Greetings from Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada
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From the travels and adventures of the
“World’s #1 Trackchaser”
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Edmonton International Raceway
Asphalt oval
Lifetime Track #1,199
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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: 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! Back in 2007 I was a very busy trackchaser up in Alberta, Canada. That’s right. Back in 2007 I made an afternoon trackchasing visit to the Race City Motorsports Park in Calgary. Then in the early evening I watched the racing at the Edmonton International Raceway in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. I capped off that evening with a rain-delayed sprint car event at the Castrol Raceway dirt oval. In this report I’ll tell you about my re-visit to the Castrol Raceway’s dirt oval in 2014. TODAY’S HEADLINES I started out as a “one grandstand, one track” type of trackchaser. Why did that change? …….details in “The Strategy.” First trackchaser to see 1,200 tracks!……..details in “Summary of ‘century’ trackchasing achievements” Note I am receiving some interesting “Sports Spectating Resumes.” Please send me yours. I will publish them all soon. Hello from Alberta. Greetings from Calgary, Alberta and then Wetaskiwin, Alberta and finally, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada This evening I saw my 1,200th lifetime racetrack. Below is a list of when and where I saw other “Century” mark tracks. SUMMARY OF “CENTURY” TRACKCHASING ACHIEVEMENTS # 100 – Red River Valley Speedway, West Fargo, ND (Sammy Swindell – winner) – July 13, 1981 # 200 – Sumter Rebel Speedway, Sumter, SC – March 28, 1992 # 300 – Brownstown Speedway, Brownstown, IN (Billy Moyer – winner) – April 19, 1997 – # 400 – Barren County Speedway, Glasgow, KY – October 1, 1999 # 500 – Freedom Raceway, Delevan, NY – July, 27, 2001 # 600 – Trail-Way Speedway (figure 8 course), Hanover, PA – July 20, 2002 # 700 – Thunder Alley Park, Evans Mills, NY – April 22, 2004 # 800 – Five Flags Speedway, Pensacola, FL – December 3, 2004 #900 – I-96 Speedway (inner oval), Lake Odessa, MI – July 15, 2005 # 1,000 – Auburndale Kartway, Auburndale, Florida – February 10, 2006 # 1,100 – Cambridge Fair, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada – September 9, 2006 # 1,200 – Castrol Raceway, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – June 3, 2007 I had this to say after track #900. On the occasion of my 900th track, I wrote the following. I don’t think I can add much to those words. “Today is a special day – #900. I am happy about that. I would like to thank everyone who has supported me or shown an interest in my trackchasing hobby. Special thanks go to Carol for being so tolerant of my obsession. She is a smart woman and recognizes that it is a good idea to let me pursue my hobbies from time to time. Also, thank you to all of the trackchasers who have provided me information and support along the way (you know who you are) and to those trackchasers who have motivated me through other methods (you know who you are).” I’ll add a special thanks to Guy Smith for inventing, if you will, the entire trackchaser concept. I’ll also offer special thanks to Trackchaser commissioner Will White for formalizing the trackchaser statistics, which make the hobby even more fun. It took me 52 ½ years to see my first 500 tracks. At that point, I told the boys at the golf club that I would be cutting back on my trackchasing. I missed that one by a bunch! In the following 6 years, I have added another 700 tracks. Most people would never have expected that, including me. I offer my apologies to readers who signed up some 400 or 500 tracks ago or more. Maybe you thought these emails would cease, or at least become less frequent, as time went on. I hope you received some entertainment value and maybe even a cost-saving tip or two. If you have, then it’s all been worth it for me. I woke up in Boise, Idaho this morning. I went to sleep in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada. This is what transpired today. PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS The Strategy Strategy is all important in trackchasing. One of the best ways to increase your track totals is to see two or more tracks in one day. This is called a “trackchasing double.” In the past, I have explained what the various kinds of trackchasing doubles are. In today’s modern trackchasing world, I am probably the leader in getting trackchasing doubles. It has not always been that way. I believe I first became aware of the trackchaser group via Will White in 1999. Records show that I was the third person to join the trackchaser email group back on January 18, 2000. Before I joined the group, I was a “one grandstand, one track” type of trackchaser. I did not count both an inner oval and an outer oval at one location. I did not count one oval that changed surfaces from dirt to asphalt or vice versa as more than one track. Prior to becoming aware of the trackchasers group in 1999, I had seen 367 different racetracks. I had never been to a freestanding figure 8 race in my life! I had only been to six road courses out of my 367 lifetime tracks. It would be easy to define my trackchasing for the first 50 years of my life. I went to oval tracks. I only counted one track at each facility I went too. I never went back to an oval track just because it changed its racing surface from asphalt to dirt or the other way around for the purpose of adding to my totals. Then in 1999 and 2000, I began to learn about how other trackchasers were adding to their career trackchasing totals. The trackchasing rules were developed in the late 90s. I had zero involvement in that process. By the time I came along the main rules were already set up. From the start of my trackchasing all the way through 1998, I saw just nine trackchasing doubles. That’s nine doubles out of 367 total tracks. I believe every one of those was a day/night double. Usually I was going to a NASCAR race in the afternoon and I would then go to a local show at night. As I got more and more into trackchasing, I noticed the other trackchasers were adding to their trackchasing totals in ways I had never even considered. They were getting “doubles” at two different tracks in one evening. I had never done that or even thought to do it. They were going back to see a track again, simply because the track had changed its racing surface. These folks were going to road courses. My road course racing experience (6) primarily included races I had been invited too or NASCAR tracks. If I was going to advance in the standings, I was going to have to learn from my fellow trackchasers. As I gained some experience, I began to change my “one grandstand one track” trackchasing mentality. I read the rules the “old guard” trackchasers had developed. It wasn’t long before I was starting to gain ground at a rapid pace. A few old-timers in trackchasing became alarmed. Here was a new trackchaser on the scene, using their rules and beginning to advance up through the ranks of the worldwide trackchasing standings. I probably called the trackchaser commissioner more than any other trackchaser seeking rulings, in advance, on tracks I was considering attending. If I got positive feedback from the commissioner, I went forward with my plans. If I didn’t then I went somewhere else. Now I am a veteran of the trackchasing process. I have long ago put away my “one grandstand, one track” method of counting tracks. I have totally converted to full adherence to all rules, regulations and rulings within the hobby. The best outcome of everyone playing by a common set of rules is that it makes comparing one trackchaser’s totals to another easier to do. Everyone is working off the same sheet of music, so to speak. As time goes by and a trackchaser’s totals increase, it can become more difficult to get a trackchasing double. Tracks need to be somewhat close together geographically in order for a double to work. The tracks have to be racing on the same day. The weather has to cooperate. Doubles aren’t easy. Nevertheless, one of my trackchasing strategies is to see as many new tracks as I can. Doubles are a great way to achieve that strategy. To date, I have seen 62 new tracks during 45 days of trackchasing in 2007. That means I’ve seen 17 trackchasing doubles this year. I think that’s pretty good planning. I have only my fellow trackchasers to thank for this. If they had not established the practice of seeing doubles to increase their track totals, I never would have thought of the idea! The Trip I’m enjoyed my time traveling around Alberta. This part of Canada is relatively flat but not totally flat. I’m not seeing the beautiful snow-covered mountains that Carol and I enjoyed last week in British Columbia and in Western Alberta. The People I continue to believe that the Canadian racing people I have met are some of the best. I very much enjoy my trackchasing in Canada. RACE TRACK STATS: RACE CITY MOTORSPORTS PARK (ROAD COURSE), CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA – TRACK #1,198 EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, WETASKIWIN, ALBERTA, CANADA – TRACK #1,199 CASTROL RACEWAY, EDOMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA – TRACK #1,200 Today I saw three tracks in Alberta, Canada. There were my second, third and fourth lifetime tracks to see in this Canadian province. I am happy to report that my four lifetime Alberta tracks moves me into the lead in this Western Canadian province. I have displaced the aforementioned Mr. Smith as well as Mr. Killian and Ms. Smith who were the previous Alberta leaders with three tracks. Only 12 trackchasers, including me, have ever come to Alberta. There have been only 19 track visits ever recorded in Alberta before this weekend. There are several countable tracks up here. I am surprised there has not been more trackchasing activity in this rugged area. RACE TRACK NEWS: RACE CITY MOTORSPORTS PARK (ROAD COURSE) Today’s road course racing event was probably the most disappointing of the five tracks I saw this weekend. The weather was beautiful but the racing and presentation wasn’t very good. The RCMP is a professional looking motorsport facility. They have a drag strip as well as a ½-mile paved oval. And in news never before released in the trackchasing community, they will have the return of figure 8 racing at this facility in 2007. However, I was here to see racing on their road course today. As is often the case with facilities that focus on oval track and drag strip racing, the road racing seems to be a total afterthought. There was no announcer and therefore the P.A. system was not being used. The regular concession area was not open and only a few of the facility’s restroom were open for use. My first impression was of being bitten when I entered the paddock area. Yes, Canada’s mosquitoes were giving my bare legs a northern welcome. I saw feature events run by an open wheel class (about 8 entrants) and a sports car/stock car run by some 20+ racers. While these boys, and maybe girls, were racing on the road course, there was activity on the oval. About eight legends were holding some form of school on the oval. If you’ve ever seen the Rocky Mountain Raceways in Salt Lake, this layout is nearly identical. The road course used the straight portions of the drag strip and parallel return strip for 80% of the length of the track. The cars take the checker near the beginning of the drag strip starting point. They race down to the end of the drag strip (which is nearly out of sight) and then do some turns that are, for the most part out of sight, before returning on a straight path, both parallel and in the opposite direction of where they started on the drag strip. They finish up with a big sweeping left hand turn, again out of sight from the drag strip grandstand, before returning to the starting line. With no P.A. to explain anything about the program and mosquitoes nipping at the RANLAY, two races were all I needed to see. I believe that all the cars in the paddock area raced in these two races. Overall, I was glad to get this track behind me, although pleased to have somewhere to trackchase on a Saturday afternoon. The road course is used for four weekends each season according to the track’s website at http://www.racecity.com/. EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY From my road course outing in Calgary, I headed north to Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada. The Edmonton International Speedway would be the second half of my day/night trackchasing double. This was my seventh such double of the 17 doubles I have in ’07. This track is a tight little quarter-mile asphalt oval. There were a few things I found that were out of the ordinary. First, there was a sign near the ticket booth that read, “Distribution of complimentary tickets on raceway grounds is strictly prohibited.” I guess they didn’t want free tickets that the track had given away, eating into the tickets they were selling the night of the event. The entire grandstand is one big wooden structure. The announcer reminded everyone that a “no smoking in the grandstand policy” was in effect! The track also pits their racecars inside the oval. There were no problems with blocking the view of the racetrack because the cars were parked there. I love it when the racing machines are pitted in the infield. This adds to what the spectator gets to see. My first stop was to the concession stand. Just before I reached the stand, I noticed several employees spraying each other with insect repellant. Ouch! I had left my bug spray on the floor of our master bedroom. I had French Fries doused in brown gravy. The gravy costs 50 cents extra. What’s wrong with eating fat smothered in more fat? It tasted good. There was one more unusual part of tonight’s competition. They were racing motorcycles. The bikes raced on part of the asphalt oval and part of the dirt infield. The configuration made this a mixed road course race surface. They even had some minor jumps. Unfortunately, for trackchasing purposes, they didn’t race cars on this configuration. There were three stock car classes racing tonight. They had 16 thunder cars, 12 late models, and about 16 claimers. There were very few yellow flags for spins on the perfectly clear 80-degree evening. The racing program started at 6 p.m. There were two heats for the Thunder cars and the claimers. The late models ran just one set of heats, but had two feature events. It was only 7:29 p.m. when the first 40-lap late model feature event took to the track with 10 cars taking the green flag. This race was pretty mediocre and finished at 7:43 p.m. I looked beyond the grandstand to the north. It looked like rain up there. Why was I looking north anyway? The Castrol Raceway was racing about 30 miles from the track I was at. If they weren’t rained out, Castrol could be the second half of a blended double with features. It was worth a try. If I could add the Castrol Raceway to my list, it would be my 1,200 lifetime track. I looked toward the skies. I needed a sign. Just at that point, a very colorful rainbow appeared. I had gotten my sign. I was headed to the north. CASTROL RACEWAY (OVAL) I pulled into the parking lot of the Calgary Raceway at about 8:30 p.m., maybe a few minutes later. It doesn’t get dark up here until around 10 p.m. There was still plenty of daylight available. This placed looked like they had just received a good deal of rain. Nevertheless, there was a huge crowd in the grandstands overlooking this 3/8-mile banked dirt oval. They were still selling tickets, so they weren’t rained out. I parked my car in a strategic spot and walked into what would be a trackchaser record-breaking 1,200th track. The woman at the ticket booth told me they had been delayed “about an hour” with the rain. Another internet source, told that the rain delay had been two hours and twenty minutes. Whatever, when I arrived the Alberta Sprint Tour sprinters were completing time trials. By now the weather in the immediate vicinity was clear. From what I could tell there had been no countable racing before the rains came. I lingered at the track’s souvenir trailer. Even though I have more event t-shirts than I will ever wear in my lifetime, I needed to buy something to commemorate my 1,200th lifetime track. They had a beautiful and multi-colored heavy duty jacket for the princely some of $150 Canadian. Of course, it was priced in Canadian currency since I was in Canada! The saleswoman put the heavy sell on me. I think if she had offered to negotiate the price even a little bit she would have had a sale. The coat was probably overpriced, but it was nice. Nevertheless, I am simply a pensioner living on a small fixed income, or something like that and I passed. I did end up buying an overpriced “Castrol Raceway” t-shirt for $30 (about $28 U.S.). From there I went into the grandstands. This is a high quality dirt track oval facility with an accompanying drag strip on the property. A huge sign at the track’s entry states, “Castrol Raceway Park voted the No 1 track – 2006.” The track’s website says, “Castrol Raceway is reputed to be one of the top 10 small track facilities in North America.” It might be. They also say they have a road course under construction. There must have been 2,000-3,000 spectators. I always have a tough time estimating how many people are in the stands. They had a nice field of late models on hand as well as five stock cars. They also offered two classes of sprint cars. I met the track’s announcer. He was most impressed with my trackchasing efforts. He gave me a nice 1,200th track mention over the P.A. He also gave me a racing hat to help me celebrate the evening. The winged sprint cars were extremely fast. They were just like the World of Outlaws. They were so fast they couldn’t pass each other. This resulted in follow the leader sprint car racing. The limited sprint division provided better racing. Their reigning champion was a woman driver. She won tonight’s feature event, which is most unusual in this class of racing. During the evening, the announcer told the crowd that the Ottawa Senators had just defeated the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in Ottawa. This news got a huge positive reaction from the crowd! From the point I arrived at the track, I noticed some storm clouds far off in the distance beyond turn three. As time went by, I could see that rain was coming from those clouds. The clouds were getting closer. Finally, at 10:30 p.m. when the sportsman sprint feature was nearly completed, the rain started to fall. These were big drops of rain. The crowd began to leave the grandstand like rats deserting a ship. I was one of them! The Castrol Raceway will long hold a special place in my trackchasing heart. It was my 1,200th track. It was the second half of a blended double with features, my 17th trackchasing double of 2007. I saw three new tracks today. The last one put me into uncharted trackchasing territory. I guess the rainbow I saw upon leaving the Edmonton International Raceway was the sign I was looking for! WEATHER CONDITIONS It was warm and sunny during the day and early evening. Then as I headed north and the evening aged, the wet stuff came in. Nevertheless, the weather didn’t cause any major problems. RENTAL CAR UPDATE Calgary, Alberta – Saturday/Sunday I drove this car just 791 kilometers or 494 miles. I paid an average price of $3.96 per gallon. My Pontiac Grand Prix gave me 29.8 M.P.G. in fuel mileage at a cost of 13.3 cents per mile. The car cost 16.3 cents per mile to rent, all taxes included. Boise, ID – Friday/Saturday I drove this car just 32.5 miles. I paid an average price of $3.33 per gallon. I actually added just a gallon or so of gas, so the rental car company (Thrifty) would not try to charge me a minimum gas fee for cars driven a small number of miles. My Chrysler Sebring, under these fueling conditions, gave my 30.7 M.P.G. in fuel mileage at a cost of 10.9 cents per mile. The car cost 6.2 cents per mile to rent, all taxes included. LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE: These worldwide trackchasers are within 100 tracks (plus or minus) of my current trackchaser total. * Warning, you are within 50 tracks of being removed from this list. ** Special exemption. LIFETIME NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY STANDINGS 2007 (current thru 5/14/07)** **Until the end of the year, NGD rankings are unofficial. Rankings are affected not only by the leader’s activities but also by other trackchasers impact on the leader’s position in each state. Other notables These worldwide trackchasers are within 10 tracks (plus or minus) of Carol’s current trackchaser total. There are no trackchasers within 10 tracks (either above or below) of Carol’s current total. 2007 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS Tracks have been reported by 34 different worldwide trackchasers this season. Thanks for reading about my trackchasing, Randy Lewis Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser If you’re lucky enough to live at the beach, you’re lucky enough. CUMULATIVE TRAVEL DISTANCES: AIRPLANE Orange County, CA – Salt Lake City, UT – 588 miles Salt Lake City, UT – Boise, ID – 290 miles RENTAL CAR – BOISE, ID Boise Air Terminal/Gowen Field – trip begins Boise, ID – 13 miles Boise Air Terminal/Gowen Field – 33 miles – trip ends AIRPLANE Boise, ID – Salt Lake City, UT – 290 miles Salt Lake City, UT – Calgary, Alberta, Canada – 721 miles RENTAL CAR – CALGARY Calgary International Airport – trip begins Calgary, Alberta – 16 miles Wetaskiwin, Alberta – 194 miles Edmonton, Alberta – 238 miles TRACK ADMSSION PRICES: Owyhee Motorcycle Raceway Park – $10 (included pit pass) Race City Motorsports Park (road course) – $5 Edmonton International Raceway – $10 Castrol Raceway – $15 UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS I try to adhere to my policy of sending you no more than one Trackchaser Report per day. That is why you received one Trackchaser Report for today, Saturday, June 2, even though three new tracks were seen. I respect your time and don’t want to overload your email box! I will visit one more Alberta track before returning to my homeland. 1,139. Meremere Dirt Track Club, Meremere, New Zealand – January 1 1,140. Meeanee Speedway, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand – January 1 1,141. Top of the South Speedway, Richmond, New Zealand – January 2 1,142. Woodford Glen Speedway, Christchurch, New Zealand – January 3 1,143. Robertson Holden International Speedway, Palmerston North, New Zealand – January 5 1,144. Taupo Motorsports Park, Taupo, North, New Zealand – January 6 1,145. Waikaraka Park International Speedway, Auckland, New Zealand – January 6 1,146. Angels Stadium of Anaheim (inner oval), Anaheim, California – January 13 1,147. Angels Stadium of Anaheim (outer oval), Anaheim, California – January 13 1,148. West Valley Speedway, Surprise, Arizona – January 14 1,149. Sandia Motorsports Park (road course), Albuquerque, New Mexico – January 28 1,150. Grand Prix De Lanaudiere, Lavaltrie, Quebec, Canada – February 3 1,151. Ste-Eulalie Ice Track, Eulalie, Quebec, Canada – February 4 1,152. St Guillaume, St Guillaume, Quebec, Canada – February 4 1,153. Caldwell Rodeo Arena, Caldwell, Idaho – February 10 1,154. Balsam Lake Ice Track, Balsam Lake, Wisconsin – February 18 1,155. Northeast Pond Ice Track, Milton, New Hampshire – February 24 1,156. Lee Pond Ice Track, Moultonborough, New Hampshire – February 25 1,157. New Hendry Country Speedway, Clewiston, Florida – March 3 1,158. Florida Sports Park, Naples, Florida – March 4 1,159. Honeoye Lake Ice Track – Road Course, Honeoye, New York – March 10 1,160. Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, Texas – March 16 1,161. Houston Motorsports Park, Houston, Texas – March 16 1,162. Dawgwood Speedway, Chatsworth, Georgia – March 17 1,163. Toccoa Speedway, Toccoa, Georgia – March 17 1,164. Tazewell Speedway, Tazewell, Tennessee – March 18 1,165. Malden Speedway, Malden, Missouri, Tennessee – March 23 1,166. Dacosa Speedway, Byhalia, Mississippi – March 24 1,167. Swinging Bridge Raceway, Byram, Mississippi – March 24 1,168. Florence Motor Speedway, Florence, South Carolina – March 25 1,169. Foothills Raceway, Easley, South Carolina – March 30 1,170. Mileback Speedway, Gray Court, South Carolina – March 30 1,171. Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida – April 1 1,172. Vegas Grand Prix, Las Vegas, Nevada – April 8 1,173. Huntsville Speedway, Huntsville, Alabama – April 13 1,174. Low Country Kartway, Aynor, South Carolina – April 14 1,175. Dillon Motor Speedway, Dillon, South Carolina – April 14 1,176. Valley Dirt Riders, Berthoud, Colorado – April 15 1,177. Antelope Valley Fairgrounds, Lancaster, California – April 22 1,178. Sertoma Speedway, Tularosa, New Mexico – April 27 1,179. Sandia Motorsports Park (outer oval), Albuquerque, New Mexico – April 28 1,180. Sandia Motorsports Park (inner oval), Albuquerque, New Mexico – April 28 1,181. Hollywood Hills Speedway, San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico – April 29 1,182. Meridian Speedway, Meridian, Idaho – May 11 1,183. Diamond Mountain Speedway, Vernal, Utah, Idaho – May 12 1,184. Rocky Mountain Raceways (oval), Salt Lake City, Utah – May 12 1,185. Rocky Mountain Raceways (figure 8), Salt Lake City, Utah – May 12 1,186. Modoc Speedway, Modoc, South Carolina – May 18 1,187. Possum Kingdom Super Speedway, Belton, South Carolina – May 19 1,188. Laurens County Speedway, Laurens, South Carolina – May 19 1,189. Fairplex at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, Pomona, California – May 20 1,190. Lowes Motor Speedway (inner oval), Concord, North Carolina – May 24 1,191. Lowes Motor Speedway (road course), Concord, North Carolina – May 24 1,192. Madison International Speedway (inner oval), Oregon, Wisconsin – May 25 ** Madison International Speedway (outer oval), Oregon, Wisconsin – May 25 1,193. Thunderbird Stadium (figure 8), Bremerton, Washington – May 26 1,194. Thunderbird Stadium (oval), Bremerton, Washington – May 26 1,195. Whispering Pines Motorsports Park, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada – May 27 1,196. Magic Valley Speedway, Twin Falls, Idaho – May 28 1,197. Owyhee Motorcycle Raceway Park, Boise, Idaho – June 1 1,198. Race City Motorsports Park, Calgary, Alberta, Canada – June 2 1,199. Edmonton International Raceway, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada – June 2 1,200. Castrol Raceway, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – June 2 
RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2007 (** not the first time to visit this track)