Some folks think the trackchasing rules are much too liberal in the counting of tracks.  They may have a point in some cases.  Granted a track chaser can count separate visits for big ovals, small ovals, various road courses and figure 8 tracks.  Then there’s “mixed surface” tracks, temporary tracks and so forth.

 

 

I have seen three countable racetracks on what is now the Atlanta Motor Speedway property.  However, I did have to make my way to Atlanta three separate times to see three different tracks.  The only way I can answer anyone who questions the validity of track counting is to say a trackchaser is interested in seeing racing on different TRACKS.  No one would argue that a road course is a different track than an oval.  A large oval, some 1.5 miles long in Atlanta’s case is certainly a much different track than a small quarter-mile oval.  Remember a trackchaser is in search of different TRACKS.

 

 

My visits to Atlanta were certainly spread out.  I first came there with Carol when we were in college.  The date was April 4, 1971.  Then I waited some 30 years to return for the Thursday night racing on the facilities quarter-mile asphalt oval.  Finally, I came back in 2008 to see the legends race on the road course with local PR man Dale Terry.

  

I’ll tell you about each of those events to what began as the Atlanta International Speedway and is now named the Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Along the way I met some of the most famous names in motorsports in Atlanta.  I’d love to get back there as soon as I can.

  

You might have remembrances about the racing in Atlanta.  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.

  

 

The Big Oval.

My wife Carol and I came to the Atlanta Motor Speedway on April 4, 1971 for the famous “Atlanta 500”.  With Easter being a week later we were headed to Florida on our college spring break.  It was our senior year in college. We weren’t married.  I recall attempting to check into a motel in the area.  From the check-in desk the clerk could see Carol sitting in the car.  “Are you married”, she asked.  I replied that no we were not.  “I’m sorry I can’t rent you a room then” and we were turned away.  A lot has changed in the last 40 years hasn’t it.  Carol and I would get married some 10 months later.  Now more than 41 years after that motel rejection I can tell you that story.  Even if her parents read this what are they gonna do right?

 

 

Back in those days the “Atlanta 500” was one of the biggest NASCAR events on the Grand National, now Sprint Cup schedule.  We were lucky enough to see legendary A.J. Foyt win that day in the Wood Brothers Mercury.  A.J. led 205 of the 328 laps that day.  He and Richard Petty were the only drivers on the lead lap.  Charlie Glotzbach finished in 7th place some nine laps behind the leader.  Who says the racing “back in the day” was better?  Fans wouldn’t stand for two cars finishing on the lead lap today and top ten cars being so far behind.

  

Forty cars started the race with such legendary names as Dub Simpson, Rod Eulenfield and Ben Arnold competing.  On the other hand some big name drivers like David Pearson, Buddy Baker, Bobby Allison and even Maynard Troyer raced on that day in 1971.

  

It was a warm and sunny day.  We had been coped up in cold and snowy Northern Illinois all winter.  We were at the track for several hours.  What is our greatest remembrance of the day?  Our sunburns!  That’s right we both think we have sunburn scars from that hot spring day in Georgia.

 

But wait!  There’s more.  Who was the honorary starter for the 1971 Atlanta 500?  None other than Georgia’s governor.  What was his name?  Oh, yeah.  Jimmy Carter!

 

Reprinted from my July 19, 2001 Trackchaser Report 

 

Greetings from Hampton, Georgia,

 

TRAVEL/PEOPLE NEWS

Not much driving today.  Just 24 miles from San Clemente to the Orange County Airport (SNA).  Then 37 miles from the Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to the Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Oh yes!  It was 1,205 air miles from SNA to DFW and 732 from DFW to ATL.

 

One minor problem with the rental car and it was my mistake.  This trip was originally planned to go in and out of Nashville.  When I changed the air reservations from Nashville to Atlanta I forgot to change my Hertz car reservation.  So….when I checked into the Hertz #1 Club area in Atlanta my car was waiting for me in Nashville.  After a small “discussion” I paid $22 more for my error.  It’s hard to keep track of everything.  I took my four cylinder Toyota Camry and went on down the road.

 

I found a Super 8 Hotel in Cartersville, Georgia.  (An upgrade from a Motel 6 but it’s not the Ritz-Carlton!).  The rate was just $36.99 for one person.  Sounds reasonable.  But, wait!  I have the Super 8 VIP card that gives 10% off.  Now the rate was $33.99.  But, wait again!  I’m planning to stay four consecutive nights.  That must be worth something.  The desk clerk agreed.  My rate would be only $29.99 per night.  By staying in the same hotel I’ll be able to watch the British Open on TV without any hassles.  Editor’s note:  I would later come to see billboards advertising hotel rates as low as $18.99.  Oh well.  Shopping for hotels is a little like playing golf.  In golf there is always someone who can beat you and someone you can beat.  With hotels you can always pay more and always see something after you’ve checked in that is less than what you paid.  Nevertheless, I’ve commonly paid more for one night than I’ll pay for four nights here.

 

It did start raining about 2 miles from the track.  The raindrops were like water balloons.  They were big but not many of them.  Net, not a problem.

 

RACING NEWS

 

Today’s event is at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.  My race is not at the “big” track which holds two NASCAR Winston Cup races each year.  Carol and I went to that track in 1971 (my 23rd and her 11^th track at the time).  We were on spring break from college and saw A.J. Foyt win the Atlanta 500.  I still have the sunburn scars to prove it.

 

The race tonight in on the ¼ mile flat asphalt track.  It is my 495^th lifetime track.  There are two main classes racing, Bandeleros and Legends.  Both of these classes are miniature versions of popular racecars.  The Bandeleros are 5/8 (I think) versions of late model stock cars and Legends are 5/8 replicas of the stock cars of yesteryear such as 1932 Fords and 1934 Chevies.  Motorcycle engines power the Legends.

 

Not much to the racing.  I’m not a big fan of small car racing, mini sprints excepted.  They had a good field of both classes, maybe about 30 in each group.  General admission was just $5 and kids were a buck.  Refreshments were price adjusted to short track amounts.  Cheeseburgers $2.75.  There was a good crowd on hand of about 1,000-1,500 in the roped off grandstand area.

 

The announcers were of the “DJ” variety.  Since this was more “novelty” racing than real racing this style of announcing wasn’t as annoying as it good have been.  The highlight of the evening was the fans “driver look-alike” contest.  As a visiting trackchaser I was invited to be a judge in this contest.  The grand champions were a brother and sister duo dressed as Brooke and Jeff Gordon.  The boy was dressed in a full DuPont racing suit with helmet.  The girl, although a blonde, had a long hair brunette wig and a DuPont type cheerleading suit.  Although she was about a foot taller than “Jeff” it worked!

 

Lesson of the day:  As I watch the British Open, played on a course I played in 1999 and my all time favorite course, Royal Lytham and St. Annes Golf Club there is a lesson to be learned.  You are going to make mistakes and it won’t do any good to get mad.  Accept it, develop a better plan and move on.  You and your fellow competitors will be better off for it.

 

Restaurants of the day:  Wendy’s

 

Weather:  Hot and humid, shorts and t-shirt

 

Current rental car mileage:  89 miles back to the hotel

 

SUNDAY

Today I was taking the opportunity to re-visit the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Carol and I first went there in 1971. Coming back to AMS brought back all sorts of memories from the past and as you will see created new memories!

 

Most people consider themselves “normal” right? I think of myself as being normal as well.

Maybe it’s just me but I’m a bit concerned with the “unusual” things that seem to happen to me. Are drug busts and breaking and entering and transporting minors across state lines a part of your life? I’m asking for a friend. I don’t make any of this stuff up. I don’t need to. What’s happens to me is just like my newsletter title says. It’s my everyday life.

I’m sharing some excerpts from this past weekend’s trip down to Atlanta and Charlotte. I had no idea I would be linked to a major drug bust. I certainly didn’t intend to be liable for criminal breaking and entering. Finally, did I really transport minors across state lines in my previous life? Why do these things keep happening to me? I’m just a normal person. This is my world. People know me here.

BREAKING AND ENTERING?
Honestly, I don’t know how I find myself in situations like this. I had already been to my favorite New Orleans eateries and seen racing in both Florida and Alabama. Wasn’t that enough of a weekend trip?
 
Nope. No, it was not. Since I was already in the “area” I wanted to stop and see the NASCAR Cup race, the top NASCAR series, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
 
There were a couple of obstacles in the way of my getting to do this. I had already ignored the CDC’s warnings not to travel. I am fully vaccinated. I consider the CDC stance to be for “other people”. Truth be told even before I was fully vaccinated I flew somewhere some 34 different weeks from March to March of the pandemic.
 
Don’t get me wrong. I am not a believer in conspiracy theories. I fully accepted the danger of Covid-19. I also believed in the effectiveness of airplane HEPA filters. I social distance, wash my hands, wear a mask…and travel.

 
The main problem with today’s race was that I didn’t have a ticket. The Atlanta Motor Speedway seating capacity is 71,000. For the past year, NASCAR has not allowed any fans to watch their events in the grandstands because of Covid.
 
Only recently have they been allowing fans in the stands at dramatically reduced capacity. For the Atlanta race, the promoter was allowed to sell 15,000 tickets. All of those tickets were sold in advance. There were no “paper” tickets. Every fan had their ticket on their phone. This was just one of the “contactless” features of today’s race event. The race was SOLD OUT as signs all over the property shouted to all within viewing distance.
 
I did not have a ticket to the race. That did not bother me in the least. I did have a clear plastic bag. Carol had given me this bag to stuff my “racing gear” in so as to meet the requirements of the track.

 
What was in the plastic bag? I had my racing radio and Bose noise-canceling headset. There was a McDonald’s double cheeseburger from a morning stop at Mickey D’s. I had a large bottle of Gatorade ZERO. 
 
This was not going to be my first visit to the Atlanta Motor Speedway. I first went there all the way back in 1971. The famous A.J. Foyt won the Atlanta 500 that day.
 
 
TRANSPORTING A MINOR ACROSS STATE LINES

I was down in Georgia on spring break for that trip. I had convinced a young girl I met in college to make the trip with me. We would also be going down to Florida as part of our spring break plan.
 
I remember something that seems sort of funny some 50 years later. Society’s mores were just a bit different back then as I am sure they were 100 years ago as well.
 
 
Is that your wife?

My girlfriend and I stopped at a mom-and-pop small hotel. My “friend” stayed in the car while I went in to secure a room. In the course of the conversation with the hotel proprietor, a woman about the age of my mother at the time asked me a question. “Is that your wife in the car?”
 
Before I tell you how I answered that question let’s think about a few things. I’m a college kid. I’m on spring break. I want to get a hotel room for my “friend” and me. How many people in that situation are going to answer that question honestly?
 
I am almost embarrassed to say this. I answered that question honestly. I told the hotel owner that was not my wife in the car but my sports trainer. O.K., I didn’t say that but in today’s world, that answer might have worked. I told the lady my friend in the car was not my wife. We didn’t get the room.
 
What would Jesus do?

I had another experience with this girl from college. You’re getting all of my most deep-seated memories now. One time we were traveling back to college and we were caught in a midwestern snowstorm. The roads were nearly impassable. Traffic was crawling. It was nearly midnight. Just up ahead was a Holiday Inn in LaSalle, Illinois.
 
I looked over at my friend. She was looking to me for direction. What should we do? Could we make it safely through this snowstorm…should we get a hotel room? She asked me what I thought. 
 
One voice seemed to say to me, “I think we can make it. We have class tomorrow. We need to make it”. Then another voice coming from the other shoulder seemed to be saying. “Your friend is really good-looking. You’re in a snowstorm. There is a Holiday Inn just up ahead. Are you crazy? What are you waiting for? Get the room!”

 
Truth be told could we have made it through that snowstorm? We will never know. I got the room!
 
What about Carol?
People sometimes ask me “What does your wife Carol say when she reads these reports?” Well…I do share some intimate details don’t I? I think Carol can fully appreciate that college kids go on spring break and sometimes they bring along a “friend” right? Snowstorms happen. College kids are always on a budget. If two college kids find themselves in the middle of a raging snowstorm and a hotel is their only option you don’t expect them to blow their pizza money on two hotel rooms do you?
 
Just the facts.
As a 100% honest guy, I feel a requirement to only share factual details from each of my experiences. Carol has come to appreciate and value my honesty. When she reads this don’t you think I’m in line for a pat on the back simply because I told the story honestly? Would this situation fly in your household?

 
Just one more thing about that snowstorm story and the ma and pa hotel story in Florida for that matter. The girl from college…my friend…yes the really good-looking one was in point of fact the woman who would become my wife for the last 49+ years…Carol. And now as Paul Harvey would say, “You know the rest of the story”.
 
However, you only know half of today’s Atlanta Motor Speedway story. I was here today. I didn’t have a ticket. The event was sold out.
 
I have a problem talking to strangers.

Yes, I have a problem talking to strangers. The problem is that I love talking to strangers! Today I needed to meet a stranger who would give me or sell me a ticket to today’s race. As I walked onto the grounds of the AMS property everyone I saw was a stranger!
 
I have a system for situations like this. I need to advertise my situation to as many eyeballs as I can. Someone once said that you can wink at your girlfriend “but if you don’t advertise what you’re doing no one but you will know”. I needed to let people know that I needed a ticket.
 
It pays to be discreet.

However, I couldn’t let EVERYONE in the place know I needed a ticket. The police don’t like people like me. We’re sometimes called “scalpers”. I prefer the term “promotional wholesaler”. 

 
Back at home, I had taken a light yellow piece of paper and in large block, letters printed “Need One” on one side and “Need 1” on the other side. I thought this made my sign bi-lingual.
 
I have used this method literally hundreds of times at all kinds of stick and ball sports, auto races and concerts. It works every time…and it works quickly.
 
Today’s situation was a bit different. No one had a “hard” ticket. That’s a paper ticket in my world. Everyone’s ticket that they would use for admission today was on their phone. 
 
I went about my work. First I passed by a couple of police cars. My sign stayed under my jacket until I was clear of them. Then when the cops were in my rearview mirror out came the sign!
 
Some strangers are just weird.
I must tell you this. My sign does attract a unique clientele. There’s always the young jokester who can’t resist telling me he has a ticket and he will sell it to me for $2,000.

 
Then there is another person who will read my sign that clearly states, “Need One” and ask, “Do you have any tickets to sell?” Folks I can’t explain other people’s behavior. I can only report it.

 
Oh! There’s one more “typical” response. This happens a lot at stick and ball sports. Let’s say I’m at a major college football game. An elderly couple will always pass by and the wife will grab her husband’s arm just a little bit tighter. I can almost read her lips. She will be whispering, “Look at that man, he needs a ticket, he doesn’t have a ticket. Poor guy”. This is not a dissimilar response than when passing a homeless person lying on the ground with only one shoe, a week-old beard and a tattered Philadelphia Flyers jacket.
 
When that happens I simply want to grab the elderly woman by the nap of her fur coat and yell, “No I don’t have a ticket. I didn’t buy my tickets nine months ago as you did. I didn’t pay the full price plus a donor’s fee like you did. I’ll end up with a better seat location than you and pay one-third the price at the last minute!”
 
Somebody always bails.
Once I wade through this riff-raff I get to the people who DO have an extra ticket. Maybe they were a group of four and the brother-in-law bailed at the last minute. Maybe they got some promotional tickets and have an extra. The point is there are a lot of extra tickets just sitting in pockets or in today’s case on phones.
 
I don’t deal with professionals.

I almost forgot. There’s one more group of folks who have “extras”. These people are true ticket scalpers. These guys (almost all the scalpers are guys but not every time) are buying and selling tickets to make a profit.
 
Their business is really easy. Everyone who has an extra ticket thinks its resale value is small. Everyone who needs an extra ticket to the simplest sporting event you can imagine thinks the demand for that ticket is akin to buying a ticket to the Super Bowl.
 
Selling high; buying low.
People with extra tickets are willing to sell low. People who want a ticket are willing to buy high. The ticket scalper buys low and sells high.
 
I don’t buy from ticket scalpers. They are trying to do exactly the opposite of what I am trying to do. I want to buy low and they want to sell high. I commonly tell them that I don’t buy from professionals…because I am a professional.
 
Today I didn’t see a single ticket scalper in sight. That is rarely the case and certainly not at a NASCAR race. I attributed that to the fact that all tickets were electronic and on people’s phones. I think that made it easier for me.

 
Would you enjoy meeting strangers with me?
I wish you could come with me when I go out to “meet strangers”. I would bet you a Coke that I will be in active negotiations within just five minutes over the price and availability of a ticket…after I share my sign.
 
By the way, I must adhere to a dress code when I’m on the prowl for that elusive ticket. I don’t wear a Trump MAGA hat or a Biden/Harris t-shirt. I can’t be wearing a UCLA shirt when I need a ticket in the south. Lots of civilian sellers would just as soon eat their extra ticket than sell to the enemy.
 
This is what happened today. I met a man named, “Richard”. I’ll go with that name because that’s what he told me his name was and I believed him.
 
Richard had some extra tickets. He was with his brother Sam. Richard wasn’t a race fan. Sam was. They live near Atlanta and come to the races every year. In order to make sure that Sam got to come to the race, Richard paid $500 on StubHub (an online ticket broker) for two tickets in total! Wow! I wasn’t expecting to pay that much.
 
However, Richard told me a local car dealer friend had given him four tickets for free. He was willing to sell me one of those tickets.
 
I don’t pay retail.
Richard asked me what the retail price was for tickets to the race. Earlier today another stranger I met told me face value for the ticket he had was $66. I told Richard that. His face seemed to light up.
 
Although Richard was a nice guy and he likely would have been a good friend of mine in real life this was not real life. This was “stranger” life. There is a difference.

 
I could not pay Richard the full price of a ticket at $66. His ticket was “damaged”. Damaged? Yes. We were just shortly before race time. There was almost no one willing to buy his ticket and prospective buyers didn’t even know he had a ticket to sell. His ticket effectively had an expiration date.
 
I don’t mind that some people think I’m homeless.
For the last dozen NASCAR races I have attended I have bought my ticket at just two price points. In half of those situations, I was given a ticket for free. I told you some people think I’m homeless in this situation. On the other six occasions, I paid just twenty dollars for each of my tickets. In all of those situations the retail value of the tickets I was buying ranged from $60-100 or more.
 
Richard’s story of paying $500 for two tickets was pretty effective in getting me to raise my initial offer. Offering twenty bucks to a person who had just paid more than ten times my offering price seemed a bit rude. I offered $40. Richard accepted. We were still friends.
 
It was still an hour and a half before race time. Richard had MY ticket on his phone. Rather than try to hook up later and because Richard didn’t know if he could send his ticket to my phone we went up to the ticket taker. The ticket taker scanned Richard’s phone for my ticket and I was in.

 
Any questions? This is how it is done in my world.
Folks, that is how it is done in the Covid buying world. However…once I was inside I realized I had not taken the time to have my racing radio programmed. This is a process, that when completed, will allow me to listen in on each driver’s radio communication to his (sorry only guys racing this year) pit crew.
 
I would have to go back “outside” to get that done. There was just one minor problem. I didn’t have any proof that I had a ticket because my ticket was on Richard’s phone and Richard was long gone.
 
Randy from California

Not a problem. I like to talk to strangers. I walked up to a young man who was scanning tickets for fans coming into the stands. I explained my situation. I told the young man that I was “Randy from California”. He told me he would remember and let me back in when I returned from my radio programming errand. I asked for his name. Gabe. I smiled and told “Gabe” I would see him soon.
 
Off I went and who did I run into? Richard! I never expected to know so many people by their first name today. I felt obligated to explain what I was doing “outside”. Richard understood. The radio programming went smoothly and I returned in search of “Gabe”.
 
Gabe? Where did Gabe go?

If life was simple everyone would succeed right? I went back to where Gabe, the ticket scanner, had been standing and there was no Gabe. There was no Gabe anywhere. I asked around. No one even knew who Gabe was.
 
O.K. then, I had no ticket. I had no Gabe. I was outside of security and needed to get back into the track. What could I do?
 
Was this really ‘breaking and entering’?
While all of the other ticket takers were busy trying to scan tickets in bright sunlight I simply walked in. I had the facts on my side even though at that point I had no official ticket.
 
I grabbed a seat in my most preferred location. I was high up near the start/finish line. I could see everything really well, although at a distance, at today’s 1.54-mile asphalt oval.
 
Thanks for the recommendation.

You might note that I never asked Richard what the seat location was for his ticket. It didn’t matter in the least to me. I think of seat locations printed on sports tickets as “recommendations”. I consider those recommendations and sit where I want.
 
How was the race? Not that great. The fun and challenge of the adventure had been in the ticket acquisition process. The race was actually almost a letdown.
 
I hate long pants.

I got a little screwed up with the weather. The forecast called for 59 degrees, clouds and wind. In reality, it was nearly 70 degrees with lots of sun and no wind.
 
I wear shorts 99.45% of the year. Today I wore long pants. I even had my ultra-thin upper long underwear under a long-sleeved lightweight t-shirt. At the ready was a light jacket. I didn’t need any of this!
 
If I were president.

Personally, I don’t think anyone should wear long pants or live in a climate where long pants might be considered. If I were elected president the first thing I would do is make long pants illegal…but then that’s just me.
 
When the race had finished I headed up to Charlotte, North Carolina. I did make the obligatory stop at Waffle House to redeem my free waffle couple. I’ve eaten at WH well over 1,000 times. Today was a first. I guess they were out of plates. My waffle was served in what I call a “cake pan”. I love firsts in life.
 
In Charlotte, I checked into my Sheraton hotel. I bought it on Priceline for 51 bucks. Then when I checked in I reminded the desk clerk of my Titanium Elite frequent stay status. I was upgraded to a king suite at a Sheraton for 51 bucks. I love talking to strangers.
 
BUSTED FOR DRUGS!

Busted for drugs! How did being busted for drugs influence my airplane ride back to Los Angeles from Charlotte? I know what you’re saying. “Of course, airlines are not going to be very receptive to someone using, abusing and trafficking illegal drugs. What were you thinking Randy?”
 
First, I want to clear up anything that needs to be cleared up. I was not busted for drugs. I have never used an illegal drug in my life and I grew up in the 60s. Never. Ever.
 
21^st and last on the standby list.
Here’s what came down today. I was flying standby. I would be able to get on the plane from Charlotte to Los Angeles if the airlines had an unsold seat. Unfortunately, I was 21^st on the standby list. There was no way I was going to make this flight. I was already developing backup plans.
 
However…they kept calling standby passengers one by one and giving them a seat on the plane. Soon they were down to standby passengers #19, #20 and #21, which was me. There was ONE seat left on the plane.
 
Will you split?
It looked as if my luck has run out. However…passengers #19 and #20 were a couple. There was only one seat. I began to lick my chops. I had been in this situation before. Would the couple split up? Would one of these folks take the final available seat and leave the remaining person behind? No!! They would not split. I was golden. I was going to Los Angeles.

 
That being the case I was going to get that very last seat. Not only was that the situation but that last seat was in first class! Ya, I know. Pretty lucky huh?
 
Now the drama began.
However…in the world of standby flying, things are never final until the plane’s wheels leave the ground. While all of this standby drama was going on another type of drama was happening as well.

 
When I first arrived I noticed a young man in a black golf shirt and black pants standing near where passengers were boarding the plane. His golf shirt did share the letters P-O-L-I-C-E in small font. He was packing heat as well. This man gave the evil eye to each passenger as they approached the plane.
 
Over the course of time, four different passengers were “detained”. Each time the perps were moved to a remote spot about 50 feet away. There four uniformed officers went through these passenger’s bags. 
 
Copper! Undercover no less.

I noticed another guy standing about five feet from me. He had long scraggly hair, a backpack and jeans. I pegged him as a copper right off the bat. He was eyeing each boarding passenger as closely as the police officer in the Tiger Woods golf shirt. Yep. He turned out to be undercover as well. Then came another fellow with a police dog! This was the equivalent of six squad cars surrounding a speeding vehicle on the interstate. Somebody tipped off somebody! Don’t worry. That’s detective talk.
 
So how did this drug bust affect me? Well…there had been one open seat. When the couple flying standby ahead of me refused to split up I was going to get that last seat.
 
Drugs were going to keep me out of first class.

However…when one of the drug bust detainees was going to be permanently detained that now created two open seats. I already had my first class boarding pass in my hand. I was trying to scan my boarding pass as quickly as I could when the boarding pass was snatched from my hush puppy greased fingers!
 
An alert agent, way to alert for my tastes, saw the opportunity to give the two open seats to the couple who were rightfully ahead of me on the standby list. Truthfully, that was some pretty unusual behavior on the agent’s part but I couldn’t complain.
 
The couple, who had refused to split up, were now off to Los Angeles. The drug detained passenger was off to jail. The tipster was likely in line for a reward. I was destined to attempt to take the next already full flight to Los Angeles. 
 
No! Not the drug-sniffing dog.

At this point, I began assessing alternatives to the sold-out flights I was trying to get on during spring break. Just as I began to walk away the police officer with the canine had his dog sniff my bag. No! The dog let me slide today. Maybe that had something to go with the hush puppy I dropped at his feet.
 
Good afternoon, good evening and good afternoon from first Pensacola, Florida then Cottonwood, Alabama and finally Atlanta, Georgia with a stop-off in New Orleans.

Randy Lewis

San Clemente, California

Reprinted from my February 2, 2008 Trackchaser Report

TODAY’S HEADLINES

I met some of the most interesting people I will likely meet during the entire 2008 trackchasing season today………………..more in “The People”.

 

Carol and I saw the Atlanta 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in the spring of 1971.  Do you know what famous driver won that race?  Do you know what famous person was the honorary starter for that race?  …………..details in “Race Review”.

 

Editor’s hint:  Jeff Gordon was not the winner and I was not the honorary starter.

 

I rent about 40-50 cars a year with my trackchasing hobby.  I didn’t need to rent a car today.  …………..details in “Rental Car Review”.

 

GREETINGS FROM HAMPTON, GEORGIA.

I woke up in Springfield, Missouri this morning. I went to sleep in Brainerd, Minnesota. This is what transpired today.

 

PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS

 

The Objective  

Trackchasing lets me see racing, people and places that I would never come in contact with if I didn’t have such an unusual hobby.  Often race fans I meet say they wish they had my lifestyle.  Frequently when I hear this comment, I think to myself they might not say that if they knew the time, travel and expense of doing this.

 

On the other hand, if they had the opportunity to do what I did today, I can fully understand why they want my lifestyle.  Trackchasing can be fun and today was one of my best days.

 

The Trip 

This was one of those trackchasing days where the travel required was not for the faint of heart.  My Springfield, Missouri alarm clock went off at 4:37 a.m. (2:37 a.m. San Clemente time).  It was dark out when I left my hotel.  It was dark out when my 6:25 a.m. flight headed to Atlanta.

 

Following a full afternoon of trackchasing at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, I headed back to the Atlanta airport.  From there I hopped a flight to Minneapolis and then drove more than 140 miles north into the icy cold of Northern Minnesota.   Missouri, Georgia, Minnesota, all in one day.  It’s the life of a trackchaser.  

 

 

The People 

There are three major elements to trackchasing.  Of course, there is the racing.  However, there are also the places to see and the people to meet.  I love the racing, but often times the places to see and the people to meet are the most enjoyable.  That was the case in Atlanta today.  Let me tell you about four of those folks I met up with today.

 

Dale Terry has become a friend of mine over the past couple of years.  He’s a media man (mostly internet writing) from Atlanta, Georgia.  Dale publishes a weekly newsletter all about Georgia racing and other high profile events in the Southeast.  He gives me heads-up on all kinds of racing events.

 

I had never seen any racing on the Atlanta Motor Speedway’s road course.  They only use it for wheel to wheel racing 3-4 times per year.  I’ve had this track on my radar screen for years when I found out the “Legends of Georgia” sanctioning group runs a winter series at the track.  For one reason or another, I never made it down here.  It was looking like I would strike out again with them during the 07-08 winter season because of other trackchasing commitments.  Then, I received an email from Dale Terry.  It seems one of the AMS road course events had been canceled because of cold.  They rescheduled for Saturday, February 2.  That date fit perfectly into my schedule.

 

When Dale learned I was coming to town, he volunteered to pick me up at the airport and chauffeur me around for the day.  That was convenient especially since he had just purchased a beautiful new shiny black Dodge Ram pickup truck.  Being a “city slicker” nowadays, I can’t remember the last time I rode in a pickup truck.

 

Dale also took the liberty to let the public relations staff at the Atlanta Motor Speedway know that their road course was going to be my #1,306^th lifetime track.  It wasn’t long before I received a phone call from Trey Sanders, the Promotions and Events Coordinator at AMS.  Trey wanted the “World’s #1 Ranked Trackchaser” to be the guest of the Atlanta Motor Speedway.  This was an offer too good to refuse.

 

Trey sent out a press release about my visit to the track’s local media outlets.  He asked me if I would like to visit the driver’s meetings and be an honorary starter for the Legends main event.  Invitations like these don’t come along often and I happily accepted.

 

When Dale and I arrived at the speedway, we found an immaculate venue.  AMS has their own permanent condominium complex at the track that includes 46 units.  Four or five of those units are occupied by permanent residents.  That must be fun to wake up in the morning and look out over the speedway grounds.

 

I last saw a race at the super speedway back in about 1971.  Since that time, there have been tremendous changes in this facility.  They moved the start/finish line that Carol and I had seen back in the day to the backstretch side of the track.  Then they built a beautiful new grandstand on the new starting line side.  That grandstand seats 110,000 people!!

 

The folks at the credentials building had heard about my impending visit.  They couldn’t have been nicer.  A quick phone call to Trey got me set up to be introduced at the driver’s meetings.  This included first the bandoleros group and then the legends.  I was given a very nice introduction at both meetings.  Several folks came up to say hello.

 

 

Dale and I explored the garage area.  I’ve seen the road courses at most of the NASCAR tracks.  This is a great way to visit all of the infield facilities i.e.  garage areas, infield media and care centers, etc.  These areas are normally off limits to fans during the major race weekends.

 

As we were touring the garage area, we came across two immaculately prepared Bass Pro Shop sponsored racecars.  They were both gloss black and carried the #1.  One car would race in the thunder roadster division.  The other competed in the premier division today, the legends.

 

Dale introduced me to the driver of these two cars, Ed Clark.  Ed was a spitting image of Troy Aikman, former star quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys and more importantly, to me, UCLA Bruins.  We talked a little bit about my hobby and Ed’s racecars. 

 

Ed mentioned something about being employed at the track.  I didn’t quite catch what he did at AMS.  Later on in the conversation, I asked him again what he actually did for the track.  “I’m the President”, he told me.  Yep!  I’ve always said if you have to work, you might as well be the president!  Ed was a great guy and went out of his way to make me feel welcome.  I appreciated that very much.

 

My tour with Dale continued throughout the garage area.  We ran across a young man named Chase Elliott who races in the bandoleros division.  The Atlanta Motor Speedway has long been a fixture of the NASCAR circuit.  Young drivers from this legends group have made it to NASCAR cup racing.  Two recent drivers that come to mind are Reed Sorenson and David Ragan.  Maybe some day Chase will follow their example.  He certainly has the genes for it.

 

Chase has a famous father.  His father is Bill Elliott.  Yes, we’re talking about “Million Dollar Bill!”  My family relocated back to California in November, 1983 after living in several different states with my corporate transfers.  I remember sitting in my family room of our brand new house watching Bill Elliott win his very first NASCAR race at Riverside, California.  Bill later won the NASCAR Winston Cup championship in 1988 and the Daytona 500 in 1985 and 1987.

 

Two years later (August 18, 1985) I ventured up to the Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington for a NASCAR Winston West race.  A young and rising NASCAR star was a visiting driver on that day.  His name was Bill Elliott.  Bill wasn’t a household name at the time, even though he was coming on strong and had won the Daytona 500 just months before our meeting.  I had my picture taken with him at the back of his hauler.  That picture has held a prominent place on my office bookshelf ever sense.  I had the good sense to be wearing a Bill Elliott t-shirt the day I met him!

 

Dale introduced me to Bill and we talked very briefly about trackchasing.  Bill said, “I think I’ve been to 1,500 tracks!”  Maybe he has, but I’m going to ask for documentation!  I had my photo taken again with Bill and Chase.  I hope to send him an autographed copy.

 

By the way, there were several NASCAR style haulers in the pit area today.  That was surprising given the classes racing.  The Elliott rig was much smaller than those other big rigs.  It was about the size of what you would expect a bandoleros/legends racecar transporter to be.  Bill went about his mechanic’s duties today in a very low key manner, which is his nature.  I appreciate Bill taking a few moments of his time to say hello to me.

 

So there you have it.  It was quite a people day.  I have first Dale Terry and then Trey Sanders to thank for such a great morning and afternoon of trackchasing fun.  Thanks, guys, I will remember this day for a very long time.

 

STATE RANKINGS

Georgia

 

This was my 21st lifetime track to see in the “Peach” state.  This track moves me up from eighth place in the state into a tie for sixth (two more NGD points) with fellow competitors Andy Sivi and Paul Weisel.  John Moore of Knoxville, Tennessee leads in Georgia with 35 tracks.  An even 50 listed trackchasers have made one or more visits to a racetrack in Georgia.

 

 

RACE REVIEW

 

ATLANTA MOTORS SPEEDWAY (ROAD COURSE), HAMPTON, GEORGIA

This was my third countable track to see on the Atlanta Motor Speedway property.  Back in 1971, Carol and I (then just young college students) visited what was then called Atlanta International Raceway (unofficially track #23) for the Atlanta 500.  I remember three things from that long ago visit.  First, A.J. Foyt won the race in the Woods Brothers Purolator Mercury.  Secondly, Carol and I both walked away with one of the worst sunburns we had ever gotten!  Finally, a young Georgia governor was the honorary starter for that race.  His name was Jimmy Carter!

 

Back on July 19, 2001, I made a visit to see the legends race on the AMS quarter-mile oval track (track #495).  Most of the Bruton Smith owned tracks have such a short track situated in front of the bigger track’s main grandstand.

 

Today the third and final track at the Atlanta Motor Speedway for me to visit would be the road course.  There is not much trackchaser countable racing that takes place on this road course.  The “Legends of Georgia” group races here jut 3-4 times a year, usually in the winter months.  Groups like the Sports Car of Club of America seem to frequent the nearby Road Atlanta facility for their road racing.

 

Atlanta is right up there with Charlotte as a hot bed for young developing drivers.  NASCAR stars Reed Sorenson and David Ragan both raced with today’s group.  I did find one of the instructions doled out at the driver’s meeting today to be most interesting.

 

The gentleman running the meeting closed his comments with this, “I just got word that Robert Yates and Rick Hendrick (both famous owners on the NASCAR Nextel Cup) circuit won’t be here today.  Therefore, they won’t be picking any of you to drive in the Daytona 500 this year.  With that being said, I expect you all to drive with respect toward your fellow racers.”  I thought that was a great way to get his point across.

 

All of the races were fairly short today.  Dale and I skipped out for lunch during most of the bandeleros racing.  I figured since these races didn’t count for the trackchaser record books that would be the best time to sample the highly recommended “McGinn’s Southern Pit BBQ” restaurant just down the road from AMS.  It was definitely worth it.  We were back in plenty of time for the thunder roadster and legend racing.

 

This sanctioning group doesn’t run any heat races.  The thunder roadsters ran just a single feature race of 10 laps.  The plan for the legends was to run two 6-lap “B” mains and then a 10-lap “A” feature race. 

 

Dale and I had been invited up into the scoring tower to watch these races.  That was a real treat.  As you have heard from me many times, at ground level, it’s difficult to see most of the racing on a road course.  The scoring tower had to be 200 feet or so above the racing surface.  To get to our location we first started at the top of the front stretch grandstand.  From there we hopped on an elevator and went to the top floor.

 

The scorer’s for this race were in a glass enclosed booth in the same location that Mike Helton (NASCAR president) and the other NASCAR officials run their races from.  Right next door was the broadcast booth area that the national networks use for their TV productions.  Although the view was great, I probably didn’t need to be wearing two dark sweatshirts (it was 28 degrees when I started out this morning in Springfield, Missouri!).  The glass enclosed booth had a greenhouse effect and it got pretty toasty as the setting sun heated things up in the scoring tower.

 

Trey Sanders had a special plan for me.  He wanted me to be the starter for one of the feature events.  I’ve flagged a few races in the past, but this was the most famous venue where I had ever thrown a green flag. 

 

When I am asked to be an honorary starter, I have just two modest goals to achieve to consider my effort a success.  First, I want to be able to climb up into the flag stand and down again without breaking my neck.  Secondly, I want to remember to not drop the green flag onto the track at any point in time.  Today was a success!

 

I will say this.  Climbing up into the AMS flag stand is not for the faint of heart.  First of all, the ladder that needs to be climbed is perpendicular to the ground.  There is no slant, it points STRAIGHT up!  The starter’s stand is a good 20 feet or more above the ground.  That amounts to some 15 rungs or more of straight up climbing.  I’m not a big fan of heights anyway, so I did my best to just keep climbing.  Once I was at the top of the ladder, I again had to be careful jumping into the starter’s stand. 

 

Today’s starter, Adam, was very helpful.  His advice was pretty much “here’s the green flag, I’ll tell you when to wave it”.  That worked for me!  We didn’t have a major pileup on the start so I’m now three for three in flag stand appearances.

 

It was fun to watch the track officials run the race.  Each car has an electronic transponder.  This allows the scoring to be done by computer.  As a backup, they also score by hand, the way races have been scored since nearly day one.

 

Today’s racers also had a one-way communication from the tower.  The tower could talk to them, but the driver’s could not talk back.  The officials told me, “We like it that way!”  This direct communication with the driver really helped with getting drivers in the right position on re-starts.  The tower was also able to alert racers when they were coming up on an unexpected spin or crash.  This technology can save a good deal of equipment and potential driver injury.  I wish all tracks had this to benefit both their competitors and the paying customers with a more efficient show.

 

All in all, it was quite a day.  The Atlanta Motor Speedway is a beautiful showplace.  All of the AMS employees should be proud to be part of this team.  If you get the chance, make sure you see a NASCAR race in Atlanta.  Carol and I haven’t been there for a show on the big track in some 35 years, but we just might make it back there sometime soon.

  

RENTAL CAR UPDATE

 

Atlanta – Saturday

No rental today.  Dale Terry can recognize a trackchaser who operates on a limited budget (compared to those dreaded East coast trackchasers anyway).  Not only that, but I got to ride in Dale’s brand new Dodge Ram truck.  Thanks for the ride, Dale!

 

 Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser

When Peter says something about Paul, it says more about Peter than it does Paul.

 

 

TRAVEL DETAILS

  

AIRPLANE

Orange County, CA – Denver, CO – 845 miles

Denver, CO – Springfield, MO – 634 miles

  

RENTAL CAR – SPRINGFIELD, MO

Springfield-Branson National Airport – trip begins

Ozark Empire Fairgrounds – 4.5 miles

Springfield-Branson National Airport – 39.9 miles

AIRPLANE

Springfield, MO – Atlanta, GA – 563 miles

  

RENTAL CAR – ATLANTA, GA

None – private transportation

 

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – Trip begins

Atlanta Motor Speedway – 24 miles

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – 52 miles – Trip ends

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Ozark Empire Fairgrounds – Free

Atlanta Motor Speedway – Free

 

RANKINGS

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:

 

There are no trackchasers currently within 100 tracks of my lifetime total.  

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,306

 

Other notables

 

These worldwide trackchasers are within 10 tracks (plus or minus or more) of Carol’s current trackchaser total.

 

26.  Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania – 439

27.  Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 353

27.  Ken Schrader, Concord, North Carolina – 353

28.  Max Allender, Des Moines, Iowa – 349