Randy Lewis

Enid News and Eagle

Photo by Mike Hoffman

Trackchaser visits Enid

By Cheryl Licklider Commentary

Randy Lewis, the No. 1 ranked trackchaser in the world according to www.trackchaser.com, traveled from San Clemente, Calif., to Enid Motor Speedway for the $10,000-to-win Street Stock Nationals on Sunday, putting a notch on his belt for visiting his 120th track this year.

“This is my 24th trip of the season,” said Lewis. “I’ve visited 120 tracks this season so far in 33 different states. This weekend I flew into Wichita (Kan.) on Friday. We went to the track in Hutchinson (Kan.) on Friday and Dodge City (Kan.) on Saturday. The Dodge City track counted as two as it has both an outer and inner oval.”

Trackchasing is the racing hobby of going to as many race tracks as possible. There are only six trackchasers in the world who have seen racing at more than 1,000 tracks, according to the Web site. Well-known drivers such as Kenny Schrader, Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindell rank in the top 50 worldwide trackchasers.

There are strict rules for trackchasing. Only ovals, figure eights and road courses count. No drag strips, demolition derbies or motorcycle venues are allowed. While there are more than 60 ranked chasers with 200 or more tracks. To date Lewis has seen 1,111 tracks. Six months ago he achieved his No. 1 rank. Lewis has made his way to 600 ovals, 200 road courses and 100 figure eights in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, England, Australia, Germany and New Zealand.

Trackchasing is a unique hobby, and Lewis takes it seriously. After retiring from a successful career as a sales manager with Proctor and Gamble, this weekend warrior has put 100 percent into his passion. In 2005 Lewis saw 182 new race tracks, breaking his old record of 127. During the season he traveled 147,082 miles via airplanes, ferries and rental cars. He spent 150 nights on the road and spent about $50,000 on track tickets, air fares, rental cars and hotels.

“I research air fares and rental cars, but it all tends to add up,” said Lewis. “I definitely have a passion for this. When you retire, you spend your time doing what you love. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t enjoy it. It’s fun to walk into a track for the very first time, go to a new town and search out local attractions.”

When he’s not chasing tracks, Lewis spends hours on his home computer searching out track schedules and putting the data into a spreadsheet, which helps him mix and match to get a trip together. A successful weekend trackchasing trip will net this dedicated chaser a visit to three or four tracks. Typically, he will depart from his San Clemente home at 4 a.m. for the airport. He will fly into a location where he rents a car and starts driving. He may drive well more than 1,000 miles.

It was only natural that Lewis became enamored with the sport. He grew up in Illinois, a hotbed of dirt track racing. There were 10 houses on his block, and three belonged to avid stock car drivers. As a youngster Lewis spent hours in their garages watching them get their cars ready for the weekend.

The Speed channel recently shot a pilot with Lewis. Soon race fans may get a closeup look into the world of trackchasing via a reality show featuring this avid chaser. Even though he already has seen more than 1,100 tracks, Lewis has a long way to go. There still are 1,250 tracks in the U.S. and Canada that he hasn’t seen.

“It is getting harder to put combinations together,” said Lewis. “The hassle is to fly in for one or two tracks. I need a combination of three or four to make it profitable. And there is always the weather to contend with.”

Lady Luck has followed Lewis on his adventures. He has won numerous prizes from lucky tickets at tracks, including hats and Ronnie Millsap albums. The biggest prize to date was winning two round trip tickets to Zurich, Switzerland.