Randy Lewis
World's #1 Ranked Trackchaser
CENTRAL MISSOURI SPEEDWAY - WARRENSBURG, MISSOURI
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RANLAY Racing Trackchaser Report
DAY 2 – THE JUST BUILDING MY TRACK COUNT TRACKCHASING TOUR
TODAY’S HEADLINES
What constitutes “exact change” when a dollar needs to be paid?...................more in “The Trip”.
When are 14 heat races too much? …………..details in “The Objective”.
My trackchasing public relations department does its job again…………..details in “The People”.
Click on or paste this link in your browser to see the photos from this trip.
SWEET SPRINGS MOTORSPORTS PARK
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ranlay8/080531SweetSpringsMtrsprtsPark
CENTRAL MISSOURI SPEEDWAY
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ranlay8/080531CentralMissouriSpeedway
Reader Questions for Randy
Q. It seems like you go into great detail on so many non-racing activities during your trips. Why do you do that?
A. Many more than half of my Trackchaser Report subscribers are not active racing fans. I feel they may be more interested in the details of where I visited more than the details of the racetrack I saw. I always like to share the information I have acquired through either research or personal experiences. As an example, if someone is planning a trip to Fairbanks, Alaska they may pick up a tourist point or two so they can have the most enjoyable trip possible. I’m always searching out new and interesting Trackchasing Tourist Attractions as well as those one of a kind hole in the wall restaurants. If just one reader can get the same experience, I had then I’m happy.
One final point……some day after I’m gone, our children might like to try to replicate one of the trips that Carol and I have taken. They can easily look at my website or read my Trackchaser Reports to see where we ate, what we saw, etc. They’ll be able to stay in the very same hotels and eat at the same restaurants that we did. It may sound somewhat corny but in our household, we’ve always thought of ourselves as the traveling Griswalds from the Family Vacation movie series. Overall, I get more comments about the Trackchasing Tourist Attractions I’ve seen than the racetracks I’ve visited.
GREETINGS FROM SWEET SPRING, MISSOURI AND THEN WARRENSBURG, MISSOURI.
I WOKE UP THIS MORNING IN EL RENO, OKLAHOMA. I WENT TO SLEEP IN WARRENSBURG, MISSOURI. THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.
PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS
The Objective
Tonight my strategic objective was to see a trackchasing blended double. Some folks object to the term “strategic objective”. So for them, let’s use the word “plan”. My plan tonight was to see a trackchasing blended double. Some folks even think the word “plan” is a little too strong. For them let’s just say the thought had crossed my mind (it wasn’t a very long trip) that I might try to visit two tracks tonight.
The Sweet Springs Motorsports Park was just 30 miles from the Central Missouri Speedway. It still is. Since both tracks are nearly 2,000 miles from where I live this was a perfect opportunity for a blended double. My “plan” was to spend about the same amount of time at each track. Somewhere in the middle of the evening, I would drive 28 minutes to the second track and resume my race watching.
I had to decide which of these two tracks I would visit first. The Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex called for hot laps at 6:30 p.m. and then racing at 7 p.m. The Central Missouri Speedway website told me that racing would begin at 7:30 p.m. The SSMC had a small car racing program, mainly including mini-sprints. The CMS had a full-sized stock car program. They had been averaging 91 cars per race meet.
I cranked this data in my mental computer (that has a very small hard drive) and came to this conclusion. I would go to the Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex first. I figured since they started earliest, they should be finished earliest. I might even get to see some feature racing before it was time to leave for the Central Missouri Speedway. I figured with the CMS track starting later, and having more than 90 race cars at a typical program, they might not be finished until 11 p.m. or later.
However, even the best laid plans can go wrong. Sweet Springs did start nearly on time, just about 12 minutes late. In short track auto racing, twelve minutes late IS on time. However, they had “heat raceitis”. They brought one heat race out after another. They had a couple of program-delaying flips and more green flag restarts than I cared to count.
However, I did count the heat races. At 8:30 p.m., they had completed all of their heat racing. They ran, and I saw 14 heat races. Finishing 14 heat races in 75 minutes really isn’t that bad. Granted most of the heats had only six cars or so, but that still wasn’t bad. Maybe I would get to see a feature race. Alas, no I would not. This is why.
Following 14 heat races, they did not go to feature racing, but trophy dashes. They were going to run trophy dashes for 6-8 racing classes. That meant another 6-8 races before any feature racing would take place. Then they would probably have an intermission or two.
The facility was very good and the racing was O.K. It just wasn’t worth hanging around for another two hours to see the finales. I am a trackchaser. I had been at the track for two hours and seen 14 races. That was enough for me.
There was one other piece of data that came my way. I received another cell phone call (see below) from Central Missouri Speedway’s Alan Miller. He called at 8:26 p.m. His message was simple. Their program was running AHEAD of schedule. I don’t get that message often. They were just going to intermission. Feature racing would begin in 20 minutes or so. I was 28 minutes from their track. I was on my way!
The Trip
I’m not sure I gave much thought to it but it was 544 miles from last night’s track in Elk City, Oklahoma to my first stop tonight in Sweet Springs, Missouri. With gas at about 13 cents per mile, you can do that math. I was able to do about 100 miles last night before stopping at an upscale Motel 6 (hopefully that’s not an oxymoron) in El Reno, Oklahoma.
I don’t pay too much attention to the distances I drive. I enjoy long distance driving. I let my GPS tell me what my ETA (estimated time of arrival) will be. Of course, that ETA is without stops. If I drive a bit faster than the posted speed limit, which I always do then I can chop a few minutes off.
By the way, knock on wood, I think it’s been since 2003, when I got my last speeding ticket. In that summer, I got two within one month. I thought they were both “ticky-tack” but then that’s what most people think isn’t it. I try to drive about 5 M.P.H. over the limit. It would be rare to get a ticket at those speeds. I also try to use my speed control whenever possible. This prevents me from “lapsing” and creeping up to 10 miles or more over the limit. That’s when the tickets come.
The Oklahoma Toll Road
Today I pulled onto Interstate 44, which is also the Oklahoma Toll Road. A toll was due upon entering the highway. A large sign told me the toll booth was unmanned and required exact change for the one dollar toll. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my money clip. I had exact change, a one dollar bill.
When I reached the pay point, the signage told me I could pay with nickels, dimes, quarters, half-dollars or one dollar COINS. Please tell me who carries silver dollars with them? Heck, when was the last time you had a fifty cent piece in your pocket? For that matter, how many people even have a dollar’s worth of change in their pocket. Do you right now?
I don’t carry coin change. It’s rare that I ever have any coins on me. I use credit cards to pay for everything I can to avoid having change in my pocket. I had no choice. I couldn’t pay the toll. I drove on with buzzers and beepers and flash photography illuminating my car’s interior.
As I drove down the highway, I didn’t see any Oklahoma state troopers in my rear view windows. I had ripped off the Okies big time. Soon, I was coming up to another toll booth. This one had an attendant. Because I’m an honest guy, I explained my predicament to the toll booth attendant. He reacted as if this was not the first time he had heard the story I was telling him. He simply said, “Give me a dollar and you’ll be O.K.” I was born at night, but not LAST night. What if he just took my dollar and then I received a summons in the mail with an enclosed photo of me eating a Twinkie in the interior of the National Rental Car Racing Chevy Malibu. No sirree! I wasn’t falling for that trick.
He sensed my consternation. “Would you like a receipt?” he asked. “You’re doggone tootin’ I would like a receipt”, I told him. I paid him the dollar, grabbed my receipt and drove on down the road. Later, I threw the receipt away because I was trying to cut down on the paper in my pocket.
The weather
I chose to come to Missouri this weekend, because it had the best weather forecast of any of the other places I considered. However, that plan almost backfired. I had more than 400 miles to cover today. I knew I would drive through rain somewhere in the middle to later stages of that drive. Nevertheless, www.weather.com told me that rain chances where I was going were only 10-20%. That’s a low probability in the world of trackchasing.
During my drive, I saw some very dark black and dark blue skies. It always seemed like the road I was on would turn some just before I got to the worst of it. I did drive through rain, but not much.
The skies cleared about 75 miles from my destination. Then when I got within 25 miles of pay dirt, things started to look bad again. The further I drove the worse it looked. As luck would have it, I would reach the second track of tonight’s planned daily blended double first, the Central Missouri Speedway in Warrensburg, Missouri. As luck would have it, another countable track was having an afternoon show in Warrensburg. However, I wasn’t THAT lucky. The afternoon show, at the Lasoski Speedway, was only racing flat karts. They aren’t countable in the competitive world of trackchasing. Nevertheless, I wanted to stop and look at the track since I was going to be in Warrensburg anyway.
The Lasoski Speedway is just eight miles from the Central Missouri Speedway. They were running their feature events when I arrived. The track contact I had spoken too earlier in the week was correct, they only had flat karts today.
I watched their racing action from outside the fence for five minutes. In that short time, I dropped my camera disabling its zoom feature. Of course, I have a backup but it’s back at the shop in San Clemente. Even without the zoom, I think you will be hard pressed to notice a discernable difference with the quality photo editing software I have.
When I got back to the car, I noticed I had received a message on my cell phone. It was from Alan Miller (more about Alan in the people section) from the Central Missouri Speedway just eight miles away. Alan’s message said “the races were still on, but they would make a decision within the next 30 minutes as to whether or not they would be racing tonight”. What! What decision? I was at Lasoski Speedway. It wasn’t raining. It had not been raining. The Central Missouri Speedway was only about 40,000 feet away. What decision? I’ll tell you more about that in the “race review” section.
The People
This past week the RANLAY Racing promotional department had been in contact with KSIS Radio in Sedalia, Missouri (http://www.ksisradio.com/) regarding a potential appearance on one of their auto racing programs. Yes, my people had been talking to their people. The radio folks had passed the word to Alan Miller, announcer and PR rep for the Central Missouri Speedway, that I would be visiting their track tonight.
Based upon that contact, Alan was kind enough to take the initiative to call me to say they might be having a weather problem. How many trackchasers would get that call and how many tracks would make that call? If you guessed close to zero, you would be right on the money.
Some trackchasers have been envious of my media work since day one. The primary reason to do the media work in the first place is to educate the public about the hobby of trackchasing. Tonight, all of the effort it takes to send out the trackchasing message came back to benefit me. The track was calling me to tell me about the weather in their area rather than me calling them. If you ask me, Alan Miller deserves a raise.
However, when I received his message, I really didn’t know what to make of it. I decided to leave the go-kart track and drive the eight miles over to the Central Missouri Speedway to find out what was going on.
As God is my witness, if this is not the truth, he has my permission (as if that was needed) to strike me down. The pavement was dry until I reached the exact property line of the track. Then I found wetness and puddles. Maybe the racing gods were just messing with me. Maybe they were just trying to tell me who was really in charge.
I called Alan Miller from the track parking lot. He told me what had gone on with the weather. They had some showers at about 5 p.m. However, the weather was moving eastward and there wouldn’t be any more problem the rest of the night. They were racing. I was lucky to have a guy like Mr. Miller going out of his way to support us traveling trackchasers.
Later in the evening
I spent some time up in the announcing tower with track announcer Sam Stoecklin and the aforementioned Alan Miller. They told the crowd I was visiting and gave me a nice mention.
Following the very last race, I hung around to talk to folks. One fellow came up to chat who had been a racer at the Cajon Speedway in El Cajon, California. We knew several of the same racing people there. This fan was now living in Missouri, but thought the trackchasing hobby would be a blast. Without my media efforts and promotion of the hobby, I would never have these types of contacts. It seems I meet and greet folks like this at almost every track I visit.
RACE REVIEW
SWEET SPRINGS MOTORSPORTS COMPLEX, SWEET SPRINGS, MISSOURI
This track is located less than one mile from Interstate 70, a highway I have used tens of times in my trackchasing travels. With all kinds of bad weather in the area, the track had been left totally unscathed. Not a drop of water had fallen from the sky on them tonight. The announcer told us, “I live 42 miles from the track. At my house it was pouring. I wouldn’t have given us any chance of racing tonight based upon the weather at home”. Just think, I came here because Missouri had the BEST weather forecast for the weekend.
The Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex is a nicely manicured 1/6-mile banked dirt oval. They race mini-sprints here almost exclusively. Tonight was an exception of sorts because the legends were visiting.
To imagine this track, think of one of your favorite, well-maintained ¼-mile or ½-mile dirt tracks. Shrink that mental image and you have the SSMC. Admission was a reasonable five bucks. They had a nice grandstand, with a decent P.A. system and a good announcer. They offered nearly every unhealthy racetrack food item that everybody else does.
The pit area was located beyond turns three and four. The parking lot was behind the front stretch grandstand. They had a nice crowd of 200-300 people in the grandstands. I was a little taken aback by the number of tattoos so many folks had. I may have to classify Missouri as my “#1 tattoo” state in all of the union.
I’m actually beginning to understand that some people think of tattoos as some form of art. They are a decoration of sorts similar to earrings or other jewelry. I’m still not a big fan of earrings for men and I’m from California. However, is it really a good idea to have your name, or anybody’s name tattooed in plain sight on the back of your neck? How about just bringing a business card along instead?
Most tracks have what are called heat races (preliminary events) and feature races (finals). Sometimes other races such as trophy dashes, consolations and/or “B” features are included. Normally, the feature race is the most entertaining. The feature race more often than not includes all of the cars in an individual class racing for a longer distance than in the preliminary events.
As time has gone by, the feature race has lost some of its luster. Don’t get me wrong, under normal circumstances, if I could see only one race I would rather see a feature race. In today’s racing world, especially at the tracks I visit, most (that means more than 50% of the time, but it does not mean 87% of the time or 98% of the time) a racing class does not have enough cars to require more than one heat race. That means the very same cars are racing in the heat race as are racing in the feature race. The only difference is that the feature race usually has more laps to run than a heat race.
At some tracks, the heat races can really drag out. Imagine going to the movies and having the movie previews take as long as or longer that the movie itself.
Tonight there were multiple classes of open wheeled, mainly winged, mini-sprints. The announcer told us the name of each class, but did not tell us what made one class different from the other. Most of the classes had cars that looked nearly identical.
As noted above, they ran 14 heat races. Then their plan was to run 6-8 trophy dashes before the main events would hit the track. In many classes, the heat race would not be much different than the feature race itself. This is like the movie previews being as long as or longer than the movie AND the previews being almost identical to the movie itself. I would not like that situation in a movie theatre and I don’t like it at a racetrack.
My recommendation to the SSMS is to bag the trophy dashes. You’ve got a nice little track and plenty of cars and good racing. After fans have seen 14 heat races, they need to see some feature racing. Other than that, I can fully endorse the SSMS racing program.
RACE REVIEW
CENTRAL MISSOURI SPEEDWAY, WARRENSBURG, MISSOURI
I arrived in a cloud of dust (not really the ground was quite moist) just as the late model feature event was finishing up. Even though it was about 9:01 p.m. and the first feature event was nearly completed, they were still charging full admission at the ticket booth. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I WANT to buy my own ticket. That way I don’t feel any obligation to blow smoke up anybody’s you know what because I “owe” them. Of course, if someone offers me a free ticket without my asking, like any good guest, I accept it graciously.
Once I walked onto the track property, I almost immediately ran into Alan Miller, the track public relations man. I had called him when I was just ten minutes away from the track. Alan greeted me with a strong handshake and a friendly smile. He invited me up into the press box to watch the remaining three feature events.
From up in the press box, I got the behinds the scenes tour of what it takes to run a racetrack. The official scorer was doing her work. I estimate that most (NOW I’m talking about 98%) of all scorers are women. Why is that? Maybe, it’s because women seem to have a greater attention to detail. That’s been my experience in business.
I also met Sam the track announcer. Sam’s full time job is being in the United States Air Force. By the way, Alan Miller is a retired Air Force Major. The track’s owner was working as race director down on the track.
During the next one hour and 15 minutes, I saw the feature events for the modifieds, “B” mods and a street stock type class. The racing was great. I would put the actual racing at the Central Missouri Speedway in the top 100 tracks I’ve seen, maybe even in the top 50. The modified feature was the best.
The track had good fields of cars and tons of side by side racing. I watched the last two features from the grandstands. I will say the track through off its share of dust. However, with high-powered racing machines and a less than friendly wind, the fans are going to get dirty. I’ve got some of the best goggles (Swainsboro Raceway) I’ve ever had now. I don’t even notice the dust.
I was most pleased with the two tracks I visited tonight. I saw a little bit of everything. I was also very lucky with the weather. Later, I learned the off-road racing event, just 80 miles to the south, at the Lucas Oil Speedway had been rained out after just one race. If an off-road event got enough rain to cancel, you know it must have been bad.
STATE RANKINGS
Missouri
Tonight I saw my 39th and 40th lifetime tracks in the “Show Me” state. This moves me out of a tie with Max Allender and into third place all by myself. Forty-seven different trackchasers have seen racing in Missouri. Ed Esser leads ‘em all with 58 tracks.
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=MO
RENTAL CAR UPDATE
Oklahoma City – Friday/Monday
None of the Executive Selection cars in the National Rental Car lot had an XM satellite radio. That’s a bummer, as I will be traveling about 1,200 miles in rural country. I’ll probably end up wearing out the “seek” button on the radio before I’m finished. I did get a white Chevy Malibu with a light tan leather interior. That should serve me well in the 90+ degree temperatures forecast for the weekend.
Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,
Randy Lewis
Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser
The real judges of your character aren’t your neighbors, your relatives or even the people you play golf with. The folks who really know you are waiters, waitresses and clerks. TRAVEL DETAILS
AIRPLANE
Los Angeles, CA – Oklahoma City, OK – 1,167 miles
RENTAL CAR
Will Rogers International Airport – trip begins
Elk City, OK – 115 miles
Sweet Springs, MO – 659 miles
Warrensburg, MO – 689 miles
TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:
Elk City Speedway – Free
Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex - $5
Central Missouri Speedway - $8
RANKINGS
LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:
There are no trackchasers currently within 100 tracks of my lifetime total.
1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,348
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. Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 366
28. Ken Schrader, Concord, North Carolina – 365
2008 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS
1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 50
2. Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania – 32
3. Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 23
4. Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 17
5. Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 11
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 – 1,714
2. Allan & Nancy Brown,
3. Guy & Pam Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,668
LIFETIME NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY STANDINGS
There seems to be some minor activity going on amongst my fellow competitors in this competition. I will need to step in and put a stop to this before it gets out of hand.
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
One more track in Missouri and then I’m headed home to sunny southern California.
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
1,342. Tanacross Airport (road course), Tok, Alaska, – May 24
1,343. Robert Mitchell Memorial Raceway (oval), Fairbanks, Alaska, – May 24
1,344. North Star Speedway (oval), Wasilla, Alaska, – May 25
1,345. Capitol Speedway (oval), Willow, Alaska, – May 25
1,346. Elk City Speedway (inner oval), Elk City, Oklahoma, – May 30
1,347. Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex (oval), Sweet Springs, Missouri – May 31
1,348. Central Missouri Speedway (oval), Warrensburg, Missouri – May 31
