DAY 2 – BLACK HILLS REGION TRACKCHASING TOUR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE

 

 

I have added three important features to my website at www.ranlayracing.com.  First, I finally got around to adding the audio play from my radio interview on ESPN’s West Sound Racing Program at 1380 AM in Everett, Washington.  With your computer speakers turned on, you can listen via my site’s home page or with the link to ESPN radio found on my “Media Coverage” tab.

 

 

I’ve also been able to add my recent interview (July 4, 2008) from the Rapid City Journal (Rapid City, South Dakota) to my website’s “media coverage” page.  If you have time check it out.   You can probably read the story by clicking on this link.  I’m not sure how long the link will be active.

 

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/07/04/sports/local/doc486dbedab25dd434780760.txt

 

 

I have also added a feature I have wanted to do for a very long time.  I now have a “Foreign Tracks Visited” tab at www.ranlayracing.com.  This links too each of the 15 foreign country track visits I’ve made.  If you ever wanted to see how the foreign tracks do it, this is the place.  You’ll also get to experience the sights of these faraway visits as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TODAY’S HEADLINES

 

Half of the 2008 trackchasing season is finished.  It’s time to assess where I’m at against my most important goals....................more in “The Objective”.

 

Today’s trip involved three fun and interesting Trackchasing Tourist Attractions …………..details in “Trackchasing Tourist Attractions”.

 

Sometimes tracks don’t come through…………..details in “The Trip”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click on or paste this link in your browser to see the photos from this trip.

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/Ranlay8/080628NewcastleSpeedway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GREETINGS FROM NEWCASTLE, WYOMING.

 

 

 

 

I WOKE UP THIS MORNING IN RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA.  I WENT TO SLEEP IN GILLETTE, WYOMING.  THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.

 

 

 

 

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

 

 

 

The Objective 

 

Today marks my last new track of the first half of the 2008 season.  I’ll try to give you a brief summary on how the year has gone.  To date, I have seen 63 tracks.  My total travel mileage (rental cars, ferryboats, personal cars and airplanes) amount to a staggering 144,518 miles.  Heck, my record for an ENTIRE year is only a little more than 208,000 miles.  This reflects the emphasis I’ve placed on international travel.  I’ll give you a summary on the five primary trackchasing categories that are of interest to me as of now.  Of course, there are more than just five areas of interest, but we’re trying to economize here.  I’ll list my categories in order of importance.

 

Lifetime track total.

 

I guess this is the granddaddy of them all in the hobby of trackchasing.  With 1,361 tracks, I hold a 191-track lead over my nearest competitor.  I must admit with a margin that wide, the incentive to keep on chasing at a feverous pace is diminished somewhat.

 

 

Lifetime National Geographic Diversity totals.

 

This combination of seeing tracks all over the United States and in large quantities has always intrigued me.  There aren’t many trackchasers who have the time, interest and/or resources to do more than “dip their toe” in several states.  I wish there was more competition in this area of trackchasing.

 

 

Trackchasing Annual Championship

 

I am the defending four-time champion in this category.  You can see how the standings look for 2008 near the bottom of this report.  I am currently in second place this year.  I won’t have time to battle for the win.  I’m looking for a top 3 podium finish.  If I get it, this will be my ninth year of finishing in the top 3 or better.  I have a feeling the standings will be the same as they are now at the end of the year.  However, there is an outside chance I could slip to third or even fourth place in the 2008 annual standings.

 

 

Race to 30 International Challenge

 

I’ve put a big push on seeing international tracks this year.  So far, I’ve added Thailand, South Africa, Jamaica, Sweden and Denmark.  I’ve also seen racing in Canada and Mexico this year.  I currently have 16 trackchasing countries.  I have a contest with the Trackchasing Commissioner, Will White.  He’s been to 20 countries pursuing his hobby.  We’ll see who gets to see racing in 30 countries first.  It might be a long time before either one of us makes it, but I hope we both do.

 

 

Far West “Chase to be #1”

 

In this category, I’m driving to achieve the #1 ranking in each of the 13 Far Western states.  Of course, it will be impossible for me to do this in California since I’ve more than 40 tracks behind and I have less than five new tracks in the Golden state that I have not seen.

 

Nevertheless, I have become #1 in eleven of the Far Western states.  That’s pretty good, I think.  I’m only one track (Hawaii) from gaining a top position in 12 of the Far West states and reaching my goal more than a year early.

 

 

Summary

The above five categories are all of interest to me for varying reasons.  However, it is often the case that when I do well in one of them, there is a negative effect on the other.  When I travel internationally, I don’t see as many tracks, although seven days abroad is many more times entertaining than seeing seven tracks in the U.S.

 

When I trackchase in the Far West, there are virtually no NGD points to get.  Nevertheless, I enjoy trackchasing in the wide open spaces of this part of America.  I think trackchasing mirrors life.  You can’t do everything at once.  In time, most important things get done.  I just happen to think that in trackchasing, as in life, it’s important to touch all of the important bases.

The Trip

 

It was a relatively short drive from Rapid City to today’s track in Newcastle, Wyoming.  The day’s Trackchasing Tourist Attractions were fun to visit and the scenery was interesting.

 

 

Following my Newcastle track visit, my plan was to see a new track in Montana on Sunday.  I had called them on both Friday and Saturday with no contact.  Since this track was a mere 15 miles from my Billings, Montana departure airport, I was not out much mileage when I learned the Sunday track was not racing.  The track contact called me on Sunday morning while I was in a Buffalo, Wyoming fast food drive-thru line with the less than stellar news.  That’s simply the way it goes sometimes.  The cancellation did allow me to get how sooner.

 

 

 

The People

 

It was fun meeting up with Jim Holland, sportswriter for the Rapid City Journal during this weekend.  His July 4, 2008 feature story appears on my website at www.ranlayracing.com.  He did a nice job of covering several aspects of the trackchasing hobby.

 

 

It’s fun being a grandparent.  Carol is very involved as a grandmother and I want to be as well.  I suspect that my trackchasing will be affected in a minorly negative way, while my overall life will be impacted in an overall positive way with this development.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Wall Drug (http://www.walldrug.com/) – Wall, South Dakota

During our college summers, I would visit Carol where she lived in Wyoming.  When we drove back to college in Illinois, we always drove past Wall Drug in South Dakota.  Wall Drug is a tacky tourist stop if I’ve ever seen one.  They are famous for their roadside billboards.  From Rapid City to Wall, South Dakota the distance is about 60 miles.  During just that short drive, I am certain I saw more than 100 billboards advertising Wall Drug.

 

Once there, it didn’t look very much like how I had remembered it.  Of course, that’s the funny think about memories.  Folks think they remember how it actually was when many times they do not.  If you’re on I-90 and have the time to check out the famous Wall Drug I recommend it.

 

 

Bear Country U.S.A. (http://www.bearcountryusa.com/index.php) – Rapid City, South Dakota

I had left Wall Drug and was headed for Mount Rushmore.  I had a few minutes so when I saw the sign for “Bear Country U.S.A.” I decided to stop.  This is one of those wild animal parks where you stay in your car and drive through at low speeds while viewing the wild life.  My tour got off to a slow start and I was wondering if I was going to see any bears at all.  Yes, it’s time for one of those famous Wal-Mart gift certificates that rewards those loyal Trackchaser Report Readers.  Of course, this will not be just the normal $5 gift card.  Times are tough.  Gas prices and food prices are going through the roof.  The gift card amount has been increased to SIX DOLLARS!  It goes to the first two respondents in my email box, no exceptions, two only.  We were being directed through areas of the park that had other animals but no bears.

 

Finally, we reached the bears!  These guys were huge!  There was one bear that while walking on all four legs looked to be taller than my car!!  You’d best check out the bear pix at www.ranlayracing.com to see for yourself.

 

Mount Rushmore (http://www.nps.gov/moru/) – near Keystone, South Dakota

My last TTA of the day would be spent at the famous Mount Rushmore monuments.  Of course, these are the granite sculptures of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.  It was a gorgeous day to visit this attraction.  I have several photos of Mount Rushmore and the other trackchasing tourist attractions on my website at www.ranlayracing.com.  Simply go to the “Trackchaser Reports” tab and click on “#1,361” for the Newcastle Speedway report with photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RACE REVIEW

NEWCASTLE SPEEDWAY, NEW CASTLE, WYOMING

 

The locals told me there had not been any countable trackchasing activity at this track in about five years.  It’s fun to see tracks, where there has been so little racing in the past.  At the same time, the quality of the racing often leaves one wishing for more.

 

The main attraction, for me, was the appearance of the Badlands Mini-Sprint Association.  They brought 14 cars to the track tonight.  They were joined by motorcycle races of all types and quad racing.  All of the classes had some entertaining races.

 

The mini-sprints were the first cars on the track for their three heat races at about 6:15 p.m.  This made me think that they might run their feature race earlier in the evening.  That would not be the case.  The final racing event of the night would be the mini-sprint feature at about 9:15 p.m.  Their feature race was good under the lights that illuminated the tiny quarter-mile slightly banked dirt oval.

 

I made a visit to this track a couple of months ago.  At the time, it didn’t really look like it was ready for racing.  The locals did a nice job of bringing it up to speed.  I enjoyed myself tonight even though the mosquitoes did chew up my golf-tanned legs.

 

 

 

 

STATE RANKINGS

 

Wyoming

 

This evening I saw my 11^th lifetime track in the Cowboy state.  I maintain my state leadership here while Allan Brown trails in second place with eight. A low figure of just 23 trackchasers has ventured out to Wyoming to see some auto racing.  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&region=WY

RENTAL CAR UPDATE

 

Billings, MT – Thursday/Sunday

I will be driving the National Rental Car Racing Nissan Altima.  I don’t often drive rental cars from makers other than the “big 3”.  The car is somewhat similar to the Chevy Malibu.  It has a push button starter rather than the traditional key starting mechanism.  This is identical to Carol’s Lexus GS 350 at home.  I’ve driven the car more than 430 miles and the gauges tell me; I can drive more than 100 more on this tank of fuel.  Most of the GM products I rent top out at about 400-425.

 

 

I drove the National Rental Car Racing Nissan Altima 938 miles in the three days I had it.  I paid an average price of $4.06 per gallon.  The 4-cylinder Nissan gave me an impressive 29.7 miles per gallon (mainly driven at 75-80 M.P.H.) in fuel mileage at a cost of 13.7 cents (U.S.) per mile.  The car cost 13.0 cents per mile to rent, all taxes included.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser

With each Trackchaser Report you get a picture with a thousand words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRAVEL DETAILS

 

 

AIRPLANE

 

Orange County, – Salt Lake City, UT – 387 miles

Salt Lake City, UT - Billings, MT – 588 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR

 

Billings International Airport – trip begins

Rapid City (north), SD – 416 miles

Rapid City (south), SD – 422 miles

Newcastle, WY – 630 miles

Billings International Airport – 938 miles

AIRPLANE

 

Billings, MT – Salt Lake City, UT – 588 miles

Salt Lake City, UT – Orange County, CA – 387 miles

 

 

 

 

 

Total Air miles – 1,950 miles (4 flights)

 

 

Total auto and air miles traveled on this trip – 2,884 miles

 

 

 

 

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

 

Black Hills Speedway - $8 (senior rate, normally $10)

Heartland Speedway – Free

Newcastle Speedway - $10 (pit pass)

 

Total racetrack admissions for the trip – $18

 

 

 

 

 

RANKINGS

 

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:

 

There are no trackchasers currently within 100 tracks of my lifetime total. 

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,361

 

 

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 – 368

 

28.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 366

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2008 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

1.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania – 80

 

2.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 63

 

3.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 39

 

4.  Roland Vanden Eynde, Vilvoorde, Belgium - 29

 

5.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania - 26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tracks have been reported by 32 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 – 1,727

 

2.  Guy & Pam Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,697

 

3.  Allan & Nancy Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 1,680

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIFETIME NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY STANDINGS

 

After the most recent updates (July 1, 2008), I have a comfortable 19 state position lead.  As long as I can keep a 10 state position lead, things will be under control.

 

 

 

 

 

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:

www.ranlayracing.com

 

 

Official trackchaser standings can be viewed at:

www.trackchaser.net

 

 

Some of the data in this report comes from www.trackchaser.net and my Garmin GPS aka “Tonto”

 

 

 

 

 

 

UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS

 

This trip leads into the Fourth of July holiday.  That always means I will be hanging out in San Clemente for the special fireworks and playing golf.  It will be good to get off the road for awhile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2008 (** not the first time to visit this track)

 

 

1,299. Barnes Lake Ice Track, Ashcroft (road course), British Columbia, Canada - January 13

 

1,300. Bira Circuit, Pattaya (road course), Thailand - January 19

 

1,301. Cameron Lake Ice Track (oval), Erskine, Minnesota - January 26

 

1,302. Birch Lake Ice Track (oval), Hackensack, Minnesota - January 27

 

1,303. Mille Lacs Lake Ice Track (road course), Garrison, Minnesota - January 27

 

1,304. Mille Lacs Lake Ice Track (oval), Garrison, Minnesota - January 27

 

1,305. Ozark Empire Fairgrounds (oval), Springfield, Missouri – February 1

 

1,306. Atlanta Motor Speedway (road course), Hampton, Georgia – February 2

 

1,307. Brainerd International Raceway Ice Track (road course), Brainerd, Minnesota – February 3

 

1,308. Bay of Green Bay Ice Track (road course), Marinette, Wisconsin – February 9

 

1,309. Lake Speed Ice Track (oval), Tilleda, Wisconsin – February 9

 

1,310. Shawano Lake Ice Track – North Shore (oval), Shawano, Wisconsin – February 10

 

1,311. Cecil Bay Iceway (oval) – Cecil, Wisconsin – February 10

 

1,312. Mototown USA (oval) – Windsor, Connecticut – February 15

 

1,313. Moosehead Lake Ice Track (oval) – Greenville Junction, Maine – February 16

 

1,314. Clarence Creek Ice Track (oval) – Clarence Creek, Ontario, Canada – February 17

 

1,315. Durban Grand Prix (road course), KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa – February 24

 

1,316. Lake La Biche Ice Track (road course), Lake La Biche, Alberta, Canada – March 1

 

1,317. Rice Lake Ice Track (oval), Rice Lake, Wisconsin – March 8

 

1,318. Ashland Ice Track (oval), Ashland, Wisconsin – March 9

 

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. Mitchell 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

 

1,349. Lucas Oil Speedway (road course), Wheatland, Missouri – June 1

 

1,350. Ark-La-Tex Speedway (oval), Vivian, Louisiana – June 5

 

1,351. Monticello Speedway (oval), Monticello, Arkansas – June 6

 

1,352. Paris Motor Speedway (oval), Paris, Texas – June 7

 

1,353. Grayson County Speedway (oval), Bells, Texas – June 7

 

1,354. Prowers County Motorsports Park (oval), Lamar, Colorado – June 13

 

1,355. Moler Raceway Park (oval), Williamsburg, Ohio – June 20

 

1,356. La Junta Raceway (road course), La Junta, Colorado – June 21

 

1,357. El Paso County Speedway (oval), Calhan, Colorado – June 21

 

1,358. York County Fairgrounds (figure 8), York, Nebraska – June 22

 

1,359. Black Hills Speedway (oval), Rapid City, South Dakota – June 27

 

1,360. Heartland Speedway (oval), Rapid City, South Dakota – June 27

 

1,361. Newcastle Speedway (oval), Newcastle, Wyoming – June 28

 

 

 

 

 

Far West “Chase to be #1”

 

In the business world, the U.S. is often divided up into geographic areas that are referred to as East, Central and the “eleven Western states plus Alaska and Hawaii.”  No, I don’t know why they don’t just say the “thirteen western states.”  Those states include  Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming and, of course, Alaska and Hawaii.

 

The far west probably has the most beautiful scenery per square mile anywhere in the United States.  This got me to thinking.  Over the next 1-2 years, I’d like to put a “full-court” press on these far west states for trackchasing purposes.  I want to establish a goal of becoming the number one trackchaser in each of these states except California by the end of 2009.  Becoming #1 in California is not a realistic goal at this time. 

 

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 1^st place.  As an example, I’m currently in third place in Hawaii and trail first place by one track.  I’m looking forward to spending more time than usual in the Far West, a great part of our country.

 

Alaska – 1^st by 2

 

Arizona – 1^st by 8

 

California – 2^nd - trail by 46

 

Colorado – 1^st by 3

 

Hawaii – 3^rd – trail by 1

 

Idaho – 1^st by 3

 

Montana – 1^st by 1

 

Nevada – 1^st - tie

 

New Mexico – 1^st by 4

 

Oregon – 1^st - tie

 

Utah – 1^st by 2

 

Washington – 1^st by 3

 

Wyoming – 1^st by 3