nature, I struck up a conversation with the man who might have been 35-40 years old. I was glad I did. The man turned out to be Darin Racek and we had met before. Darin is the announcer at several Nebraska tracks including McCook, Culbertson and others. Darin had interviewed me at both McCook and Culbertson. I am surprised at the number of announcers I meet at tracks who have interviewed me previously.
Darin and I enjoyed each other’s company for the evening. He knew a lot about the local competition. He was also very aware of my trackchasing background and hobby.
I am always amazed at the diversity of people’s occupations. Darin’s primary “occupation” is landlord. He lives off the money generated from his Nebraska farmland. He supplements this income by announcing at several tracks in the summer. Yes, there are all kinds of ways to pay the light bill.
RACE REVIEW
PHILLIPS COUNTY SPEEDWAY, HOLYOKE, COLORADO
I arrived at tonight’s track at 5 p.m. Racing was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Maybe the reason I think some of these shows run late is that I arrive so early. However, I am normally coming to the track from a long distance away. It’s not like I live across the street and can leave the house when I hear the first engine fire.
For the most part, I did not really enjoy the racing on tonight’s half-mile dirt oval. Don’t get me wrong, the Phillips County Raceway had a lot going for it. First, they almost started on time (10 minutes late). In my book, and in short track racing’s book, that closest enough.
There were four classes of racecars competing tonight. These included the econos (10), street stocks (8), Rebel sprint cars (15) and modifieds (16). The track was very dry and somewhat dusty. It was what you might call “dry slick”. This was caused by daytime temperatures that reached 90 degrees. The situation was also complicated by wind and a start time that began two and one-half hours before sunset.
The real problem with tonight’s racing was it was so difficult, or nearly impossible to see the racing. As you know when this happens on road courses, it greatly diminishes my race viewing enjoyment. When it happens on ovals, my feeling is the same.
This track was a very long and narrow half-mile oval. It actually looked like it was longer than the stated distance. The straights reminded me of one-mile fairgrounds tracks that I’ve seen.
I sat along the front straight down by the fourth turn. 8-10 huge double-decker haulers were parked in the track’s infield. These big monsters wiped out the view of half of the backstretch and most of turns three and four. There were also several large support beams holding up the grandstand roof. They didn’t help with the viewing either. Couple all of this with various farm rodeo obstructions in the infield and I could only read a car’s number for about half a lap on the entire oval. That’s bad and I don’t like it.
However, fans in this part of the country are the most generous with their applause and recognition of anywhere I visit. They are very supportive and boisterous (in a good way) of the driver’s on the track.
I will say that during the feature events, the econos (something like a street stock) and the sprint car races had some of the more dramatic finishes I’ve seen this year. However, for the most part, there wasn’t much passing. I needed to wear my Swainsboro Raceway purchased yellow tinted goggles during most of the evening.
I love stock car racing in this part of the country. Iowa, Nebraska and a track like this (just a couple of miles from Nebraska) have the very best lower lever big iron stock car racing. It’s just too bad the Phillips County Raceway can’t figure out how to let their fans actually see the races.
STATE RANKINGS
Colorado
This evening I saw my 13th lifetime track in Colorado. This puts me into a tie with Ed Esser for first place in the state. This gives me a first place ranking in ten of the 13 Far West states. I still have both Hawaii and Alaska where I have a realistic chance of reaching first place. Hopefully Ed will give me a break and stay out of my backyard.
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=CO
RENTAL CAR UPDATE
Denver International Airport – Saturday/Sunday
My National Rental Car Racing Buick Lucerne was just what the doctor order. I drove it more than 1,000 miles in 48 hours. I’m glad I didn’t use up my personal car mileage on wasteful driving like this.
I realize I am not leaving a very positive carbon footprint in the world. Please accept my apologies for that. However, if you were trying to pound into oblivion, those dreaded East coast trackchasers; you might have to burn up some of the ozone level doing it too.
I drove the National Rental Car Racing Buick Lucerne 1,118 miles in the slightly less than 48 hours that I had it. I paid an average price of $3.61 per gallon. The Buick gave me 26.5 miles per gallon in fuel mileage at a cost of 13.6 cents (U.S.) per mile. The car cost just 6.3 cents per mile to rent, all taxes included.
Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,
Randy Lewis
Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser
Jesus loves you, but I’m his favorite. 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
Holyoke, CO - 831 miles
Denver International Airport – 1,018 miles
AIRPLANE
Denver, CO – Salt Lake City, UT – 780 miles
Salt Lake City, UT - Orange County, CA – 588 miles
Total Air miles – 2,213 miles (3 flights)
Total auto and air miles traveled on this trip – 3,231 miles
TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:
Valentine Speedway – $6
Gillette Thunder Speedway - $12
Phillips County Speedway - $10
Total racetrack admissions for the trip – $28
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 – 1,340
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 – 42
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 – 1,701
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
With not too much competition, now, on the National Geographic Diversity front, I can afford to put some time into the “Far West – Chase to be #1” competition.
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
1,340. Phillips County Raceway (oval), Holyoke, Colorado – May 18
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 – 1st tie
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
