Greetings from Junction City, Oregon
From the travels and adventures of the
“World’s #1 Trackchaser”
Lifetime Track #1,927
28 degrees…you’re kidding right?………….more in “The Details”. It always pays to go to the top………….more in “The Details”. Just two states have this requirement………….more in “The Details”. Have I discovered trackchasing gold?…………..more in “Race Review”. It’s fun to meet the racers………….more in “Race Review”. Were trackchasing’s “Founding Fathers” at the airport when their ship came in?…………..more in “Race Review”. How does fog in Medford, Oregon affect my trackchasing plan? I woke up this morning in Portland, Oregon. I spent the day in Junction City, Oregon before returning home to sleep in my own bed. Yesterday I trackchased in Central California near Bakersfield. Then I drove back to Los Angeles for a flight to Portland, Oregon. Of course, with my airline sponsors I was flying standby. It was a Saturday late night flight. Who flies anywhere late on Saturday the lightest flying day of the week? Apparently, lots of people! When I arrived at LAX the flight I wanted had 11 open seats just an hour before departure time, Now, as people were boarding that flight there were ZERO seats available for standby passengers. Apparently some the folks wanting to fly to Medford, Oregon had their flight canceled due to fog. Those passengers were re-routed to Portland at the last minute. At least I was #1 on the standby list of six standby passengers. I made the flight! How did that happen? There always seems to be about 5% of the passengers, even though they have purchased their ticket, that don’t show up for the flight for any number of reasons. My fallback position was to fly to Seattle on a later flight, sleep in the Seattle airport and then take a very early Sunday morning flight to Portland. No, this trackchasing business is not easy. If it was everybody would be doing it. Could I steal a hotel room? After I boarded the plane I tried quickly to steal a Saturday night hotel in Portland for the price of a Motel 6 using Priceline.com. Nobody was interested in my deal. That meant I had to settle for a Motel 6 at a Motel 6 price. It wasn’t the end of the world. I had tried to do better but couldn’t. It was cold in Portland when I picked up my Hyundai Elantra. When I arrived at my motel I cranked up the heat in my little room and got a great night’s sleep. 28 degrees…you’re kidding right? On Sunday morning I was off to Junction City, Oregon. I would need to cover about 120 miles. It was foggy and cold this morning. Just a few miles out of Junction City I came across a local bank’s temperature clock. It read 28 degrees. I hoped they wouldn’t be cancelling today’s racing because of the cold. I try to go to the top when I gather new track information. By the way, I had come to find out about today’s racing by contacting Mike Miller the group’s leader. Mike and I had several good conversations. My main question of Mike was whether or not the SXS (side by side) racers would be first of all showing up and secondly all starting their race at the same time. That’s call a “mass start”. I couldn’t do this without the help of local people. Mike actually took the initiative of contacting the SXS racers to confirm they would be attending today’s show. I get a lot of support from track promoters. I’ve been told by several that my new professionally presented website convinced them for lack of a better phrase, “I was the real deal”. Mike Miller followed up with a message confirming the SXS race attendance. He did say during our conversations, “I can’t believe you’re coming up here just to see our little track race”. Mike, it’s what I do. After the races….. Just two states have this requirement. No I am not talking about legalized marijuana! Yes, Colorado and Washington both allow controlled sales of the “weed” but that is not the answer to the above headline. It was Sunday afternoon and I had 120 miles to cover before I arrived at the Portland International Airport. I would need to re-fuel my rental car. That’s when I was reminded that Oregon along with New Jersey are the only two states in the U.S. where gas station attendants are required to do the gas pumping. Did you know that? Can you spell “job security”? Lots of people wouldn’t want to travel this way. Lots of other people who think they would wouldn’t. I would be flying standby on a flight from Portland to Los Angeles tonight. Sunday nights are one of the worst times for standby flying. Everyone is returning from their weekend trips. They need to get back to work on Monday morning. What was the ‘load factor’? As I entered the airport I checked my iPhone app to see how heavy the “load factor” was for the last flight of the day. Things didn’t look good. The plane was oversold by one paying passenger. There were five people on the standby list…and I was last on that list. I had a plan if I didn’t make tonight’s flight. I would sleep overnight in the Portland airport. Reviews from www.sleepinginairports.net were very positive about PDX. As it turned out I made the flight. With one seat left on the plane a pilot standing by like I was agreed to take the “jump seat”. What does that mean? He would be seated in the cockpit with the two working pilots. This freed up the one and only last seat on the plane for me. Pilots often do this type of thing even though riding in the cockpit is not all that comfortable. Before the flight took off I had a chance to thank that pilot. If it wasn’t for him I would be sleeping overnight in the airport tonight. Horses for courses. I am more than lucky to have my airline sponsorships that allow me to fly standby and pay very little for the privilege. I would have to say that my personal profile is “built” for standby flying. As a retiree, most of the time, I don’t absolutely have to be anywhere on time. I don’t have to get back to work on Monday morning. I have enough to keep me busy if I have to wait hours in an airport. I have the patience it takes to make a program like this work. What’s the reward? I can fly nearly any place I want just about any time I want. I can do that for little or no cost. Was I just lucky to get this benefit? I don’t really think so. Carol and I raised a son who could take on the responsibilities of being a major airline commercial airline pilot. Folks, that’s a lot of responsibility. I figured out a way to retire early in life with enough money built up to support a lifestyle like the one I have. Yes, everyone would LIKE to have this program but most people might not want to go through what it takes to get it. Eugene Territorial Motocross Park MX – Junction City, Oregon Have I discovered ‘trackchasing gold’? Today would be my third “SXS” (side by side) racing event in the last five U.S. based venues I have visited. This has got to send shivers up the spines of those “Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers”. What if I have discovered a “vein” of SXS racing facilities that could total in the hundreds? Can you smell a “Randy Rule” coming your way? It was going to be chilly today. The bank thermometer read 28 degrees. My car’s thermometer said it was 32. Take your pick. Either was cold but there was no wind. I would be walking around the area all day. That made it warmer than if I were sitting in a grandstand all day. It was time to meet the track promoter. It didn’t take long to make a personal contact with promoter Mike Miller. He was riding around the grounds on a “pocket bike” doing what promoters do at events like this. What is that? Anything that needs to be done! Mike took me up to the control tower to meet the people who run the races behind the scenes. They were happy to have a trackchaser visiting their track just outside of Eugene, home of the University of Oregon Ducks. If all goes well Carol and I will be back in Eugene in two weeks when UCLA visits the Ducks at their new basketball arena. The folks in the control tower did me a special favor without my asking. Today there would be two rounds of racing. Each round included 16 races with all kinds of motorcycles and ATVs. Just one of those races aka “motos” would feature the six SXS racers that were on hand. Mike knew that I had to leave by 2 p.m. to make my flight (racing began at 11 a.m.). Therefore they moved the SXS racing up to #2 in the 16-race schedule from wherever it was in the original order. Yes, it pays to know people in almost every life endeavor. With two races for each class how do they figure out the overall winner? I learned how the points are calculated for each class from the control tower. Finishes from each of the two races are added together. That means if a rider/driver finished first and fourth their cumulative point total for the day would be five (4+1). If a fellow competitor had the same point total then the rider/driver who had the best finish in the second race would win the tie-breaker. That made sense to me. Competitors were racing for trophies and season long championship points today….no money. It’s fun to meet the racers. I also had the chance to talk with SXS driver Steve Bechard. Steve was a great guy and more than willing to answer all of my rookie SXS questions. I finally learned why these UTV (Utilitarian Terrain Vehicles) racers are called “side by side” racers. I thought it was because they raced side by side. Wrong! It’s because they had two seats in the interior, which are “side by side”. I told you I was a rookie with this type of racing! I asked Steve how much one of these racers, typically produced by Polaris, would cost. He told me “about $20,000 but maybe $25,000-$26,000 for it to be race ready”. The stock version didn’t come with a roll cage suitable for racing and a few other things. Steve said the best thing about running a SXS is “you can finance one with the bank!”. ‘’What other kind of racing machine can you do that with?” he asked. Steve also reminded me that parts break on SXS racers quite often. I can imagine that they do considering the abuse they take when racing over these motocross tracks. Steve also took the time to tell me about several new racing venues, new to me anyway, that exist. I’ll likely show up at those as the season progresses. Don’t do stupid stuff. After each group had finished practice I attended the “rider’s meeting”. This was similar to what I’ve heard in the hundreds of driver’s meetings I have attended in the past. In a nutshell the message was act the right way, don’t do stupid stuff and have fun. What kind of track were they using today? At just a minute or two past 11 a.m. the first motorcycle group took to the track. The track itself was a road course by trackchasing standards. The dirt surface was moist from the cloudy and damp conditions that permeate Oregon during the winter. I would guess the course was a 1.5 miles long or so. There were several jumps that had the riders/drivers flying through the air at dizzying heights. The track featured two spectator tunnels. Fans and racers could use these tunnels to stand inside the track. The view from here was phenomenal. At some points I was within mere feet of racers flying high into the air. It was a fun spectator experience. You’ve heard this before. Don’t miss the photos and videos. Folks, I know that several of you follow the action on my YouTube videos. That’s why my total views on YouTube now number just over 350,000. That’s pretty good when the average YouTube video struggles to get 500 views. Most of what you have seen to date involves stock cars or sports cars racing on oval, figure 8 and road course tracks. Today’s racing was very much DIFFERENT from any of that. Today’s track was a motocross or “MX” track. What does an MX track have that most others don’t? Jumps! I couldn’t believe the air some motorcycle riders were getting. The SXS racers were right with them. A valuable asset to any track. Tracks are for the entertainment and enjoyment of the fans. Who’s the most important track employee for the spectator? I think it’s the track announcer. Today’s event had an announcer and P.A. system. Lots of tracks like this don’t have that. Something that made it all the more unusual was the announcer was also the flagman/starter. Talk about multi-tasking! This guy didn’t have to much to do as a flagman. There weren’t any yellow flag delays while I was there. However, he was a fantastic announcer and kept the crowd both informed and entertained. It was a cold and damp day at the track in Oregon today. That didn’t bother me a bit. I had a really good time with this kind of racing action. Biscuits and old boots. By the way, the track also had a concession stand serving hot food. One of the advertised items was biscuits and gravy. If I hadn’t purchased a Subway sandwich for consumption during the day I would have been all over that. There was also a “used” equipment table featuring motorcycle boots and other gear for riders. Some of the boots were going for just $10 per pair a steep discount compared to the new price of this equipment. Remember trackchasing is all about tracks right? As a trackchaser my hobby is all about visiting new “tracks”. This is how I explain things when someone challenges me on whether both a small oval and a large oval at one facility should count as two separate tracks. They ARE two different tracks. My hobby is about seeing racing at different tracks. Different sized ovals, as in the above example, just happen to be at one location. Did these people miss their ship? I feel that trackchasing “Founding Fathers” were apparently at the airport when their ship came in. How often have I shared that sentiment with you? Often! As trackchasers we should be counting “tracks” where competitive motorsport takes place. That means drag racing, motorcycle racing, off-road desert racing and the like. The hobby should be all about racing on “tracks”. It shouldn’t have to be limited to just the kind of racing that was popular in Pennsylvania 15 years ago. Yep. You never want to be at the airport when your ship comes in. State Comparisons Oregon The Emerald state Today I was seeing my 20th different track in the Emerald state, yes Emerald state. No one has recorded more tracks in Oregon. 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 Oregon sayings: As pretty as California but not as weird.
QUICK FACTS PERSONAL CAR San Clemente, CA Taft, CA Los Angeles International Airport – 305 miles AIRPLANE Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Portland, OR (PDX) – 834 miles RENTAL CAR #1 Portland International Airport – trip begins Junction City, OR Portland International Airport – trip ends – 211 miles AIRPLANE Portland, OR (PDX) – Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – 834 miles Total air miles – 1,668 (2 flights) Total rental car miles – 211 (1 car) Total personal car miles – 305 (1 car) Total miles traveled on this trip – 2,184 miles TRACK ADMISSION PRICES: Honolulu Hills Raceway – Complimentary admission Eugene Territorial Motocross Park MX – $10 Total racetrack admissions for the trip – $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 – 1,927 Total Trackchasing Countries There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total. 1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 67 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 
3 comments
Talk about and impressive video.