GREETINGS FROM OCALA, FLORIDA

SPECIAL NOTICE

Upon returning home from this trip, I learned from www.weather.com that the city of Ocala received 4.16 inches of rain on Friday and another 1.16 inches of rain on Saturday morning.  This makes the fact that they raced on Saturday night even more remarkable.

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

The Strategy

 

An important trackchasing strategy is to see as many doubles as possible.  A double is simply attending two tracks in one day.  My favorite type of trackchasing double is the day/night double.  Day/night doubles are easiest to get during the summer months.  I was shocked that my research turned up three potential nighttime options to combine with my daytime event at the Moroso Motorsports Park.

The People

 

I met one of the faster talkers and most motivated people about his cause that I can ever recall tonight.  I will tell you more about the Thunderbowl Speedway GM, Tim Kelty, in the race track news section.

 

The trip

 

My preferred plan, (known as plan A) for the second half of my day/night double today was the St. Lucie Speedway.  St. Lucie was just 50 miles to the north of Saturday morning’s Moroso track.  Following Moroso’s completion, I drove out to St. Lucie.  Just before I arrived at the facility, I saw a sign that read, “Ft. Pierce Speedway.”  I guess the track has had a name change recently.  Of course, with the amount of rain that Moroso got, it would be very unlikely that a dirt oval go-kart track would still be racing.  They weren’t.  I would have to go to plan B.

 

Plan B was a stop at the Speedway Park track in Fruitland Park.  They sometimes race champ karts here.  This track was 205 miles north of Moroso and 155 miles north of where I was now at in St. Lucie.  I had plenty of time to make it if they were racing.

 

I commandeered an internet connection in the parking lot of the very same Days Inn in Ft. Pierce, Florida.  This is where Carol and I were trapped during Hurricane Frances.  I must compliment Speedway Park on the efficiency they showed by letting everyone know the evening’s races had been cancelled by rain.  Not many tracks can pull that off, even though it should be easy to do.

 

It was now time for plan C.  By the way, plan D was simply to drive to my motel in Gainesville, Florida and call it a night.  Plan C was to visit the Thunderbowl Speedway of Ocala.  Thunderbowl was 235 miles north of Moroso and just 30 miles north of Speedway Park, which had already cancelled for the evening.  Although I was getting further and further north of my morning show at Moroso Motorsports Park in Jupiter, Florida, I was getting closer and closer to Sunday afternoon’s venue in Jasper, Florida. 

 

By the way, I had already decided that regardless of how the weather conditions turned out, I would not try for both options B and C today.  They were only 50 miles apart.  The tracks would have made a great blended double based upon their starting times.  If I saw both of those tracks as well as my planned track on Sunday of this trip, I would hit the magic number of 1,000 tracks.  However, I was hoping to save that achievement for next week.  I’m planning to trackchase with “Trackchasing’s First Mother” then.

 

The Thunderbowl website did not mention anything about canceling for tonight.  My phone contact to Thunderbowl went unanswered.  I was headed for the Thunderbowl Speedway of Ocala!

 

About 20 miles before I was to reach the Thunderbowl interstate exit, I saw a mini-stock racer being towed south on I-75.  I wanted to yell, “Hey, the racetracks in the other direction,” but maybe he knew more than I did about the situation.  On a rainy day, a racecar being towed in the opposite direction of your planned track is absolutely the worst thing a trackchaser can see.  I kept driving.  I got off the interstate at exit #358.  I saw another stock car being hauled in the wrong direction. Oh, no! 

 

Thunderbowl is located just a mile to the east of the interstate. 

The Thunderbowl website had me making a right turn to get to the track.  When I reached the appointed spot a state road sign reading, “Speedway” told me to turn LEFT.  That seemed odd, but I did as I was directed.  I ended up at the Ocala Speedway, which was not the Thunderbowl Speedway of Ocala.  They were practicing at the Ocala Speedway.  Those stock cars I had seen driving south must have been coming from Ocala Speedway not the Thunderbowl Speedway (audible sigh of relief!). 

 

I retraced my steps and found Thunderbowl just like their website had promised.  Even though it was dark they had two large signs indicating I was about to reach the promised land.  It looked like plan C was going to work.

 

 

 

RACE TRACK STATS:

THUNDERBOWL SPEEDWAY OF OCALA, FLORIDA – TRACK #998 – 2/4/06

 

This is my 41st Florida track.  I have now tied Mr. Hollebrand for second place in the orange juice state. Ed Esser leads everyone in Florida with 46 tracks.  If I know Ed, he is secretly making plans to visit Florida soon just to keep me in second place.  I don’t blame him.  I’d do the same thing!

 

This was my 107th consecutive trackchasing day without a rainout and my 158^th track seen during this incredible streak.  Under more normal conditions both of the tracks I saw today would have been rained out and the streak would be over.

RACE TRACK NEWS:

 

THUNDERBOWL SPEEDWAY OF OCALA, FLORIDA

 

When I arrived at the Thunderbowl Speedway, there didn’t seem like there was much happening.  There was no one selling tickets at the booth located at the entrance to the track.  I drove by the empty booth and saw a couple of flat go-karts in the pits.  That wasn’t much help; flat karts don’t count in trackchasing.

 

I drove to the far end of the pits and what did I see?  Four 250cc micro-sprints, they count!  Things were looking good.  I parked my car where I could watch the races from the Pontiac cockpit.  It was now 53 degrees, I was wearing shorts and it was not going to get any warmer.

 

I wandered on over to the area where my four countable micro-sprints were pitted.  The drivers and their families were milling around.  I asked what was going on.  They said the track had received so much rain that most of the crowd and other competitors had given up the ghost and simply didn’t show up.

 

They were acting like there was not going to be any racing, even though the track lights were on, the racing surface looked moist and tacky, the drivers were all suited up and the flagman and corner workers were holding their flags.

 

A few weeks ago, I had spoken with the track’s general manager Tim Kelty.  He was a congenial fellow and told me to look him up whenever I made it to Thunderbowl.  I did just that.

 

I would later find out that the Thunderbowl Speedway of Ocala is frequented by the “Biker crowd.”  I have never been mistaken for a biker even though I did own and ride a Ducati 250 motorcycle while going to college.

 

I guessing my appearance may have tipped off those around me that I was not a biker.  Bikers don’t wear “Pacific Golf Country Club” sweatshirts and surfer shorts.  General Manager Tim was not faked out by my appearance, either.  When one of his underlings’s introduced me to him, Tim had only one question, “FBI?”  I immediately deadpanned back with “No, CIA!”  We got along well the rest of the night.

 

I told Tim I had come a long way and was looking forward to some racing action.  Some of the drivers overheard what I said to Tim and this rekindled their enthusiasm.  They wanted to race.  The drivers and Tim agreed that the pit fee for each driver would be reduced from $25 to $15 and they would race for trophies rather than money.  That sounded like a good idea to me.

 

The four drivers decided they would run a 10-lap heat race and a 20-lap feature event.  Ultimately, the feature event was shortened to 10 laps when two of the four cars dropped out.  Track #998 was in the books.

 

I’m not sure I have ever seen anyone more motivated and proud of a track’s accomplishments than General Manager Tim.  I had initially become aware of this track only a year ago, when the racing Eckels from New Jersey visited.

 

Since that time, I’ve been keeping an eye on the track website and, as mentioned, phoned the promoters.  The speedway has been in this location for 15-20 years.  They are located just a mile from the Ocala Speedway.  I could hear the cars at Ocala practicing while I was in the pit area at Thunderbowl.

 

What surprised me is that this is really a motorcycle crowd that operates what I thought of as primarily a racecar track.  The track schedules “Test n’ Tune” sessions for all comers on Fridays and Sundays.  They race every Saturday night with cars and motorcycles alternating each week.

 

I can hardly list all of the improvements that have been finished, are in the midst of construction or planned for the Thunderbowl Speedway of Ocala.  They have a major kickoff promotion running from March 2-12 to coincide with Daytona Beach’s bike week.

 

The track has a wide variety of entertainment choices then including Motorcycle dirt drags, toilet bowl racing, pure stock and mini-sprint racing, wet t-shirt contest, live music, female mud wrestling, T back tractor pulls, pickle licking contest and finally a Bike Week end party on the 12^th.  You can learn more about the doings at www.brokenbonesaloon.com.  They even have a 30-mintue TV show in the works!

 

Tim told me they are planning to expand the track to a full quarter mile oval.  It’s nearly that now.  They have ordered 420 cubic yards of Georgia clay to be delivered shortly.  They are rebuilding the press box and have 10 sets of five row aluminum bleachers soon to be delivered.  They also have some individual metal chair seats permanently affixed along the front straight. 

 

The track is in the midst of creating a 30 spot campground on their 10-acre property.  This campground will be available all the time not just when the track is racing.  They are building a mud bog pit and adding on to the Broken Bones Saloon.  The BBS is a large indoor bar that is still in the finishing stages.  I must say it was already being frequented by some beautiful looking young biker babes.  This summer they plan to complete a second story deck where patrons can view all of the activities going on at the speedway.  In this day of many tracks cutting back or closing, the Thunderbowl Speedway is expanding at a rapid pace.

 

The track owner, Rick, told me that Fridays cater to the biker crowd. The patrons at the bar seemed to be more biker oriented than racecar oriented.  I don’t have much experience with the bikes but have really enjoyed the few motorcycle races I’ve seen.  Rick says he might favor developing the bike business more so than the racecar business.  I suspect he’ll do both.

 

Tonight’s racing activity was obviously limited.  The rain that came down yesterday and this morning, made it lucky for me that there was any racing at all.  Tim had been on the grader all afternoon and the track surface looked good.

 

He showed me another car that he owns and races at the track.  The car is called a “Gadget” and resembles a home-made mini-sprint.  Apparently, they get 10-20 gadget cars during the season.

 

Tim’s car carries the number 13.  That’s how many brothers and sisters he has.  Tim can talk non-stop about the track and what’s going on.  He’s a union carpenter relocated from New Jersey.  He made his fortune in pork belly futures of all things and retired to move to the Sunshine state.  If you go to the Thunderbowl Speedway of Ocala, make sure you look up Tim and tell him I sent you.  I’ll be interested to see the status of all of the improvements that are planned.

 

If you’re lucky, you’ll also hear stories from Tim and his comrades about who’s in rehab and who stole whose bike, etc.  I couldn’t tell fact from fiction after a while.

 

Less than a mile from the track, as I was heading out toward the interstate I came across “Chuck and Von’s Barbeque to go.”  This eatery is located in an old mobile home.  I made an illegal u-turn for a later than planned dinner.  The BBQ was O.K., but the baked beans were outstanding.  It was also the first time I had ever had sweet potato pie.  It was very similar to pumpkin pie.  If you’re going to either one of the Ocala tracks, you might want to give it a try.

 

 

 

RENTAL CAR UPDATE:

The National Rental Car Racing Pontiac Grand Prix is one of my all-time favorite rental car models.

 

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:

 

These worldwide trackchasers are within 100 tracks (plus or minus) of my current trackchaser total.

 

1.  Rick Schneider – Bay Shore, New York - 1,038 (+40)

2.  Allan Brown, Comstock Park, Michigan – 1,021 (+23)

3.  Any Sivi, Clairton, Pennsylvania – 1,007 (+9)

4.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,007 (+9)

5.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 998

6.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania – 989 (-9)

 

 

 

Other notables

 

41.  Andy Ritter, Mansfield, Pennsylvania - 233 (+1)

42.  Colin Casserly, Stevenage, England 232 (+/-0)

42.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California - 232

44.  Bernie Harlen, Goshen, Indiana - 229 (-3)

 

 

 

2006 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California - 7

2.  Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 5

2.  Roger Ferrell, Majenica, Indiana – 5

4.  Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 3

5.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2

5.  Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 2

5.  Will White, Quakertown, Pennsylvania – 2

5.  Rick Young, Maxville, Ontario, Canada - 1

9.  Several trackchasers – 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

Randy Lewis

Trackchasing’s #1 trackchaser of the 21^st century

 

Trackchasing doesn’t have to be fun to be fun.

CUMULATIVE TRAVEL DISTANCES:

 

AIRPLANE

 

Los Angeles, CA – Orlando, FL – 2,210 miles

RENTAL CAR

Orlando International Airport – trip begins

Jupiter, Florida – 182 miles

Ocala, Florida – 483 miles

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:

Moroso Motorsports Park - Free

Thunderbowl Speedway of Ocala - Free

 

 

 

Past trackchasing stories are available at:

www.ranlayracing.com

 

Official trackchaser standings can be viewed at:

www.trackchaser.com   

 

Some of my standings data comes from trackchaser.com

 

 

 

 

UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS

 

Cross Roads Motorplex (dirt oval), Jasper, Florida - February 5

 

 

 

 

RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2006 (** not the first time to visit this track)

 

992.  Watermelon Capital Speedway, Cordele, Georgia - January 14

 

993.  Cross Roads Motorplex (asphalt oval), Jasper, Florida - January 15

 

994.  Norfolk Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia - January 20

 

995.  Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California - January 21

 

996.  Oregon State Fair & Expo Center, Forster Livestock Arena, Salem, Oregon - January 28

 

997.  Morosso Motorsports Park, Jupiter, Florida – February 4

 

998.  Thunderbowl Speedway of Ocala, Ocala, Florida - February 4