MEXICO

 

 

We live in San Clemente, California.  We are just 74 miles north of the Mexican border city of Tijuana.  Nevertheless, it took me until 2007 to see my very first race in Mexico.  It always seemed as if it was difficult to get racing information from south of the border.  Following my initial Mexican trackchasing conquest I went back for more in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 and now in 2017.

 

Despite the reported dangers of visiting Mexico we’ve never had a problem when visiting these Mexican tracks.  The people and food are wonderful.  NASCAR has a major racing series in the country.  That series can provide several future trackchasing trips to Mexico.

 

In the meantime you can check on the six tracks I HAVE seen in Mexico to date.  In those few visits, we’ve seen lots of the country and eaten some outstanding Mexican food.  We even stop at roadside “restaurants” when we come south of the border.  

 

 

As you read along you might find some information that reminds you of a similar experience you have had or provides some stimulus for you to take a trip to these parts of the world.  I think you will find the scenery interesting and the people most friendly.

 

 

Mexico was the 10th different country where I have had the opportunity to see racing.  

RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Lifetime Trackchasing Countries

 

# 1 – UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – Peoria Speedway (Mt. Hawley, oval)   

# 2 – CANADA – Cayuga Speedway (oval) – Track #174, Nelles Corner, Ontario, Canada 

# 3 – AUSTRALIA – Parramatta City Raceway (oval) – Track #180, Granville, New South Wales, Australia

# 4 – UNITED KINGDOM – Northhampton International Raceway (oval) – Track #378, Northhampton

# 5 – NETHERLANDS – Driesum Racetrack (oval) – Track #839, Driesum

# 6 – BELGIUM – Bellekouter oval (oval) – Track #841, Affligem

# 7 – FRANCE – Circuit de Croix en Ternois (road course) – Track #843, Saint-Pol sur-Ternoise

# 8 – GERMANY – Nurburgring (road course) – Track #844, Nurburg

# 9 – NEW ZEALAND – Western Springs Speedway (oval) – Track #1,134, Western Springs

# 10 – MEXICO – Triovalo Bernardo Obregon (oval) – Track #1,281, Tiajamulco de Zuniga, Jalisco

 

 

 

Greetings from Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

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From the travels and adventures of the 

“World’s #1 Trackchaser”

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Baja International Short Course at Estero Beach

Dirt road course

 Lifetime Track #2,437

 

 

 

 

THE EVENT

I am a “trackchaser”. So, what the heck is that? I get that question all the time from racing and non-racing people all the time. Here’s my best answer.

 

 

I’m a racing fan. I love to travel. I love to analyze opportunities to get the most out of everything while trying to save time and money.

 

 

Trackchasing fills the need for all three of the above. The racing part of my trackchasing has me trying to see wheel to wheel auto racing at as many different racetracks as I can all over the world. So far that is going pretty well. I’ve seen racing at more than 2,400 tracks in 80 countries. As a matter of fact, I’ve seen racing at more tracks than anyone else in the world.

 

 

Equally important to me are the people I get to meet and the things I get to see and experience over the “long and dusty trackchasing trail”. I called these sightseeing adventures “Trackchasing Tourist Attractions”. You won’t want to miss my “Trackchasing Tourist Attractions” page or my “Sports Spectating Resume” page on my website at www.randylewis.org. My website is all about “drop-down” menus. Keep clicking on things and you can waste an entire day!

 

 

I live in southern California. Most of the racetracks in the U.S. are located well over 1,000 miles from where I live. As a matter of fact, my average trip covers 5,000 miles and more. I take 35-40 of those trips each season. In any given year I will travel well over 200,000 miles, rent more than 50 cars, and stay in more than 150 hotel rooms.

 

 

I get the chance to meet people all over the world. With trips to 80 countries and counting just getting the chance to experience so many other cultures, spend time in their homes and meet their friends is a huge reward for being in this hobby. I am indebted to several of these folks for their help and friendship.

 

 

It takes a good deal of planning to do the above and not spend my entire retirement portfolio. I enjoy the challenge, the travel and every other aspect of “trackchasing”.

 

 

Today’s adventure was one more of the 2,000 trips that have taken me up, down and around the long and dusty trackchasing trail. If you would like to see where I’ve been and experience those adventures here’s the link:

 

 

Randy’s Complete Track List

 

 

If you’ve got a question, comment or whatever please leave it at the bottom of this report.  It’s very easy to do.  Or you can visit me on Facebook.  Thanks!

 

 

Randy on Facebook

 

 

 

FOREWORD

 

 

Sunday, May 20, 2018.

This weekend was supposed to be a “home game“ trackchasing trip for me. Nearly 100% of the trips I take east of the Mississippi require me to travel a minimum of 5,000 miles. I make about 30-40 of those trips every year. Whenever I can trackchase “out west“ it almost feels as if I never left home.

 

 

So what would a home game trackchasing weekend look like to me? First, on Friday I would trackchase up in Idaho at a new track called Black Canyon Speedway. It’s in Emmett, Idaho. On Saturday I would return to California and trackchase in the central part of the state. Yep. I would return to Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California.

 

 

Then on Sunday, I planned to trackchase during this mythical home game weekend in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico of all places. This would not be my first trackchasing trip to Mexico. It would actually be the eighth time I had ventured south of the border to see one form of auto racing or another.

 

 

Despite Mexico being such a close neighbor to the United States, it is not a popular trackchasing country. As a matter of fact, out of all of the trackchasers who have ever trackchased in the entire history of the hobby only a couple of fellows have ever made their way to Mexico. As a matter of fact, they WALKED in. That shows how timid trackchasers are when it comes to Mexican visits.

 

 

In addition to this being a home game trackchasing effort for me, Carol and I were all also celebrating a belated Mother’s Day. Most people had their Mother’s Day activities last weekend. However, it wasn’t convenient for us to do it on the traditional Mother’s Day date. We simply moved it back a week and had our celebration today.

 

 

I got home from last night’s race in Bakersfield, California at a little past midnight. This morning Carol and I were backing out of the driveway in the Carol Lewis owned and MFunds sponsored Lexus RX 350 at 9 a.m. Having almost 9 hours at home seemed like a luxury.

 

 

As you know Carol and I reside in a modest seaside cottage in the sleepy little village of San Clemente, California. We were headed south on Interstate five. We live only 74 miles north of the California/Mexican border.

 

 

Today’s racing was going to take place in somewhat nearby Ensenada, Mexico. Ensenada is 140 miles from San Clemente. In reality, it’s one of the closest racetracks to where we live of any.

 

 

There are only two foreign countries that border the continental United States. There is Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. Canada and Mexico are very very different countries.

 

 

I don’t even think of Canada as a foreign country. I call Canada “Minnesota light“. Of course, that is a compliment to Canada. With the exception of Quebec, pretty much all of Canada reminds me of Minnesota. I love Minnesota so that means I must love Canada.

 

 

Mexico is another animal. Of course, they speak Spanish in Mexico. In lots of places in Mexico, there is virtually no English spoken.

 

 

When I drive my own car into Canada or a rental car into Canada my own personal automobile insurance covers me. That is not the case in Mexico. When I drive in Mexico I am required by Mexican law to buy Mexican auto insurance.

 

 

Following a stop at McDonald’s in Leucadia, California, one of our favorite McDonald’s in the Southland, we headed to Mexico. Just a mile or two north of the border we stopped to buy one day’s worth of Mexican auto insurance.

 

 

Luckily our 2013 Lexus RX 350 has only recently fallen below $30,000 in value. Why is that Lucky? Well, as you all know Lexus retains its value better than virtually any other automobile brand. Our car is five years old. Right now in terms of buying Mexican auto insurance that’s a good thing. The maximum value they will ensure for any car driving to Mexico is $30,000 USD.

 

 

Buying Mexican auto insurance is very convenient for Americans driving into the country for a short stay. As a matter of fact today we completed the process using a drive-through lane and never left the car. California is the “convenient” state.

 

 

A young woman selling us the insurance had only a couple of questions. How long would we be staying? “One day”, was our answer. In actuality, we only planned to be in Mexico for about 10-12 hours. What was her other question? “Does the car have a leather interior?”

 

 

That seemed like a bit of an unusual question. However, in situations like this, I have learned to simply answer the question being offered and not to expand into any supplementary topics. I learned this important skill in sales. When you expand into the “supplementary topics” you can talk yourself out of the sale and potentially into a problem.

 

 

Some 10-12 minutes and $29 later we had a small booklet, which actually was about 50 pages or more, and the details confirming we had Mexican auto insurance for the day. Mexico has changed a lot since we first started coming here in the 1970s.

 

 

When our three children were in the 5-12 years of age range we had a Starcraft pop-up camper. We used to tow that down into Mexico and camp at the Estero Beach Hotel and Resort? Do you know what? That’s where today’s race was being held!

 

 

Today we would cross the border at Tijuana, Mexico. We’ve been to Tijuana a million times. J.J. and I have been to the bullfights in Tijuana. I used to go there with business people, into some very rough areas at night, when we had meetings in San Diego.

 

 

On one camping trip to Rosarito Beach, Mexico we were pulled over by the police at night. The guy was driving a beat-up old station wagon and used a flashlight glowing from his car to ours to get our attention. The “policeman” claimed our tail lights weren’t working on our camping trailer. He was probably right. We got out of that one without having to pay any fines or bribes!

 

 

My good buddy, Jim Hammer, and I entered the Rosarita Beach to Ensenada, Mexico bicycle ride about twenty years ago. That was a 50-mile ride and featured more than 10,000 bicycle riding enthusiasts. That didn’t work out all that well for me. I crashed at about the 45-mile mark and woke up on a backboard inside a Mexican ambulance. I was transported to a San Diego hospital.

 

 

That was one of my wilder weekends. Carol got a call that I was in the hospital without any comment on my condition. She rushed down to San Diego to find me recuperating in a hospital bed. After taking the requisite tests I was released from the hospital that evening. However, my buddy Mr. Hammer and I were not riding near each other at the time of my accident.

 

 

Jim Hammer is the wealthiest friend I have. He has held that position for probably more than 30 years. On that day in Mexico, I was carrying all of our cash and IDs. Because of my accident, I couldn’t meet him at the agreed-upon location at the end of the race. That meant he had no money or ID. He had to talk his way into our hotel room in Ensenada and beg a busboy for a cheeseburger.

 

 

When I was released from the hospital it had already been a long day even though it was only about 7 p.m. I had already ridden my bike 45 miles. I had been in a rescue ambulance and then the hospital for another 4-5 hours. Despite it being the end of the day Carol and I had no choice but to drive from San Diego back in Mexico try to find my friend. We got there at about 2 a.m. After pounding on the door we were able to awaken this pretty worn out bicycle rider from a dead sleep. He had called around to the local hospitals with no success trying to find me. He had finally gone to bed without knowing exactly what happened to his bicycle riding fraternity brother.

 

 

At that point, we didn’t have a lot of options. Yes, it had been quite a day. The three of us all went to bed in the hotel room wondering where my bicycle might be at this point in time. The next morning we reversed the 50-mile course with the optimistic view that somehow my bicycle might be lying along the road somewhere. This was Mexico. It wasn’t lying along the road!

 

 

However, on Monday morning when I called the race organizers they knew where my bike was. A woman had been driving behind me during the ride in an automobile. She was spotting for her own group and had seen my accident. She told me another bicycle rider had crossed in front of me causing the crash. I had absolutely no recollection of that crash whatsoever, despite the fact I was wearing a helmet.

 

 

One moment I have been riding along in the race and the next moment I was in the ambulance. Luckily for me, the woman thought to retrieve my bike. We made arrangements for me to pick it up from her. I gave her a nice certificate gift certificate from Nordstrom‘s in appreciation for her conscientiousness and compassion.

 

 

As you can see, I have a bit of history with Mexico and Ensenada in particular. I wanted to expand that history but in a more successful and comfortable fashion today.

 

 

We took the scenic route from TJ to Ensenada. The Mexican portion of the drive lasted about an hour and a half. The route goes along the Pacific Ocean. On a beautiful sunny day it’s one of the most spectacular sights you’re going to see. Today was a cloudy and misty day diminishing the quality of the scenery quite a bit.

 

 

The scenic route is a toll road. There are three tolls between the border and Ensenada. The first two tolls are 35 pesos or about two dollars. The third toll, only arrived at through logic of Mexico, is 37 pesos or a bit more than two dollars. We had pesos and paid in local currency.

 

 

We pulled into Ensenada at about noon. Today’s first afternoon race wasn’t scheduled to begin until 2 p.m. That would give us plenty of time to go into a local restaurant and have some lunch. Like I do in the United States when I’m in a “foreign place” I used Yelp to help us find a good place to eat.

 

 

Yelp rarely lets me down. Today it told me that the Birrieria La Guadalajara restaurant would be a good place to have our midday meal. We found it easily.

 

 

By the way, just like in virtually any place in the world that I travel I used my Waze GPS system. It works well in Mexico. Today an amigo, working for the restaurant, was managing their parking spots. For just a twenty peso tip I was insured we would be friends for a lifetime. He gave me the president’s parking spot and we marched into the restaurant.

 

 

It was an early Sunday afternoon. The restaurant was absolutely packed. There were people waiting outside to get tables. However, because I had befriended the parking attendant he moved us to the top of the list. We had a table in less than a minute in one of the premier locations in the entire restaurant.

 

 

I’m going to say there were well over 100 people enjoying their lunch at the Birrieria La Guadalajara restaurant. They had a mariachi band. The beer and margaritas were flowing freely.

 

 

At home, Carol and I probably eat in Mexican restaurants multiple times each week. San Clemente has several of them and we have our favorites. I often think that the United States does ethnic food better than the countries where those foods originate. I will single out China, Italy and Mexico as countries where I believe the food in the United States represents those countries better than it is in those countries themselves. I say that with the confidence of tens if not hundreds of visits to those locations.

 

 

The ambiance of the Birrieria La Guadalajara restaurant receives an A+ in my grading book. It was so cool. There were so many people in this little “hole in the wall” place with Mexican music playing and families just enjoying being together. It was a perfect Mother’s Day brunch except for one thing.

 

 

I had tacos and Carol had some kind of meat stew. We supplemented our entrées with chips and guacamole. The restaurant added other things such as chopped onions and a couple of different salsas. The food LOOKED fantastic.

 

 

Carol and I love spicy food. Most people our age and most people who grew up in the Midwest like we did do NOT like spicy food. We have lived in California long enough, almost forty years, to enjoy our restaurants. The spicier the better.

 

 

Today’s Mexican food was the BLANDEST Mexican food I have ever eaten in my life. If I tell you that I thought I have eaten more than 1,000 Mexican meals of my life you had better believe it because it is true. We couldn’t for the life of us accept that we were in the heart of Baja California, Mexico and the food had absolutely ZERO spice. Nevertheless, we enjoyed ourselves to the hilt with the fantastic ambiance.

 

 

 

THE RACING

 

 

Baja International Short Course at Estero Beach – Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

 

 

From the restaurant to the race track was a short drive of about 20-30 minutes. The Estero Beach Hotel and Resort is located on the south side of Ensenada. The official name of today’s track is the Baja International Short Course at Estero Beach.

 

 

I didn’t really know what to expect. What we ended up seeing exceeded those somewhat unknown expectations. This was a much bigger deal than I have been anticipating.

 

 

Today’s racing was being sanctioned by the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing series (LORR). That’s the series the pretty much operates in the western part of the country with most of their races in Arizona and Utah.

 

 

They have been coming to Mexico for the last three years or so. Without other tracks in the west to tie this race into I never wanted to use up an entire weekend in May for just one track visit to Mexico. However, as noted with races in first Idaho and then California this weekend, a trip to Mexico to complete a three-track weekend made all the sense in the world.

 

 

What we found was a very professional event with a huge crowd. Maybe I wasn’t thinking straight but I never really anticipated the Mexican population would be this enthused over a race like this. I’m going to guess there were 2,000- 3000 people in attendance, maybe more. What surprised me most was there were very few gringos in the audience like us. I would say the crowd was well over 98% Mexican.

 

 

I had no idea for sure what the ticket prices would be. They ended up being a little bit higher than I expected. General admission tickets were $23 per person U.S.

 

 

I hung around the ticket selling area for a few minutes hoping that somebody had a few extra sponsor tickets they might be able to part with for a little bit less than 23 bucks a pop. That didn’t happen. So I ponied up and paid for our tickets by credit card.

 

 

This afternoon’s racing agenda called for five major races. The cars, trucks, and buggies would be racing on a dirt road course. I’m going to guess the track was about a mile in length but that’s only a guess.

 

 

The temperature was in the mid-60s. It was cloudy and there was a pretty stiff breeze blowing. Luckily that breeze was at our backs. In reality, it was a pretty chilly day in a place that can get awfully warm during the summer months.

 

 

I won’t say too much about the racing itself. You have the photos and videos to help you out with that. I will tell you this. This form of racing, stadium off-road racing, when they have enough competitors is one of my most enjoyable racing events that I see anywhere. The action is intense and just lots of fun.

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

We were out of the track by about 5 p.m. Without traffic, that’s a BIG “without”, it would be an 86-mile, two-hour drive to the San Diego airport. I was planning to take a 10:45 p.m. flight to Charlotte.

 

 

I knew there would be heavy traffic crossing the border in Tijuana back into San Diego. I just didn’t know how heavy. I elected to take Carol out for a nice formal sit-down dinner in Ensenada. When we used to camp with the kids in Ensenada we stopped more than once at the El Rey Sol eatery. It’s a French/Mexican restaurant. We hadn’t been here in probably more than twenty years.

 

 

We had a nice meal. The place was a little more formal than we remembered it. They even had a musical duet singing songs like “Back home Chicago” in our section. Who would have expected songs being sung in English by two lounge singers in Ensenada?

 

 

Dinner ran to a little past 6 p.m. I still had nearly five hours before my flight was leaving and it was less than ninety miles to the border. You would think that would work right? Not exactly.

 

 

The worst time to cross the border at Tijuana is on Sunday night. This was Sunday night. All of the people who had gone to Mexico for the weekend were now headed back home.

 

 

It all went well until we were about two miles from the border crossing. Then we hit a complete standstill. We traveled those last two miles in about 3 ½ hours! All the while we were stopped in traffic Mexican sellers offered up everything from porcelain statues of Jesus to live puppy dogs! If you’ve never seen this it is something to see. We’ve made this trip many times.

 

 

We came skidding to a halt in front of the San Diego airport at 10:25 p.m. My flight was leaving in 20 minutes. Unfortunately, they had closed the flight. Missed it!

 

 

Now it was time for a new plan. I would drive with Carol back to our modest seaside cottage. We got home about midnight. Then I was up at 3 a.m. and leaving for LAX. If I made a 6 a.m. departure to Charlotte I could still catch the racing at the Mountain Creek Speedway in Catawba, North Carolina on Monday night. Did I make it? Read my next Trackchaser Report to find out!

 

 

 

Randy Lewis – 80 countries – 2,437 tracks.

 

 

 

Mexico

 

 

The Pearl of the Pacific state

This afternoon I saw racing at my 5th-lifetime track in the Mexican state of Baja California. The Baja International Short Course at Estero Beach was the eighth track where I’ve seen racing in Mexico. I hold the #1 trackchasing ranking in both the state of Baja California and the country of Mexico.

 

 

 

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

Mexican sayings:  Arrieros somos y en el camino andamos.

 

 

We are all mule drivers in the fields.  We are all human beings making our way through life. Don’t criticize or judge others. We are all subject to problems and failings.

 

QUICK FACTS

 

 

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

 

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2,437

 

 

Total Trackchasing Countries

There are no trackchasers currently within 25 countries of my lifetime total. 

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 80

 

 

 

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 4.14

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Click on the links below to see the video production from the racing action today.

 

 

Baja International Short Course racing at Estero Beach

 

 

 

 

 

Click on the links below to see a photo album from my trackchasing trip to Mexico.  You can view the album slide by slide or click on the “slide show” icon for a self-guided tour of today’s trackchasing adventure.

 

Baja International Short Course at Estero Beach

A real good day in Mexico and pretty close to home