ALH Motor Speedway

 

 

 

THE EVENT

 

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

 

 

 

ON THE WAY TO THE RACES

 

 

Continuing….with changes.

My “Long and Arduous Mega-Trackchasing Summer Tour of 2015” continues. I woke up in Grand Forks, North Dakota this morning. I went to bed at the same hotel this evening, the Fairfield Inn.

 

 

This is day seven of my yet to be determined in length trackchasing trip. Carol continues to recover from her pneumonia diagnosis. Our plans called for her to join me on three separate occasions during this mega trip. However her arrival into Chicago tomorrow has been canceled. Now I will wait to see if she can make the second of the three originally planned trips.

 

 

She continues to assure me that there’s nothing I can do for her at home. She recommends I stick with the plan, which includes total domination of the Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers. If anything changes with her situation I’ll be on the next flight home.

 

Would I beat the rain?

When I left Grand Forks early this afternoon the weather was sporting blue skies and white puffy clouds. However the forecast where I was going up in Manitoba, Canada was not as positive.

 

 

Racing at the ALH speedway was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. At that time rain chances were nil. However at 6 p.m. the rain forecast jumped to 60%.

 

 

What did that mean? First I hoped the track would begin their racing on time. Secondly I hoped the weatherman was not off on his forecast by an hour or two.

 

Crossing the border is quick and easy…most of the time.

My driving time from Grand Forks, North Dakota to Morden, Manitoba would be a reasonable two hours. I will be crossing into Canada at the Pembina, North Dakota crossing.

 

 

I’ve crossed back and forth into Canada hundreds of times. I have been detained on two occasions.

 

This was a classic experience.

One time I was traveling with trackchaser Ed Esser of Madison, Wisconsin. This was Ed’s first ever trip into Canada to see a race. I loved the idea that we were hauled into the border office while they checked our rental car. I wanted Ed to have a “full” international experience. Being pulled into the office by the border patrol agents was exactly what he needed from an experiential point of view.

 

 

Don’t get me wrong. They didn’t do a strip search but they did review our passports. Ed was wide-eyed with anticipation during the interview process. Soon we were permitted to go on our way with one more fun experience in our trackchasing record books.

 

This “detainment” was a bit more extensive.

The one and only time I have been asked to go into “secondary” screening at the border was in the aforementioned Pembina, North Dakota border crossing. I was having a hard time understanding their interest.

 

 

As I recall it was a midweek afternoon. There wasn’t much going on at the border crossing. As I look back on it I think the boys and girls of the Canadian border patrol were just looking for something to do.

 

 

I travel pretty light. Those agents couldn’t possibly take long to look through an airline carry-on bag could they? Nevertheless, I was placed on a bench for about 30 minutes while they went through everything a time or two. I have no idea what triggered this closer than normal inspection of the World’s #1 Trackchaser and his gear. Do I think the Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers put them up to it? I can’t say for sure but I wouldn’t rule it out.

 

Today I was going “GPS retro”.

Today I crossed from Pembina, North Dakota into Manitoba with no problems whatsoever. I have not purchased a data plan for my iPhone. That meant my Apple iPhone would be only used as a paperweight during my eight hours in Canada today.

 

 

Nevertheless I had my trusty Garmin GPS machine with me. It operates off of “no expense” satellite connections. Back in the day I thought the Garmin was the toast of the town. However, if given the choice I would go with my iPhone. The iPhone is dramatically better than my Garmin GPS unit. It’s just that when I travel internationally I have to pay for the iPhone service while the Garman is free.

 

My McDonalds international research was continuing today.

When I travel internationally I rarely stop at McDonald’s. I figure when I’m in a foreign country I need to eat something unique and memorable to make my experience all that much better.

 

 

In the U.S. I eat at McDonald’s frequently. Why do I do that? Diet control. A McDouble at Mickey D’s without the bun weighs in at about 220 calories. It’s the perfect snack. Additionally when I can buy a large Diet Coke for a buck I’m going to do it.

 

 

A botched McDonalds pit stop.

However my stop at McDonalds today located about 10-15 miles east of Morden was not good. My main reason for stopping was to see if my iPhone’s Apple Pay system would work while the phone was in airplane mode. How many people were stopping at McDonald’s today for THAT reason!

 

 

However this McDonald’s had to offer the slowest service I have ever experienced in my life. Mind you this comes from a person who has easily stopped at well over 1,000 McDonald’s restaurants.

 

 

Initially I tried to place my order inside the restaurant. However the line was long. It was moving at less than a snail’s pace.

 

 

I decided to hop in the National Car Rental racing Toyota Avalon and try my luck with the drive-thru. While I was emptying my shoe of rocks a pick up truck squeezed ahead of me in the drive-thru line. He was parked at the speaker of the drive-thru for a good four minutes delaying me that much more. 

 

There are a million different lifestyles out there.

So many of the trackchasers who frequent this hobby come from such different backgrounds. I remember trackchasing with Belgium’s Roland Vanden Eynde in Europe once. Roland had to be 50-55 years old. Following my encouragement he stopped in a drive thru at a McDonald’s for the very first time in his life! Yes, so many Trackchasers come from such disparate backgrounds.

 

 

Yep. The slowest ever.

I would estimate I was in the drive-thru lane for nearly 10 minutes. All that time I was behind only one other vehicle. Normally that trip would take me 1-3 minutes.

 

 

When it came time to pay the bill the drive-thru cashier looked at me as if I were from Mars or Pluto. Why? I asked if I could pay the bill with my iPhone? Folks I have used my iPhone to pay my McDonalds tab 500 times or more. What would the CEO of McDonald’s think of the cashier’s response?

 

I left the restaurant without knowing if my Apple Pay system would work in airplane mode or not. I fully expected my food order to be screwed up. My order is very simple. I always have a “McDouble no ketchup”.

 

 

I am pleased to report that they did get the food order right. As an active senior citizen, who feels it is their God-given right to complain, I couldn’t resist mentioning to the clerk that this was the slowest service I’ve ever received at a McDonald’s. She smiled and told me that they were “down on people today” and apologized. That was good enough for me.

 

 

The print world is nearly bankrupt.

Years ago I got most of my future race date information from a number of auto racing newspapers I subscribed too. However over time most of these papers have gone out of business. They went out of business primarily because of the Internet. Now, as you might imagine, I get most of my future racing date information from the Internet.

 

 

Most tracks have a website. Their website describes all manner of information about their racetrack including their current scheduling data. Facebook has now become an integral part of racetrack’s social media presence as well. I use a combination of track website and Facebook information to find out what the tracks are up to.

 

 

Enter the ALH Motor Speedway stage right.

The ALH Motor Speedway has been in existence for about five years. However even with the power of the Randy Lewis Racing research department I didn’t discover this track until last summer.

 

The city of Minneapolis is a major hub for Randy Lewis Racing. I’ve used Minneapolis to begin tens, maybe hundreds, of trips. In my world the ALH Motor Speedway located in Manitoba, Canada wasn’t all that far from Minneapolis. In point of fact the two locations are some 453 miles from one another.

 

 

Why not always go to the top of the food chain?

In advance of my visit to the speedway I gave the track promoter a phone call. That phone call took place only a couple of days ago.

 

 

Not everyone responds to my hobby in the same fashion.

Normally in the course of the conversation with a race promoter I will mention my trackchasing background. Typically I get two types of responses which are 180° apart from each other.

 

 

Some race promoters have a attitude of “that’s nice” to the idea that the World’s #1 Trackchaser may be coming to their race facility. I’m suspecting that these race promoters may fall over into the less creative less marketing oriented side of the fence.

 

 

Then there are the race promoters like Al Hildebrand. A race promoter like Al recognizes that having someone attend their race facility with some racing notoriety can be a good thing. I think they understand that the more positive situations they create with people capable of influencing the racing public the better.

 

Does this prove the point?

Here’s what proves that point. You’re reading about the ALH Motor Speedway right now. I’m going to guess that most folks who will read my report had never heard of the track before they started reading about the speedway today. Is that true for you?

 

 

Al, a man who built his racetrack out of a wheat field, was most excited to have me visit. Although we only talked on the phone for a few minutes a bond had been created. Al told me to check in at the pit gate. A complementary admission would be awaiting me. I thanked him for his hospitality and told him I would look him up when I got to the track.

 

 

 

 

 

THE RACING

 

ALH Motor Speedway – Morten, Manitoba, Canada

 

 

Welcome to Morden, Manitoba.

I found the track easily. It was well signposted just west of the small town of Morden, Manitoba. Morden is located in the Pembina valley of southern Manitoba. Morden is home to the largest collection of marine reptile fossils in Canada, located at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre. The town’s population is 7,812.

 

 

Just as Al had told me the fella running the pit gate was expecting the World’s #1 Trackchaser. I mentioned I had come from California to see their racing. The pit gate man said, “I’ve heard about you. We’ve been expecting you.”

 

Today’s admission prices, in Canadian dollars of course, were $10 for the grandstand and $25 for admission to the pit area. As noted I was being admitted on a complementary basis today.

 

 

Can you really blame them for wanting to show off their baby?

Time and again I have found that race promoters and racetrack owners are very proud of what they created. When they see a guest like me coming to visit they want to go out of their way to put their best foot forward. It really isn’t any different than when you have a guest visiting your home. You like everything to be just right so that your guest feels comfortable and enjoys their visit.

 

 

In most cases I pay my own way into track. However there are many circumstances where the race promoter wants to offer a complementary admission to me. I never turn one down. If someone offers you a gift of his or her time, product or creation it would be rude to decline.

 

 

Nevertheless I do my level best to remain objective whether or not I’ve been admitted to the track by spending funds from my retirement account or by getting a free ticket. I think if you have read my reports very often you’ll agree that I’ve done a pretty good job in that area. 

 

Like an employee evaluation?

I consider my Trackchaser Reports to be similar to the employee evaluations that I used to do as a business manager. Those evaluations included hopefully a long list of things that were being done well and a shorter list of things that needed to be improved. This process worked pretty well for me as a sales manager and seems to work well now.

 

What did they have in the pits?

My first order of business was to explore the pit area. From what I could see there were five or six classes of racers participating today. I would come to find out that the car counts in each class ranged from 7 to 13.

 

 

A shout out to Chris Kearns.

It wasn’t long before I was being introduced to one of the modified racers, Ward Emory. Ward is a Canadian racer who likes to travel. He’s even gone as far as Tucson, Arizona to race at the winter nationals program. My good buddy Chris Kearns operates the Tucson track now. Ward told me and I agree Chris is a “good dude”.

 

Oh no. Not rain!

I could see that some bad weather was potentially brewing south of the track. It looked as if I was going to beat the bad weather. I knew I would at least get to see some heat racing but I wasn’t sure about the features.

 

 

My pit wristband allowed me to hang out in the pit area or move into the grandstands. I have never been a big fan of watching races from the pits. Some places are better than others for that.

 

 

At today’s track there was no real area to watch the racing from the pits. That didn’t bother me in the least because I was headed for the grandstands when the racing began.

 

 

High-banked!

Today’s speedway is an extremely high-banked quarter mile dirt oval track. I have seen very few tracks as high banked as what the ALH Speedway is.

 

 

So THAT’S how the track name came about.

I was thinking that “ALH” was a bit unusual for the name of a motor Speedway. Where did that come from? Al Hildebrand built the track. Does that answer the question?

 

 

A nice crowd of about 300 people was on hand for the racing under generally ideal weather conditions. Racing was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. They started on time. This track has no lights. However with an afternoon starting time and very late sunset times during most of the racing year the lack of lights would not be an issue.

 

Always something new.

It was easy to notice that the PA system was extremely stout. The track announcers sat at ground level just outside of turn four. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a track announcing position in that spot before. That’s one of the things that I like about trackchasing. Despite having seen racing at more than 2,000 tracks I almost always see something new at the next track on the list.

 

 

Just gregarious I guess.

I went down to the announcing area to introduce myself. I passed along my trackchasing business card to the folks inside. I figured the announcing crew gave might give me a trackchasing “mention” That way any trackchasers or followers of my hobby would know I was in the house.

 

 

From there I grabbed a seat in the top row of the grandstand. I was soon making friends with the fellow next to me, James Wolfe, who was avidly taking photographs of the racing action.

 

In no time at all it seemed as if he and I have known each other for a very long time. My friend told me he grew up in the area on a dairy farm. He had lots of good stories in answer to my questions about the local area and the Canadian farming industry in general.

 

 

My friend was pretty interested in the trackchasing hobby as well. He seemed to be fascinated by the idea that someone would go around to all of these places just for the fun of it. He was right in thinking I do it just for the fun of it.

 

 

What is true wealth?

You’re going to hear this phrase from me from time to time. Once in a while I hear people describing situations much better than I’ve ever been able to. That was the case recently when I picked up a short explanation of what “true wealth” is.

 

“The only true wealth is to be able to spend your time as you wish”. If that is true, and I believe it is, then I am a very wealthy person.

 

 

Time to meet and greet with the crowd.

It wasn’t long before my name was called over the loudspeaker system. I was being asked to report to the announcing booth. I went down as instructed.

 

 

A young woman by the name of Cassandra was inviting me to do two things. First she wanted to interview me about my trackchasing in front of the main grandstand. Secondly she invited me to waive the green flag to start the main event of the day.

 

Today’s main event featured the mini-sprints. They would be racing in the Watermelon Cup special event. The feature event pay $1,200 to win.

 

 

Of course, anytime I am invited, I am more than willing to talk about the trackchasing hobby with race fans and others who might not have ever heard about it. Additionally I have waived the green flag at tracks as far away and famous as the Atlanta Motor Speedway. I was up for doing it again today as well.

 

 

The racing.

One of the best parts of today’s racing program was there were very few yellow flags. I really think the track’s high-banked corners kept the cars from spinning out as much as they might have done on a flatter track.

 

The car counts were not huge by any measurement. Nevertheless on a quarter mile dirt track the field of 8-10 or maybe a dozen put on a good race. This was especially true when the top three or four racers were battling for the lead like they often were today.

 

 

I never take the time to record the number of laps the cars might be running in a particular race. I am more than satisfied to simply enjoy the visual effect of what’s happening in front of me. Rather than count laps I’ll simply take photographs and make video clips for your later viewing enjoyment.

 

 

Today there was a four-cylinder class, a street stock division, two classes of modifieds and the mini sprints. I might be missing one of the classes. I’m not sure.

 

 

As always I recommend you check out my YouTube video. You will get a much better idea of what the racing was all about than if I try to tell you about it in words.

 

 

Questions from Cassandra.

It was nice to spend about three minutes answering Cassandra’s questions about my trackchasing visit. I’ll try to incorporate some of the conversation with my YouTube movie from the ALH Motor Speedway.

 

 

I forgot. They didn’t.

I had completely forgotten about my promise to wave the green flag at the start of the mini-sprint feature. However, I noticed the track’s starter motioning for me to come down and join him on the flag stand. This was going to be fun.

 

Soon I was meeting the track’s starter, Ken. It was a surprise to me that Ken had grown up in Southern California. He was a veteran race fan of Ascot park and Saugus Speedway among other places in Southern California. It truly is a small world.

 

 

About 15 years ago Ken had met his wife to be online. Of course as luck would have it his wife lived in Manitoba, Canada! Proving that love is stronger than sunshine Ken relocated to Canada and has never looked back since.

 

 

Once we were on the flag stand Ken explained how he wanted me to start the race. He would give me the green flag and tap me on the shoulder when it was time to wave the flag start the race.

 

 

Who was the rookie in this situation?

I will tell you this. I’ve seen a lot of “guests” wave green flags at various races I’ve attended. I am amazed at how frequently the rookie starters get the flag looped around the wooden pole.

 

 

Each time I see folks do this I say to myself, “What an idiot I could do a much better job myself”. How did I do? I wrapped the green flag’s cloth around the pole and looked like an idiot myself!

 

When all is said and done, it’s safety first.

I watched a few laps of the mini sprint feature from the flag stand. However the dust and debris was significant standing there. I was also more than a bit concerned about one of the mini sprints flying up into our position.

 

 

I hope that Al the track promoter is reading my review. If there is one thing I would like to see improved at the ALH Motor Speedway it is the security of the flag stand.

 

 

That’s right. I think the starter’s stands needs to be fortified. If any of the racers get out of shape at the flag stand something bad is going to happen.

 

 

Actually I have seen have a couple of tracks now where the starter is actually wearing a helmet. That’s probably not a bad idea even if it creates a discomfort for the starter.

 

 

In my time as a race fan I have seen seven people killed at the track. The race starter occupies one of the most vulnerable positions at any racetrack. There just isn’t enough protection for my new buddy Ken. Al, I hope you can do something about that.

 

 

I told you the bad weather was just to the south of the track and headed our way. We were lucky today. The very very dark blue skies moved just to the south east of the speedway. I’m sure some people got wet but we didn’t.

 

 

After the final race I had more time to visit in the pit area.

When the final race took the checkered flag I headed down to the pit area. The promoter had been operating the water truck in the track’s infield today. I still have not met him personally. I definitely wanted to take the time to thank him for the track’s hospitality.

 

 

Whenever I am interviewed directly in front of the crowd it’s a lot different than being interviewed in the privacy of the announcing booth. It’s the difference in someone appearing on TV compared to radio. When I speak in front of the crowd everyone can immediately see who I am. Folks will frequently come up to say hello. They’ll ask questions to see what the trackchasing hobby is really all about.

 

 

Once I got down to the pit area one person after another would come up to say hello. What a nice bunch of folks. Each person wanted me to be introduced to their friend and then to their friend. I enjoyed it very much.

 

Lunch! Nice folks too.

It wasn’t long before I ended up over by the Derrick Pollick racing team. During races Derrick piloted the #2 Oldsmobile Cutlass in the street stock division. It just so happened that Derek was grilling burgers behind his racecar and offered me one. That was a nice touch and tasty too.

 

 

It wasn’t long before a whole crowd of folks was bunched around Derek’s racecar including Ken the track starter. We were having a great time bench racing with the topics centering on racing all over Manitoba and my trackchasing hobby.

 

It was great meeting Al Hildebrand creator of the ALH Motor Speedway.

It was about this time that Al came over and introduced himself. This was our first time to meet personally. He reminded me a little bit of one of the most famous track promoters ever Earl Baltes. He just had that way about himself.

 

 

He told me a little bit about what it took to turn a wheat field into the ALH Motor Speedway. He mentioned that he and the young woman nearby had run the two bulldozers to make it happen.

 

 

It was interesting to note the one thing that Al really focused on as any true leader does. He told me he had prayed to “the big guy upstairs” to provide him with the leadership team needed to run a racetrack.

 

 

From what I could tell Al didn’t have any previous racetrack ownership experience. However he wanted to create an atmosphere where young people could pursue something fun like racing rather than the other more negative opportunities that attract some youth.

 

 

Al was a straight shooter.

He was one of those people that looks you directly in the eye. I could just tell he was very interested in what I and others had to say. I wished everybody I met was like that.

 

 

Al had listened to my interview over the PA system from the pit area. He had a lot of questions about my trackchasing and the places I had been.

 

 

I spent about an hour and a half in the pit area talking with the many folks and new friends I was meeting. I rarely get the opportunity to do that.

 

 

However it was time to move along down the long and dusty trackchasing road. It was getting dark and the mosquitoes were starting to bite. I soon understood why almost everyone in the pit area was wearing long pants except me!

 

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

 

 

Check it out. I trackchase a lot differently than anyone else does.

I do trackchasing a little differently than most of my fellow competitors. I try to take time to contact people and talk to them face-to-face. I know that for most of the people I meet this is the only time we will likely see each other. However while I’m at the track and meeting people I want to make it a special experience for all of us.

 

 

This was definitely a special experience today. Of course it was fun to trackchase in Canada like it always is. It was fun to see a new track in a relatively undiscovered province such as Manitoba.

 

 

Long after I’ve forgotten about the racing…

However long after my remembrances of what happened in the Watermelon Cup have left me I’ll have the memories and photographs of the friends I made today. I have a hunch they’re going to feel the same way.

 

I had a smile on my face all the way back to Grand Forks, North Dakota thinking about the people I had met today. Crossing the border at Cumberland, North Dakota was easy. I was in bed by midnight. Tomorrow I’ll make the 600+ mile drive from Grand Forks down toward Janesville, Wisconsin. Then the next day, Tuesday, I would head over to Indiana for some TQ midget racing. The weather forecast wasn’t good but I didn’t have any backup plan so I was headed to Hoosier land no matter what.

 

 

Good night.

 

 

 

 

Manitoba

 

 

The Keystone province

This afternoon I saw my 6th lifetime track in the Keystone province, yes the Keystone province. I like visiting Manitoba. As a matter of fact, I enjoy visiting all of Canada.

 

 

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

Manitoba sayings: Land of 100,000 lakes; Minnesota has just 10,000

 

 

 

QUICK FACTS

 

 

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Chicago, IL (ORD) – 1,745 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR #1

O’Hare International Airport – trip begins

London, KY

Indianapolis International Airport – trip ends – 766 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR #2

Indianapolis International Airport – trip begins

Bedford, KY

Indianapolis International Airport – trip ends – 603 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR #3

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – trip begins

Aitken, MN

Morten, Manitoba, Canada

 

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Laurel County Fairgrounds – $10 (not a trackchasing expense)

Trimble County Recreational Facility – $10

Aitken County Fairgrounds (oval) – complimentary admission

Aitken County Fairgrounds (RC) – $8

ALH Motor Speedway – complimentary admission

 

 

 

 

 

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 450 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me.

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2,120

 

 

Total Trackchasing Countries

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

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 70

 

 

 

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 4.88

 

 

 

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

 

 

Click on the link below to see the “Video Plus” production from the ALH Motor Speedway.

 

 

 

 

 

Click on the link below to see the one-minute “Video Lite” production from the ALH Motor Speedway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click on the link below for a photo album from today’s trackchasing day.  Double click on a photo to begin the slide show or watch the photos at your own pace.  Hover over a photo to read the caption.

 

 

ALH Motor Speedway – great people and great racing