Randy Lewis

Now you know the rest of the story!

Why do I enjoy trackchasing?

 

I enjoy trackchasing for many different reasons.  Depending upon the day you talk to me one reason might rank higher than another.  Overall, every one of the items I’ve listed below contributes to my enjoyment of the hobby.  That’s right, every one of them.

 

 

I enjoy trackchasing …………….

 

-- Because it lets me visit places all over the United States and the world.  As an example, I love it when I can visit a peanut factory in Virginia or the world headquarters of SPAM in Minnesota.  However if I wasn’t already in the area for trackchasing I would never take the time to see these places.

 

-- When I come over the hill or around the bend and see the racetrack in the distance.  It’s as fun to walk through the track’s front gate today at age 57 as it was for me to walk through the gate of the Peoria Speedway at age five.

 

-- And the planning that it takes to pull off a successful trip.  During January-March I can happily sit at my computer for hours (O.K., really days) checking out track and race sanction websites looking for those allusive race dates that will make up a trackchasing trip in the coming year.

 

-- Because I have a wife that’s just as happy to see me having fun in trackchasing whether she’s going along on the trip or not.  I can’t underestimate this point enough.  Having a supportive wife is like oxygen, without it you don’t live for long.

 

-- When I need to leave the house at 4 a.m., head to the airport, fly all day, drive 300 miles to the first track, then sit on a board in cold weather for two hours.  If everybody could or would do this, I wouldn’t get the level of self-satisfaction that I do.

 

-- When I can sponsor a contest or help someone out on a trip that they would not have been able to make without a little support from me.

 

-- When another trackchaser shares his/her information without an expectation of personal gain.

 

-- When I can develop a trackchasing strategy that no one else could have come up with.  It’s like creating your own piece of art.  Again, I will sit for hours sifting through thousands of pieces of information before I come up with my final “Tentative” plan.  I never really finish the planning and strategic development of each trip.  I just stop strategizing when it’s time to leave for the airport.

 

-- When it gives me the chance to meet up with friends and family during my trackchasing travels.  During any given year I will get the chance to have dinner, play golf or just socialize with friends and relatives that I would hardly ever see if I wasn’t out on the road like I am.  I don’t know anyone who gets the chance to do this more often that I do.

 

-- When I can see the cars race.  That’s not the same as saying I enjoy the racing offered in my hobby of trackchasing.  If I wanted to see great racing I would go to Peoria Speedway every Saturday night or go to the World 100 at Eldora or see the midgets at Ventura or go to more than 100 different places that offer entertaining racing.  I am definitely not in trackchasing for the quality of racing I see, but I enjoy seeing the cars race.

 

-- When I get to meet up with other trackchasers at the track.  It’s fun hearing from people who enjoy this hobby as much as I do.

 

-- And the sense of achievement I get when I reach a trackchasing milestone and/or climb in the trackchaser world rankings or even the Nebraska state rankings for that matter.

 

-- When I write my Trackchaser Reports and send them to my friends, relatives and racing contacts I’ve met along the way.  It’s a great way to keep in touch with more than 1,000 people on a frequent basis.  Hardly a day goes by that I don’t get a phone call or email from someone on the list mentioning something about my hobby.

 

-- Because it gives me something fun to do in retirement.

 

-- When I get a chance to re-visit any one of the great restaurants I’ve discovered during my 35 years of traveling the United States for business and pleasure.

 

-- When others achieve trackchasing milestones.  I could not have been happier to see the smile on Carol’s face when she received so many congratulations for seeing her 200^th track and becoming a list trackchaser.

 

-- Because it’s like running my own race team.  I get all of my tools together at the start of a race season, i.e. laptop, cell phone, race scanner, XM radio, digital camera, video camera, power sources and on and on, just like a NASCAR crew chief who has planned for nearly every contingency.  With all of this preparation I’m prepared to go into trackchasing battle.

 

-- And creating my own trackchasing website at www.ranlayracing.com.  This gives me the chance to share my experiences with others in words and pictures.  Many of my website visitors, I don’t even know personally.  I’ll get satisfaction from checking the amount of “hits” the site gets even though I don’t want to actively promote it beyond my trackchaser email group.

 

-- When I get to meet track announcers and promoters.  They seem so genuinely enthused about my coming to their track.  They’ve poured their heart and souls into their business and they’re proud to show it off to someone who has traveled thousands of miles to see their “little baby.”

 

Of course, there are some things I don’t like about trackchasing but they pale in comparison to all of the things I really do like.  Here are some that come to mind:

 

-- I don’t like rainouts

 

-- I don’t like having to sit in a middle seat on a non-favored airline.

 

-- I don’t like trackchasers who are jealous of other’s achievements.

 

-- I don’t like racetrack promotions that don’t provide an evening of entertainment.

 

-- I don’t like rental cars that don’t have active power sources.

 

-- I don’t like overhanging trees that interfere with my XM radio’s reception.

 

-- I don’t like cold weather (below 60 degrees) or hot weather (above 80 degrees).

 

-- Did I say I don’t like race promotions that can’t entertain their customers?

 

 

This is why I like trackchasing.

 

Barring accident, illness or injury, I plan to keep on trackchasing just as much as I always have.

 

 

Randy Lewis

The World’s #1 Ranked Trackchaser