Aloha from Maui, Hawaii

 

Reprinted with permission from November 11, 2001 Trackchaser Report

 

TRAVEL/PEOPLE NEWS

 

This racing trip is my 24^th and probably last of 2001. Eighteen of the trips have been by air with the balance by automobile. This trip involved flying from Kauai to Honolulu and then onto to the island of Maui via Hawaiian Airlines.

 

 

We arrived on Saturday night to meet up with San Juan Capistrano, CA friends, Rick and Mary. Our entertainment for the evening was a visit to the Warren and Annabelle Magic Club. I highly recommend this for an evening of entertainment. The club is located on Front Street in downtown Lahaina on the west side of Maui. This was our second visit to the show.

 

 

If you plan to attend reservations are a must. Ticket prices are $36 per person. Nothing’s cheap in Hawaii. Although casual Hawaii dress (read that Aloha shirt, don’t say Hawaiian shirt or they’ll know you’re from Omaha, shorts and deck shoes), is the norm this is a very upscale venue. You’ll show up about an hour before the show starts for cocktails and pupus. The showroom is small, seating only about 60 people or so. The magician, Warren Gibson, will keep you entertained with magic and comedy for nearly two hours. The magic is great and you’ll laugh pretty much non-stop during the show. This is a must for a first time Maui visitor. If you don’t like it Rick will give you your money back.

 

 

We stayed just one night on Maui and our hotel was the Royal Lahaina Resort. This property is on the ocean. It is a bit older having been built in 1968. It wasn’t the Hyatt, Kauai (most properties aren’t) but it fit the bill for this short trip.

 

 

Somewhat incredibly we were selected three straight times for extra security checks at the airport on our baggage. I maintain that Carol looks like a blonde haired terrorist because most of the time she is checking the bags while I’m attending to rental car duties. Even though she is being “profiled” I still enjoy her company and look forward to the day when she will be a listed trackchaser. Current projections indicate that she will achieve this goal sometime during 2008.

 

 

RACING NEWS

 

 

 

In the world of trackchasing there are three classes of trackchasers as detailed by the official trackchaser website. Will White is the Webmaster and does an outstanding job of keeping track of this fast growing hobby. The trackchaser website has links to approximately 2,500 racetrack web sites around the world. Will, himself, has a goal of seeing races in at least one new country each year. This year’s effort took him to Belgium.

 

 

But, let’s get back to the three classes of trackchasers. First, we have ranked trackchasers. The top 20 trackchasers in the world are in this category. Currently, in order to be in the top 20 you need more than 400 tracks under your belt. The second category is a listed trackchaser. To be listed on the website you must have at least 200 tracks. The final category is the non-listed trackchaser. Just about everyone reading these words has seen a race at one time or another. If you’re not in one of the first two categories, you would be a non-listed trackchaser. Please reply back to me if you have never ever seen an auto race live. If you haven’t then next time I’m in your area we’ll go see a race.

 

 

Paradise Speedway is Carol’s (a non-listed trackchaser) 107^th track and my (ranked trackchaser – currently #12) 534^th track. It is Carol’s 14^th track of the year and my 68^th, both individual records. Carol is the only non-listed trackchaser to have twice as many tracks in a particular state as any other living ranked trackchaser. I am the only living ranked trackchaser to have three times as many tracks in an individual state as any other ranked trackchaser (Will, like the choice of words?).

 

 

Since no other ranked trackchasers have ever seen racing at Paradise Speedway in Maui let me take a moment to explain the property. Paradise Speedway is a 2.5 mile asphalt oval with 45 degree banking around the entire track. There is seating for more than 500,000 people each with their own individual stereo headset and private wait staff. Wait just a minute! Even though no one has seen any racing here the above description might be a little hard to believe.

 

 

Here’s what Paradise Speedway is really like. Although the speedway has a very positive sounding name, in reality, it is not much better than the worst track I’ve attended which is Glad Rag Speedway (dirt version) in Saratoga Springs, New York. The surface is similar to Barnyard Raceway in Chepachet, Rhode Island and that means it was dry, rutted, sandy and extremely dusty. Paradise makes off road racing seem like a sterile laboratory environment when it comes to cleanliness.

 

 

When Carol and I drove into the track at the appointed starting time of 10 a.m. there was no one manning the entrance. We drove directly into the pit area and parked next to a racecar. I was somewhat surprised that there were about 20 cars that would end up being in two classes. The first class was for four cylinders. The premier class was a combination of 6 and 8 cylinders.

 

 

Paradise Speedway is a 1/5-mile dirt (really sandy dirt) that is completely flat. We were not charged any admission. So if I don’t count the flights into Maui, or the hotel, or the rental car this was a very economical track to visit. Of course if I did that I would go broke quick.

 

 

Shortly after we arrived we ran into Ed Britton the track promoter. I had spoken to him previously on the phone. He was happy to have a ranked and non-listed trackchaser at his facility. He immediately began to explain that the track’s water truck had broken and they had not been able to put any water on the track for the once a month outing. He said this could affect the quality/quantity of racing. I then talked to one of the drivers who said that because of track conditions today’s event might only be a “test and tune” session. Trackchasers know that phraseology translates into a non-countable situation. I immediately began to check the cash in my pocket. They would race today even if I had to become the sponsor of the day. Fortunately, they decided to run their full program.

 

 

As tracks are wont to do they wasted a lot of time getting going. Finally they imported a water truck from a nearby sugar cane field. The water truck made a couple of passes and they began time trials. Each car got one lap on the clock and a good time was about 17 seconds. After about the fifth car took their time trial the track was completely dry and dust obscured the car from view. From a positive point of view the wind was blowing about 30-40 M.P.H. This blew the dust away when just one car was on the track very quickly. When four or more cars began to race the track was just about totally obscured with a gritty sand and dirt. Again we were faced with another positive opportunity. We could park our car just off the third and fourth turn and watch the races from inside the car. That was a lifesaver! Rather than be out in the middle of a raging dust storm on a warm day we were in the air-conditioned comfort of the National Rental Car racing Oldsmobile.

 

 

Competitive racing took to the track at 11:56 a.m. They ran dashes, heats and features for both classes. After every two races the water truck did its work. The benefits of the water lasted for about two laps into the race following each watering.

 

 

The comfort facilities consisted of one port-a-potty. Although Carol seemed quite pleased with it as they provided Kleenex, an unexpected luxury.

 

 

Refreshments were sold from the back of a Ford Explorer. The refreshment crew of three people struggled in the wind for about 30 minutes to put up a tarp to provide some shade. At times they looked like they might actually make it but they really never did. We ended up ordering the short ribs and chow mein with two drinks. For $5 it seemed like a bargain. After eating the food we decided maybe it wasn’t a bargain.

 

 

Veteran trackchasers know that day racing when it’s warm and windy is a recipe for disaster. That’s especially true when you are in a rural area that doesn’t have much in the way of facilities. We watched, through a heavy dust cloud, about 7 or 8 races. We ended up leaving at about 1 p.m. to go visit a Costco!

 

 

Overall, we’ve had a very nice time on our trip to Hawaii. The two tracks I visited are both tough ones to get and I’m glad they’re behind me. We land at LAX about 5 a.m. after flying overnight. We’ll get home at about 7:30 a.m. I then have to turn around and drive and hour and a half to a business meeting starting at 11:30 a.m. ….in business attire no less! Trackchasing is never easy but if it was everyone would do it.

 

 

Mahalo!

 

   

 

Rental Car update: When I turned in my rental car none of the gauges was working. I’ve never had that happen before. The return lady was a little skeptical about whether I had really filled the tank or not since the gas gauge didn’t work either. In the end she had to take my word for it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2014 Carol and I re-visited the Paradise Speedway the weekend before we went to the island of Oahu to see “Hulacross Figure 8” racing.  I’ll tell you how that went below. 

 



Greetings from Barber’s Point Housing, Hawaii

From the travels and adventures of the 

“World’s #1 Trackchaser”

 

 

Kalealoa Raceway Park – Dirt Figure 8 – Track #1,941

 

 

 

Details behind these headlines and more…..all in “The Event”.

 

 

Carol and I were going to Alaska

 

 

Let’s stop right here. Who DOES this stuff?

 

 

500!

 

 

Carol’s a ‘part-timer’

 

 

Your system delivers the results it is designed to deliver.

 

 

Does this describe your next-door neighbor or brother in law?

 

 

This was a big sports week.

 

 

This didn’t feel right…..and/or I’m a dummy.

 

 

Testing the emergency preparedness system.

 

 

The bags…..the bags are going to San Diego and we’re not!

 

 

A special trackchasing day for Carol.

 

 

Hula Cross racing!

 

 

Team Bautista…nice guys.

 

 

Not the news I wanted to hear.

 

 

 

 

Carol and I were going to Alaska.

Carol and I woke up this morning at home in San Clemente, California. We would go to bed this evening in Anchorage, Alaska no less! Then we would head from Anchorage to Maui, Hawaii for seven days. It would take that amount of time to get accustomed to the Hawaiian islands before continuing our journey. From Maui it was on to the island of Oahu home to the Kalealoa Raceway Park. This is how the trip went.

 

 

Let’s stop right here. Who DOES this stuff?

Before I go on much further…..who DOES this stuff? Who leaves Los Angeles, stops in Alaska for a day and then continues on to Hawaii just to see a Hulacross race at a small dirt track in Hawaii? You can’t see me but I’m raising my hand. Teacher, I do I do!

 

 

Tomorrow the world.

Currently my airline sponsorship program is limited to one airline. In exactly three weeks that sponsorship program will expand to most airlines in the world. You can’t beat that.

 

 

 

500!

So off Carol and I went. It was an important trackchasing trip for me but much more important for Carol. After she saw the green flag drop on the first race of the day she would have her 500^th track in the bag. How many people have seen racing at 500 tracks? Not many. However, I would be less than forthright if I didn’t mention to you that’s it’s not a big deal with Carol. It really isn’t.

 

 

Knocking on the electronic door.

The flight from Los Angeles to Anchorage would be just over five hours. Priceline.com was sponsoring us at the Millennium Alaskan Hotel. Initially I made a reservation at the Sheraton in Anchorage. That hotel stay would require a rental car. However, once I knew we would make our flight (of course we were flying standby) I knocked on Priceline.com’s electronic door. They answered with a fine room at the Millennium Alaskan Hotel. The Millennium had an airport shuttle. That would eliminate the need for a rental car. We would only be in Alaska for 19 hours, if we made our standby flight to Maui. This Priceline move saved us about $75 U.S. in overall travel expenses. Seventy-five U.S. might not seem like much to you. However, to a couple of elderly senior citizens like us it could be the difference in eating a filet or cat food a bit later in life. Of course I might be prone to exaggeration but there is no need to waste money when you aren’t getting a better product right?

 

 

Carol’s a ‘part-timer’.

Of course, I consider Carol a “part-time” traveler. Last year she traveled overnight away from home for just 103 nights. I know. What a “piker” right?

 

 

Last year I traveled overnight away from home for 186 nights. For each of the past ten years, all in retirement, I have averaged a bit more than 160 nights on the road every year. Think of the money I have spent doing that. Was it worth it? You bet your sweet bippy it was. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

 

 

Your system delivers the results it is designed to deliver.

At Procter & Gamble, we were into “processes”. The thought was get a good system and keep improving it at every turn. If you do that again and again over time you will have a pretty good system right?

 

 

Carol and I have an outstandingly efficient traveling system. It’s so much better than your neighbors or your brother-in-laws. How do I know that? Well you obviously don’t think your neighbors or your brother-in-law are as smart as you right? I’m sure you’ve thought that many more times than once!

 

 

This is the process.

Here’s our traveling process until we reach the door of the airplane.

 

 

As soon as we get within 24 hours of departure I check us in online using my iPhone. Of course we are normally “standby” passengers but doing it this way provides an electronic boarding pass to get us through security.

 

 

We’ve packed our bags the night before the trip. On the 65-mile drive up to the airport we’ll use the carpool lane. Like this morning, even during morning rush hour, there is usually very little traffic in the carpool lane.

 

 

When we arrive at the airport I take Carol and our bags to the terminal. There I will drop her off. She’ll have all of our carryon rolling luggage if we are not checking a bag. If we are checking a bag for a longer trip (as we were today) she’ll be dropped off with only her carryon bag and the bag to be checked.

 

 

Once she is safely at the terminal I will make the return trip to our sponsored airport parking garage. The LAX World Parking Group has sponsored my trackchasing hobby for years. Over the course of 12 months they will pay for about 75% of my airport parking fees. I’ll “re-invest” these savings into more upscale amenities during the course of the trip.

 

 

Once I am parked I have two options. If I have the time (I normally do) and it’s not raining (It never rains in Southern California) I prefer to walk the 20 minutes to the airport terminal. My other option is to ride the Sheraton Gateway hotel shuttle (located across the street from my parking garage) to the terminal.

 

 

I prefer to walk for two reasons. First, it’s good exercise. Secondly, I know the walk will take me 20 minutes. If I have to take the shuttle it might take less than 20 minutes to get to the terminal, but if the shuttle isn’t nearby it might take more. I prefer the certainty of 20 minutes by walking.

 

 

Another reason for dropping Carol at the terminal is so she won’t have to walk 20 minutes or hassle with bags on and off the shuttle bus.

 

 

Today, after dropping Carol at the terminal, I made a brief stop at Subway to pick up some food for the long plane ride. Why do that? We weren’t sure what the airline would be serving. It might be better or worse than Subway. With Subway we were guaranteeing we would have food we enjoyed during the 5 hour plus flight.

 

 

Once at the terminal I rejoined Carol. She had already checked our one bag. While I had been Subway shopping and walking from the parking garage to the terminal she had been relaxing. She deserves it.

 

 

Then it was time to clear airport security. That was a simple process. We’ve been members of the once exclusive “TSA PreCheck” program. We simply show our iPhone electronic boarding pass along with our government approved photo I.D. and we’re directed to a special security line.

 

 

In the “PreCheck” line we simply put our bags on the conveyor belt and walk through the metal detector. There’s none of that taking off your shoes and belt business. We don’t have to take our jackets off. We don’t have to remove our computers or “liquids and gels” from our bags. It’s very hassle-free. Sadly, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) wants to expand the program to the “unwashed”. These are people who are now being given admission to this special line often times without the foggiest notion of what’s happening to them. OMGoodness. It’s no fun hanging out with the unconsciously incompetent in any of life’s endeavor.

 

 

From security we go right to our private airline club room to enjoy the peace and quiet of the Alaska Airlines Board Room. I can’t say enough about the Board Room. They just came on board a few months ago as my official airline food sponsor.

 

 

Today we had breakfast (from the pancake machine amongst several options), watched the TV news and sank back in the high-backed luxurious leather chairs.

 

 

Does this describe your next-door neighbor or brother in law?

All too soon it was time to join the “other people” milling about in the busy LAX terminal. Now let’s stop for just a minute. Take a look out the front window. See those neighbors? Then think for a moment about that brother-in-law of yours. How many of the above steps are THEY missing? Lots I’ll bet. How many will YOU miss in the future? Not many. Why? Because you, and not your neighbors or brother-in-law, have been screened for superior intelligence (and passed) by the staff at Randy Lewis Racing.

 

 

Two or four?

You will take this information and incorporate it into your daily traveling lifestyle. You’ll be riding in the carpool lane of life. You’ll have someone paying for your airport parking. You’ll walk through airport security without a care in the world. Then with all of what has made your trip totally stress free in your back pocket you’ll be standing in front of a pancake machine. You’ll ask yourself just one question. Do I want two or four?

 

 

It’s movie time.

I provided the entertainment for Carol during the flight. No I was not doing stand-up. I had brought along my Apple MacBook Pro laptop as I do on every trip I take. Except when I’m sleeping I never like to have my laptop more than about five feet away from me. That includes during most breakfasts and lunches at home as well.

 

 

I had downloaded four full-length movies from iTunes in preparation for our trip. Three of those four films cost just 99 cents via the special “Movie of the week” option offered weekly. The fourth movie, Twelve Years a Slave, (Oscar winning “Picture of the Year”) was just $4.99. Before the trip began I stopped by Radio Shack located just a few blocks from our home. There I purchased a “splitter” so both Carol and I could plug into the same movie. I’ll use my award-winning Bose headset noise-cancelling headphones (A gift from Carol). This is my second set during this lifetime. I can’t recommend Bose highly enough.

 

 

In almost no time (that’s about five hours in my world) we were touching down in Alaska. We’ve been here several times. I’ve seen ten tracks in Alaska; Carol has seen eight. I came to Alaska once with daughter Kristy to see a race and go salmon fishing. On another occasion I was up here by myself to pick up one race, the ‘Fur Rondy’ Grand Prix. I came to Alaska during my working career as well but never scored a track.

 

 

Although it’s been summerlike in San Clemente it’s nearly winter in Alaska. However, Anchorage is never as cold as the upper Midwest even during the middle of winter. Anchorage is protected by its near water location from the really harsh winter weather. It can still get cold here but not the deathly cold that might grip the upper Midwest a time or three each winter.

 

 

 

Saturday-Friday (7 days)

 

 

It’s Maui time.

Our Saturday morning started with a six-hour flight from Anchorage to Maui, Hawaii. Our first stop in Maui would be a drive into the “upcountry”. The upcountry is home to our favorite Maui restaurant, the Kula Lodge. Unfortunately, today our restaurant experience was terrible. The service, the food and the pricing all contributed well below what we were looking for. We won’t be back for a good while.

 

 

The next stop would be to Costco. At home I wear shorts 99% of the time. Maybe more! However, in the packing process I forgot to bring ANY shorts to Hawaii. I guess I was focused on wearing long pants to Alaska. Any way after buying three pair of walking shorts we stumbled across “Trader Vic’s Mai Tai ready to drink cocktails in a bottle”, a 19.9 proof “elixir”. Alaska Airlines had served everyone on today’s flight a free Mai Tai from the bottles of Trader Vic’s. It was fantastic but at 19.9 proof pretty strong and a little sour. In Maui we drank an Uncle Vic’s Mai Tai or two at every sunset all week. That’s a nice way to spend an early evening.

 

 

Paradise.

From Costco it was off to the Paradise Speedway. It would be our first visit there since 2001. I’ll tell you about that experience (it wasn’t so good) as you continue reading below.

 

 

Taking a vacation from being on vacation.

We’re on vacation in Maui. Although we are also on “vacation” when we’re at home in San Clemente it just feels differently in Hawaii.

 

 

Maui is three hours behind “San Clemente” time during this part of the year. That made getting up at 6 a.m. each day (9 a.m. at home) a lot easier. During the week I had four powerwalks that covered just a bit more than 15 miles. I was able to keep my walks at just above a 4 M.P.H. pace. Each of these walks was within a few feet of the blue Pacific Ocean.

 

 

On our first night in Maui we didn’t reach our timeshare condo until nearly 10 p.m. That was after the Paradise Speedway races finished. That meant no grocery shopping for the day. That also meant it would be a good idea to have breakfast at an Hawaiian McDonalds tomorrow morning. Why? They serve local food at McDonalds in Hawaii. For breakfast Carol had the Portuguese sausage, egg and rice entrée. I had the Spam, egg and rice choice. Did you know Hawaii has the biggest market for Spam in the world?  We’ve got a pretty nice place in Maui (pictured above).

 

 

This was a big sports week.

This was going to be a HUGE weekend for watching sports. For the most part I only watch NASCAR racing and UCLA sports on TV. However, this was going to be a special TV sports week.

 

 

 

The first event was the Texas NASCAR Sprint Cup race on Fox TV. The race was delayed by rain. Rain has affected all but one Sprint Cup race this year. That’s pretty amazing. I watched all the coverage during the rain delay on Sunday. Then I watched the actual race on Monday.

 

 

I love rain delays on TV. They give me a chance to listen in on all of the extended driver conversations and interviews. The longer the delay the more drivers I get to hear from.

 

 

However, I NEVER watch a NASCAR race live on TV. I couldn’t. Why? I don’t like listening to commercials. Virtually every TV program I watch is on a delayed basis. Heck, it’s been a long time since the winter Olympics and I’m still watching the opening ceremony. Some programs I watch on a 5-minute delay and others on a 5-month delay. I still haven’t had time to watch the Super Bowl commercials! I can’t imagine watching TV live time with a 3-minute commercial every ten minutes or more often. I don’t even want to think about the idea of having to be at my home TV when the program originally airs.

 

 

The Texas race was delayed for a LONG time. So long that Fox returned to their regular programming with a promise to get back to the fans when they had more word on whether the race would begin or be cancelled. When that happened I switched over to my new technical capability the NASCAR Sirius satellite radio broadcast available over Wi-Fi on my laptop. While they chatted away I could work on my 2014 trackchasing schedule.

 

 

On Monday night we had the men’s NCAA basketball championship game. UConn was playing Kentucky. At 3 p.m., Hawaiian time (the game would start at 9 p.m. on the East Coast), Carol and I took time out to watch the NCAA basketball championship game featuring Connecticut and Kentucky. I didn’t care all that much for either team. However, I do have kinfolk from Kentucky and we lived for a short time in Connecticut. Give me a UCLA-Bradley final anytime. By the way I can’t believe they broadcast the SAME commercials over and over again during a three-hour basketball broadcast of this magnitude. I hate TV commercials.

 

 

The next night the women’s NCAA basketball championship game was being played. For the first time ever both teams, again UConn and Notre Dame were undefeated. UConn killed them winning their 8^th NCAA championship title. That’s impressive.

 

 

Later in the week the Master’s golf tournament would begin. I watched most of the morning golf on both Thursday and Friday. I’ll miss most of Saturday’s play while we travel to Honolulu. We’ll also be traveling on Sunday but I will record the final day and watch it as soon as I get home.

 

 

I spent much of the day, as I always do during our spring Maui visits, researching 2014 race dates at regularly scheduled tracks. In June I will look for the July/August, 2014 county fair dates. It’s all well orchestrated and is my routine for finding race dates each year.

 

 

Most folks come to Hawaii for a vacation. In reality Hawaii for us in more like a second home. We’ve done every activity (about 20 different things) once or three times or more. At this stage we’ll sit back and relax much of the day.

 

 

On most nights before we went to bed we watched a recorded movie from the Apple iTunes movie collection. That was a lot more convenient than using Red Box and less expensive than going to a movie theatre each night. We still love “going to the show” and did on one afternoon this week. We saw a most unusual movie titled “God’s not dead”. I couldn’t believe this movie was in a commercial movie theatre. It was more like I would have seen during one of my Methodist Youth Fellowship get togethers as a teen-ager. We both liked this film. If you get the chance watch this one. You might like it too.

 

 

A trip highlight was our sunset cocktail cruise on the Trilogy, a rigged sailing catamaran. If you’re going to be retired and are going to come to Hawaii you won’t do much better than this. Highly recommended!

 

 

We still love “Ono’s Tacos” a roadside Mexican eatery within a block of our condo. We ate Mexican food several times this week but Ono’s is the best.

 

 

It was another successful trip to Maui. I’m guessing we’ve done the “Hawaii trip” about 60-80 times but I have obviously lost track by now. However, this trip would be a little different than most.

 

 

This had only been attempted five times.

I would be attempting to see my sixth lifetime racetrack in Hawaii. So far I’ve seen one racetrack on the island of Maui, one on Kauai and three on Oahu. With any luck I’ll see another on Oahu.

 

 

 

Saturday.

 

 

Our first trip on Island Air.

Early Saturday we caught an inter-island flight on Island Air from Maui to Honolulu. This was a 25-minute flight that cost each of us about $100 U.S. one-way. That didn’t seem like a good value but there was no alternative. I didn’t have to like it but I had to take it.

 

 

Island Air charged $15 for each checked bag. We would soon learn that our carryon baggage was limited to just 16 pounds each. Heck, the bags EMPTY weight about 16 pounds!

 

 

Now it was “mix and max” time as the line backed up behind us. Luckily we had brought along our “Snoopy” bag. This is a collapsible bag that expands when it needs to expand. We then dumped everything from our carry-on bags that was more than the allowed 16 pounds into the Snoopy bag. Now Snoopy weighed about 40 pounds. It would cost us another $15 U.S. to check THAT bag. OMGoodness.

 

 

Sticking with our Midwestern values.

Once in Honolulu we hung out at the airport for four hours to save a day’s worth of rental car charges. Yes, we were being true to our Midwestern heritages.

 

 

From there we were off to downtown Honolulu. We would be staying at the Aqua Skyline at the Island Colony Hotel. What a name. The hotel building was 43 stories tall. We were on the 33^rd floor. What a beautiful view.

 

 

We spent the day walking along the beach, listening to Hawaiian music and dining at “Cheeseburger in Paradise”. I wanted to see some formal entertainment but the pickings were slim.

 

 

Hawaii has been the windiest I can ever remember. All during the night it seemed as if the wind, at the 33^rd floor level, was blowing 100 M.P.H. I thought it was going to blow the hotel tower over.

 

 

Sunday.

 

 

Planning ahead.

The first item on the agenda was to see this afternoon’s auto racing. On the way to the track we dropped off our bags at the airport. Then we filled the rental car’s gas tank. Now, when the races were finished, it would be a direct shot to the airport without any delays along the way for gas or bags.

 

 

After the races……….

 

 

Son Jim, who lives in Honolulu and attended today’s racing had a special surprise for me after the races. More than a year ago Carol and I shipped out the former “Carol Lewis owned and Life of Virginia sponsored Lexus LS 430” to Hawaii. With my being a new Lexus owner Jim would take over ownership of the Lexus LS 430. This would be my first time to see my “old friend” (the car not Jim) since we waved good-bye as it sailed off toward Hawaii.

 

 

Better than I remembered it.

Today the car looked especially sharp. I never remembered the metallic paint looking so “metallic”. Soon Jim was telling me with a big grin, “Remember when you sent it out here it had some dings and paint chips? Now all those were gone”. It turns out that Jim had the car repainted a few months ago. It’s a 2004 model with about 127,000 miles on it. Jim loves the car. Heck, it probably rides better than my 2013 model. Nice job Jim.

 

 

From there Jim and Erin (more on Erin soon) headed off toward downtown Honolulu toward his home. Then Carol and I drove toward the airport to return our rental car.   All of that was going well when…..

 

 

This didn’t feel right…..and/or I’m a dummy.

We grabbed our luggage from the trunk of the rental car. I immediately noticed my computer case was much lighter than normal. Why was that? There was no laptop in my computer case!

 

 

Instantly I remembered where I had put it in our hotel room when we were packing to leave this morning. I had left my laptop in our hotel room. That was bad very bad.

 

 

Testing the emergency preparedness system.

It was now 1:50 p.m. We were standing by for a flight that would leave at 3:20 p.m. I thought I might have time to drive back into the city to get up. However, that would be awfully tight.

 

 

Then I thought about Jim and Erin. They should have been arriving into downtown Honolulu, near our hotel, about now. I quickly gave them a call. Yes, they could help. Then I called the hotel. Yes, they had my computer. When all of the final details were discussed Jim got my computer and delivered it to me at the airport at 2:30 p.m. This was just 40 minutes after I discovered it was missing. There was plenty of time for us to clear security WITH my laptop.

 

 

San Diego bound.

We were standing by for a flight to San Diego. The plane had 157 seats. Some 155 of them were sold leaving two seats for standby passengers. For the longest time, several days, we were the first two standby passengers. Then with less than two hours to go two more passengers, with more standby seniority, jumped in ahead of us. That’s how it goes in the “standby” game. It turned out that all 155 passengers with paid tickets showed up. What did that mean? We didn’t make the flight!

 

 

We trudged off to the Delta “Sky Club” in Honolulu to lick our wounds. We would have to go to plan B and maybe plan C or D or further back into the alphabet.

 

 

My Alaska Airlines Board Room membership allows us to use several (about 40) airline clubs operated by Delta Airlines and American Airlines. If I have a layover then having the resources of a private airline club is a real advantage.

 

 

Just short of ‘break-even’.

Today’s visit to the airline club by both Carol and me were visits #31 and #32. We need just thirty-three to “break even”. After that everything will be “free” for the rest of the year. Today marks the 90^th day since my “Board Room” membership began.

 

 

We dined on Jack Daniels, red wine as well as crackers, olives, munchies and the like. We didn’t like hanging around the airport but if we had too this was a good way to do it.

 

 

Our next alternative would be an 8:10 p.m. overnight flight to Seattle. There were two open seats and we were #4 and #5 on the standby list. We just needed three people with paid tickets to decide they wanted to enjoy Hawaii for a little bit longer.

 

 

The bags…..the bags are going to San Diego and we’re not!

While we were in the Delta Sky Lounge an important situation was identified to be a problem. Our bags were going to San Diego but we were not. Ultimately, we would most likely end up in Los Angeles. That’s where our car was parked.

 

 

Los Angeles is about 100 miles from San Diego. It wouldn’t be much fun to land in Los Angeles, then have to drive 100 miles to San Diego to get the bags and then another 60 miles back home to San Clemente. I made a special trip outside of airport security to get our bags re-routed. The Alaska Airlines personnel were pleasant and on the ball as always. They would re-route the bags to Los Angeles. Now it was a question of who would get to LAX first the bags or us.

 

 

I was happy for Carol.

After we missed the San Diego flight I examined our options. Frankly nothing looked spectacular for the flights heading back to the mainland. Our best shot was a plane heading to Seattle. There was one open seat and 14 standby passengers. That didn’t look great. We were #5 and #6 on the list.

 

 

However, as good fortune would have it our names were called to take the last two seats. We smiled, grabbed our boarding passes and headed on down the jet way. Not so fast. We were called back. Upon further review they didn’t have TWO seats they had just one. Carol and I had discussed this possibility. She would go; I would stay.

 

 

However, at the very last second an Alaska Airlines employee saw our plight. She was ahead of us on the standby list. She told the gate agent that she would take the “jump seat”. That would allow two seats to become available for us not just one. Carol and I would both be going to Seattle. The AS employee had done us a “solid”. Thank you!

 

 

Kalealoa Raceway Park – Barbers Point Housing, Hawaii

 

 

A special trackchasing day for Carol.

Today I was seeing my 6^th track in Hawaii. No one has seen that many here. However, more importantly Carol was seeing her 500^th lifetime track. That was cool!

 

 

Carol and I had been to the Kalealoa Raceway Park back in December 2012 (track #1813) for racing on their oval track. Our son Jim joined us on that day and he would be here today along with his girlfriend, Erin.

 

 

Hula Cross racing!

When Carol and I showed up we were the first non-local racing family spectators. Then when Jim and Erin drove up they were the third and fourth non-family spectators. We were all set for a day of “Hula Cross” racing. This was going to be fun on a wind-swept sunny afternoon with intermittent rain showers.

 

 

The plan is always “Subject to change”.

However, as you have come to learn if you have been reading these reports for very long, the plan is always “subject to change”. I pride myself on my planning. I think that’s the #1 reason I’ve seen so many more tracks than my fellow competitors. However, even if you PLAN to push a string uphill that doesn’t mean it will be easy.

 

 

Strategic idea or scam?

Carol and I paid $10 each for our general admission/pit pass wristbands. Jim and Erin paid just $16 for their two wristbands. Why did they get a discount? According to Jim he had a one hundred dollar bill and 16 bucks in change. The ticket seller agreed to take the 16 dollars. Even I hadn’t thought of THAT tactic.

 

 

Support from the locals.

Just before the driver’s meeting I ran into Mike Kitchens. Mike is a director at the track. He helped me during our last visit to Kalealoa Raceway Park. I was telling Mike why I was here again after my visit of just 18 months ago.

 

 

I explained how the three main track configurations allowed by trackchasing rules are ovals, road courses and figure 8 tracks. I told him how much we were looking forward to seeing the “Hulacross” event on their dirt road course.

 

 

New news!

He looked at me and smiled and said something to the effect, “Today the Hulacross race will be held on a figure 8 track”. That would be fine with me. I figured if I saw a Hulacross event on a figure 8 track that someday I could come back and watch a Hulacross event on a dirt road course. When the plan changes sometimes it is for the better.

 

 

Editor’s note: During 2014 the Kalealoa Raceway Park was forced to close due to conflicts with a former partner and hassles from local government. That’s too bad. Those folks worked so hard to get this thing going. I hope they make it back in one form or another.

 

 

I soon discovered there were just four Hulacross competitors in attendance today. I asked around and learned that last year they averaged about six Hulacross cars and six Hulacross trucks at each event.

 

 

Nevertheless, they would still be racing with only four competitors. There were also kids racing on motorcycles and ATVs. They race on an inner oval of sorts with a few jumps added to the track.

 

 

Team Bautista…nice guys.

I spent some time taking with Tatum Bautista. This young man races the #213 orange and white 1987 Jeep SUV. He’s part of a racing team with his dad. Tatum’s dad, Curtis Bautista Sr. also races a #213 red SUV. I asked these guys how they came up with their number? “It’s our house number” Curtis told me.

 

 

Racing started a little later than originally planned. That was no problem. This is Hawaii and “Hawaii time” is used. The first event of the day, following the water truck, was practice for the figure 8 race and then practice for the motorcycles and ATVs.

 

 

Water…bring on the water.

Practice turned up one important fact. The track needed more water. We moved from the main grandstand that was getting all the dust from a 25 M.P.H. wind to the pit area grandstand. Now the wind was at our back for the most part….much better.

 

 

The Hulacross folks would have a five-lap heat race and a five-lap feature event. The figure 8 track overlaid the turns of the oval track. The figure 8 straights and “X” were in the infield of the oval.

 

 

Never ever before.

Just about everywhere I go I see something I have never seen before. I don’t know how that is but it is. Today as the figure 8 racers roared into their first turn they encountered a small hill. I can’t recall ever seeing a figure 8 track with such an obstacle.

 

 

We had been in Hawaii for the past eight days. It was time to head for home following today’s racing. Even though there were only four competitors it was fun to “count one more”. The people were nice. I think they liked the idea that someone had come to see them race.

 

 

Not the news I wanted to hear.

However, we did learn of some sad news at the end of the event. Due to today’s low car (SUV) count they might not be having any more Hulacross events. From what I can tell by my research it was the Hulacross racing that first got this track going before the oval track was up and running. I’ll stay tuned, as “Hawaii’s #1 Trackchaser”. You never know when the next Aloha track will spring forward.

 

Again, don’t miss the video and the pictures!

 

 

 

Paradise Speedway – Maui, Hawaii (2014)

 

 

 

This week’s racing preliminary event.

Lots of sporting events have an undercard or preliminary event. This week’s trackchasing trip was no different. Our visit to the Paradise Speedway was the preliminary event of this Hawaiian adventure.

 

 

Retroactive…..not my cup of tea.

Back on November 11, 2001 Carol and I made our first visit to the Paradise Speedway. It was my 534^th lifetime track to see. Interestingly, tracks #535-#544 were all figure 8 tracks. No, I have never gone to ten straight figure 8 venues. However, when the trackchasing group approved the “countability” of figure 8 tracks in late 2001, the ten figure 8 tracks I had seen previously had been added “retroactively”.

 

 

By the way, back in 2001, after seeing my 534^th lifetime track I was only ranked #12 in the world. A lot has changed in the past 13 years!

 

 

 

For our 2014 visit I had communicated with the track promoter. The Paradise Speedway races just one time each month on Saturdays. We are in Maui for two Saturday nights each year. Luckily for us we would be on the island for their April, 2014 race.

 

 

When asked the track vice president, Doug Bell responded with some very specific information. Here’s what he said,

 

 

“Aloha Randy,

 

Racing in April is on Sat. night April 5. Gates open at 3:30pm if you want good parking, admission $12.00.

Time trials begin about 6:00 pm.

 

Hope to see you at the races, Doug Bell, Vice President”

 

 

 

We arrived at about 6 p.m. and they were on schedule. When we entered the gates we bought our tickets while still inside our car. It was kinda like entering an old drive-in movie. I wonder how many people sneak in inside the car’s trunk! We were giving a small program that detailed tonight’s racing plan.

 

 

From the program we learned there would be four classes of racing. Those were the 1) 4-cylinder bombers, 2) 4-cylinder modified and trucks, 3) street stock V-8, 4) super street V-8. Each class would have an 8-lap trophy dash (that’s a long trophy dash), 12-lap heats and a 16-lap feature.

 

 

What an unusual track intermission.

Somewhat unusually the program told of a 30-minute intermission between the heat races and feature events. During intermission the fans could, “Check out the drivers and their machines! Bring the whole family down on the track. Take pictures, shake hands with the drivers and check out their machines”. That was a nice touch.

 

 

Lots of Hawaii differences.

The Paradise Speedway “environment” is a good deal different than most short tracks I have visited. First of all the “dirt” in and around the track is not really dirt. It’s volcanic rock that has morphed into Hawaii’s version of dirt.

 

 

There was a very large crowd, for Hawaiian racing, on hand. The lion’s share of the crowd had their vehicles backed up toward the track. They were barbequing and having a grand time.

 

 

The P.A. system was good and the announcer informed the crowd about how the program was going to run. That’s always a good idea. Many announcers  don’t do that. I think it’s a great benefit for new fans. Bathrooms were porta-potties and the concession stand was a mobile food trailer.

 

 

Just one problem and it was a big problem.

There was just one problem with the evening. It was a major problem just as the lung choking dust was back in 2001. Tonight there was no dust. The track was moist and tacky. So what was the problem?

 

 

Bugs! Mosquitos! I’ve been to Maui a zillion times. Never in my life have I noticed any biting bugs while in Hawaii. It turns out that they’ve received the most rain ever this spring. This results in a beautiful green island the greenest I think I’ve ever seen.

 

 

 

However, I HATE bugs and mosquitos. In California we have none of this stuff. It was impossible to comfortably to watch the races. We weren’t planning to stay for the entire evening anyway. With a three-hour time zone change and a six-hour flight I just wanted to make a brief return visit to see how the track had progressed since 2001.

 

 

However, with the bugs infiltrating our car and biting us about the body we stayed for the four trophy dash races. Heck, even the locals were swinging their arms and hands because of the bugs. It was really bad.

 

 

Car counts have always been slim at each of the Hawaii tracks (5) that I have visited. Tonight two of the four trophy dashes had just three entries. I’m going to guess that were only about a dozen or so racers on hand. That’s not many for a program that charges $12 and attracts 500-600 fans. They need more cars.

 

 

Don’t miss the video. It will give you a sense of what they are doing at the Paradise Speedway in Maui.

 

 

 

STATE COMPARISONS

 

Hawaii

 

The Aloha State

This afternoon I saw my 6th lifetime track in the Aloha state, yes the Aloha state.

 

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

World’s #1 Trackchaser

Peoria Old Timers Racing Club (P.O.R.C.) Hall of Fame Member 

Hawaii sayings: Hawaii, where the grass is always greener, and the pineapple is always sweeter.

 

 

QUICK FACTS

 

 

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Anchorage, AK (ANC) – 2,346 miles

Anchorage, AK (ANC) – Maui, HI (OGG) – 2,803 miles

Maui, HI (OGG) – Honolulu, HI (HNL) – 100 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR 

Honolulu International Airport – trip begins

Barber’s Point Housing, HI

Honolulu International Airport – trip ends – 74 miles

 

 

AIRPLANE

Honolulu, HI (HNL) – Seattle, WA (SEA) – 2,688 miles

Seattle, WA (SEA) – Los Angeles, CA – 958 miles

 

 

 

Total air miles – 8,877 (5 flights)

Total rental car miles – 261 (2 cars)

 

 

Total miles traveled on this trip – 9,138 miles 

 

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Kalealoa Raceway Park – $10

 

 

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS 

The three most important trackchasing comparisons to me are:

 

Total lifetime tracks seen

Total “trackchasing countries” seen

Lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

 

 

Total Lifetime Tracks

There are no trackchasers currently within 375 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me.

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,941

 

 

 

Total Trackchasing Countries

There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total.

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 68

 

 

 

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 4.96

 

 

 

That’s all folks! Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report

 

 

 

Greetings from Maui, Hawaii

.

.

From the travels and adventures of the 

“World’s #1 Trackchaser”

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Paradise Speedway

Dirt oval

Lifetime Track #534 (Re-visit 2016)

 

 

 

 

THE EVENT

 

 

Today’s undertaking was just one of more than 2,000 trips that have taken me up, down and around the long and dusty trackchasing trail. If you would like to see where I’ve been and experience those adventures here’s the link:

 

 

Randy’s Complete Track List

 

 

If you’ve got a question, comment or whatever please leave it at the bottom of this report.  It’s very easy to do.  I’ll try my best to respond.  Thanks!

 

 

 

 

ON THE WAY TO THE RACES

 

 

 

Where do SoCal folks like to vacation?

U.S. travelers in the Midwest and East use Florida most frequently as their warm weather vacation destination. We live in Southern California. The weather is beautiful virtually every day of the year. Where we live the average high temperature, all year round, ranges between 67-77 degrees Fahrenheit. We have very little rain, no bugs and gentle winds. The bumper sticker often seen in San Clemente reads, “World’s Best Climate”.

 

 

With that being the case where do Southern Californians like to vacation? Hawaii is at the top of the list! We are fortunate to be able to go to Hawaii often. We own time share properties there. In the past we’ve also owned several condominiums. Hawaii, and more specifically Maui, is the only place I’m willing to go back again and again for a week’s stay or more.

 

 

Maui 2016.

This trip would have us in Maui for 10 days. That’s just about the right amount of time. During our previous stays we’ve done virtually every “activity” available on the island. This includes sunrises high up on the mountain, parasailing, zip lining, drives to Hana and around the island and much much more.

 

 

We normally finish off the trip with a sunset dinner cruise. During whale-watching season the boat ride doubles as a sunset cruise and a whale-watching trip.

 

 

You don’t want to miss this.

On this trip we went, again, to our all-time favorite activity on Maui. I’m talking about visiting “Warren and Annabelle’s”. We are veteran Maui travelers. We’ve seen the W&A show about ten times. That might tell you how much we like it. I’ve recommended this to countless friends and family. Everyone who has visited W&A has loved it.

 

 

So what IS Warren and Annabelle’s.

Essentially Warren and Annabelle’s is a “comedy and magic” show. Both the comedy on its own and the magic on its own would be a good enough show all by itself. However when combined the entertainment is outstanding.

 

 

The theatre is small and intimate. It probably seats 75 people. Warren Gibson is the owner and the main attraction. If you go there keep TWO very important things in mind.

 

 

This is important.

First, you will need to make your reservation about 10 days, more is better, in advance. Secondly, Warren takes a vacation from time to time. Make sure you go on a night when he is performing.

 

 

Mr. Gibson is one of the few magicians who lets the audience take photos and video of his performance. His slight of hand is done within a few feet of his audience members. The show doesn’t vary much from when we first saw it more than ten years ago until now. Nevertheless, we can never figure out any of the tricks!

 

 

The magic part of the show is excellent. However, it is the comedy of Warren Gibson that keeps us coming back. He “plays off his audience” so well. I would say the comedy is the highlight of the show for us.

 

 

The entire experience is hosted in a very upscale atmosphere. The first hour and a half or so is spent with dinner and drinks.  The desserts are fantastic!  Then the show continues in the theatre for another 90 minutes. The entire cost of dinner, drinks and the magic/comedy show is about $100 per person. For Maui that’s not too bad.

 

 

A pretty strong recommendation.

Think about it this way. We travel the world. We’ve been to Maui well over 50 times. I say Warren and Annabelle’s is our most favorite thing to do on the island. That’s a pretty strong recommendation isn’t it?

 

 

Where’s the best place to eat on Maui?

We also ate in several outstanding restaurants. Our new most favorite is the Kula Bistro. It’s “up country” in Kula, Hawaii. On our final night in Maui we dined there.

 

 

This is a casual place with gourmet food. We dined on a four-cheese seafood appetizer. This was followed with a pizza as our entrée. A flourless chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream came next for dessert.

 

 

Each of these selections was well above average. They also have a large menu of specials and Italian/seafood offerings. The place is BYOB. However, there’s an old time store across the street that sells adult beverages. We were one of the few tables that hadn’t brought a bottle of wine into dinner tonight. We will next time!

 

 

Lunch?

Another more casual eatery is Maui Fish & Chips. By the way just about any restaurant you visit is casual. Shorts and an Aloha shirt will do just fine.

 

 

Maui Fish & Chips is in Kihei. They don’t offer that old worn-out standard of fish and chips, halibut and French Fries. They have about eight fish and chicken choices. I’ve had the calamari in the past and the grilled shrimp on this trip. They also have several topping for their fries. We went with the garlic fries. This place, for its genre is highly recommended.

 

 

Now breakfast/lunch.

For breakfast it’s got to be “808 Grindz”. We went to the our first 808 Grindz on the big island, Hawaii. There are now three of these restaurants in Hawaii all owned by one big family.

 

 

If you go there, the original Maui location is in Lahaina, you might have to wait. The hours of operation are 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. We had good luck going there at about noon. The café serves several selections of “moco” which is essentially rice/fried rice, eggs and your choice of meat. Do NOT miss the pancakes and the special coconut sauce. It truly is to die for. A new 808 Grindz (third overall location) opened in Kihei last month. It’s take out only. I think the Lahaina location is the best of the two.

 

 

But what about dessert?

So there you have it. These places will satisfy your three daily meals in whatever order works best for you. But what about dessert? Dessert in Hawaii can take the shape of “Hawaii shaved ice”. Think a “sno-cone on steroids”. The best place in Maui for Hawaiian shaved ice is Lilulani’s Gourmet Hawaiian Shaved Ice. They have four locations on the island. You can’t go wrong on a warm day in the islands without this stuff. It’s unlike any “sno-cone” you’ve ever had.

 

 

 

 

 

THE RACING

 

 

 

Paradise Speedway – Maui, Hawaii

 

 

Our first stop in Maui.

We landed in Maui from San Diego at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. The Paradise Speedway races just once a month. It’s rare when we come into Maui to catch them on the one time in four or five Saturdays that they are racing.

 

 

However, on this evening we were lucky. The track is near the airport. By the time we got our luggage and rental car we reached the front gate of the track by about 8:30 p.m.

 

 

Not our first Paradise Raceway rodeo.

We had been to the Paradise Speedway back in 2001. The track had just opened. It was a day race in ’01. That’s never a good idea in Hawaii.

 

 

Why? The sun is intense over the Hawaiian Islands. Watching racing in that heat is no fun. PLUS the track was a most dusty affair. I’m glad they finally got lights for the track.

 

 

Not much success in 2014.

Carol and I returned in 2014. It was a night race. No more sun! However, the conditions were just as uncomfortable. Why?

 

 

Bugs! We have been to Maui more than 50 times. We had never encountered bugs/mosquitoes or whatever before. However, with the track being pretty much in the midst of several sugar cane fields, the gnats, bugs, etc. were horrendous. There was no way we could comfortably watch the races in those conditions. After just a few minutes and very few races we left disappointed.

 

 

With some trepidation but enthusiasm as well.

It was with some trepidation when we came back in 2016. I told the ticket seller about the bug problem from last year. He pleaded ignorance. I told him I did not want to buy two $12 U.S. tickets if the bug situation was the same. The ticket seller told me he would fully refund our tickets if that was a problem this year. Fair enough. Let’s do this.

 

 

We entered the track and found no biting bugs. I was relieved. Carol was happy. Now it was time to watch some Hawaiian island auto racing.

 

 

So what’s the track like?

The Paradise Speedway is a ¼-mile dirt oval. It’s a rural track. I’ve seen rural tracks and this qualifies.

 

 

There was a good crowd on hand. I’m guessing they had some 500 fans sitting in several sets of 5-row high bleachers. For this place that was a huge crowd.

 

 

This is how it’s done in the Far West states.

I am currently the #1 ranked trackchaser in 12 of the 13 Far West states…including Hawaii. I have seen racing at six different Hawaii racetracks. That includes all of the current tracks. By the way there are only two Hawaii tracks operating at this time. The other, besides Paradise, is the Big Island Oval track over in Hilo.

 

 

Most rural Far Western states tracks are plagued by low car counts. That was the case tonight as well. There were 6-7 classes of low-dollar stock cars including two classes of sprint cars (winged and non-winged).

 

 

The largest class, a four-cylinder group, had six cars. Most of the other classes had just two or three racers. The youth class brought just one competitor.

 

 

I thought the track was doing pretty well to attract 500 spectators at $12 per for such small car counts. I suspect it’s a good idea they only race once a month.

 

 

Nope.

Folks, this was not the Daytona 500 or the World 100. Nevertheless, these folks were having a good time watching “auto racing”.

 

 

The facilities are somewhat primitive. There was one food trailer that I saw selling sumo dogs no less. Porta potties were at the ready. The announcer was talkative but didn’t provide all that much information.

 

 

Somewhat inexplicably, the flagman was nearly obscured by a 4X8 piece of plywood. It looked as if the scorer stood on the flag stand as well. The pit area was beyond the backstretch. Fans brought grills and some watched from their cars.

 

 

Don’t miss the video or the photos.

We arrived in the dark and left in the dark. That’s makes getting great photos somewhat difficult. Nevertheless, because you don’t get to see racing from Hawaii all that often, don’t miss my YouTube video and Phanfare photo album.

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

 

 

Yes, this is what retirement was meant to be.

After the races we headed over to our condo for the next ten days to enjoy Maui. Why do that? Because that is how retirement was meant to be. 

 

 

 

Hawaii

 

 

The Aloha state

This evening I was returning to the Paradise Speedway for the third time. I’ve seen more tracks in this state than any other trackchaser…six.

 

 

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

World’s #1 Trackchaser

Peoria Old Timers Racing Club (P.O.R.C.) Hall of Fame Member

Hawaii sayings: A’ole pilikia – No problem, no trouble

 

 

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Paradise Raceway – $12

 

 

 

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS 

The three most important trackchasing comparisons to me are:

 

Total lifetime tracks seen

Total “trackchasing countries” seen

Lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

 

Total Lifetime Tracks

There are no trackchasers currently within 525 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me.

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2,203

 

 

Total Trackchasing Countries

There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total.

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 70

 

 

 

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 4.47

 

 

 

That’s all folks! Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report

 

 

 

 

Click on the links below:

 

Paradise Raceway – Maui, Hawaii – November, 2014

 

 

 

 

Paradise Raceway – Maui, Hawaii – April, 2016

 

 

 

 

Paradise Speedway – 2014 racing

 

 

Kalaeloa Raceway Park – 2014 racing

 

 

 

Paradise Speedway – 2016 racing