Randy Lewis

 

WHAT’S YOUR STORY?

By Karl Haglund

          CHARLES CITY, Iowa – Most people have presumably heard of the term “storm chaser.” For me, the term calls up images of Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt running across the Midwest countryside trying to escape the wrath of a twister hot on their tail.

So when I heard the term “trackchaser” recently, I called upon the same image. Only this time Paxton and Hunt were running across a cornfield being chased by a 3/8 mile dirt track that hovered in the sky menacingly; threatening to make them promoters in the middle of a gas crisis. Horrifying!

For me, the terms meaning was easy to decipher. I have long heard of people who try to go to as many tracks as they can each season. It’s a bit of a game. I just wasn’t aware it had a specific term.  The fact is that there is a term. There is a web-site. There is a world champion.

You might ask, “Well Karl, what are the rules of this sport?”

The rules are simple. To even be considered a registered “trackchaser” you have to have been to at least 200 tracks. So, you must have gassed up the family “whip” and packed your lunch 200 times in order to even be considered a trackchaser. You might say “I don’t pack a lunch, Karl. I eat at the track.” That’s not important and I happen to pack my lunch. (I take a picnic basket to every race… along with a blanket to sit out on in the infield. That along with Kenny G on the IPOD makes for a great night of racing)

“Once I am considered a trackchaser, what races can I count towards my total number of races, Karl?” Well, mystery person referenced in first person narrative, that is simple. Basically you can count any oval, figure 8, and road course races. They do not count demolition derbies, motorcycle races or drag strips.

There are also a few fine-print rules that really break it down, like being able to count the same track twice if it switches from dirt to asphalt, or vice versa, and you have seen races on both surfaces.

“Karl, you made mention of a number one ranked trackchaser at the beginning of this column, I’d like to hear more about this guy.”

Randy Lewis of San Clemente, CA has been to over 1,200 tracks. (Randy e-mailed me this morning from track 1,227) He has seen races in Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, France, and of course the United States. His travels have him ranked as the world’s number one trackchaser.

 “Karl, I would like to dethrone Randy Clemente.”

Well, you have your work/money cut out for you. Each year the retired business man from Proctor and Gamble spends 150 nights in hotels, takes about 200 flights, and rents about 60 cars.

If you’re like me and you just set your check book on fire and jumped out a window, come back. Throw a glass of water on your remaining checks and stay with me for a second.

Is it possible? If you did this as cheaply as you could, I’m talking Motel 6 and rent a clunker, what would it cost? Motel 6 or something close would be 50 dollars a night. You could probably get rooms cheaper than that, but I tend to try to stay alive as long as possible. Maybe “Adventure” is your middle name, but mine is William.

So hotels would be $7,500 a year.

Flights - $200 a trip on average = $40,000 a year. (Buy a helmet and fire-suit at that rate.)

Rental cars - $30 a day = $1,800 a year. (You’ll need the fire-suit for this as well)

Grand total = $49,300 a year. Roughly $50,000. 

If you consider that Randy has done this for five years since retiring, (not counting money spent while employed with P&G) the total comes to around $250,000. Add to that the cost of food on the road (wear and tear on the picnic basket for me) and the price goes higher. “Honey, I have a new hobby… Honey?!”

Why does Randy do it?

Randy’s love for racing was born on the dirt tracks surrounding Peoria, IL. His favorite type of racing to this day is still dirt oval racing. His favorite driver has always been Darrell Dake. In fact when he first moved to California he had a 1980 red Cadillac with the license plate DAKE 8.

Randy told me, “I would go to the Freeport raceway and just stare at the hill in the distance leading from Iowa until I saw Darrell’s rig comer over that hill. Then I could relax and enjoy the program.”

Randy is not alone in his quest for world domination. His son has recently taken a job as an airline pilot for Southwest Airlines and so Randy does get a break on the cost of flying courtesy of family ties. Randy joked, “I once asked Darrell Dake about his sponsorship with the ‘Lighthouse Inn.’ [Dake] laughed and said ‘my son owns the restaurant, he gives me free meals.’ So I guess I have sponsorship like Darrell Dake had.”

I would like to thank Randy for letting me know about trackchasing and giving me one of the most fun stories to write that I have done to date. It has been a pleasure learning about trackchasing and learning about Randy. If you see him at a track near you (a genuine possibility no matter where you call home) stop and say Hi to him and cheer him on in his quest. I imagine he will hold this title for at least a few more years.

You can check out Randy’s website at www.ranlayracing.com or check out the trackchasing web-site at www.trackchaser.net where you will see some famous racing names like Steve Kinser and Ken Schrader among the registered chasers.

Let me know what you think about this column at whatsyourstory@mchsi.com.