GREETINGS FROM NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE,

 

 

15 to go!

 

 

 

 

PEOPLE/TRAVEL NEWS

The weather forecast for the entire weekend was laced with rain. I had originally planned to go to Millville, Pennsylvania. However, their weather forecast for the evening was a 40-50% chance of showers. I had another opportunity to the south of Nazareth where the rain probability was just 0-10%.

 

 

That would be where I would end up, New Castle, Delaware. Coming into tonight, I had only seen one Delaware track, Dover International Speedway (above). That was 24 years ago back in 1980. Maybe seeing two tracks in Delaware will increase my Delaware state ranking as well as increase my National Geographic Diversity (NGD) points.

 

 

By the way, I will have a special announcement coming soon regarding the National Geographic Diversity awards program. Recall that Allan Brown won the first ever career NGD award after the 2003 season.

 

 

The NGD rankings reward each trackchaser based upon their trackchasing rank within a state. A trackchaser gets one point if they rank first in a state, two points in they rank second in a state, etc. If a trackchaser is not ranked in the top 10 within a state, they are saddled with 15 points. Like golf, low score wins. Allan Brown’s total average score of 6.88 was the winning career number this year. Keep reading these reports for the upcoming “2004 National Geographic Diversity” award winner and see what prize the winner will collect.

 

 

If any trackchaser knows if Greenwood Valley ran on Saturday night, please let me know. In hindsight getting the Airport Speedway probably gives me more flexibility for future trackchasing trips than if I had gone to Greenwood.

 

 

 

RACE TRACK NEWS:

 

The Airport Speedway is my 767^th lifetime track to meet or exceed all trackchaser rules. It is my 85th track of the season. Only 15 to go to reach the century mark. I would say this track provided the best racing of any I saw during the entire trackchasing trip.

 

 

The “senior” general admission rate was $5, a one-dollar saving over regular general admission rate. Drivers with a track license were charged $15 and those without a license were charged $20.

 

 

They race micro sprints at Airport Speedway. They had four classes, the 250 open, 125 stocks, 250 stock and 600s. The numbers represent the cc size of the car’s motorcycle engine. They ran about 11 heat races of 8-10 cars each at 10 laps.

 

 

The track is a miniaturized dirt oval measuring in at about one-eighth of a mile. The surface stayed moist and tacky the entire night, reminiscent of Ascot Park. The track is located in a heavily wooded area that reminded me of the old Santa Fe Speedway near Chicago. The track is in the middle of a very modern corporate business park. Everything around it is new and the track looks old. The one and only time I’ve seen a track in a business park was the Temecula Speedway. That track lasted just one year. Can the Airport Speedway last in this environment? Tonight they had mosquitoes as well.

 

 

The track was extremely well run. They had few spins and when they did, the race restarted quickly. They even had two flips in the first micro sprint feature. They were racing after each flip in less than five minutes. That’s very good.

 

 

The 300 modifieds were a guest racing class tonight. They brought 10 cars. I couldn’t tell if adults were racing these cars or not. When are we going to eliminate the rule regarding age limits of race drivers?

 

 

The mod winner told the crowd in the feature victory lane that this was his first ever main event win. He said, he “just about puked” before the race when he knew he would be starting on the front row. I also learned the 300s would be 600s next season.

 

 

The track did something at intermission that I’ve never seen before. They opened up the gates to the pit area and virtually everyone in the 11-row high wooden grandstand got up and went into the pits. Yes, I’m talking about every man, woman and child and ever their dogs. Very, strange!

 

 

I had a nice interview with the announcer down in front of the flag stand following intermission. He asked the crowd how many tracks they thought I might have. Some uneducated, yahoo yelled out “167”. He was only off by 600 tracks. After a rousing ovation, I returned to my seat to the handshakes of the top row of fans seated near the fourth turn. They peppered me with questions until I had to leave after two feature races.

 

 

After my change in plans because of the weather, I now had six hours of driving ahead of me rather than the original plan of just four hours. This would lead to another one of those “motel stories” which will come in the next track report.

 

 

 

RACE TRACK FOOD:

Chicken strips and Diet Coke, a trackchaser staple. I wanted to try the root beer float but I happened to glance down at my waistline and decided against it.

 

 

RENTAL CAR UPDATE:

The Hertz Rental Car Racing Ford Taurus is a good car but not as nice as the Pontiac Grand Prix.

 

 

ED ESSER & P.J. HOLLEBRAND (far right) UPDATE:

As of August 22, 2004, the battle for positions 7-10 in the worldwide trackchaser standings is as follows:

 

7. J. Hollebrand – 772
8. Randy Lewis – 763
9. John Moore – 757
10. Ed Esser – 707

 

 

P.J. added just one track to his total since the last update. If I know P.J. he’ll add a few more before the snow flies and possibly even after the snow flies. I can’t catch him with my upcoming trip but I can get close. P.J., glad you are out of jail and hope you made some good bucks.

 

 

Ed added three new tracks since the August 16 update. He has 79 tracks for the season and I have 81. I hope you enjoyed the drive from Jeffersonville to Salem!

 

 

 

CUMULATIVE DRIVING DISTANCES:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Airport – trip begins

Farmington, Pennsylvania – 95 miles

Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania – 394 miles

Nazareth, Pennsylvania – 567 miles

New Castle, Delaware – 701 miles

 

 

 

TRACK ADMSSION PRICES (U.S. DOLLARS):

Farmington V.F.D. Speedway – $5

Selinsgrove Raceway Park – $5

Nazareth Speedway – $25

Airport Speedway – $5

 

 

Randy Lewis

 

That’s all the news that’s fit to print from San Clemente where the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and all of the children are above average.

 

 

 

 

Planned new racetracks (on the last day of each racing trip I will post my tentative plans for my next trip)

 

 

 

28-Aug   SCCA                          Nelson Ledges R.C.    Southington, OH

 

28-Aug   Regular program         Blanket Hill Speedway       Kittanning, PA

 

28-Aug   Regular program         Dog Hollow Speedway       Strongstown, PA

 

 

 

 

 

Racetracks visited in 2004 (** not the first time to visit this track)

 

767. Airport Speedway, New Castle, Delaware, August 28

 

766. Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth, Pennsylvania, August 28

 

765. Selinsgrove Raceway Park, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, August 27

 

764. Farmington V.F.D. Speedway, Farmington, Pennsylvania, August 26

 

763. Tonopah Speedway, Tonopah, Nevada, August 21

 

762. Sportsman’s Speedway, Knox, Pennsylvania, August 15

 

761. Jennerstown Speedway, Jennerstown, Pennsylvania, August 14

 

760. BeaveRun Motorsports Complex-Wilson Circuit, Wampum, Pennsylvania, August 14

 

759. BeaveRun Motorsports Complex-Road Course, Wampum, Pennsylvania, August 14

 

758. Motordrome Speedway, Smithton, Pennsylvania, August 13

 

757. Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds, Berea, Ohio, August 12

 

756. Wayne County Fairgrounds, Palmyra, New York, August 11

 

755. Pocono Intl Raceway – Road Course, Pocono, Pennsylvania August 10

 

754. Butler Fairgrounds, Butler, Pennsylvania August 9

 

753. Ninety-Three Speedway, Oak Hill, Ohio, August 1

 

752. Jackson County Speedway, Jackson, Ohio, August 1

 

751. Sportsdrome Speedway, Jeffersonville, Indiana (figure 8), July 31

 

750. Sportsdrome Speedway, Jeffersonville, Indiana (oval), July 31

 

749. Gateway International Speedway – road course, Madison, Illinois, Illinois, July 31

 

748. Warren County Fairgrounds (oval), Roseville, Illinois, July 30

 

747. Warren County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Roseville, Illinois, July 30

 

746. Tri-City Speedway (inner oval), Auburn, Michigan, July 29

 

745. Tri-City Speedway (outer oval), Auburn, Michigan, July 29

 

744. Munger Fairgrounds, Munger, Michigan, July 29

 

743. Ionia Fairgrounds, Ionia, Michigan, July 28

 

742. Thayer County Speedway, Deshler, Nebraska, July 18

 

741. Heartland Park-Road Course, Topeka, Kansas, July 18

 

740. Montgomery County Speedway, New Florence, Missouri, July 17

 

739. Soggy Bottom Raceway, Greenup, Illinois, July 17

 

738. Wayne County Speedway, Wayne City, Illinois, July 16

 

737. Music City Motorplex, Nashville, Tennessee, July 15

 

736. Clarksville Speedway, Clarksville, Tennessee, July 14

 

735. Tri-State Speedway, Pocola, Oklahoma, July 13

 

734. Tulsa Speedway, Tulsa, Oklahoma, July 12

 

733. Park City Raceway, Valley Center, Kansas, July 11

 

732. Heartland Park – Road Course, Topeka, Kansas, July 11

 

731. Nevada Speedway, Nevada, Missouri, July 10

 

730. Adrian Speedway, Adrian, Missouri, July 10

 

729. Bolivar Speedway, Bolivar, Missouri, July 9

 

728. Dallas County Speedway, Urbana, Missouri, July 9

 

727. U.S. 30 Speedway (small oval), Columbus, Nebraska, July 8

 

726. U.S. 30 Speedway (large oval), Columbus, Nebraska, July 8

 

725. Butler County Speedway, Allison, Iowa, June 27

 

724. Webster County Fairgrounds, Ft. Dodge, Iowa, June 27

 

723. Dallas County Fairgrounds, Adel, Iowa, June 26

 

722. Butler County Speedway, Rising City, Nebraska, June 25

 

721. Hamilton County Fairgrounds, Aurora, Nebraska, June 25

 

720. The Speed Bowl, Red Cloud, Nebraska, June 23

 

719. Junction Motor Speedway, McCool Junction, Nebraska, June 22

 

718. Belle-Clair Speedway, Belleville, Illinois June 13

 

717. Charleston Speedway – Road Course, Charleston, Illinois June 13

 

**Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, Ohio, June 12

 

716. Doe Run Raceway, Doe Run, Missouri, June 11

 

715. Fredericktown Raceway, Fredericktown, Missouri, June 11

 

714. Highland Speedway, Highland, Illinois, June 8

 

713. Pine Ridge Speedway, Baldwyn, Mississippi, May 29 (Carol’s #153)

 

712. Memphis Motorsports Park-Road Course, Memphis, Tennessee, May 29 (Carol’s #152)

 

711. Simpson County Speedway, Mendenhall, Mississippi, May 29 (Carol’s #151)

 

710. Southern Speedway, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, May 28 (Carol’s #150)

 

**Charleston Speedway, Charleston, Illinois, May 22

 

709. Coles County Speedway, Loxa, Illinois, May 22

 

708. Lincoln Trail Motorsports Off Road Park, Casey, Illinois, May 22

 

707. Warren County Speedway (oval track), Indianola, Iowa, May 21

 

706. Warren County Speedway (Figure 8 track), Indianola, Iowa, May 21

 

705. Firebird International Raceway – East Course, Chandler, Arizona, May 2 (Carol’s #149)

 

704. Pagota Motorcycle Club, Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, April 25

 

703. Mahoning Valley Speedway, Lehighton, Pennsylvania, April 24

 

702. Shellhammer’s Speedway, Leesport, Pennsylvania, April 24

 

701. Hill Valley Speedway, Orbisonia, Pennsylvania, April 24

 

700. Thunder Alley Speedpark, Evans Mills, New York, April 22

 

699. Belle Vue Greyhound Stadium, Belle Vue, United Kingdom, April 12

 

698. Buxton Raceway, Buxton, United Kingdom, April 12

 

697. Brampton Raceway, Brampton, United Kingdom, April 12

 

696. York Autograss, York, United Kingdom, April 12

 

695. Sheffield Stadium, Sheffield, United Kingdom, April 11

 

694. Blyton Raceway, Blyton, United Kingdom, April 11

 

693. Hunmanby Raceway, Hunmanby, United Kingdom, April 11

 

692. Skegness Stadium, Skegness, United Kingdom, April 10

 

691. Silverstone, Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, United Kingdom, April 10

 

690. Mildenhall Stadium, Mendenhall, Suffock, United Kingdom, April 9

 

689. Bovingdon Circuit, Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, April 9

 

688. Sunshine Speedway (figure 8), Pinellas Park, Florida, April 3

 

**Sunshine Speedway (oval), Pinellas Park, Florida, April 3

 

687. Lubbock Motor Speedway, Lubbock, Texas, March 21

 

686. Thunderbird Speedway, Crandall, Texas, March 20

 

685. Kennedale Speedway Park, Kennedale, Texas, March 20

 

684. Texas World Spdwy (Road Course), College Station, Texas, March 20

 

683. Heart O’ Texas Speedway, Waco, Texas, March 19

 

**Central Arizona Raceway, Casa Grande, Arizona, January 20        

 

 

 

 

You might have remembrances of the Airport Speedway.  If so, please feel free to share in the comments section below.  If you have any photos from back in the day, send them to me at Ranlay@yahoo.com.  I’ll try to include them here.