AV Motoplex Motocross Ride Park

 

 

 

THE EVENT

 

Just getting into California to see this race was difficult.

I woke up this morning in Palmdale, California. I went to sleep at home in San Clemente, California. This is how the day turned out.

 

I wasn’t sure I was even going to make it to today’s event in Lancaster, California. I had a most difficult time getting out of Dallas last night due to airplane mechanical problems.

 

 

However I finally made it back to LAX at 9 p.m. I had some decisions to make. It’s spring break. The airports are packed. I took the opportunity to duck into the Alaska airlines private club, the Boardroom, where I am a member.

 

 

Here I took the time in a quiet relaxed atmosphere to have a Diet Coke and assess my options. With a good Wi-Fi connection I used Google maps to help make those decisions.

 

 

What was the best arrival option?

I could simply drive from LAX up toward Lancaster, stay the night and then head back home to San Clemente after tomorrow’s race. Alternatively I could drive from LAX back home and then get up in the morning and drive 130 miles up to Lancaster for the 10 a.m. start time.

 

 

This was my thinking.

Here’s how I made the decision. It would cost me $50 for a hotel room up by Lancaster. However if I drove home tonight and then back to Lancaster tomorrow I would spend an additional $20 in gas. I would save two hours of drive time by not going back home tonight. There would be less wear and tear on my car as well. I opted to pay the $30 incremental expense to say the two hours of driving in my own car. I stayed up in Palmdale a city adjacent to Lancaster.

 

Rough and tough.

I would call the city of Lancaster, California a bit of a “tough place”. When I stopped for gas one of the customers was sporting a face tattoo. That’s just a big “over the line” for me. Two lanes over from where I was getting gas a gentleman was filling the tank of his “bail bond” truck. Later when I drove out to the track I saw a policeman who had stopped person. The suspect had his hands spread across the hood of the police car. Yes, Lancaster looks a bit rough to me.

 

 

 

 

 

THE RACING

 

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AV Motoplex Motocross Ride Park – Lancaster, California

 

 

Where WAS this place?

I was somewhat surprised that I had a hard time finding the AV Motoplex Motocross Park track. Although I’m not all that familiar with the area I have trackchased in Lancaster before.

 

 

In the past I’ve seen three different race tracks in Lancaster. One was a figure 8 course at the old Antelope Valley Fairgrounds. That had to be one of the worst figure 8 shows I’ve seen. Alan and Nancy Brown joined us on that night.

 

 

Then when the new Antelope Valley Fairgrounds opened up I saw figure 8 race at their fair. That was one of the most entertaining figure 8 shows I’ve seen. Their fair is huge with lots to see and do. I’ve also seen the stadium off road dirt race at a temporary track in front of their huge grandstands at the fairgrounds.

 

 

What was I thinking?

For some reason I thought that today’s track was NOT at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds. I Googled the AV Motoplex. Then I used both Waze and Google maps to try to get me there. Both failed. That’s unusual.

 

 

When I was driving around in a semi “lost” state I did see a large number of trailers at the fairgrounds all parked around a motocross track. However when I drove by on state Route 14 I couldn’t see any of the racing vehicles. Still thinking the track was not at the fairgrounds I kept on searching.

 

 

Finally I went on a different website for the AV Motoplex. There I learned the track was located at the end of the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds in Lancaster and had been since 2005.

 

 

Then when I arrived back at the fairgrounds I had a difficult time finding the entrance to the Motoplex. None of this seemed like it should be all that difficult but it was for me today.  I first saw the huge grandstands used at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds.  However, I still wasn’t in the right spot.

 

 

If you are not early you are late (G. O’Reilly).

When I pulled into the track the first “Moto” was on the track. For those that don’t know “Moto” is what an oval track fan would call a “race”.

 

 

As it turned out I entered the fairgrounds in the midst of the first moto of the day. I discovered there were eight classes racing today. Each class would race in two motos.

 

 

As luck would have it the first class racing today was the UTV group. The UTVs were the only trackchasing countable class of the eight competing today. By seeing a couple of laps of their moto the track became countable for me immediately.

 

This was a long track.

I don’t know what the distance of today’s track was. However I timed one lamp for the leader of the UTV moto. The lap time was two minutes and 28 seconds. That meant it took them a while to get around the multi-turn multi-jump dirt road course.

 

 

Perfect SoCal weather.

It’s mid-March. Southern California is going through a major heat wave. Yesterday Los Angeles broke a record for high temperatures at 93°. However Lancaster is at an elevation of more than 2,300 feet. By the way the city has a population of 155,000 making it the 31^st largest city in California.

 

 

Today’s weather was drop dead gorgeous. The temperature was about 75° with a soft breeze and blue skies. Often the distance I could see snowcapped mountains. What are you waiting for? Move away from your terrible climate into Southern California, which has the best climate in the world.

 

10 bucks – UTVs, ATVs, Motorcycles.

I had paid $10 for my general admission ticket. I was given a wristband that would allow me to walk throughout the paddock area. In the paddock I could get up close and personal with the cars, bikes and drivers.

 

Hello Dave Miller.

I was able to renew acquaintances with UTV driver Dave Miller. I met him at last year’s races at Milestone Park. Dave lives out toward Apple Valley, California. He campaigns the number 347 UTV racer.

 

 

Today Dave and I spent several minutes in the paddock talking about UTV racing. His race team is called “Three Hands Racing. His wife is a major player with the team.

 

 

In a way UTV racing is a little bit like what NASCAR was when it first started in the late 50s and early 60s. Back then NASCAR racers went to a new car dealership, bought a car and soon it was on the track racing.

 

So what does a UTV cost?

Dave told me he had purchased his you UTV off the showroom floor for $16,000. He upgraded the roll cage, seat and a few other safety measures to the tune of $5,000 or $6000. In all a UTV racer similar to his will cost in the $22-$25,000 range.

 

 

Dave’s been racing for about 10 years. He’s a regular on the Dirt Series circuit finishing third in last year’s points. Dave called himself a “privateer”. He’s careful with his car since he’s paying for all the repairs.

 

 

It turns out a competing organization called “Quad X” has begun excepting UTV racers into their racing programs. This has cut into the UTV car count with Dirt Series. Quad X only races at the Glen Helen track. Today they were just four UTVs on hand. Three were in Dave’s 800 class with one other competitor.

 

It’s the start stupid.

For trackchasing purposes the start of a UTV race is critical. Some tracks that race UTVs start their competitors at multiple intervals. In those races each competitor is racing against the clock with the best elapsed time for the entire race being the winner.

 

 

In order for UTV racing to be trackchasing countable all competitors must start the race at the same time. Of course this is true of any class of racer in order for the track to count.

 

 

I had arrived at the track at about 10:10 a.m. When the program started on time, something that doesn’t happen all that often in oval track racing, the first UTV moto had already. At that point I could not confirm that every competitor had started the race at the same time. However when I asked Dave Miller, who was in the race himself, he acknowledged that everyone started with one green flag. That was good enough for me.

 

 

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Do not miss the motorcycle jumping in my video.

I really enjoyed watching the motorcycles and the ATVs. Those guys were very fast and got some major “air” in their jumps. I found those two classes to be the most entertaining of the day.

 

 

After all eight classes had run their first Moto the program stopped for about 10 minutes. This allowed the track workers time to come in and grab lunch and a drink. The break didn’t take long. They immediately went back to racing. These guys don’t waste time.

 

 

This would give me a chance to see the second moto, in it’s entirety for the UTVs. Just like Dave told me all for competitors in this class started the race at the same time.

 

 

The motorcycles followed the UTV race. I stayed for that just to see the great jumps these guys were taking. You really won’t want to miss today’s video. I would love to know how they learn to do this jumping. It doesn’t look easy or all that safe.

 

Gary Jacob…I can see you from here.

I was happy to mark off another California track. This gives me a total of 135 lifetime tracks in the Golden state. I still trail Gary Jacob’s state leading total of 149… although I’m getting closer.

 

 

At one time Gary was so far ahead I thought there was zero chance of me ever catching him. However with race classes like the UTVs and their unique racing venues I’ve been able to add several California tracks over the past few years.

 

 

I’ll have to do it a different way.

I’ll never pass Gary by seeing traditional oval stock car racing which was his bread-and-butter. There just aren’t enough of those tracks left to see. However, if enough UTV, winged kart and figure 8 tracks pop up you just never know. If I do pass him is that going to be a fair comparison? I really don’t know.

 

 

Today I was able to meet Dirt Series promoter Steve Miller. Steve has been quick to answer my email questions over the past couple of years. Today I met Steve for the first time. I thanked him for his response to my queries. You would be surprised at how many promoters do not answer my emails even though they leave their email contact info for the purpose of answering questions! I can’t imagine ever not answering someone who leaves a message on my website.

 

 

It was fun seeing Dave Miller and his wife again today. They are true grassroots racers. They don’t race for the prize money. They pay a $50 entry fee. Today they drove their truck and trailer nearly 200 miles round-trip to make the race. They paid more than $20,000 for their racer. That’s a serious commitment to the racing hobby. Congratulations to them!

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

 

Just sit back and relax.

On the drive home I simply relaxed on a Sunday afternoon for the 130- mile drive back to San Clemente. I spent that time listening to the “Serial” podcast. At this point I’m listing to it for the second time to pick up nuances that I didn’t hear during the first listening.

 

 

I was home by 4 p.m. in time to listen to the recorded broadcast of the NASCAR Sprint cup race from Phoenix. The entire pre-race show through post game interviews took four hours of TV time. I would guess it probably took me about two hours and 45 minutes to listen to the entire program. 

 

 

Next week?

Next week’s trackchasing is a little uncertain for me. There’s not a lot happening but I might be able to make a little trackchasing action in a Far West state if the weather cooperates. Where would that be? Sorry I can’t release that information for competitive reasons. However after I have finished that adventure, if it comes off, you’ll be the first to know.

 

 

California

 

 

The Golden state

This evening I saw my 135th lifetime track in the Golden state, yes the Golden state. That’s seems like a lot.

 

 

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

California sayings: Dudette!

 

 

 

 

QUICK FACTS

 

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Portland, OR (PDX) – 834 miles

Portland, OR (PDX) – Dallas, TX (DFW) – 1,616 miles 

 

RENTAL CAR #1

Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport – trip begins

Wichita Falls, TX

Ardmore, OK

Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport – trip ends – 267 miles

 

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Dallas, TX (DFW) – 1,233 miles

 

PERSONAL CAR

Los Angeles, CA (LAX)

Lancaster, CA

San Clemente, CA

Credit for LAX-San Clemente trip – 65 miles

Total personal car miles – 138

 

 

Total air miles – 3,683 (3 flights)

Total rental car miles – 267 (1 car)

Total personal car miles – 138

 

Total miles traveled on this trip – 4,088 miles 

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

AV Motoplex – $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 450 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me.

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2,066

 

 

 

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 a photo album from today’s racing: 

A great day of UTV, Motorcycle and Quad racing at the AV Motoplex