Greetings from San Clemente, California
And the travels and adventures of the “World’s #1 Trackchaser”
2001 Trackchasing Annual Report
Greetings from San Clemente, CA,
The year 2001 has been great for my trackchasing hobby. I was able to get to more tracks in one season than ever before. I advanced one position in the overall worldwide trackchasing rankings and now rank 12th. Of course, as my eastern trackchasing friends are fond of hearing, I am still the #1 ranked trackchaser in the U.S. living west of the Mississippi! I was also able to reach the milestones of seeing my 500th track and seeing a race in my 50th state which was Rhode Island. This email, while a little long, will summarize the highlights of the season.
I’m already planning for the 2002 season. My goals are to improve by one or two positions in the worldwide standings. I also hope to surpass 600 tracks this season. I’ll be retiring from traditional work on June 30, 2002. Some cynics have questioned how I will know the difference between the retirement lifestyle and the working lifestyle! I hope that my retirement will give me increased flexibility (as if it was needed) to see even more tracks.
As I’ve mentioned to many of you in the past, trackchasing is only partially about “car racing”. I’ve selected highlights from this year’s track reports and most of the highlights are about the people I’ve met, the places I’ve been and the unusual things that happened to me along the way.
Special recognition goes to Will White for his outstanding efforts in chronicling our trackchasing hobby. His website, http://www.trackchaser.com features the worldwide trackchasing standings and track lists for each of the ranked trackchasers in the world. The site also lists more than 2,500 tracks worldwide. Also, special kudos to Jim Sabo my racing friend from Cleveland who I have attended more races with than anyone else over the last several years. And finally, extra special recognition goes to the little trackchaser residing in San Clemente, my wife Carol. Not only did she see her 100th different track this year but also she is fully supportive of my expanding trackchasing exploits.
I’ll look forward to seeing many of you along the trackchasing trails during the coming 2002. Happy New Year!!
2001 Milestones
Race trips via airplane : 19
Race trips via auto: 6
Highlights: passed long time nemesis, Eleanor Weidman for 12th place, 500th race, 50 state club
Lowlights: losing credit card
Number of states, provinces: 30
Racing companions: Carol, Will White, Guy Smith, Mark Virt, Jim Sabo, Ed Montgomery, Ron Rodda, Pacita, Rodda, Stan Logan, Andy Ritter, Gary Jacob
Number of new tracks: 70 (personal best), 80 counting 10 retroactive figure 8 tracks
Dirt oval tracks: 30
Asphalt oval tracks: 19
Traditional asphalt figure 8 tracks: 7
Traditional dirt figure 8 tracks: 3
Asphalt road courses: 3
Off road tracks: 2
Ice racing tracks: 2
Indoor/covered oval tracks: 2
Temporary dirt figure 8 tracks: 2
Best five year track total: 1997-2001 – 170
Worst five year track total: 1986-1990 – 25
Most tracks in one month: August – 14
Fewest tracks in one month: January & November – 1
Most unusual weather: Quebec. Without a doubt the coldest weather I have ever seen or been a part of. Temperature was –38 degrees Fahrenheit with a 20-30 M.P.H. wind.
Best t-shirt: Stuart, Iowa – Home of 2,000 good eggs and just a few rotten ones
Best country music lines of the day:
I should’ve done this
I should’ve done that
I should’ve been good
I should’ve have been hanging on her every word
(Was this a request line song from Carol?)
Most unusual ad at the track: Team Master Casket Stores (www.burielitems.com) – caskets, urns, grave liners, etc!
Highlights of 2001
#468 Greetings from Mount Carmel, Quebec,
This trip included trackchasing veterans, Will White and Guy Smith. The weather was brutal.
It was cold!! Now, wait a minute. You’re probably sitting in front of your computer in a temperature-controlled climate, possibly with a warm drink near by. I said it was cold! I’ve never experienced cold like this in my life. Checking Yahoo weather later would reveal the wind chill index for Montreal was –38 degrees. We were north of Montreal. Not only was it mind numbing cold but also it had rained in the area the day before and everything, streets, sidewalks, trees and houses was coated in a beautiful but treacherous thick layer of ice. At least I took solace in the fact that the weather for my golfing buddies was also going to be sub par (no pun intended). Their forecast called for a high in the low 60s with clouds and a slight chance of a sprinkle. Armed with the knowledge they would be doing their best to play golf in such questionable conditions I trudged onward in temps 100 degrees colder than the shores of San Clemente.”
#470 Greetings from Red Bluff, CA,
This was my first race trip of the year with my beautiful bride, Carol.
Marriage tip: As you may know Carol and I are big UCLA sports fans. The Bruins were playing Arizona State in basketball today with game time starting while we were traveling. Knowing we couldn’t see or hear the game live because of the travel schedule I videotaped the game for viewing later. Carol isn’t much into watching videotaped sporting events. She wanted to hear the score by listening to sports radio. Of course, since I would prefer not to know the outcome of anything I’m going to watch on tape I disagreed. This variance of opinion dominated the discussion on this rainy 50-degree day and 123 mile trip from the airport to Red Bluff.
Upon arriving at the Super 8 motel (what’s the difference between a motel and hotel?) in Red Bluff we still had not resolved this difference of opinion. Carol offered to stay in the car and try to hear the score while I checked into the room. So, this is what we did. It seemed like she was taking a long time to get this score. After about 30 minutes I received a phone call. It was Carol. Since she didn’t have a room key she couldn’t get past the security lock for the building our room was in. Fortunately, for her (and probably me) she used her cell phone to solve the problem.
Sadly, this trip concluded with the new of Dale Earnhardt’s death in the Daytona 500.
#473 Greetings from Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
The folks from the south really know how to enjoy themselves.
“A big surprise for me at Mulate’s was their 5 piece Cajun band. When I arrived at 6:30 p.m. amongst minor sprinkles (not a racer’s friend) I learned the music would begin at 7 p.m. Since the races were at 8 p.m. I would be able to catch some of the Cajun music. I’ve been to some Cajun music concerts (Steve Riley and the Maumu Playboys) and these boys can crank when they want to. Just as the band was about to begin an elderly couple walked in and headed for the table about two feet from the band’s electric guitar player. I winced. I thought the lady was going to sit down and get blown away by the music. About this time the band launched into their first tune. The elderly lady dropped her purse on the chair grabbed her husband by the arm and in an instant they were out on the dance floor. They danced almost every dance for 30 minutes and their feet flew! They were the life of the party. These folks were joined by most of the restaurant and everyone was having a great time. “George, I wish I had grown up in the South!!”
#474 Greetings from Long Beach, Mississippi,
On the way to the Mississippi Motorsports Park I stopped by Louisiana State University.
“I wanted to buy an LSU t-shirt but the bookstore was closed for spring break. I had one other minor problem. I lost my credit card somewhere this morning. You should know that I do lose my credit card(s) from time to time. I’m always trying to test new ways of carrying them and like most tests some of them don’t work. I don’t mind calling the credit card companies to let them know I lost the card but the call to Carol is a tough one. She always wants to know where I lost it and if I looked there. If I knew where I lost it I would go immediately to that spot and bend over and pick it up and be on my way. I had to settle paying cash at WalMart for a Southern University (remember I was lost there last night) Jaguars t-shirt.”
This trip was over the weekend when the clocks “sprung forward”.
“Don’t forget to move your clocks ahead one hour tonight. I always hate waiting up until 2 a.m. just to change my watch but if that’s what the government says you’ve got to do then I do it. Am I the only one that thinks we have to move our clocks ahead (and lose one hours sleep) about 80% of the time and move them back (gaining an hours sleep) just 20% of the time??”
#477 Greetings from Bowling Green, Kentucky,
I always enjoying traveling in the south and meeting the people.
“While paying for gas a couple of unusual things happened. First a young man ahead of me ordered an “Upper 10” soft drink. This brand is from the olden days. He ordered it in a GLASS bottle and the cashier opened the bottle with a bottle cap opener attached to the wall. Think about it….when was the last time you’ve seen that. In a nutshell that’s why I’m a trackchaser and a traveler. I want to see things like this!
I was now getting ready to check out and pay for my gas, firecrackers an early evening snack of WOW cheese flavored potato chips and O.J. (Pryce, this gas station did have no fat chips). As readers from my report of two weeks ago know I lost my credit card in Baton Rouge. Today I reached into my hip pocket, no credit card. Side pockets, no credit card. Shirt pocket, no shirt pocket. Panic set in. I might not be able to get those firecrackers! The clerk recognized my behavior for what it was……pure panic. She reminded me I had given her my credit card before I pumped the gas. (Carol would have killed me and then chopped me up into little pieces).
The cashier, a young woman in her 20s, saw this as her opportunity to share her financial theories with me. They primarily centered on why she would never own a credit card for herself. It had a lot to do with spending money she didn’t have, etc., etc. It didn’t seem like a good time to go into the subject of frequent flyer miles.”
#479 Greetings from Buttonwillow, California,
Sometimes Carol just thinks it’s better if I’m not hanging around the house. I know that’s hard believe but she must have her reasons!
“I wasn’t supposed to go racing today but I did. Here’s the deal. We’ve got our house on the market to sell. We’ve been having a lot of work done on it to increase its marketability. We’ve recarpeted, redone the deck, etc. etc. The broker preview is in a couple of days and wife Carol wants to get the final details straight. She believes she can accomplish this by not having me in the way.
You see, overall I’m not very good at household chores. She knows this. At age 52 I’m very inexperienced at doing chores. To be honest I don’t do any chores at home. I’m not bragging just stating a fact. I’ve got a big red toolbox in the garage. It’s only got one thing in it…a Visa credit card. If you need to scalp a sports ticket or get a ticket to a sold out event I’m your guy. If you need to know the tax advantages of buying versus leasing a car or swapping rental real estate I can be a big help. It’s just with chores I’m no good. I don’t know if it’s lack of talent or just the inexperience thing. Once Carol tried to get me to sweep some stuff but the broom and I just couldn’t get hooked up. I think it had something to do with me being left handed. Anyway, Carol felt it would be best if I gave here the run of the roost today so SHE could get some chores done. What could I do but oblige!”
“I entered the track just before the luncheon break. The announcer was saying something about spectators being able to take their personal cars out on the track. I didn’t catch all the details but wandered over to the staging area where wide assortments of vehicles were lining up. Most of the cars were Triumphs, MGs, a couple of Rolls Royces and just 2-3 “domestic” personal automobiles out of the 40 or so cars. Several drivers had racing helmets. I was wearing a straw hat.
It seems that for $20 you could sign a release and go out on the track for 30 minutes. They would only allow you to pass on the one straightaway that was about ½ mile long. For those of you who know me well this plan had “adventure vacation” written all over it and that’s what I’m into.
You should also know that Carol and I have two cars at our disposal. One is a Lexus LS 400 and the other is my company car, a Ford Taurus (thank God it’s not the same Taurus that broke down on a previous Phoenix racing trip!). Let me put it this way. I did not drive the Lexus to Buttonwillow. I’m not saying I drove the company Taurus. I do know the company car training manual says don’t drive it in Mexico, check the tire pressure every 5, 000 miles, etc. I don’t recall any mention about road racing. Regardless, you’ll just have to read between the lines. Video of my activity will be available the day after I retire from the company.
I hustled over to my Taurus, er, my automobile put it in gear, paid my 20 bucks and in no time I was on the track. I settled in behind a huge Rolls Royce from the 60s that listed like a battleship going through the 18 turns of the 3-mile track. I had to wait until the straighaway before I could pass this monster of a car that I did.
I was having the time of my life! In most types of racing the driver is in communication with his pit crew via a two-way radio. I didn’t have that but I did have my cell phone. Now before anyone starts laughing we really don’t know, for sure, if Jeff Gordon races with a cell phone or not do we? Maybe he does and they just don’t televise it. Nevertheless, I thought I would call my crew chief, Carol, to let her know what I was doing. I must have got her in the middle of some arduous chore. She immediately launched into some difficult to answer questions such as, “What if a stone flies up and cracks the windshield? What if you run over something and blow a tire? What if the car gets all dusty?” Now think about this. I’m driving this car hard into 18 turns trying to hold a cell phone in one hand and a video camera in the other and my crew chief is asking me these types of questions. I had to sign off.
In my second lap my fuel light went on! Now what do I do. I just paid $20 for 30 minutes. I’m not pitting for fuel just 5 minutes into the event. But, what if I ran out of gas? That would be embarrassing. Maybe I should call my crew chief again and ask for advice. I did. This call was not well received. The basic jist of Carol’s feedback was “you’re an idiot!” There was no time to debate that issue. I decided to ride it out and had a blast even though the brakes were smoking toward the end and the fuel light was glowing brightly.”
#480 Greetings from Beaumont, Texas,
One of the things I like about trackchasing is I see people who aren’t like me.
“I did notice that several of the men in the crowd had some massive key chains. I’m talking 10-20 keys. Why in the world does someone need that many keys on their person? I carry ONE key on me. That would be my car key. I can’t be trusted with more than that because I’m likely to lose it at any time. I’ve even been known to lose my car key from the beginning of a golf round when I put it in my golf bag to the end of the round when it’s time to put the sticks in the trunk. Anyway, these looked like the type of Texans that would not take kindly to my asking them why they were carrying so many keys so I didn’t.”
#482 Greetings from Savannah, Missouri,
The race fans I encounter sometimes wear noteworthy clothing.
Best t-shirt: Warning: “The surgeon general never said nothing about me smoking your ass” (remember, I was at a rural dirt stock car track in Missouri). Second best shirt I saw, “I dig boys, I date boys, I dump boys”. I didn’t have the heart to ask the fella what it meant (just kidding).
#486 Greetings from Erie, Pennsylvania,
Well it took a while but Eleanor Weidman is now in my rearview mirror! I hold sole possession of 12th place in the world of trackchasing. Of course, this doesn’t mean that Eleanor couldn’t pass me but I’m going to do my best to block her attempts.
#487 Greetings from Lucerne Valley, CA
Today at Lucerne Valley Carol was in the navigator seat to hear every twitch and twang as we went hinder and yon seeking the best desert viewing point. I heard lots of questions like, “What was that” and “Oh!” and “Uh!?” The very windy and gritty conditions did not escape her comment either. Normally under these circumstances when Carol is not with me I would be giving a sigh of relief that Carol did not see or hear whatever minor tragedy I was encountering. She was hear to see it all today and was, as always, willing to share her point of view.
The major near catastrophe of the trip was when we got out near a group of spectators that seemed to be watching the action. There were probably 100 people in this area with 30-40 trucks parked at all sorts of angles. I was driving along trying to pick my way through the potholes and only looking about 10 feet ahead of the car. I started to make a turn onto an upcoming dirt path and heard a loud engine noise. I had just missed by about 3 seconds driving onto the course and getting run over by a flying off road dune buggy. It would be hard to make a wrong turn out of the parking lot at Daytona and end up coming face to face with Jeff Gordon in the third turn!! Nevertheless, we had a good time and Carol recorded her 97th track and I my 387th track.
#488 Greetings from Perris, CA
Best t-shirt: No catchy slogans of note but the contents of several t-shirts represented the southern California cosmetic surgery culture quite well.
#489 Greetings from Birch Run, MI
I connected in Chicago on the way to Detroit. When you travel you see all kinds of people. The one I noticed, in particular, was a young boy about 6 or 7 years old lying on the floor screaming and yelling at his grandmother. After a short while he got up and started kicking her in the ankles. Nice kid. Mental note: avoid this boy!
On board I settled into my aisle seat and made myself comfortable. As time went by and the plane filled it looked like I would have the seats next to me empty. Unfortunately, that would not be the case. Who would sit next to me other than monster boy and his grandmother? Monster boy, I would later learn he was named “Mikey”, sat next to me. This was not a good thing.
Mikey liked to whine. First it was, “I’m hungry”, then “I’m thirsty”. Then, “I want to sit by the window”. Mikey would not fasten his seat belt. Grandma begged and pleaded but Mikey wouldn’t and didn’t fasten his seat belt. He discovered his tray table next. Tray table down. Tray table up. Tray table down. You get the picture. I began to doze off. Tap, tap, and tap on the forearm. It was Mikey. He wanted to raise the armrest between us. I sternly said, “No!” He wanted to know why? I told him I didn’t want him raising my armrest. Can you spell ADD, as in Attention Deficit Disorder? I decided to recline my seat. Mikey wanted to recline his seat but he didn’t see how I did it. I watched him struggle to recline his seat without success. That was fun! Next came the pretzels. After a while Mikey began to throw them at Grandma. We were nearing the end of the flight when the pilot came over the speaker and announced he had bad news. We would need to circle the Detroit airport for 30 minutes……and we had only 30 minutes of fuel. That’s all he said! If I were an infrequent flyer this announcement would have worried me. I decided to turn on my laptop for a few minutes. About this time Mikey began to drink/play with Grandma’s seven-up drink. Let’s see…..the Seven-up is about 18 inches from my laptop. This was more nerve-wracking than the fuel problem.
#496 Greetings from Woodstock, GA
Dixie Speedway was my 496th lifetime track. As a matter of fact Dixie was my 200th different track since the start of the 1997 season. During the same period 4 ½ year period from 1985-89 I had only 24 new tracks because my time was devoted to the children’s activities such as soccer, little league, etc. Also, since the beginning of 1997 (4 ½ golf seasons) I’ve been able to squeeze in 487 rounds of golf. My golf friends are always asking me why I don’t play MORE golf!
#497 Greetings from Rome, GA
Recall the rainout Friday night at Atomic. My shoes got soaked and even the Super 8 dryer could not bring them back to life. So with the sole of my left shoe dragging in the wind I made a trip to the Calhoun, GA outlet mall for some Nikes. I mean I can’t go racing with Will White next weekend with homeless person type shoes. While I was buying my Nike cross training shoes I came across a nice pair of sandals. Just between you and me I have never owned a pair of sandals in my life. We’ll soon be moving to the beach so they should come in handy. This makes four pairs of shoes purchased on this trip but still no deck shoes, which was the original purpose of the shoe shopping strategy. Luckily….. this outlet mall had a Bass shoe outlet so I gave them one last chance to supply my deck shoe needs. They came through! The clerk even recommended a coupon that provided a 20% discount for purchases over $75. After a couple of pairs of golfing/walking shorts and a tee shirt I met that requirement. And as the clerk said, “That’s like getting the t-shirt free!” Shoot, pretty soon they’ll be paying me to shop in their stores. Now we’re up to five pairs of shoes. Carol won’t like that. But I know, if necessary, you my loyal readers will vouch for the imminent need for each and every pair. Messages of support for my shoe position can reach Carol at bruintrio@yahoo.com Editor’s note: Mr. Sabo, the big bag comes in handy for stuff like this!
T-shirt of the day: Dogs are for life not just for Christmas.
#498 Greetings from Holland, NY
When I entered the track I began to take some video of the track facility. I noticed older gentlemen giving me “the eye”. I then saw him give a slight nod to a huge security guard. In no time the security guard was in my face asking me if I had permission to use the video camera. I’ve only run into a couple of tracks where this is a problem. I told the guard that no I didn’t have permission and asked who I should ask to get an OK. Since I knew the boss was only standing about 10 feet away I asked the question loud enough for him to hear. He motioned me over. Giving me the “you’re not from around here are you boy?” look I explained my trackchaser background. I even produced my track list for his review. He didn’t seem too impressed. I kept telling him I was there to see his oval and figure 8 tracks. He kept saying that the racing tonight was “just playing around” and I should be there for the weekend when the NASCAR Featherlite Modifieds come in. I kept saying it didn’t matter I’m just there to see the different tracks and the quality of racing doesn’t matter. (Even that sounded strange to me) Finally, he said “we just want to know who’s doing what at our track so you can go ahead with your video”.
#500 Greetings from Delevan, NY
Tonight was a major milestone in my trackchasing hobby. 500 tracks! It’s been a goal of mine for a while to reach this level and the Freedom Raceway in Delevan, NY was the track where it happened. With 500 different racetracks behind me I feel I’ve reached an elite level of trackchasing. Below are the tracks where other numerical milestones were achieved.
# 100 Red River Valley Speedway, West Fargo, ND
# 200 Sumter Rebel Speedway, Sumter, SC
# 300 Brownstown Speedway, Brownstown, IN
# 400 Barren County Speedway, Glasgow, KY
# 500 Freedom Raceway, Delevan, NY
#501 Greetings from Kane, PA
Restaurants of the day: Lunch with Will is downtown Kane. Most memorable aspect of the track promoter recommended restaurant was the flies. They were large in numbers and aggressive.
#503 Greetings from Bradford, PA
And you thought you missed the 50s! Just wait one minute. If your child has a book report due anytime soon on “The 1950s myth or magic?” stop everything and take them to Bradford Speedway immediately. I dare anyone to pick out one item that is newer than 1959 at this place. Their only concession to the 21st century is electric lights. They did not need on this day.
#505 Greetings from Pecatonica, IL
When we arrived into the Winnebago County Fairgrounds we were scheduled to meet Stan Logan my college freshman dormitory mate and part-time senior roommate. Stan resides in Dixon, Illinois. Stan was there as planned and, since we had some time to kill, we headed off to downtown Pecatonica to have some supper….that’s what they call it in the Midwest. For my Midwestern readers please understand I’m not making fun of the Midwest as I’m originally from Illinois. It’s just that they call it supper here rather than dinner as they do in the west.
#506 Greetings from Belvidere, IL
During this race trip I had a chance to play golf with friend Pryce Boeye at his country club, the Eagle Brook Country Club in Geneva, Illinois. The weather has changed over night and we were greeted with a beautiful blue-sky day with temps in the 70s. Pryce and I played a match play event and ended up tied after 18 holes. Pryce shot 80, I’ve never seen him hit the ball better, and I shot 81. Golf is always more fun when you play well. The 18th hole of this challenging golf course had a 225-yard carry over water. That’s too much for me so I used the bail out area and tied the hole and the match. Thanks, Pryce I had a great time. We’ll see you in September for the RMT Fall Classic.
#507 Greetings from Slinger, WI
The first Slinger Stinger heat race pushed off on schedule at 7 p.m. and was completed at 7:04 p.m. Carol’s 100th lifetime track was official. Carol’s first official recorded track was the Peoria Speedway in Peoria, Illinois. She still has the scars on her leg from a flipping car that crashed into a light pole while we were sitting in the first row box seats. As the light pole crashed it sent sparks showering onto Carol. The guy sitting next to her was taken to the hospital as a result of the car’s impact. Yes, I like (but Carol doesn’t) adventure vacations. Carol’s 50th lifetime track was the North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina. Special congratulations can be sent to Carol at bruintrio@yahoo.com She appreciated the notes sent to her recently supporting my position on buying shoes at outlet stores! Carol is anxiously looking forward to getting 200 tracks so her track list can be posted on the trackchasing web site of all web sites http://www.trackchaser.com.
#508 Greetings from Owatonna, MN
Today’s race trip started out early with a zero dark thirty wake up call and drive to the airport. The travel portion of the trip was uneventful other than watching some family dynamics in the Dallas airport. A 50ish grandmother, a 30ish mother and her two sons (6 and 10) were sitting near me at lunch. The mother went away for a few minutes and the boys started to act up with Grandma. She got on their case and you could see they weren’t happy with her. About this time the mother comes back just as the 6 year old boy is having a temper tantrum with Grandma. The kid slugs grandma. Grandma gets bent and starts spanking the boy. Then mom gets bent at grandma for spanking the boy and there is figure pointing and yelling. Don’t you just love it!
When I entered the Steele County Fairgrounds I didn’t think to take the name literally. Nevertheless, the big people news at the races was the apparent theft of my camera bag. I say apparent because I always have more belief in people than I probably should. After the heat races a rain shower came and rained out the show. I was sitting in a large aluminum grandstand with a cover. As the announcer told the crowd the show was over they began to leave the grandstand area. Before the rains came there were probably 1,500 people in the grandstands. I waited for most to leave and then walked up to the top row to take some video of the fair activities that were going on. I left my seat cushion and camera bag where I had been sitting. By now just 50-100 people were in the stands. When I was taking the video I wasn’t more than 50 yards from my camera bag and couldn’t have been gone for more than 2-3 minutes. I was really shocked to see my seat cushion still sitting there but no camera bag and no 35mm camera (sorry, Stan we may not see any pictures from Pecatonica). My announcer notes were also taken so this trackchaser won’t be talked about on this trip. MAYBE someone thought the camera bag had been left by mistake and they turned it in. I can’t believe someone from Minnesota would steal my stuff. Minnesotans rank right up there with Iowans as the nicest people in the country. If it was stolen I hope the guy needed it worse than I did.
Restaurants of the day: There were some VERY unique food items being sold at the fair. How about 83 oz of fries for $8? There were also fried pickles, batter fried cheese curds and a batter waffle corn dog. Can you find finer cuisine anywhere else?
#509 Greetings from Alexandria, MN
I’ve been thinking all day about my missing camera. I wasn’t thinking about losing the camera but that anyone from Minnesota would steal it. People in Minnesota all have blonde hair. They wouldn’t steel a camera at a racetrack. I did drive by a prison today with high block walls. It’s probably a prison holding people from the east coast (not from smaller Pennsylvania towns, of course) who committed crimes while driving through the state. I kept waiting for a phone call from someone to say they found the camera bag and wanted to return it. No calls came.
I went shopping at Target for an umbrella. $14.99 ka ching! I went to a camera store and sought out a camera bag similar to the one I lost. I saw one for $199!! I decided to try the Internet and look to save money. Just when I had given up on mankind, THE CALL CAME. It was Branden Lewis (no relation) of Owatonna, Minnesota. He had seen my camera and thought it had been left behind.
I know Minnesota people are kind. They’re just TOO KIND. I had only left the bag for three minutes. My bag was in the 10th row and I only walked up to the 25th row. My seat cushion was still on the bleacher next to my camera bag. Maybe Mr. Branden Lewis was a bit premature in picking up the camera bag. Maybe not.
So….I guess this was good news. All good news must be tempered. I am now 100 miles from Owatonna. Tomorrow after golf instead of relaxing until the evening race I will have to drive 100 miles down to Owatonna, pick up the bag and drive the same 100 miles back to where I’m at now. That’s 200 miles out of the way and I’m not sure it’s really my fault. Nevertheless, I will pay. I told Carol I would give the gentleman a tip. She said the tip should be not to pick up other people’s bags. Whatever!
#510 Greetings from Princeton, MN
WEATHER: Weather alert! Weather alert! A tornado warning ended tonight’s show. When I entered the track there was a very light sprinkle going on. The sky looked mostly clear so this small amount of rain didn’t worry me. Just 60 minutes later I was faced with a different story. Some HEAVY DUTY black clouds approached rapidly heading from the northwest to the southeast directly toward the track.
An area 2 miles wide was now totally black and the sun had not gone done yet! The wind began to pick up, the flagman waved the checkered and red flags together and the announcer told the crowd a tornado had been sighted nearby and the program was cancelled. There was no grumbling amongst the crowd. They had experienced this before and everyone IMMEDIATELY headed for the exits. The wind was really blowing now. I headed for the Budget Rental Car racing Taurus. Initially I couldn’t locate the car in the confusion. Fortunately, I had the remote key chain that allowed me to press the unlock button and look for an interior light to go on. That worked. I was one of the first cars out of the lot.
This was my second such tornado encounter in this area. On May 30, 1998 I attended the Madison Speedway program in Madison, South Dakota. During the heat races severe weather came up and they immediately cancelled the program. I drove west on Interstate 90 with a black cloud approximately 4 miles square (no exaggeration) over my head. A few minutes after I drove through Spencer, South Dakota a tornado hit and destroyed the town of 300 killing nearly 10 people. The weather is this area can be severe whether it’s summer or winter.
#511 Greetings from Brainerd, MN
I ended up sitting in front of a gentleman who was a retired nurse at the St. Cloud Minnesota Correctional Facility. It was interesting to get the local perspective from him. He was nice enough to record a 10-minute interview I had with the track’s announcer during intermission. The announcer guessed I was a schoolteacher! My bleacher companion was even creative enough to have the fans give me a special intro and finish to the video that I discovered later. As always I was able to get in a strong plug for www.trackchaser.com and also mentioned that Guy Smith is the foremost published authority on trackchasing with his writings in the Area Auto Racing News. After my grandstand companion discovered I worked for Procter & Gamble, the makers of Tide laundry detergent he couldn’t resist the following. Why did the Minnesota woman in the midst of a cruel winter wash her clothes with Tide inside the house?? Because it was too cold out Tide! He had some other ones but I’ll spare you.
#512 Greetings from Sauk Rapids, MN
Important People News: Iowa has long been the state where I’ve felt the nicest people resided. Minnesota is now tied for first in this category. The latest evidence of unrelenting niceness by a local resident happened at the track.
Many times I’ll find a kid and give him or her a buck to deliver my trackchasing notes to the announcer. Tonight’s track had the announcing booth in a somewhat difficult place to reach. I searched for a likely carrier candidate. I spotted two 12-year-old overweight boys sitting lazily on a bench. I asked them if they wanted to make a buck. They came alive and jumped at the chance. They took my dollar and notes and raced up the grandstand to the announcing booth. Mission accomplished.
I went back to watching the races. In a minute, one of the boys was back, “Hey Mister, hey mister, if you’ve got anything else you want me to deliver I’ll do it for you……”fer nothin!” Only in Minnesota! I had expected to hear, “Give me another dollar and I’ll deliver whatever you want”. If only my subcontractors could adopt this attitude. “Fer nothin”, I love it. After talking to the boys a little longer I told them I was from California. Their comment to this news, “Why would you come all the way from California for these stupid stock car races?” I like Minnesotans!
Weather: Weather was perfect with a capital “P” calling for shorts and a tee shirt until sundown and the “skeeters” came out! I thought maybe it was just I until I saw most of the crowd beginning a mass scratch and itch program. The guy next to be actually had blood on his forearms from the bites. About this time a crash occurred on the track and the ambulance had to take the driver to the hospital. As most small tracks do they pulled the “we’ve got to wait for another ambulance to come” trick. This meant I had time to go to the car and put my mosquito repellent on. Trouble was the car was “out there!” “Out there” meant a huge parking lot where the big “skeeters” hung out. If I chose this route I would have to 1) open the trunk, 2) open the three latches and zipper of my golf travel bag and 3) fish around inside the five pockets of my golf bag in search of my can of Off.
I decided to go for it. The worse that could happen is Golden Spike Speedway officials would find a sack of picked over bones by the trunk area of a Budget Rental Car racing Taurus. Luckily I found the Off in the first pocket I checked of the golf bag. Emptying the contents on every inch of my body effectively stopped the bloody carnage and I went back in to enjoy the rest of the program.
#513 Greetings from Sauk Rapids, MN (figure 8 track)
I’d like to know who initiated the figure 8 track counting rule. I think we are making a huge mistake counting these tracks. If it had not been for this rule I would have bolted the Golden Spike Speedway about 2 hours earlier. (Editor’s note: this comment sparked lots of angry emails from my fellow trackchasers!)
#514 Greetings from Portland, OR
Speaking of Allan Brown earlier, I ran into him and Nancy at the track. I only had a small amount of time to spend with them as seating was tight and my reserved seat was in another direction. I thought I heard him say, “I’m planning to beat up Guy Smith the next time I see him”. Maybe I didn’t hear that, as it was loud. This just shows how violent our sport can be at times.
#516 Greetings from Monroe, WA
The DJ announcers had a movie trivia quiz. See if you can get it. What was the name of the movie that told the live story of drag racer Shirley Muldowny?
Jaws
Heart Like a Wheel
Gone with the Wind
Viva Las Vegas
If you guessed Heart Like a Wheel you win four free passes to next week’s event at Evergreen Speedway. If not, continue to read these racing reports and try again later.
#517 Greetings from Agassiz, British Columbia
Today’s travel plan called for a border crossing from Washington State into the province of British Columbia in Canada. I chose a rural crossing area at Lynden, Washington. I was a little concerned about how to answer the question about where I was from. I hold a Hawaii driver’s license but live in California. It seemed like whichever way I answered this question could be wrong and I would be put in prison for 10 years to life. Carol has trained me to feel these guilt pangs ever since I got the Hawaii license nearly four years ago. I’ve never had any problems up to now but the “big one” must be coming and if and when it does Carol will WIN! As it turned out after confirming that I, indeed, did not possess any alcohol, tobacco, mace or pepper spray I was allowed to cross the border without incident. The entire process took less than a minute.
I walked up to the pit area pay window and bought my pit pass for $20 Canadian. That’s about $12-13 American. General admission was just $7 Canadian. As I was filling out the pit paperwork one of the ladies exclaimed to the other, “Look, he’s wearing shorts”. At first I thought this was a Canadian pickup line. Alas, it turned out no was allowed in the pit area wearing shorts. I’ve run into this problem in the entire state of New Jersey and at the NASCAR race in Bristol, TN. At Bristol I taped two towels to my shorts and they let me in. Once in the towels were tossed and I went about my marry way. Today I would have to switch to long pants which I did. Luckily, I had carried one pair of Dockers with me for this trip.
Restroom facilities consisted of permanent outhouses! I know the ladies always enjoy the amenities offered at short track racing venues. I remember outhouses at both Lincoln and Lernerville Speedways. My friend, Jim Sabo, left his new sunglasses in the Lernerville outhouse! The PA system was good and the announcer solid. Refreshments were somewhat limited to hamburgers and hot dogs. I settled for a cheeseburger, dream sickle and two grape sodas.
#518 Greetings from Louisville, KY
When I’m on the airplane going on race trips I spend almost all the time on my laptop. A good deal of the time I’m working on financial planning topics so I can fulfill my dream of retiring from traditional work, as we know it.
I was in the midst of analyzing some important financial information when the flight attendant, Tina, came up from behind and said, “What are you working on? The screen sure has a lot of different colors on it”. At this moment the two people sitting next to me began craning their necks to see the screen.
I thought I would be honest and tell her I was working on understanding the impact of IRA rule 72-T and the effect of taking Substantially Equal Periodic Payments (SEPP) from an IRA. My plan was to intimidate her so she would move along. To my surprise she seemed even more interested and looked closely at the screen. She noticed it included life expectancy tables and immediately wanted me to tell her how long her grandmother would live! She was a Seinfeldish, “loud-talker” and now even more people were turning around to look at us. I told her that life expectancy tables were just statistical quesstimates based on averages of large numbers of people. This intrigued her even further and I told her that her grandmother had about 15 years of life expectancy remaining based upon her current age. Tina seemed pleased.
#521 Greetings from Hermiston, OR
We had one more stop on our entertainment agenda before getting to Race City USA. We would stop at Reser (aka Beaver) Stadium to see the 10th ranked UCLA Bruins play the 19th ranked Oregon State Beavers. Sports Illustrated had ranked Oregon State #1 in the pre-season polls before they lost their opener to now 11th ranked Fresno State.
The game was sold out and we didn’t have tickets. Not to worry I had my “magic dime”. My magical dime was found early this morning during my morning workout that included a 30-minute power walk (125-130 heartbeats per minute) along the streets of Salem. I find a lot of money this way and always stop to pick it up. I’ll have more on the magic dime in just a moment.
In small towns there usually aren’t as many people selling tickets. At Yankee Stadium or Charlotte Motor Speedway there are tons of sellers. Usually the scalpers are the “green tennis shoe” guys. This observation is compliments of longtime friend, Gerry O’Reilly. We immediately came across a scalper who had two 50-yard line seats for $75 each. In scalper lingo a “50 yard line seat” is normally at the 10-yard line. I asked him what was the face value of the tickets was. He said $22. He then stated that the face value was irrelevant because of the demand for this game. There was some logic to his point. Since it was a beautiful 70-degree morning and there weren’t many ticket sellers I made an immediate offer of $50 for each ticket. This was high by Oregon standards but mere pocket change for a Californian. Another scalper stood nearby observing the negotiation. He also had two tickets to sell. It’s a scalper etiquette, which is strictly adhered too, that one scalper does not infringe on another’s deal until it is certain the first scalper’s deal is not going to happen. My scalper reduced his price to $60 a piece. I told him I would flip him for the right to buy the tickets at $50 or $60. He agreed. I told him I wanted to use my, “magic dime”. When he saw I also had a quarter he told me to use the quarter. I insisted on using the “magic dime” for the tiebreaker. This time he agreed if he could flip the coin. I agreed, but insisted I would call the coin heads or tails. He agreed and stated the coin would be allowed to hit the ground. I agreed. The flip was on. He tossed the coin up two feet above his head and as it turned end over end I yelled, “heads”. He bent down to see the result and my magic coin had come through, it was heads! 50 bucks a ticket. My magic dime had created a 200 times return in my first day of ownership! We found our seats that were 31 rows from the field on the 45-yard line. People in Oregon are like the folks in Iowa and Minnesota. They’re just too nice and the typical scalping rules of exaggeration don’t apply to them.
I’m happy to report the Bruins dispensed of the Beavers by a 38-7 score.
#522 Greetings from Cumberland, MD
I would like to welcome jillybean51 to the vast group of sophisticated, urbane and international subscribers. See if you say anything positive I add you to the list. Like computer spam once you get it, you’ve got it and it’s hard to escape. Back issues are available at http://www.trackchaser.com. At least the price is right.
As always I enjoyed my favorite….country music. Every time I hear the song “Where I come from”, I can’t help but think of my southern born friend, George Robertson who hails from the Tar Heel state. As the song goes, “where I come from it’s cornbread and chicken, where I come from it’s a lot of front porch sittin”.
Billboard of the day: Plan ahead. Noah built the ark before it started raining!
#523 Greetings from Bridgeport, NJ
Folks who have been to the Bridgeport Speedway will appreciate what happened next. I drove into the track behind the grandstands for the 5/8-mile oval. There was no one there! I had just talked to the track and I Knew they were racing. I drove just to the right of the stands and noticed entry onto the 5/8-mile oval was open. Was this the way to get to Bridgeport’s small 1/ 4-mile oval? I could see lights on the backstretch of the big oval and it looked like they might be racing on a small track there.
I decided to pull the National Rental car racing Chevy Malibu onto the 5/8-mile oval and made a right to drive into the first turn. As I rounded the turn and came out of the second turn I began to sense this was not the way to enter the ¼ mile track. This was confirmed when I met up face to face with the track’s Director of Competition. This was definitely not the way to enter the track. I made a u-turn and exited the big oval the same way I had come in.
#524 Greetings from White Lake, NY
Most of you know I’m somewhat of a professional traveler. I’ve traveled overnight more than 100 nights a year for each of the last 30 years. Carol says I’m absent minded. She may be right. I have a habit of losing, either temporarily or permanently little things. On this morning, while trying to beat the now extended 12-noon checkout guideline I was hurriedly packing my suitcase. I had everything except for one deck shoe. Since I had entered the room the night before wearing two deck shoes it had to be in the room somewhere. Where could this deck shoe be hiding? If I were one deck shoe in a Super 8 Motel room where would I be? These all seemed like pertinent questions as I continually checked my watch as the 12 noon witching hour approached. I was firmly convinced these New Haven people meant business when they told you to check out.
After looking everywhere in the room multiple times I was about ready to think someone had entered the room during the night and stolen one deck shoe. Just as I was mulling over this thought I decided to look under the “big bag”. As some of you know I travel with a VERY BIG BAG. I can’t rent an economy sized rental car because the “big bag” won’t fit in the trunk or back seat. As a last resort I lifted the “big bag” and there was one crumpled deck shoe. Success! It was now 12 noon as I bounced the “big bag” down the stairs from the second floor and was handed my hotel receipt through the bulletproof glass window at the receptionist desk.
#525 Greetings from Chepachet, RI
Most of you know I saw my 500th racetrack last month. That was a big accomplishment for me. But, it was not nearly as big of a feat as being able to say I’ve seen races in all 50 states. Only a handful of trackchasers can lay claim to this achievement. Most people haven’t even been to all 50 states. I would like to say getting to the Barnyard Raceway was an easy endeavor but unfortunately it was not.
#527 Greetings from Afton, NY
This trip is being billed as, “Carol’s Fall Colors Trip”. During Carol’s trip I will be allowed to see some racing.
#528 Greetings from New Bremen, NY
Just as we sat down in the grandstands a young man came up and introduced himself. It was Andy Ritter. Andy is an up and coming trackchaser from Northern Pennsylvania. Folks on the trackchaser email list have had the opportunity to read several track reports from Andy. Andy, an insurance adjuster, has the goal of seeing races in all 50 states. Since he’s already seen a race in Rhode Island he’s got one of the harder to get states behind him. There was plenty of time during the program for Andy and I to compare racing notes. I’m always amazed as I meet different trackchasers how we all seem to agree on some trackchasing basics such as what’s a good track, what’s a bad track, etc. I did ask Andy how he recognized me? His reply, “You were the only guy in the place wearing shorts!” Andy, nice meeting you and I hope to see you again soon.
#529 Greetings from Kirkwood, NY
Restaurant News: What does a typical trackchaser and his wife eat on a racing trip? There wasn’t much time for what one might call formal dining in this two-race track day. We started off with breakfast at Burger King. We each had the combo sausage and egg croissant. Carol doused hers with coffee and I had two orange juices. Lunch was at Adirondack International Speedway. Carol had a bottle of water and some brought from home peanuts. I had salt potatoes, a Diet Pepsi and the peanuts. Our between track snack was at Duncan Donuts with Carol going with a black coffee and I had a hot chocolate and glazed chocolate frosting donut. So… already Carol’s caloric intake for breakfast and lunch had included a croissant sandwich and a handful of peanuts. Yes, I’m trying to get her to cut back. By the time we got to Five Mile Point Speedway Carol was starting to get hungry (she should have had some of the salt potatoes she turned her nose up at!). By the way salt potatoes are red potatoes served in a dish swimming in liquid butter. A few minutes after I had eaten the last potato I looked at the dish. The butter had now solidified. There must have been a ½ stick of butter in the bottom of the dish! At Five Mile Point Speedway we both went for the sausage sandwich with peppers and onions. It was very tasty. I also had a piece of, as they termed it, “regular” pizza. I think they meant cheese pizza. I had another Diet Pepsi and Carol a bottled tea drink. Carol finished off her day with dessert, which was popcorn. How’s this for missing most of the four major food groups? When I put it into words I now know why I weigh twice as much as Carol!
#530 Greetings from Fonda, NY
Although I lost my trackchasing note somewhere inside the track I did submit my trackchaser business card to the announcing booth. I was almost immediately summoned by the announcer for a live interview. The announcer was amazed at the trackchaser hobby and concept in general. As always I gave a plug to www.trackchaser.com. If, as a reader of this information, you have not checked out the trackchaser website I recommend you do so. Will White has added some new features to the site and does a great job. You can also read my track reports for many of the 530 tracks I’ve attended.
I also mentioned the Guy Smith trackchaser column that appears in the Area Auto Racing News. One of the announcer’s was familiar with Guy’s column. He asked me on air if Guy was chasing me or I was chasing Guy? I was tempted to say Guy was chasing me but suspected there were trackchasers in the audience who could actively dispute any inaccurate info I might provide. For the non-race fans reading this Guy is the 4th leading trackchaser in the world (also the 4th leading trackchaser living east of the Mississippi). He writes a column describing the trials and tribulations of trackchasing. His column is titled Roaming The Raceways and I always look for it first when my copy of AARN arrives.
#531 Greetings from Phoenix, AZ
Since this is the people section of my report I wanted to let you know I had the opportunity to meet up again with, arguably, the most prolific race chaser in the history of race chasing, Gary Jacob. A race chaser tries to see as many races as they can whereas a trackchaser tries to see as many tracks as possible. I started out as a race chaser and somewhere along the line turned into a trackchaser.
I don’t have all the stats but I do know that Gary has seen more than 100 races every year for more than 20 years in a row. He said he has seen around 120 shows this year and expects to finish with about 140. This is really amazing considering Gary sticks to the Western U.S. (mainly California, Nevada and Arizona) and there are very few mid week shows in this part of the country. In the Midwest or East you can see races just about every night from June through August. If someone saw a race every Friday, Saturday and Sunday for all 52 weekends their total would be 156. You can see Gary is going racing virtually every weekend of the year and seeing three shows on most trips.
#533 Greetings from Ewa Beach, HI
Editor’s note: Many of you may recall that about a year ago I requested $90,000 in sponsorship money from trackchasers and/or readers to fund my trackchasing exploits. Surprisingly (to me anyway) I have yet to receive any checks. The purpose of these funds was to provide the resources to catch #1 trackchaser Rick Schneider who is about 300 tracks ahead of me. Today’s event is my 533rd track and 67th new track for the season. With expenses averaging about $300 per day you can do the math. As a self funded trackchaser this hobby can be expensive. Ocean front Hyatts don’t come cheap, let alone renting two cars at a time and having airline expenses within airline expenses.
#534 Greetings from Puunene, HI
So here’s my proposal to my fellow ranked trackchasers. We all put in $10 per week into a trackchasing fund. As the fund builds, needy trackchasers (like me) submit requests for funds to support their needs. Trackchasers living furthest from their proposed trackchasing trip get first preference. Will, please let me know where to send my first $10 fund contribution. Mahalo!
Paradise Speedway is Carol’s (a non-listed trackchaser) 107th track and my (ranked trackchaser – currently #12) 534th track. It is Carol’s 14th track of the year and my 68th, 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.
#546 Greetings from Wimbledon, England
Refreshments were unusual. I had a potato jacket with beans and cheese and lemonade. Lemonade in the U.K. is similar to a 7-Up or Sprite. Later I went with a Jack Daniels and lemonade for two pounds, sixty pence ($4.00). The English serve their mixed drinks in a tall class with one ounce of liquor and about one ounce of mix which only fills about 1/3 of the glass. That seems unusual. They also offered seafood that included ocean sticks, jellied eels and cockles. I passed on this!
New racetracks visited in 2001
467. Laughlin Event Center, Laughlin, NV (no web site)
468. Loc Moran, Mont Carmel, Quebec (http://www.grabnetworks.net/delta/)
469. Circuit Jacques Rainville, Vanier, Quebec (no web site)
470. Pauline Davis Pavilion, Red Bluff, CA (http://www.rboutlaws.com/)
471. The Pavilion at the Fairgrounds, Chico, CA (no web site)
472. Baton Rouge Raceway, Baker, LA (http://www.batonrougeraceway.com)
473. Mississippi Motorsports Park, Long Beach, MS (http://www.msmotorsportspark.com)
474. South Alabama Motor Speedway, Opp, AL (http://www.southalabamaspeedway.com)
475. Nashville Super Speedway, Smyrna, TN (http://www.nashvillesuperspeedway.com)
476. Beech Bend Raceway (oval track), Bowling Green, KY (http://www.beechbend.com)
477. Beech Bend Raceway (figure 8 track), Bowling Green, KY (http://www.beechbend.com)
478. Soggy Bottom Speedway, Morgantown, KY (http://www.soggybottomspeedway.com)
479. Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Buttonwillow, CA (http://www.buttonwillowraceway.com)
480. Speedway 90, Beaumont, TX (http://www.Speedway90Bmt.com)
481. 105 Speedway, Cleveland, TX (http://www.105speedway.com/)
482 Savannah Speedway, Savannah, MO (no web site)
483. Winston Speedway, Winston, MO (no web site)
484. Stuart Speedway, Stuart, IA (http://www.midiowa.com/showtime/stuart.html)
485. Barberton Speedway, Barberton, OH (http://www.barbertonspeedway.com/)
486. Eriez Speedway, Erie, PA (http://www.statelineeriezspeedway.com/)
487. Anderson Dry Lake, Lucerne Valley, CA (http://hometown.aol.com/mdrracing/index.html)
488. Perris Auto Speedway-(figure 8 track), Perris, CA(http://www.perrisautospeedway.com/)
489. Dixie Motor Speedway – (figure 8 track), Birch Run, MI (http://www.dixiemotorspeedway.com)
490. Dixie Motor Speedway – (oval track), Birch Run, MI (http://www.dixiemotorspeedway.com)
491. Grand Prix of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH (http://www.imgmotorsports.com/)
492 Painesville Speedway – (oval track), Painesville, OH (http://members.tripod.com/pspeedway/)
493 Painesville Speedway – (figure 8 track), Painesville, OH (http://members.tripod.com/pspeedway/)
494. Angola Motor Speedway, Angola, IN (http://www.angolamotorspeedway.com/index.shtml)
495. Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, GA (http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/)
496. Dixie Speedway, Woodstock, GA (http://www.dixiespeedway.com/)
497. Rome Speedway, Rome, GA (http://www.dixiespeedway.com/) Rome uses the same web site as Dixie Speedway.
498. Holland Speedway (oval), Holland, NY (http://www.hollandspeedway.com/)
499. Holland Speedway (figure 8 track), Holland, NY (http://www.hollandspeedway.com/)
500. Freedom Raceway, Delevan, NY (http://www.freedomraceway.com/)
501. Allegheny Mountain Raceway, La Mont, PA (http://www.amraceway.com/)
502. McKean County Raceway, East Smethport, PA (http://www.mckeancountyraceway.com/)
503. Bradford Speedway, Bradford, PA (http://www.bradfordspeedway.com/)
504. Ventura Raceway, Ventura, CA (http://www.venturaraceway.com/)
505. Winnebago County Speedway, Pecatonica, IL (no web site)
506. Boone County Fairgrounds, Belvidere, IL (http://www.boonecountyfair.com/index2.htm)
507. Slinger Super Speedway, Slinger, WI (http://www.slingersuperspeedway.com/)
508. Steele County Fairgrounds, Owatonna, MN (no web site)
509. Viking Speedway, Alexandria, MN (http://www.vikingspeeday.com/)
510. Princeton Speedway, Princeton, MN (http://www.princetonspeedway.com/)
511. North Center Motor Speedway, Brainerd, MN (http://www.borderlineracing.com/)
512. Golden Spike Speedway, Sauk Rapids, MN (oval) (no web site)
513. Golden Spike Speedway, Sauk Rapids, MN (figure 8) (no web site)
514. Portland Speedway (1/2 mile dirt oval), Portland, OR (http://www.portlandspeedway.com/)
515. Evergreen Speedway (figure 8), Monroe, WA (http://www.evergreenspeedway.com/)
516. Evergreen Speedway (3/8 mile oval), Monroe, WA (http://www.evergreenspeedway.com/)
517. Kent Raceways, Agassiz, British Columbia (http://www.kentraceways.com/)
518. Louisville Motor Speedway (3/8 mile oval), Louisville, KY (http://www.louisvillemotorspeedway.com/)
519. Louisville Motor Speedway (figure 8), Louisville, KY (http://www.louisvillemotorspeedway.com/)
520. Plymouth Speedway, Plymouth, IN (no web site)
521. Race City USA, Hermiston, OR (http://www.angelfire.com/biz2/racecityusa/)
522. The Rock – Allegheny County Speedway – Cumberland, MD (http://www.dirtrock.com/Flash.html)
523. Bridgeport Speedway (1/4 mile oval), Bridgeport, NJ (http://www.bridgeportspeedway.com/)
524. Kauneonga Speedway, White Lake, NY (http://www.kauneonga.com/)
525. Barnyard Raceway, Chepachet, RI (no web site)
526. Seekonk Speedway, Seekonk, MA (http://www.seekonkspeedway.com/)
527. Afton Speedway, Afton, NY (no web site)
528. Adirondack International Speedway, New Bremen, NY (http://www.adirondackspeedway.com/)
529. Five Mile Point Speedway, Kirkwood, NY (http://www.fivemilepointspeedway.com/sys-tmpl/door/)
530. Fonda Speedway, Fonda, NY (http://www.fondaspeedway.com/)
531. Arizona State Fairgrounds (oval), Phoenix, AZ (http://www.azstatefair.com/)
532. Arizona State Fairgrounds (figure 8), Phoenix, AZ (http://www.azstatefair.com/)
533. Hawaii Raceway Park (road course), Ewa Beach (Oahu), Hawaii (http://www.hawaiiracewaypark.com/)
534. Paradise Speedway, Maui, Hawaii (no web site)
Retroactive figure 8 tracks
535. Manzanita Speedway, Phoenix, AZ
536. Orange Show Speedway, San Bernadino, CA
537. Watsonville Fairgrounds Speedway, Watsonville, CA
538. Ascot Park, Gardena, CA
539. Citrus County Speedway, Inverness, FL
540. Rockford Speedway, Rockford, IL
541. Indianapolis Speedrome, Indianapolis, IN
542. Flat Rock Speedway, Flat Rock, MI
543. Raceway Park, Shakopee, MN
544. South Sound Speedway, Rochester, WA
545. Standlake Arena, Standlake, England (http://www.standlakearena.co.uk/
546. Wimbledon Stadium, Wimbledon, England (http://www.stockcar.co.uk/)