Greetings from Bronson, Florida
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From the travels and adventures of the “World’s #1 Trackchaser”
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Bronson Motor Speedway
Asphalt figure 8
Track #785
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Bronson Motor Speedway
Asphalt oval
Track #786
AND THE READERS RESPOND Recently, I wrote about my disgust with Southwest Airlines boarding procedures. Seems like I didn’t know how to work the Southwest system. Jim S. from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida writes: When you fly Southwest, you can check in on-line 24 hours in advance. You’re almost guaranteed to get issued an “A” boarding pass if you do. There are 45 people in the A group, 45 in the B group, the remainder are in the C group. The process is pretty simple, the numbers as you check in are printed on the boarding pass. For example, if you are the 47th person to check in, you’re in the B group. As long as you get an A group boarding pass, you can comfortably sit in the boarding area until there are a few people left in the A line and then walk onto the plane. Also, you’ll get an aisle or window seat (and overhead space) for sure. When the last person in the A group boards, there are at least 90 seats left on the plane, there are approximately 70 center seats (on 35 row 737’s). I fly Southwest to Ft. Lauderdale all the time and I never worry about standing in line at all (as long as I have an A group boarding pass) and I always get an aisle seat with overhead space. Mike L. from up near Mercer, Pennsylvania has this comment about fast food consumption strategy: “Why (would) anyone dining in order a medium or large drink at a place where you can help yourself to refills. That one always blows my mind.” I’ll admit that I occasionally make the mistake of ordering a larger drink when I’m dining in and regret my poor decision. I’ll paraphrase the feedback I got on why road course racing always attracts the really good-looking women. Apparently, “The guys with Porches and BMWs are more appealing to the ladies than the street stock driver with muddy boots. Beauty attracts beauty”. I also received a few other comments agreeing that the country has too many poorly educated folks and they seem to reproducing at a faster rate than the rest of the population. THE CHASE FOR THE 2004 CHAMPIONSHIP Until the end of the year, I will keep you posted on the battle for the 2004 trackchasing title and my personal effort to break the all-time record for new tracks seen in one year. Here are the current top trackchasers and number of tracks seen for 2004. RANDY LEWIS, San Clemente, California – 104 ED ESSER, Madison, Wisconsin – 93 ROLAND VANDEN EYNDE, Vilvoorde, Belgium – 80 ROGER FERRELL, Majentica, Indiana – 58 ANDY SIVI, Clairton, Pennsylvania – 58 WILL WHITE, Quakertown, Pennsylvania – 58 It should be noted that Ed Esser is the defending trackchaser champion. Last year, he established an all-time record with 114 new tracks. As many of you know, Ed and I are college fraternity brothers. Ed, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, follows the football team closely. By the way, the Badgers are undefeated this season. I’m happy for Ed, but it pains me to say it because friend and golf club member, Greg Z. is also a Badger grad and sometimes too fond of reminding everyone of that fact when UW is doing well. Ed Esser is also one of the most prolific trackchasers ever to drive down Interstate 94. He’s telling everyone that he has to supervise the football parking lot at two more University of Wisconsin football games, so his trackchasing will be limited. Should I believe him? Ed is the type of trackchaser who will drive from Wisconsin to Florida for a weekend of racing, drive back to Wisconsin for a few days and then drive right back to Florida for another weekend of racing. Fraternity brother blood is only so thick. I can’t be lulled into complacency by Ed’s low-key approach. I have a college football conflict as well. I will be at the Rose Bowl for Bruin games against Stanford, Washington State and usc. Nevertheless, I will keep an eye on Ed because my lead over him could be erased very quickly. THE CHASE FOR THE ALL-TIME TRACKCHASER RECORD FOR NEW TRACKS IN ONE YEAR 11 to go! Today was another trackchasing double. This time I was able to achieve a same venue double. Just eleven more tracks to break the all-time record before the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s eve. PEOPLE/TRAVEL NEWS Carol and I were off to the airport at a later than usual 5:45 a.m. I’ll be making this trip solo. I have a hard time asking Carol to make some of these trackchasing trips when there is so much driving involved and not much time for sightseeing. I’ve convinced her to travel 49 nights this year and we have several more trips scheduled for the year. I don’t want to wear her out! I’m actually leaving one day early for this trackchasing trip. I think of myself as the “Rick Hendrick” of trackchasing (no Andy S., not the “Bill Gates of trackchasing” like you tried to put on me). Rick Hendrick is the owner of a few NASCAR teams. His teams have won the NASCAR championship several times during his 20 years of car ownership. Hendrick teams are noted for their preparation and performance. Whenever there are just a couple of races remaining on the schedule and his driver is leading the championship, extra precautions are taken to make sure they don’t lose their lead. My Friday night plan for this trip is to get two tracks at one location (smartly named the “two tracks at one location” double). Even if I leave on the very first flight, I will arrive into Jacksonville, Florida at about 5 p.m. with a connection. It will take me an hour or so to get my bags and rental car. The track in Bronson is a two-hour drive from the Jacksonville airport. If I had flown into Jacksonville on Friday and was on time the earliest I would have arrived at the track was 8 p.m. If there were any delays at all, I would miss the chance to get two tracks. In order to make up the loss of two tracks, I might have to schedule an entirely new trip that could end up taking three more days of travel coming and going from California. Net, the safest option was simply to come in on Thursday and have plenty of time to get my double at Bronson on Friday. There would also be another benefit to arriving a day early. I’ll tell you about that later. I think my ticket price to Florida on Delta Airlines was $230. That seems pretty cheap. I don’t imagine you could fly from California to Florida for much less twenty years ago. Maybe that’s why most of the big airlines are on their way to going out of business. The traveler won’t pay more for a ticket and the airlines have a hard time controlling their costs. When your customers are unwilling to pay more for your product, but your cost of doing business continues to increase, you’re going to go out of business soon. Nevertheless, there have been some positive changes in the airline business. I like it when systems and/or technology give me more choices and flexibility. On today’s flight there was no “Free” food. The pay as you go menu offered a plain bagel for $3, a fruit plate for $5 or a turkey bagel for $6. If my flight had departed after 9 a.m., I could have chosen a kid’s pb&j box for $5 that included a pb&j sandwich, Oreos, carrot sticks and Nabisco Fruit Snacks. I could have even eaten a slice of the “Mount Everest” of chocolate cakes for six bucks. Skeptics might say, “but the food used to be free!” I consider the food free, even though they now charge for it, since the airplane ticket charge has not gone up in 20 years. There’s also more choice under the current food program. They even allow you to pay for your purchase by credit card. Of course, everyone knows you only have to pay the minimum monthly amount on those high interest credit cards. It’s as if you’re using their money! I’ve had the good fortune to turn several of my trackchasing trips into visits with friends who live all over the country. That would be the case on this trip as well. Jim and Jane S. are good friends who just moved into a new home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. They moved to Florida from the Cleveland, Ohio area a couple of years ago. I’ve known Jim for more than 30 years as we worked together at P&G. He and I have gone racing all over the country. We’ve been going to Eldora every year for more than 10 years. I can still remember a racing trip that Carol and I took with Jim and Jane to Winchester, Indiana. I remember going up to the announcing booth to ask a question after the races were over (ASA races were worth staying to the finish back then). The late NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki was in the booth with the announcer when I walked in. I also remember that Dick Trickle was staying at our hotel and we crossed paths to say hello during our stay. I don’t remember races any better than ASA stock cars at Winchester, especially the “Winchester 400”. The Sabo’s have a beautiful new home. Carol and I lived in a condominium for about nine months after we sold our last house and waited for the new one to be built. The Sabo’s lived in an apartment for more than a year while they waited for their new house to be finished. Carol and I have another set of friends who will spend between one and two years living in temporary quarters in San Clemente before their new home is completed. Yet, another couple that we travel to UCLA games with has just purchased a lot in Northern California and will end up living temporarily somewhere while that house is built. All of us are in our mid-50s and have built or are building that dream home. It’s a lot of work, but in the end, it’s worth it. Anyway, thanks to the Sabo’s for their fine hospitality and happy birthday, Jane! Also, thanks for the stadium seats, I used one tonight. Since I arrived in Florida one day early, I had plenty of time to get to Bronson from Ponte Vedra Beach. Gainesville, Florida, home of the University of Florida was on the way. I took a quick tour of the campus, walked inside the basketball arena and bought a t-shirt. Now when I see Florida playing a home game on TV, I’ll feel like I’ve been there because I have. I also had time to see a movie. I can’t tell you which movie. Why? Carol doesn’t like me to “preview” her movies. Her idea of my previewing a movie for her is when I see a movie on the road and then invite her to see the same movie when we’re home together. I’ve circumvented this matrimonial requirement by telling her that I saw a movie on the road but not mentioning which movie that was. Therefore, when we go to the movies together, she does not feel conflicted and I can still enjoy a movie I think she will like that I’ve already seen. In the interest of full disclosure, Carol is fully aware of this procedure. Anyway, I highly recommend this movie and if you want to know what it was, and agree not to tell Carol, send me a private email. I forgot to mention in my last trackchasing report that if you are caught speeding by eleven miles or more over the limit in a construction zone in Pennsylvania, you will lose your license for 15 days. RACE TRACK NEWS: The Bronson Motor Speedway, oval and figure eight tracks are my 785th and 786th lifetime tracks to meet or exceed all current trackchaser rules. They are my 103rd and 104th tracks of the season. These tracks are my 29th and 30th countable tracks in Florida. It’s also my third trip to Florida this season to go trackchasing. Carol and I were planning to go to the Bronson Motor Speedway just six weeks ago. We landed in Tampa and had plenty of time to make it to the track. Unfortunately, because of Hurricane Frances, the track had other plans and ended up canceling even though the hurricane was more than a day away. In hindsight that turned out to be lucky for me. Back in September, they were only running on the oval track and tonight they will race on both the oval and the figure 8 track. I arrived at the track at about 5 p.m. I didn’t know when the program was scheduled to start. I tried to find a place to eat in downtown Bronson, except there really is no downtown Bronson. Bronson is pretty much a one-stoplight town. I find small rural towns in Florida to be some of the most economically depressed communities of anywhere I go in my travels. Now that I have an AC adapter for my computer that runs off the car battery, I can get a lot of work done in the car without having battery problems or needing a hotel room. Now, if I could only get some satellite internet service while I’m in the car. Tonight’s admission price was $15. That seemed a bit steep for a lower level racing program even if it did include a school bus figure 8 race. I entered the track at 7 p.m. just as hot laps were nearing completion. I sent my press release up to the announcer in the press box. I then waited to see if he would make a trackchaser announcement before deciding if I was going to like the track or not. The announcer did make an announcement about the #8 trackchaser in the world over a rather robust PA system. I immediately began to see how smooth the bleacher boards were, how rust free the wheel fence really was and what a sweet aroma surrounded the speedway grounds as the smells from the cotton candy machine wafted their way across the finely manicured surroundings. All of a sudden I was awakened from my dreamlike state of enjoyment by this announcement, “Would Randy Lewis please meet a fellow in a red, white and blue jacket who wants to meet the #1 trackchaser living west of the Mississippi. He’ll be down behind the grandstands by the photo booth”. I’ve had a few occasions where my press release has introduced me to varied and sundry people. This is the way I met #9 ranked trackchaser, John Moore, for the very first time. I packed up my photo and radio gear and headed down to the photo booth. Soon I was introducing myself to Paul Rodis, a race fan from Maryland. Paul is an outgoing man, 66 years of age, who has just relocated from Maryland to Land O’ Lakes, Florida. Paul is an avid reader of Guy Smith’s Area Auto Racing News column where Guy talks about trackchasing. Paul, proving that he has never been to the P&G sponsored “smooth-talking” seminar, said that he read and enjoyed Guy’s column where he “talks about all the trackchasers, but I’ve never ever heard of you, Randy”. Ouch! Paul and I talked for a few minutes and I invited him to come over and sit with me. I gave him a copy of one of my older press releases. He seemed intrigued by the information it provided. When he finished reading the press release, he looked at me and said, “I can’t believe it!” “Paul, what can’t you believe”, I asked. “You’re the #1 trackchaser living west of the Mississippi, you’ve seen more than 100 tracks this season and you’re attempting to break the all-time record for new tracks in one season”, he said. “Yes, Paul that’s exactly right” I agreed. “And Guy Smith never mentions you, I can’t believe it”, Paul exclaimed. Of course this was only Paul’s point of view, but he remained adamant that he “had never heard of me” until tonight. Paul reminded me of a little white-haired Russian (actually he had that little twinkle is his eye that reminds me of Andy Ritter. Andy, you need to meet Paul, because his facial expressions are exactly like what I envision yours to be when you’re 66. Of course, this is a compliment to both Paul and Andy) who had lived in the Soviet Union for his entire life and had just learned that there really is professional baseball outside of Russia. Anyway, Paul and I had a pleasant evening talking about tracks and trackchasers. The people who read these words and are responsible for relaying information to Rick Schneider should tell Rick that Paul specifically asked to have a “Hi” said to Rick. Paul has, according to his count, 154 tracks. He was surprised Will White was not in the top 10. Paul told me he had met Bruce and Pat Eckel along the trackchasing road. He also knew all about being able to count two tracks tonight at Bronson, as they would race on both the oval and figure 8 track. Even though hot laps were completed at 7:15 p.m., the race program did not commence until 8 p.m. Although the steep wooden grandstands were only eight rows high, they held a very large crowd of folks who had to fork over three or four hours pay to get in. They ran three oval classes that included pure stocks (14), modifieds (9) and V8 bombers (9). There were only four heat races and they were completed by 8:25 p.m. I was happy to see the program moving along so well, since I had a 600 plus mile drive ahead of me to get to Saturday afternoon’s program in Carthage, Tennessee. I’ve been listening to some rather outspoken critics that say I should stay for more feature races. I thought it would be a good idea to begin listening to these folks. Why don’t I try out this new approach tonight? Here’s the schedule of events for tonight’s program: Two pure stock heats One modified heat One V8 bomber heat Modified feature Pure stock feature V8 bomber feature Stock car figure 8 feature School bus figure 8 feature Now, I’m sure my critics will say I have just begun implementing my “see all the oval features at a track” rehabilitation program because I had to stay for the figure 8 race to count the figure 8 track. I’ve learned that no matter what, you can never satisfy your critics so I won’t even try. After a 20 minute intermission, the 30-lap modified feature and the 20 lap features for the other two classes became spin and crash fests. I truly was wishing I was on the road by now but the figure 8 hook was much too strong to allow me to leave. It was 10:45 p.m. before these three feature events were completed. They ran four heats in 25 minutes including the national anthem. Following intermission, it took them two hours to run three features where not that many cars raced. The delays were exacerbated (got to watch my spelling) by a flagman who waved the yellow much too quickly. The highlight of the evening was the figure 8 racing. The stock car group started 17 cars. Several were of the Indianapolis Speedrome quality. No major wrecks but a lot of narrow escapes and fast cars. The school bus figure 8 race was even more exciting. They started 12 buses. Trackchaser rules only allow us to count cars and trucks. It is widely assumed that buses are also trucks. I’ll go with that. The buses seemed much faster than when I saw school buses race at Illiana a few weeks ago. There was only one hit at the “X” with the buses but the announcer did a great job of “yelling” the entire time to keep the crowd into it. At the end, Paul said he felt the announcer was a bit much. I agreed. At 11:15 p.m., the program was over. I bade farewell to Paul Rodis with the promise that we might meet up again somewhere down the long and dusty trackchasing trail.. You didn’t think you’d get me to say where we would meet did you? I’m a little sharper in this area than Mr. Schneider. Actually, I doubt if Rick Schneider provides any information to other trackchasers that he doesn’t really want to give out. Anyway, no time for a hotel tonight. It’s “on the road again”. RACE TRACK FOOD: With no food choices in town, I was left to eat dinner at the track. Of course, that can be hazardous to your health. I went with the chicken fingers (to cut down on the bread) and the deep fried onion rings. It was all washed down with a Miller High Life beer. The local Girl Scout troop constantly paraded past the crowd selling “baked goods”. I resisted as long as I could. Really, I put up a good fight. However, just before the figure 8 races began, I caved in. I went with two pieces of pineapple upside down cake at one dollar each. It was a great value and the goodies were good. RENTAL CAR UPDATE: I will be driving the National Rental Car Racing Chevy Impala. For some reason, rental cars were very expensive in Jacksonville. My hotwire.com search yielded a rate of $63.95 a day. That would not work. I was able to score a corporate rate of $36.50 with National. When I rent cars and the agent holds all the car keys, I always ask for the car in my class with the lowest miles. That question on this trip, yielded a rental car with only five miles on it! Just another tip to reward my readers and make their future travel plans more enjoyable. ED ESSER & P.J. HOLLEBRAND UPDATE: As of October 21, 2004, the battle for positions 7-10 in the worldwide trackchaser standings is as follows: P.J. added one track since our last update. Weather permitting, as in bad weather for P.J. and good weather for me, I could pass P.J. this weekend in the worldwide trackchaser standings. It’s very rare for a position change in the top 20. It only happens a couple of times each year. Ed got three tracks in last week with a quick trip to Oklahoma. Wisconsin has a football game this weekend so Ed may not be able to get to more than one or two tracks. CUMULATIVE DRIVING DISTANCES: Jacksonville, Florida Airport – trip begins Bronson, Florida – 207 miles Cumulative miles driven in rental cars for 2004 trackchasing trips – 21,353 Cumulative miles driven in friend’s car for 2004 trackchasing trips – 907 Cumulative miles driven in my personal car for 2004 trackchasing trips – 2,222 Cumulative miles driven for all trackchasing trips – 23,267 Cumulative air miles flown for all trackchasing trips – 66,188 Cumulative cruise ship miles for all trackchasing trips – 6,431 (estimated) Cumulative miles traveled (car, air and ship) for all trackchasing trips – 95,886 Total miles driven in my personal car for all activities in 2004 – 8,141 TRACK ADMSSION PRICES (U.S. DOLLARS): Bronson Motor Speedway – $15 Thanks for reading about my trackchasing, Randy Lewis The California Outlaw That’s all the news that’s fit to print from San Clemente where the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and all of the children are above average. I’m sorry that due to competitive reasons, I can no longer post my future trackchasing plans. My fellow competitor’s do not post their future plans which allows them to keep their trackchasing research results to themselves. I have been freely sharing all of my trackchasing research since day one. I even offer an Excel spreadsheet, which lists every new track racing date opportunity that I know of. I regret that I will no longer be able to advise my trackchasing peers of where “The California Outlaw” will be trackchasing. This policy will be under review and could change in the future. ** Anderson Speedway – Oval, Anderson, Indiana, September 24 ** Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, Ohio, June 12 ** Charleston Speedway, Charleston, Illinois, May 22 ** Sunshine Speedway (oval), Pinellas Park, Florida, April 3 ** Central Arizona Raceway, Casa Grande, Arizona, January 20 GREETINGS FROM BRONSON, FLORIDA,
Planned new racetracks (on the last day of each racing trip I will post my tentative plans for my next trip)
Racetracks visited in 2004 (** not the first time to visit this track)