Randy Lewis
World's #1 Ranked Trackchaser
CROSS ANCHOR RACEWAY - ENOREE, SOUTH CAROLINA
DAY 1 – SOMEWHERE COLD TRACKCHASING TOUR
AND THE READERS RESPOND
From time to time interested readers write me about one thing or another. Many times, I feel that my other readers would be interested, informed and/or amused by the comments I get. This is what one long-time Texan reader had to say about my recent visit to the
“I don't know how you run across these places, Randy. I've lived in north
A reader from the
“I read every word of your track reports and am amazed at your energy level.”
I get a good deal of feedback from readers in foreign countries. This note came from
“hah! I’ve already got
This note came in from
“I want to be a track chaser, I want to be a track chaser……..you stayed at Ocean 11 as I advised, a great place. It was great to see the pics of the race track and around
Finally, this note came in from Bizzy Williams, Chairman of the Board of Williams Industries, a nearly $200 million dollar company from
“Your write up on
Best regards,
Bizzy Williams
Of course, I value each and every note I receive from Trackchaser Report readers and people I meet at the racetracks.
TODAY’S HEADLINES
The permutations and combinations of trackchasing strategy this weekend were mind boggling...................more in “The Objective”.
I met a new friend today …………..details in “The People”.
Two new trackchasing efficiency ideas surfaced during this trip…………..details in “The Trip”.
In all my years of trackchasing, something major happened that had never happened to me before. …………..details in “Race Review”.
Click on this link or paste it in your browser to take you to today’s Trackchaser Report via my website at
GREETINGS FROM
I WOKE UP IN
PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS
The Objective
This section of my Trackchaser Reports used to be called “The Strategy”. It is absolutely amazing how much strategy goes into trackchasing. Right now, I’m trying to achieve two trackchasing milestones. First, I am doing my best to see my 1,300th track before the year ends. Secondly, I am trying to win my first ever lifetime National Geographic Diversity championship in five years of trying.
If you’re interested is how the strategy for the above plays out, please sit down. When you’re comfortable, take out a pen and legal pad. If you’re at work, try to keep the boss from finding out what you’re doing. You will soon find out how trackchasing strategy is played by both me as well as my trackchasing fellow competitors.
In order to reach my 1,300-track goal, I will visit any track in the world as evidenced by my long distance trip to
Obviously, I want to advance in the NGD state standings whenever I can. If I can’t advance, I at least want to maintain my current state ranking in all 50 states and the
However, I had two non-trackchasing commitments to satisfy before I could leave on this trip. At our house, we celebrate Carol’s birthday for an entire week. I have found that I am more likely to get a fully cooked breakfast each and every morning for the rest of the year, if this happens. That being the case, the final days of “Mardi Carol” wrapped up at the Cabrillo Playhouse on Thursday night. I may have to rest up for several days after entertaining “Trackchasing’s First Mother” so long and so hard. Of course, she’s worth every minute of it!
I normally leave on most trackchasing trips on Friday. However, the big Thanksgiving scramble golf tournament was postponed by rain several days ago. It was rescheduled for Friday, December 14. I couldn’t miss this three-man scramble. I had convinced the club’s pro to play on my team. Also, the event paid a revised $1,200 to win. We did our best. We shot an eight under par, 64. However, that effort could only manage a 7th place finish amongst the 17 teams playing. Just the first five teams were paid prize money. We played our hearts out. Despite a slow start, we never gave up. When the match was finished, we went in for a chili and sausage supper and the friendship of our 48 other fellow competitors.
Several of those golfing fellow competitors came up and asked how I was doing in the NGD contest. One fellow from
I did my best to find a track to visit on Saturday. I had a couple of choices, but the weather forecast was terrible. There was no way they could run. Sunday was a different matter. There was a new INDOOR track opening up near
On Friday,
Yes, the race was going to be held indoors, but indoor tracks frequently cancel when the outside weather conditions threaten the safety of their competitors and fans. Additionally, a promoter does not want to run a race in the midst of a snowstorm, if no fans are going to pay to show up.
It didn’t matter if
I can understand how some readers might feel like the hypothetical reader above. Allow me to elaborate on the reasons why getting to
I currently have a 10th place ranking in
Additionally, the person I am trying to defeat in the lifetime NGD contest this year is Gordon Killian. Gordon’s current
If Mr. Knappenberger or Ms. Smith were to get one more track in
There was a sliver of a silver lining in my weekend trackchasing cloud. Mr. Knappenberger had visited this weekend’s
However, Ms. Smith was another kettle of fish. If Ms. Smith was able to add Mototown
Aren’t you glad you pulled out that pen and legal pad to keep track of all of the key players? Don’t put that pen down just yet. There is more to Ms. Smith that might meet the initial eye. Ms. Smith is married to the #3 overall trackchaser, Guy Smith, the unofficial father of trackchasing. Fortunately, for me, Mr. Smith had previously attended the Mototown
Now the question that needed to be asked was, “Would Mr. Smith, a previous Mototown
On the other hand, would Ms. Smith DEMAND that Mr. Smith drive her to
It is difficult to answer these questions. I cannot even attempt to answer them. I do know this for a fact. Ms. Smith would be in attendance at the appointed time for the Mototown
As Paul Harvey would say, “And now for the rest of the story!” You have already learned that Ms. Smith is married to Mr. Smith. You know that Mr. Smith has already attended racing at the Mototown
Yes, the tangled web of trackchasing (sometimes called the sordid and soft underbelly of trackchasing) was closing in. It was closing in on me! If Mr. Killian’s best friend’s wife made it to Connecticut and I did not I stood to lose more than half of my fragile lifetime NGD lead that I was so valiantly trying to hold out too. This is why I had no choice. I had to make it to
Did you know the Weather Channel is now being broadcast in high definition TV? It looks spectacular. I was glued to the Weather Channel. I developed a plan. I would “stage” myself in
That was my plan. Carol packed a sack lunch for me and sent me out into the 68-degree sunny
They will not race again until January. They are out of the lifetime NGD mix. I will be able to maintain my slight eight-position lead, at least for now. That was a close one. Per my plan, with Mototown in
I hear the assembled masses wanting to ask this question before I move on. “But Randy, aren’t you concerned that these East coast trackchasers might be ganging up on you? Do you think they lay awake at night plotting strategies to outwit you? There seems to be somewhat of an ethical conflict with the three people you described above, if not full-blown collusion.”
I am not concerned by the teamwork capabilities of Mssrs. Killian and Smith and Ms. Smith or anyone else for that matter. Will White, who is still MY commissioner, takes his responsibilities quite seriously. He will not allow anyone to add a track that does not fully comply with the rules.
Other than when they paid people to stage races, these folks are playing fully by the rules both contractually and ethically. I consider them staunch competitors and wish them nothing but the best in trackchasing. They are doing what they can to play honestly, fairly and competitively. I will admit that a smile comes across my face when any person whines about things being “too competitive” and then goes out and does whatever they can to be competitive, but then that’s just me.
Is your legal pad full yet? With Mototown
Nevertheless, it turns out that Mr. Killian took a “last minute” flight to
Am I concerned that Mr. Killian is being too competitive? Am I concerned that trackchasing is suffering because Mr. Killian is being too competitive? Do I think every student should get an “A” just for showing up? Do I think every little league player should get a ‘participant’ trophy? My answer to all of these questions is an emphatic “No!” “Hell, No!”
Mr. Killian is plotting, planning and traveling all over God’s
However…….there is a P.S. to this story. Enter Allan Brown. Mr. Brown currently has a proposal being considered by the trackchasing voting members. Allan wants to have a trackchaser “Mission Statement” One of the key tenets of his mission statement is that trackchasers should be able to not include certain racetracks that they have seen. Even though the trackchaser had seen a track that meets the rules, Mr. Brown wants to allow the individual trackchaser to decide if the track should be added to his/her list even after that track has been submitted to the trackchasing commissioner and been posted.
Before I go any further I should tell you that I worked on several “
You might ask why a trackchaser would actually want to have their track total reduced after they had already submitted the track to trackchasing’s commissioner. If I understand things correctly, Mr. Brown does not feel good about some of the tracks he has seen and submitted. He would like to have the commissioner remove those tracks from his list. Mr. White, trackchasing commissioner, is resisting Mr. Brown’s attempt to add a mission statement with this impact.
Votes must all be in during the next few days. I have already submitted my vote. I voted against Mr. Brown’s proposal. I was conflicted over my vote. On the one hand, I don’t think anyone should be forced to be part of the trackchasing group. If they don’t want to play by the rules, I think a separate category should be created. This category could simply be a list of trackchasers who count their tracks differently than what trackchaser rules call for. I would hope that each trackchaser would not attempt to create their “own” way of doing things. If that were the case, we would have 60+ different ways of counting tracks.
I voted in support of Mr. White because trackchasing is really what it is today because of his website, because of his enforcement of the rules and because of his record-keeping which allows trackchasers to see how many tracks they have seen in a state or a country or whatever. I will keep all RANLAY Racing Trackchaser Report readers informed of the outcome of this vote and any and all repercussions that may result.
I will make one additional statement about Mr. Brown’s proposal. If it passes, I would encourage Mr. White to make it effective with the 2008 season. I would not want to have the removal of Mr. Brown’s tracks affect the outcomes of the various National Geographic Diversity contests being staged on a lifetime, 2007 season and/or gender basis.
Mr. Brown’s greatest track penetration comes from the Midwest since he resides in
Now……you can put your legal pad back in the desk drawer and get back to work.
The Trip
This logistics of today’s trip went amazingly well. I have been adding new technologies all year. They are now beginning to compliment one another. Nevertheless, I added two more new elements to my trackchasing logistics arsenal for the first time today.
By the way, this may not need mentioning, but my trackchasing efficiency/cost effectiveness ideas are not meant only for trackchasing. Yes, many of my efficiency ideas are being emulated by fellow trackchasers. Some now routinely carry laptops with them after seeing the success I’ve had with these little machines while on the trackchasing trail. Moreover, yes, you too can reapply these ideas on your own personal vacations. These are just a few of the time and money savers I used on this 36-hour trip.
I landed into the Hartsfield-Jackson (
Upon landing, the first thing I did was power up my laptop computer. I needed to find a hotel in
However, my real objective was to find a hotel with significantly more value and not much more cost. As most of you know, Priceline allows you to “name your own price”. Hotel rooms are what folks in the industry define as “perishable”. Yes, I guess they’re like a banana. After a few days a banana isn’t any good anymore. It’s the same thing with a hotel room. On Sunday morning, an empty Saturday night room isn’t worth anything either.
A hotel might be charging $100 per room per night. However, when they discover they are not going to sell all of their rooms at this price, it makes sense to lower the price. However, they don’t want to make their guests who have already paid $100 per night mad. Therefore, whatever they do must be done surreptitiously. Getting something less than $100, but something greater than the variable costs associated with a hotel room night (probably just the expense of maid service) can make sense to the hotel manager.
This is where Priceline comes in. Priceline creates a market for hotel rooms that would otherwise go unsold. The prospective user gets to “bid” or “name their own price”. If the offer makes sense to the bidder and to the hotel then a deal is struck.
In
Before I started I knew I at least had a room at the Motel 6 for $37. However, I am not in business to “buy cheap things cheap”. I want to buy “good things cheap”. Even on my meager trackchasing budgets, I could afford more than $37 for a room in a large city like
I made three different bids using the super secret strategies offered at Biddingfortravel.com. My third bid was accepted! I paid just $45 plus tax for a Courtyard by Marriott hotel. This is a very nice hotel chain, much better than Motel 6.
When I checked in the clerk told me that my room had already been paid for so there was no paperwork whatsoever to handle. A great advantage to getting a Marriott property through Priceline, is that I get a special “welcoming” gift based upon my Marriott “platinum” status. Additionally, when you purchase a room via Priceline, the hotel staff does not see or know what price you have paid. I like that feature.
I couldn’t resist asking what the tonight’s hotel rate was after I had paid just $45. The clerk told me tonight’s rate for a single was $124! “It’s $179 during the week,” she offered. Yes, Priceline had done me good tonight. Remember, once you make a Priceline reservation you cannot cancel. I was reminded of that when my
Today was my first ever effort at both securing track longitude and latitude data on my own, inputting the data into my Garmin GPS unit and then finding the track. When I was just 0.2 miles from the track I was still on a rural road. I could not see the track. I thought I might be lost. Just at that point, the GPS audio device yelled “Cross Anchor Raceway 2/10 mile on left”. I gazed up and lo and behold about 2/10 of a mile to my left was the track. Amazing, but true! I thought a GPS unit using an address or “Point of Interest” name was the best way to find a track. Now, I am convinced that longitude and latitude data is the best. I have Richard Welty to thank for the training he provided that has created a competitive advantage.
Finally, this was my first trip using a recommendation from the P&G retirees email conference, appropriately called “pngeezers!” There are some 1,800 people who are members of this group. I’m going to suggest that most of these people are smarter than average. Many are engineers and former managers. As a group, these folks seem to know a lot about a lot.
Recently, there was an extensive discussion about GPS units. One of the ideas that came out of this discussion was the best way to attach a GPS unit inside the car so that it can used easily. My GPS unit came with a rubber suction cup. This suction cup is supposed to attach to the inside of the front windshield. I found that mine would only stick to the glass for a few minutes. Then, the GPS unit would come crashing down. I have also heard that local police are not very thrilled to see GPS units being affixed to front windshields.
The idea I got from pngeezers was a clamp type outfit that attaches to the louvers of the air-conditioning vent in the car. The GPS is then easy to both read and manipulate. I’m still learning to use this attachment. It’s not quite as steady as I would like, but after I get used to using it, it will be better than the rubber suction cup. Changes like this are what I mean when I mention the Total Quality concept of “continuous improvement”.
I could not pass up the opportunity to tell you about one of the worst flights I have had in recent memory. My flight from
They were nearly matched by two women from
The People
It’s somewhat amazing to me how many people I meet via the internet in my trackchasing hobby. For some reason, there are a lot of people who want to support me in my continuing competitive battle with those “dreaded East coast trackchasers”. Of course, I can use all the help these folks can offer. I couldn’t do this without them.
From time to time, I get a chance to meet these people personally. Today was another example as I met for the very first time Mr. Dale Terry. Dale is a race fan who resides in
Dale writes a newsletter about all manner of racing in the Peach state, Georgia. If something or someone is happening in racing, then Dale knows about it and talks about it in his weekly newsletter. If there were 49 other “Dales” operating in the remaining
Dale and I had tried to hook up a time or two earlier, but this was the first time the stars aligned. He accompanied me on the drive up to
We had a lot in common. We’re both from the
STATE RANKINGS
There were no NGD points to gain by going to the Cross Anchor Raceway. I need seven more tracks in the Gamecock state before I will climb another position.
RACE REVIEW
CROSS ANCHOR RACEWAY,
Why would I fly more than 4,000 miles round-trip just to see senior champ karts race at a small and rural go-kart track? I was trying to put myself in a position to get my 1,300th lifetime track by the end of the year.
I had actually been to this track one time some years back. I was on my way to another
Nevertheless, I had been keeping my eye on this track. While doing that I discovered Cross Anchor had five senior champ karts racing last week. That was a good sign. One of my
The weather was more than questionable. A soaking rain had moved through the area overnight. Weather.com had told me the rain was expected to stop early on Sunday morning at about 2 a.m. in the Cross Anchor area. From the looks of the amount of rain that
Early on Sunday morning, I called the track. They were racing! That was great news. Now, all I needed was to have a couple of senior champ karts show up. By the way, if you don’t know what a senior champ kart is let me explain. It is essentially a go-kart chassis with a miniature sprint car body and a steel roll cage. Senior champ karts allow a trackchaser to count a track. Flat karts are not countable in trackchasing.
Dale and I arrived at just before the scheduled 2 p.m. starting time on Sunday afternoon. The weather was mostly sunny with a temperature, at its zenith, of 50 degrees. What made the day less comfortable was the biting wind. The wind probably gave us a wind chill of less than 40 degrees.
We paid our $5 admission and parked right at the track fence between turns one and two. There were about 60-70 racing competitors in the pit area. I did a quick walk through. My greatest concern was realized. There were no senior champ karts. There were no competitors that were approved by trackchaser rules. I would not be able to count the track today!
Yes, I had flown 4,000 miles round-trip. Yes, I would end up driving more than 400 miles round-trip. Yes, I would incur expenses that would not be offset by a countable track. Yes, this would put in serious jeopardy my getting my 1,300th track in 2007. We stayed for a few heats races and headed back to
I had been most concerned that airline seat availability or weather would be my downfall. I had only a minor concern that the lack of trackchasing countable competitors would be the problem. This is the first time that I had ever planned to visit a track and they didn’t have the car classes I needed in order to count the track. Recall, my first visit to Cross Anchor was not a planned visit, the track just happened to be on the way to a place I was already headed.
I wouldn’t be telling you the truth if I didn’t say I was disappointed. However, I was probably no more disappointed than when I hit my golf ball out of bounds on Royal Lytham #2. At the moment it’s a bad thing, but you just need to pick up the pieces and move on. That is what I intend to do with today’s minor setback.
RENTAL CAR UPDATE
Today’s National Rental Car Racing Chevy Impala SS was a fire engine red color. It came with a sunroof and XM radio. The engine had a “growl” to it.
I drove the National Rental Car Chevy Impala 409 miles. I paid an average price of $2.86 per gallon. The Chevy gave me 24.3 miles per gallon in fuel mileage at a cost of 11.8 cents (
Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,
Randy Lewis
The politics are most bitter when the stakes are the smallest.
TRAVEL DETAILS
AIRPLANE
Los Angeles, CA – Atlanta, GA – 2,133 miles
RENTAL CAR –
Hartsfield-
AIRPLANE
Atlanta, GA – Los Angeles, CA – 2,133 miles
Total Air miles – 4,266 miles (2 flights)
Total auto and air miles traveled on this trip – 4,675 miles
TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:
Cross Anchor Raceway – $5
Total racetrack admissions for the trip – $5
RANKINGS
LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:
There are no trackchasers currently within 100 tracks of my lifetime total.
1. Randy Lewis,
Other notables
These worldwide trackchasers are within 10 tracks (plus or minus) of Carol’s current trackchaser total.
27. Ken Schrader,
28. Carol Lewis,
28. Max Allender,
2007 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS
1. Randy Lewis,
2. Ed Esser,
3. Roland Vanden Eynde,
4. Mike Knappenberger,
5. Paul Weisel,
6. Pam Smith, Effort,
7. Carol Lewis,
8. Guy Smith, Effort,
9. Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs,
10. Allan Brown,
Tracks have been reported by 42 different worldwide trackchasers this season.
LIFETIME NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY STANDINGS
Results current thru 12/3/07**
1. Randy Lewis,
2. Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs,
3. Allan Brown,
** Results are unofficial.
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
UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS
Despite today’s setback, I am not done yet. However, I no longer plan to reach the 1,300-track mark in 2007. I’m already thinking that magic number might come in a country where I have never trackchased. However, there is a good deal of water and maybe even snow to run under the bridge before this happens.
RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2007 (** not the first time to visit this track)
1,139. Meremere Dirt Track Club,
1,140. Meeanee Speedway,
1,141. Top of the South Speedway,
1,142. Woodford Glen Speedway,
1,143. Robertson Holden International
1,144.
1,145.
1,146. Angels Stadium of
1,147. Angels Stadium of
1,148.
1,149.
1,150. Grand Prix De Lanaudiere,
1,151. Ste-Eulalie Ice Track,
1,152. St Guillaume, St
1,153.
1,154.
1,155. Northeast Pond Ice Track,
1,156. Lee Pond Ice Track,
1,157. New Hendry Country
1,158.
1,159. Honeoye Lake Ice Track – Road Course,
1,160.
1,161.
1,162. Dawgwood Speedway,
1,163. Toccoa Speedway,
1,164. Tazewell Speedway,
1,165.
1,166. Dacosa Speedway,
1,167. Swinging Bridge Raceway,
1,168.
1,169. Foothills Raceway,
1,170. Mileback Speedway,
1,171. Grand Prix of
1,172. Vegas Grand Prix,
1,173.
1,174. Low Country Kartway,
1,175. Dillon Motor
1,176. Valley Dirt Riders,
1,177.
1,178. Sertoma Speedway,
1,179.
1,180.
1,181. Hollywood Hills
1,182. Meridian
1,183.
1,184. Rocky Mountain Raceways (oval),
1,185. Rocky Mountain Raceways (figure 8),
1,186. Modoc
1,187.
1,188.
1,189. Fairplex at the
1,190. Lowes Motor
1,191. Lowes Motor
1,192.
**
1,193. Thunderbird Stadium (figure 8),
1,194. Thunderbird Stadium (oval),
1,195. Whispering
1,196.
1,197.