The Central Jersey Speedway in New Egypt, New Jersey is officially listed as my 194th-lifetime track. They raced on an asphalt oval. Later they changed to a dirt racing surface and renamed the track, New Egypt Speedway. “New Egypt” is officially listed as my 644th-lifetime track.

 

You should know that as a racechaser I NEVER EVER went back to see racing at a facility just because they changed their type of race surface. I never ever went to see a free-standing figure 8 show. Those are “trackchasing things”.

 

Trackchasing rules allow chasers to count a track twice in the case of surface changes. I have no idea who thought that one up. I never would have imagined doing such a thing…ever. However, in order to compare my results, using a common form of comparison, my totals have met and exceeded all trackchasing rules in place at the time I went to see racing at any track on my list. 

 

I did not begin writing my famous “Trackchaser Reports” until the middle of the year 2000.  My first official Trackchaser Report was written for track #425, the State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Missouri.  I saw that track with my brother Mark on May 28, 2000.

 

Before 1980, I never kept track of when I went to a track. I just know from memory that I had seen racing at 71 different racetracks from when I was born in 1949 through the 1979 season. This was affectionately known as the “Group of 71”.

 

You see when I first became a racing fan I never gave the idea of “trackchasing” a passing thought. Why? Trackchasing requires the funds to travel long distances. I grew up poor. We had no money for travel. The ONLY vacation I can ever remember taking until I was in college was a bus trip from Peoria, Illinois to Evansville, Indiana to visit my grandparents. We had absolutely no money for luxuries and travel was a luxury.

 

I began my racing fan “career” as a “racechaser”. How did I decide beginning in college and running through the early 80s where I would go to the races? That was easy! I simply followed my favorite drivers. I scoured the Hawkeye Racing News for advertised race dates. I followed my favorite dirt driver, Darrell Dake, all over his home state of Iowa and my home state of Illinois. We were big Dick Trickle fans. When he was racing at a big show we tried to make it there. Yep. I was a racechaser. I didn’t give a second thought to whether I was visiting a new track or not.

 

However, somewhere in the 80s, I decided I liked going to a track for the first time more so than re-visiting a track for the 10^th time. It was also about this time that Darrell Dake was slowing down his race schedule and Dick Trickle was moving from the midwestern short tracks to NASCAR. Of course, during the 60s and 70s, I was a regular at my hometown track, the Peoria Speedway. To this day the Peoria Speedway remains my all-time favorite track.

 

CENTRAL JERSEY SPEEDWAY

 

Much of what I can tell you about the Central Jersey Speedway is from memory. I went there on a Wednesday night, July 17, 1991. Don Sammarco, driving his #15 stock car won the main event.

 

Here’s what is sort of weird about that visit. In 1991 I was living, as I do now but not in the same modest seaside cottage, in San Clemente, California. San Clemente is 2,763 miles from New Egypt, New Jersey. It would take you 41 hours to drive that distance.

 

I saw Central Jersey’s racing on a Wednesday night. The previous Sunday night I had seen racing at a new track in Grantville, Pennsylvania. Then I didn’t see another race of any kind until ten days later when I showed up at the Cajon Speedway (above) in El Cajon, California.

 

Did I go all the way out to New Egypt, New Jersey from California just to see the Central Jersey Speedway? Honestly, I don’t remember. I was still working for the man. It’s hard to imagine I would see a race in Pennsylvania on Sunday and hang out all the way until Wednesday to add one more track. What’s my main memory of the Central Jersey Speedway? They had a sparse crowd and I had a turkey sandwich!  

 

I can tell you that “The History of America’s Speedways – Past and Present” authored by Allan E. Brown has this to say about the Central Jersey Speedway. By the way, I can’t even imagine the level of research it took to make this book. There is a listing from virtually every racetrack that ever existed in the U.S. and Canada. It truly does border on the unbelievable. Well done!

 

This speedway opened as a 1/5-mile dirt/sand oval in 1954. It seems as if they immediately paved the track for a race on July 18, 1954. They raced until 1958 then closed but re-opened in 1960 and ran until 1987. There must have been problems because after the 1987 season they closed again only to re-open from 1990-1992 (remember I went there in 1991) and then 1995-1996. During this time the track was also known as the Thunder Bowl Speedway.

 

From 1998-2000 the track was back to dirt on a 3/8-mile oval. For the 2001 season, they increased the length of the track to ½-mile and they race at the newly named New Egypt Speedway to this day.

 

The track has operated under different names during its history. This quite often signifies new ownership. New owners; new name! These names included Ocean County Speedway and Fort Dix.

 

Reprinted with permission from my Tuesday, June 17, 2003, Trackchaser Report.

 

NEW EGYPT SPEEDWAY

 

Greetings from New Egypt, New Jersey

 

PEOPLE/TRAVEL NEWS

 

This like most of my racing trips has been fun.  My strategy since retirement is to take fewer racing trips but to stay out a little longer.  Since I no longer have to “get back” for work I can take the time to make the trip 6-10 days rather than just a long weekend.  This plan also minimizes the airport hassle by 50%.  I also hope to have Carol come along on most of the longer trips for at least some of the time.

 

This particular trip was twelve nights out for me (Carol joined in for seven nights in the middle of the trip).  Except for a two-night stay at the ocean in Maine, it was a different hotel every night.  The most we paid was $90 per night (at the ocean) and the least was $26 for the Knotty Pine Inn in rural Pennsylvania.  I’ll get back into San Clemente for one day before I head out to Baja California, Mexico for a three-day golf outing with three of my college fraternity brothers.  Retirement is tough!

 

Retirement can also be expensive.  It costs money to entertain yourself and your loved ones.  I counted 32 Visa receipts from the trip.  I try to use credit cards whenever I can to minimize the need for cash.  It seemed like tolls and fast food was the major consumers of the green stuff.  By the way, what do you carry with you in your wallet?  Any women care to share the complete contents of their purse?

 

I try to travel as light as possible.  In my right pocket, I carry only a money clip for bills (don’t like hundreds because they’re too difficult to break and don’t like ones because they strain my money clip) and a maximum of three personal checks.  Carol won’t give me any more checks since I always forget to tell her who I wrote a check too or for how much.  In my left pocket, I carry only one car key and my golf club locker room key.  In my back right pocket I have a Visa card and my driver’s license.  Does anyone go lighter than that?

 

I dropped Carol off Monday morning at the Harrisburg Airport.  I then sped off to Philadelphia for a luncheon meeting with Nestle logistics executive Louis Skypala.  Louis and I worked together several years ago and have stayed in touch frequently since.  We had lunch in downtown Philly.  Louis is a “city guy” and took the time to take me on a walking tour of the city.  Did you know the Liberty Bell is being relocated?  The last time Carol and I were in the “City of Brotherly Love” it was 98 degrees at the Liberty Bell.  Its new home promises to offer some more air conditioning relief.  Nice to see you, Louis.  With no racing on Monday night, the evening brought a trip to the driving range and some financial/race planning on the computer.

 

The trackchasing hobby is not really just about racing.  It allows me to see friends and attractions all over the country and the world.  That’s one of the major reasons I like it.

 

While attempting to beat the Motel 6 price of $45.99 in Maple Shade, New Jersey, I selected an independently owned Indian-operated hotel for just $33.95 per night.  Probably a bad choice.  If only the walls could talk.  In fact, it sounded as if the walls were talking, from the folks next door.  I’m not sure what my fascination is with staying in cheap hotels.  I guess it’s the Midwestern background kicking in.

 

By the way, who is the demented person who designed the roads back here?  Give me their e-mail address!  Here I am driving on a four-lane road and the only way to turn left is to follow signs that say, “All turns to the right”.  That’s correct; you can’t turn left to make a left.  You must turn right to make a left.  One of the turnpike potholes nearly tore the steering wheel from my hands.

 

To pass the time before Tuesday night’s race I selected the Indian Spring Country Club in Evesham Township, New Jersey for a quick links tour.  I wouldn’t classify the people in New Jersey as being overly friendly.  On the fourth hole one golf course employee came up and said, “Get your cart off the tee box!”  He was absolutely correct but the manner in which he said it was pure, “New Jersey”. 

 

I asked him if the word, “Please” was in his vocabulary.  This shocked the bully and he partially recanted.  Later in the round, I found a cell phone on the ground.  I thought it belonged to the twosome ahead of me.  A little later in the round, I caught up with them and motioned them to stop.  This seemed to irk them.  When I told them I thought I had found their cell phone the reaction was more like “why I are you returning it?”  I think they expected that anyone who found a cell phone was just naturally keep it.  I know it’s a gross generalization but a good deal of the people in bigger east coast cities are downright obnoxious.  I’ve flown into every major airport in this country more times that most people could imagine.  The Chicago-New York flight was always the worst.  New Yorkers would complain about, make more requests of the flight attendant, and talk louder than anybody could/would or should.  I’ve had many people comment about the rude and boorish behavior.  (Editor’s note:  My golf cart was only a pull cart on a tee box about the size of a football field and mowed to the level of light rough – not exactly Augusta National!).

 

Rental car mileage when I entered these states during the trip:

 

That makes it 20 state lines crossed with the trusty Hertz Racing Ford Taurus.  Although the car provided good basic transportation, I’ll be glad to get back to my unsponsored and out of warranty Lexus.  If everyone drove this much in twelve days a rental car would have about 20,000 miles on it in just over two months.  Many rental car companies turn their cars in when they reach this amount of mileage.

 

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Airport return – 3,504

Pennsylvania – 3,389

New Jersey – 3,249

Pennsylvania – 2,949

New York – 2,796

Pennsylvania – 2,702

New Jersey – 2,629

New York – 2,519

Connecticut – 2,460

Rhode Island – 2,416

Massachusetts – 2,331

New Hampshire – 2,305

Maine – 1,621

New Hampshire – 1,605

Massachusetts – 1,476

Connecticut – 1,331

New York – 1,281

New Jersey – 1,199

Pennsylvania – 768

Ohio – 265

West Virginia – 253

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Airport pickup – 0

 

RACING NEWS:               

I had visited this race facility back in 1991.  At that time the track was named Central Jersey Speedway and was an asphalt track.  It is now a dirt track.  Trackchaser rules allow a trackchaser to count a track twice that changes from dirt to a hard surface or vice versa.  The only thing I can recall about going to Central Jersey Speedway twelve years ago was the turkey breast sandwich I bought in a nearby grocery store.

 

This event was my 31^st of the season and 22^nd new track for the year.  It was also the best racing I’ve seen this season.  The DIRT modified group brought 67 cars.  DIRT time trialed the 67 cars in just 35 minutes.  That’s a good organization.

 

Two of my top 10 favorite drivers run with DIRT.  The first, Kenny Brightbill (above), was spun in his heat out of a transfer spot.  He didn’t qualify through his consie but got a provisional for the “A” feature.  From a traveling fan’s point of view, I don’t have a problem with the sanctioning group allowing a star into the feature rather than a no-name that got third is his heat race.  My other favorite “Barefoot Bob” McCreadie was not in attendance.

 

Following a special 12-lap race for New Egypt’s modified rookie class the DIRT program began.  They ran off six 10-lap heats quickly.  Then, to my surprise, I heard over the track radio frequency that bad weather was coming and they needed to speed up the show.  DIRT ran three qualifying 10-lap consies.  After these were completed the heavy mist/light drizzle began.  It looked for a while like the “A” feature might not be run.

 

Listening to the race scanner always adds a lot to the show especially when I’m by myself.  I did not see any other trackchasers who were scheduled to appear.  Although many tracks drag their feet I’m always impressed with two things regarding the track officials.  First, they are always trying to speed up the show.  Secondly, they try to go out of their way to be fair to everyone.

 

As the track began to get wet the thirty-six cars of so came out onto the track for the main event.  It was raining much more heavily than the water Wiscasset Speedway got earlier in the trip and Wiscasset canceled the program.  They started the feature quickly and the rain continued.  I was really surprised there were hardly any yellows during the first 50 laps with the wet track.  At about lap 65 there was a spin just as the rain was really picking up.  I thought this might be it so I headed for the parking lot with the race scanner still plugged into my ears.

 

The New Egypt parking lot sits off turn one and two.  It’s about a quarter-mile walk from the lot to the track’s entrance.  There is only one lane out of the speedway to the highway.  Tonight’s crowd was nearly a sellout. As I got in my car the rain began to stop.  I decided to drive my car up to the spectator entrance and park to see if the program would continue.  They decided to keep racing.  I went back into the track and watched one of the most exciting finishes I’ve seen to a big race.  Alan Johnson and Tim McCreadie battled for the lead.  Alan won by half a car length at the finish line.  Brett Hearn, Billy Pauch and Kenny Brightbill all came from the back of the field after different mishaps to get into the top 10.  Overall, it was excellent racing and I was out of the track with no delays by 10:30 p.m.  By the way, I noticed the fans all seemed to be experienced and knowledgeable about the drivers and the program.

 

By the way, do you know why Kenny Brightbill races car #19? O.K. time’s up. He first started racing at the age of nineteen….so that’s why he used #19 as his car number for all of these years.

 

General admission was $20.  That seems like a good value for a DIRT modified show.  I hope to catch another or two of their races this season.  The track has a large selection of refreshments.  I went with the 32 oz. lemonade.  Its contents were one lemon and its juice, water and two full ladles of sugar.  I love it when a swig yields the grittiness of sugar across your teeth!

 

This was my 644^th track.  I don’t have anything else planned until the North Dakota modified tour in mid-July.  Carol will be on the trip for about a week.  While we were experiencing cool and cloudy weather in Maine Carol pined for warm and sunny weather.  I hope she remembers that when it’s 100 degrees and dry in North Dakota next month.  In the meantime my mission is to discover every interesting thing to do in North Dakota when we’re not racing.

 

RENTAL CAR UPDATE:  

 

See above.

 

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 and Carol is home organizing our new house.

 

New racetracks visited in 2003

623. Penton Raceway, Lafayette, Alabama, April 4
624. Heart O’ Dixie (oval), Sayre, Alabama, April 5
625. Heart O’ Dixie (figure 8), Sayre, Alabama, April 5
626. Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Virginia, April 27
627. Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston Salem, North Carolina, April 27
628. Oak Level Speedway, Oak Level, Virginia, April 28
629. Elko Speedway (3/8 mile oval), Elko, Minnesota, May 23
630. Elko Speedway (1/4 mile oval), Elko, Minnesota, May 23
631. Elko Speedway (figure 8), Elko, Minnesota, May 23
632. Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minnesota, May 24
633. Dodge County Speedway, Kasson, Minnesota, May 25
634. Trollhaugen Ski Area, Dresser, Wisconsin, May 26
635. Eagle Valley Speedway, Jim Falls, Wisconsin, May 26
636. Path Valley Speedway, Spring Run, Pennsylvania, June 6
637. Gambler’s Raceway Park, Clearfield, Pennsylvania, June 8
638. Speedway 95, Hermon, Maine, June 11
639. Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine, June 12
640. Wiscasset Raceway, Wiscasset, Maine, June 13
641. Riverhead Raceway (oval), Riverhead, Long Island, New York, June 14
642. Riverhead Raceway (figure 8), Riverhead, Long Island, New York, June 14
643. Muddy Acres Raceway, Enfield, New York, June 15
644. New Egypt Speedway, New Egypt, New Jersey, June 17

 

Planned new racetracks for 2003

Back in 2003 I commonly provided a list of the tracks I was expecting to visit over the next couple of weeks. I had to stop doing that. Why? My fellow competitors were “poaching” my plans! Yep, they didn’t do any of their own research. They just counted on the Randy Lewis Racing Research Department for their future plans. That’s not good. I’m not running a charity. When no other trackchasers were sharing future plans I had to discontinue my sharing of future plans. Remember, trackchasing is a VERY competitive hobby. Beware of the trackchasers who tell you it isn’t. They are the most competitive!

FRI	11-Jul	Regular program	Fergus Falls Speedway	Fergus Falls, MN
SAT	12-Jul	Fair race	Jamestown Speedway	Jamestown, ND
SUN	13-Jul	Dakota Modified Tour	Nodak Speedway	Minot, ND
MON	14-Jul	Dakota Modified Tour	Estevan Motor Speedway	Estevan, SK
TUE	15-Jul	Dakota Modified Tour	Williston-Basin Speedway	Williston, ND
WED	16-Jul	Dakota Modified Tour	Southwest Speedway	Dickinson, ND
THR	17-Jul	Dakota Modified Tour	Dacotah Speedway	Mandan, ND
FRI	18-Jul	Regular program	Cresco Speedway	Cresco, IA
FRI	18-Jul	Backup plan	Rapid Speedway	Rock Rapids, IA
FRI	18-Jul	Backup plan	River Cities Speedway	Grand Forks, ND
SAT	19-Jul	DAY	Jones County Fairgrounds	Monticello, IA
SAT	19-Jul	Early evening	Echo Valley Speedway	West Union, IA
SAT	19-Jul	Late evening	Nordic Speedway	Decorah, IA
SAT	19-Jul	Backup plan	Saaga International Raceway	Doyon, ND
SUN	20-Jul	Regular Program	Redwood Speedway	Redwood Falls, MN
SUN	20-Jul	Backup plan	Buffalo River Speedway	Moorehead, MN
FRI	1-Aug	Figure 8s	Chowchilla Speedway – F8	Chowchilla, CA
SAT	2-Aug	Figure 8s	Willow Springs Spdwy – F8	Rosamond, CA
FRI	29-Aug	Figure 8s	Antelope County Frgrds	Lancaster, CA
FRI	7-Nov	SCRA Sprints	Perris Auto Speedway**	Perris, CA
SAT	8-Nov	Special	Irwindale Speedway**	Irwindale, CA

 

You might have remembrances about these tracks.  If so, please feel free to share your memories of 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.