Randy Lewis
World's #1 Ranked Trackchaser
NORTH POLE SPEEDWAY - NORTH POLE, ALASKA
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RANLAY Racing Trackchaser Report
DAYS 1-2 – THE GREAT WHITE NORTH TRACKCHASING TOUR
TODAY’S HEADLINES
Carol reached a major trackchasing milestone tonight...................more in “Congratulations to Carol”.
We had three very specific trackchasing objectives to achieve on this trip …………..details in “The Objective”.
How I met Carol….…and the four-page letter…………..details in “The People”.
Could we leave a man and his four-year-old daughter alone where they might starve to death or worse, freeze to death?...................more in “Congratulations to Carol”.
I was surprised to run into a former Pacific Golf Club member while we were in the Denali State Park...................more in “Trackchasing Tourist Attraction”.
CONGRATULATIONS TO CAROL!!
Congratulations to Carol aka “Trackchasing’s First Mother”. Tonight she became only the 10th person (2nd woman) to see racing in 49 states. At 8:01 p.m., (Alaska Time zone) five legend cars took to the track for a trophy dash event. When the green flag flew, Carol had done what only nine people in the entire world had ever done……seen racing in 49 states. Her only remaining state to go trackchasing is Rhode Island. Six of the nine trackchasers who have seen racing in all 50 states also had Rhode Island to conquer as their 50th state.
Carol’s first ever recorded track dates back to circa 1969 at the Peoria Speedway in Peoria, Illinois. Her first ever trackchasing trip took her to the Davenport Speedway (track #2) a ¼-mile track in Davenport, Iowa. She made her first overnight trackchasing effort to the Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The night before this race, she sat on the pole of a 22-kart go-kart race and ended up winning the feature over several disgruntled Delta Sigma Pi fraternity brothers.
Her 12th track saw her getting sunburn scars at the then known Atlanta International Speedway where a fellow by the name of A.J. Foyt won the Atlanta 500 in the spring of 1971. Her “home” tracks depending upon where she lived at the time included: Peoria Speedway (IL), Queen City Speedway (OH), Manzanita Speedway (AZ), Ascot Park (CA), Danbury Racearena (CT), Santa Fe Speedway (IL) and finally Ascot Park again.
Carol’s trackchasing travels have taken her from Daytona to Indianapolis and most points in between. In addition to trackchasing in 49 U.S. states, she has also seeing racing in nine foreign countries.
Carol took some time off from trackchasing to have children in 1974 (J.J.), 1977 (Kristy) and 1978 (Jim). On July 24, 2005, she saw racing at the Thomas County Speedway in Colby, Kansas. Despite a changing wind that blew some of the worst dust ever directly into the grandstand, this marked Carol’s 200th lifetime track. Seeing her 200th track, allowed Carol to become an “official” trackchaser. At the same time, she became trackchasing’s first, and to this date, only mother. She is now known as “Trackchasing’s First Mother”.
In recent years she has been picking off one new trackchasing state after another. In 2007, she knocked off toughies Maryland and Louisiana. Tonight, she got one of the most difficult states to get, Alaska.
Tonight almost did not come off. First, we had to drive through constant rain for the last two hours of our trip before arriving in Fairbanks, Alaska. Then I elected to “chance it” with fuel mileage. I passed up a sure but more expensive fuel stop for the allure of reaching Fairbanks and their lower fuel prices.
The Budget Rental Car Racing Ford Taurus low fuel bell warned us that we had 50 miles of fuel remaining. “Dusty” our GPS system told us the nearest gas station was 41 miles away. I figured we had a 9-mile cushion. Carol had a different interpretation of the numerical data. We were driving in the mountains. Our fuel mileage was being negatively affected by the steep uphill climbs.
The fuel bell warning sound went off again with 25 miles remaining. Our GPS indicated we were now 19.4 miles from the next fuel stop. Our cushion was disappearing. Our final warning came with 10 miles of fuel remaining. Dusty said we had 5.8 miles of fuel left. Finally a Tesoro gas station appeared! When we pulled into the station our Ford Taurus had four miles of gasoline left in the tank. Whew! I did not want to be the one that spoiled Carol’s 49th state trackchasing opportunity. We celebrated our getting gas (no, not that kind of gas) with ice cream drumsticks.
Then the changeable weather cleared just two hours before the race.
When we departed the hotel for the track, only about 20 degrees of our 360-degree visual circle showed any threatening weather. The remaining 340 degrees looked fine with bright blue skies and white puffy clouds. However, the North Pole Speedway was not located in those directions. Dusty headed us directly into the 20 degrees of our visual circle that featured dark rain clouds. Less than five miles from the track it began to rain with sun all around us. Were we going to be rained out? The rain was fairly light and let up just as we entered North Pole, Alaska, home to so many of your childhood correspondences to your make believe friend, Santa Claus.
We were back on track. The rain had passed by. Dusty told us we were just 1.1 miles from the track when she directed us onto a dirt road. This seemed unusual but we have learned to go where Dusty tells us too. Just ahead on this dirt road and right in the middle of it appeared to be a huge mud bog. I approached this area with caution.
There was no way the Budget Rental Car Racing Ford Taurus could make it through. Just at that point, a pickup truck came along. I motioned the driver to lower his window. We conversed and the Alaskan driver agreed the mud was too much for our car to handle. Nevertheless, the truck driver felt he could make it through. He went for it and lost. The driver got out of his truck and flipped two levers on his front tires to engage his four-wheel drive capability. He got back in his truck and tried again. No luck. He was stuck for the duration.
We had a moral dilemma. Carol needed to get to her 49th trackchasing state and rain was in the area. On the other hand, we had made some sort of a bond with this Alaskan pickup truck driver and his four-year old daughter when we had stopped to converse. We couldn’t just leave the young man and his daughter stuck in more than 12 inches of mud……or could we?
No, we could not. We don’t roll that way and we wouldn’t like anyone who did. We would help our friends in need. Yes, we might miss the race spending time helping these distressed travelers. If we had to fly back to Alaska at some point in the future so Carol could see a race in Alaska then that is what we would do.
The young man in his mid-20s and his daughter hopped in the back seat of our car. There was a large gravel pit near where his truck was stopped. The man felt they might have the equipment to help him. We drove over there but there was no one to be found. We offered to take our stranded friends to wherever they needed to go. The young man assessed his options. He decided to return to his truck and call his friend to pull him out. We bid our stranded travelers a fond farewell and a wish for better things ahead.
With new found directions from our friend, that did not include a trip through a mud bog, we arrived at the North Pole Speedway at 7:02 p.m. The rainstorm had delayed the beginning of the show. We would wait for nearly another hour under the possibility of rain before Carol could declare victory over her 49th state.
No, trackchasing is not for the faint of heart. No, it is not easy. If it were then more than just ten people would have seen racing in 49 states or more. Carol had triumphed over the adversity that had attempted to derail her effort. She had shown compassion to those in need during her travels. She had once again proved the point that it is the journey not the end point that defines the success.
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GREETINGS FROM NORTH POLE, ALASKA.
WE WOKE UP THIS MORNING IN SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA. WE WENT TO SLEEP IN HEALY, ALASKA. THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.
PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS
The Objective
This trip meets three very important objectives for me in trackchasing. Visiting Alaska will move my trackchasing agenda forward in these areas.
- Allows Carol to see racing in her 49th lifetime trackchasing state (this would be most appropriate since Alaska was the 49th state admitted to the union).
- Gives me the opportunity to gain a #1 ranking in Alaska. This supports my goal of holding a #1 ranking in twelve of the thirteen Far Western states by the end of the 2009 season.
- Gives me valuable National Geographical Diversity points that should allow me to maintain a leadership position in one of the most important rankings in all of trackchasing.
I really had no specific plans to be trackchasing in Alaska anytime this year. Historically, flights to Alaska have been very expensive. Additionally, standby seats have been nearly impossible to get every time I’ve ever considered another trip to Alaska.
I believe this is my fourth trip to Alaska. My first trip was on business. I came dressed in a business suit and the local sales rep picked me up in a windbreaker and jeans. Welcome to Alaska! Carol and I have been to the state during a weeklong Alaska cruise. Daughter Kristy and I came up here specifically for trackchasing. We ended up with a nice father-daughter bonding adventure where Kristy caught a 50+ pound king salmon!
Alaska will be Carol’s 49th trackchasing state to go along with the ten different countries she has trackchased in. This is a very respectable achievement in the world of trackchasing. Now the only state that remains to be discovered, trackchasing-wise, is Rhode Island. I expect she’ll show up there someday.
I come to Alaska with a lowly 10th place ranking in the state standings. I have seen only one track here. Just 12 trackchasers have ever made it up to Alaska. That is the lowest number of trackchasers to visit any state. If our plan works out, we might be able to see enough tracks for me to tie or surpass the current Alaska leaders, Bing Metz, Guy Smith, Pam Smith and Paul Weisel. They have each seen four tracks in the Great White North.
With a 10th place ranking, I get 10 National Geographic Diversity position points. However, if I could somehow leave the state with a #1 ranking, I would get one NGD position point. Remember in NGD play, the lower the score the better, like golf. Since I currently lead the lifetime NGD standings by only 11 points (spread over 50 states and Washington, D.C.) gaining another NINE points would be huge!
Nevertheless, we did not come to Alaska for any of the above reasons. Then, why did we come? I’ll tell you about that in “The Trip”.
The Trip
According to my North American “tracks to see” database, I still have 1,124 tracks remaining to be seen on this continent. In reality, that number is really somewhat lower. I know that I have tracks listed in my database that are no longer active. I just don’t know which ones they are! I suspect there may be closer to 1,000 tracks that will be holding countable racing in 2008 in North America that I have not seen.
Somewhere between seven and fourteen days in advance of a trip, I began searching both my “race dates” database and my sponsored airlines’ seat availability. When I find a match between racetracks running (that I have not seen) and airplanes flying (who have a seat for me), then a trip comes about. Of course, this assumes a good weather forecast.
With the Memorial Day weekend fast approaching, I was concerned about the availability of standby airline seats. There are certain periods when standby seats are very difficult to get. Christmas, Spring Break, Thanksgiving and other major holidays including Memorial Day weekend are times with it’s a challenge flying standby. I like challenges so these times just increase the fun for me.
You can imagine my shock when I discovered that flights to Anchorage, Alaska were wide open. I have probably looked at this trip 10-20 times in the past. Each time, seat availability was poor. This was definitely not the type of location to fly too and then not be able to get back home. They tell me Alaskan winters are on the chilly side. I must admit that several of my past Alaskan searches were for winter ice racing tracks. Yes, I am one sick puppy.
Once I discovered that flying to Alaska might be easier than flying to any of the 48 continental United States this weekend, I was excited and concerned. The primary reason for making such a trip would be so Carol could see racing in her 49th state.
This is where the problem might be. I’ll tell you more about that in “The People” section.
The People
I am very fortunate to have Trackchasing’s First Mother aka Carol as my wife. The other trackchasers who have met her along the trackchasing trail, can vouch that Carol is one of the most pleasant and agreeable people they might ever meet.
Carol is a self-professed “home body”. That can be tough when she is married to someone who would be just as happy being on the road nearly every day of the year. That’s where Carol’s “pleasant and agreeable” personality comes into play.
Carol and I do not agree on everything. Believe it or not, there are certain topics where we have serious disagreements. One subject where we have a not so serious disagreement is in regards to “who picked whom”.
You see we first encountered each other as Freshmen in the Stevenson South dormitory on the campus of Northern Illinois University. The twin-towered dorm had 10 floors of girls in one tower and 10 floors of boys in the other tower. The two towers were connected by the dormitory cafeteria. This is when I first noticed Trackchasing’s First Mother.
Some of my fellow competitors have attempted to label me in the past as the trackchaser who was born with a “silver spoon in his mouth”. Truth be told, I worked in “food service” during my first year at college. I needed the work so I could have some spending money. I worked mainly in the back of the kitchen cleaning food remains from my friend’s dinner plates. No, I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. However, when I completed my shift working in food service all of the silver spoons were shiny.
Now back to Carol. I admired her from afar during our freshman year but was too shy to “make a move”. However, the stars must have aligned as the very next year, we both began our sophomore years as dormitory resident assistants.
As you may know each floor of dormitory college residents at most colleges has a resident assistant of some type. The “RA” is a combination of counselor, police officer, sports coach and friend. Carol and I got to know each other during the weeklong RA orientation period before school began. It wasn’t long before we were dating steadily. This means we been together since 1968, a cool period of some 40 years.
Therefore, the debate rages on. Did she pick me from a line-up or did I pick her from a litter? Yes, now that I am not subject to big company gender diversity rules and regulations, I can speak like this. Of course, it’s all in fun. In point of fact, we probably both picked each other.
Nevertheless, I digress, but I thought you might like some background on the subject. It seems that this might have been more interesting than how many hobby stocks started the “B” main at the North Pole Speedway.
This was my problem that I faced regarding a potential trackchasing trip to Alaska. Carol and I have just returned from an 11-day trip to Europe. We got back only seven days ago. Now as a “home body” Carol is not wild about being gone for 11 days from home. She REALLY isn’t wild about leaving again for five days after being home for just a week.
I faced some serious issues. I had to consider Carol’s mindset from the above with the fact that we are expecting our first grandchildren anywhere from now until the beginning of July. I KNEW she would not want to go on another trackchasing trip until the grandbabies were born.
Here I sat. The flights to Alaska and back were wide open. Carol could get her 49th trackchasing state. I could advance my cause in the “Far West ‘Chase to be #1’ challenge AND the National Geographic Diversity results. How could I make this all happen?
My background is in sales. I have had more training in the profession of sales and the art of closing the deal than most people reading this Trackchaser Report. It’s what I did and it’s what I do.
In sales, you need to present your case in the most positive light. You want to get a “Yes”. You can overcome a “No” and turn it into a “Yes” but it’s better to avoid the “No” in the first place. I knew that if I just came out and asked her to go to Alaska that I would more than likely, O.K. let’s be honest here, I would get a “No”. Then if I really wanted to make the trip happen I could badger her (no offense Ed) into making the trip. I didn’t want to travel all the way to Alaska under those circumstances.
I thought for a while. I needed something creative. I had my idea. I told her that I really wanted to talk to her about something that I didn’t think she was going to like. I asked her what would be the best way to present my idea. She was perplexed. She had no idea what I was talking about. We talked more about the subject and I recommended that I would write her a letter. In the letter I would present my case. Then she could decide if the subject (still unknown to here) would merit further consideration.
I went to my office. I pulled out a yellow legal pad and began to write. The words flowed. Imagine that. Before long I had filled four pages of what I hoped would be a convincing argument for her to travel to Alaska. Then I put those pages in an envelope and sealed it. Of course, just to “suck up” I wrote the initials S.W.A.L.K. on the back of the envelope. I remember from my sales training that a little “positive reinforcement” can go a long way. I asked her not to read my letter until I came home from my round of golf. She agreed.
Did I expect to have success? Maybe. I had written a pretty convincing piece if I do say so myself. On the other hand, I think the last thing Carol wanted to do was get on a plane to Alaska after just flying more than 23,000 miles round-trip to Europe. If the grandkids popped out while we were in Alaska I would be well, toast. Of course, I had squeezed in a trip to Wyoming and Colorado between Europe and Alaska, but then that’s just me.
When I returned from golf, I promised to take Carol out to dinner. It never hurts to entertain your best clients. In sales, there is a saying, “The first person to talk loses”. At dinner I wasn’t going to bring up the “A” word (No, Mike not your “A” word) until she did. We had all kinds of unusual eye contact but no words on the subject. Finally, she came forth. She had read my letter. She didn’t think the timing was very good. She didn’t want to be gone from home when the grandchildren might arrive early.
Nevertheless, she knew she would have to “go to Alaska” sometime in order to complete her 50 trackchasing states. Then…..she agreed to make the trip to the Great White North. There was just one minor stipulation. There would be no more trackchasing trips until after the grandchildren were born. Of course, I readily agreed to this requirement (Rhode Island couldn’t possibly have a race between now and July could they?)
And that my friends is how we ended up at the North Pole!!!
P.S. I have asked for permission to publish the contents of my four-page letter for your enjoyment. Permission denied, end of subject!
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.
Denali State park - Alaska
We spent most of Thursday in the Denali State Park. The park is huge. It encompasses 325,240 acres and is half the size of Rhode Island! The park is 100 miles north of Anchorage and is roughly divided by the George Parks Highway, the major road between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
The Tanana Indian word “Denali” means “The High One”. Denali is the original name for Mt. McKinley. At 20,320 feet, Mt. McKinley is the highest peak in North America. We wanted to take a tour bus some 60+ miles into the park’s interior but the hourly tours were sold out. We ended up driving our car 15 miles into the park. This was as far as private vehicles were allowed into the park.
We were disappointed not to see any wildlife during our drive into the park. However, we did see several moose during the trip on the Alaskan highways we traveled. Carol almost ran into one, after initially thinking it was a statue! More on that later.
I seem to run into friends in the strangest places. I’m always running into people. While Carol and I were in the Denali Visitor’s Center waiting to see the movie about the park’s history someone came up to say hello. It was Tom Daughtery from San Clemente and formerly of the Pacific Golf Club. Tom was up with his wife and friends on a land tour of Alaska before hopping on an Alaskan cruise.
It certainly is a small world. Some may know that Tom was expelled from the club recently for expressing unpopular views toward the Pacific Golf Club development plan. Sometimes it pays to keep your mouth shut, but not always! Nice seeing you Tom.
RACE REVIEW
NORTH POLE SPEEDWAY, NORTH POLE, ALASKA
We are not the first people to come to Alaska to trackchase. Allan Brown came here all the way back in 1980. Andy Sivi followed in 1989. These visits are impressive. This was pre-internet and actually pre-lots of things. Many of our leading trackchasers had not even begun their trackchasing hobby in 1980.
My first ever trip to Alaska was also in about 1980. I worked with a sales rep in Fairbanks. I remember taking my rental car out to the North Pole Speedway during that trip. The place was out in the boonies and didn’t look like much.
Tonight the races were scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. We pulled into the track at 7:02 p.m. There were only about eight cars in the parking lot. The North Pole Speedway is one of less than ten (maybe five) tracks that holds weekly racing on a Thursday night. Admission was just five dollars. Alaska has a reputation for high prices. After visiting both Denmark and Sweden, we didn’t find Alaska expensive at all.
The North Pole Speedway has changed a good deal since I saw it nearly 30 years ago. The track is a ¼-mile close to flat asphalt oval. The surface was put down over dirt about five years ago. Surprisingly, given the harsh Alaskan winters, it’s one of the smoothest asphalt racing surfaces I’ve even seen.
An earlier rain shower had delayed the start of the program. There were just two classes racing tonight, legends and bandeleros. Both classes were open to adults and thus countable. At 7:02 p.m., two bandeleros were practicing on the track. A few minutes later, a driver’s meeting was held. The driver’s meeting seemed to take a long time, but this was the first race of the season so maybe they had a lot to talk about. This meeting was followed by time trials for the 13 legend and five bandelero cars. The first race did not begin until 8:02 p.m. I felt they could have started sooner and moved this show along faster.
Concessions were available (hog dogs/nachos) from a portable BBQ grill. The track did offer a “North Pole Speedway” souvenir t-shirt. Carol picked up one to commemorate her 49th state achievement.
The weather problem had passed. We had mostly blue skies and big white clouds at this point. This is when I noticed the sun. The sun was shining directly into the spectator grandstands from right over the backstretch fence. I didn’t like that.
Nevertheless, the sun’s movement did give us an education in how things work here in Alaska. The sun doesn’t really “go down” it simply moves laterally. The sun does not officially set in late May until around 11:45 p.m. It is light enough to play golf up here right now until past midnight! Thusly, the track does not have lights.
I made an introduction to the track announcer. He was supplemented by a young girl (maybe 12 years old) who did some announcing and had some comic banter back and forth with the announcer. The track flagger was also a woman.
Later in the evening we would have a chance to meet the track owner and promoter, Kevin O’Hara. Kevin was an upbeat guy and gave us a good deal of background on the track and its program. He was very much “pro-spectator”.
Even though the fields were small, they did something all tracks should consider. With just 12-13 legends able to run for time trials, all of the legends were put in each of the two heat races. The legend heats ran for 15 laps each and the feature was 25 laps. The five bandeleros each ran two 10-lap heats and a 15-lap main. Both classes ran a trophy dash.
In the bandelero class, four of the five drivers were women. The announcer and crowd had some fun discussing whether or not the women could beat the sole male driver. I think they did in every race!
The legend racing was excellent. Kevin O’Hara (track owner) drives the #29 red legends car and his son, Sean (aged about 13) drives the #18 legend racer. Sean won one of the heats for his first legend win ever. He was stoked. In the feature Sean ran second and his dad finished third.
Despite starting an hour late, the program finished at 9:30 p.m. At that point, Carol and I walked across the track with several other fans to visit the pit area. The pit road lane was a nicely done asphalt area. Kevin told me that he and Sean had done most of the work over the years to make such great improvements to the place. Kevin had run the “blade” and Sean had followed with a big construction rig to smooth the future racing surface.
Kevin told me he runs on Thursday nights so as not to conflict with any other tracks. He plans to put a sealer coat on the racing surface that has not had one in the five years it’s been there. He also has a new set of aluminum bleachers scheduled for delivery next week.
I don’t suspect the O’Hara’s are making any money from this track. It’s much nicer than anything I’ve seen in Alaska, or lots of places for that matter. Kevin is a general contractor. I would guess he’s doing this for the love of racing and as a means to stay connected to his young son. He is succeeding at both.
Tonight, being our first scheduled Alaskan track of the trip, was critical to meeting the objectives listed above. The rain forecast for track’s #4 and #5 for the trip doesn’t look the best. If we had lost the North Pole Speedway to the weather, it would make gaining a #1 ranking in Alaska, on this trip anyway, very difficult.
CAROL’S COMMENTS
This was a much nicer asphalt track that what I thought it would be. It was very cute. It was weird since the track didn’t have any lights. I liked the track souvenir t-shirt. The guy who got stuck in the mud messed up the backseat of our car with his muddy shoes. I was glad to see when we left the racetrack that his truck had been pulled from the mud bog. It was bad looking into the sun most of the night. However, when the sun went behind some clouds it got really cold. Probably in five years or so, the young girl who did some of the announcing tonight will handle the job full-time. The girl’s cars in the bandelero class were lovely. All of the cars were much nicer than expected.
STATE RANKINGS
Alaska
Way to go Carol! Congrats on your 49th trackchasing state. One more and you will join a very elite group of trackchasers. With her one track Carol joins Allan and Nancy Brown in a tie for 11th place here.
This is my second lifetime track in Alaska. I move up from 10th place into a tie for 8th place with Will White and Norm Wagner. This also gives me a two lifetime NGD point reduction. Only twelve trackchasers have ever come to Alaska. No one living outside of the U.S. has ever made it up here.
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=AK
RENTAL CAR UPDATE
Anchorage – Wednesday/Sunday
We’ll be driving the Budget Rental Car Racing Ford Taurus on this trip. At the last minute, I went with Budget over National to save 65 bucks. It seemed like the responsible thing to do.
The Budget rental agent told me I could have a Ford Taurus or a Dodge Charger. I asked her which one was best. She told me she liked the Taurus because the ’08 model was bigger than it ever had been. I doubted that statement but decided to go with the Taurus anyway.
The agent was correct. The Taurus was huge. It looks like it’s been put on steroids or forced to eat at McDonalds as often as I do. We parked next to a Toyota Camry and it looked like we could put the Camry in the trunk of the Taurus!
Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,
Randy Lewis
Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser
Am I self-centered or is it just me? TRAVEL DETAILS
AIRPLANE
Orange County, CA – Salt Lake, UT – 588 miles
Salt Lake, UT – Anchorage, AK – 4,240 miles
RENTAL CAR
Anchorage International Airport – trip begins
North Pole, AK – 459 miles
TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:
North Pole Speedway – $5
RANKINGS
LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:
There are no trackchasers currently within 100 tracks of my lifetime total.
1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,341
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 – 362
2008 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS
1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 43
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 28 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
We’re just getting started with our Alaskan adventure. Stay tuned.
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, Malmo (road course), Sweden – May 10
1,336. Ring Djursland, Tirstrup (road course), Denmark – May 11
1,337. Nisseringen, Naestved (road course), 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 Speedway (oval), Holyoke, Colorado – May 18
1,341. North Pole Speedway (oval), North Pole, Alaska, – May 22
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
Alaska – 8th – trail by 2
Arizona – 1st by 8
California – 2nd - trail by 46
Colorado – 1st - tie