Crazy Horse Campground

 

Why “Trackchasing’s First Mother”?

This was not a trackchasing trip as much as it was a basketball trip.  It was mostly basketball with a little bit of trackchasing thrown in on the way home.  It is diverse trips like this that are the best for “Trackchasing’s First Mother”.

 

 

You probably know that Carol, my wife, is “Trackchasing’s First Mother”.  Why does she have this nickname?  It’s simple.  She was the first ever listed trackchaser to be a mother!  In fact, I don’t know of ANY other woman in the trackchasing world who has any kids.  I guess Carol wins that race by default.  What does that tell you about the demographics of trackchasing?  Is it any wonder the trackchasing founding fathers turned up their nose at counting racing contested by “children”?

 

 

Don’t miss the ‘attractions’ tab.

As I mentioned this trip was more about basketball than anything else.  You will find out what drew us to Las Vegas behind the “Attractions” tab.  It wasn’t just basketball in Las Vegas is was much much more.  Coming to Las Vegas would have an influence on my golf game AND my ability to keep paying for my trackchasing for a long long time.  Don’t miss the “Attractions” tab.

 

 

I could have driven to Las Vegas…and I did.

It is a 591-mile round-trip drive for us to get to Las Vegas.  I always drive.  Why?  By the time I drive an hour to the airport, wait an hour for my flight, fly for an hour and take an hour getting bags and rental cars I could have driven to Las Vegas.  Then when I do drive over there we already have our car packed with all kinds of things we couldn’t have brought if we had traveled on a plane.  Make sense?

 

 

Trackchasing’s ‘off’ season.

Mid-March through early April is supposed to be an “off” period for my trackchasing hobby.  There isn’t a whole lot happening at the tracks.  At this time of the year it’s very convenient that family and friends become a major part of my retirement activity.

 

 

During a 30-day period this month my schedule looks something like this.  I’ll have a day of golf in Las Vegas, a golfing day in San Clemente and three more days of golf when my college fraternity brothers come to San Diego for our annual get together.  Then there will be one day reserved for a dinner/magic show.  Carol and I will babysit our grandchildren for four days.  I’ll take our grandson to the California Speedway for his first ever NASCAR race.  Then the next day Carol and I will make a day visit, our first since 1997, to the California Speedway for the Sprint Cup race.  Finally, we’ll wrap up our month of relaxing non-trackchasing travel with ten days in Hawaii.  Now can you see why I can’t believe I ever had time to work for the man?

 

 

Today’s trackchasing effort was VERY important.

Nevertheless, our trip to Lake Havasu City, Arizona today will be my only trackchasing effort in more than a 30-day period.  However, today’s trackchasing was of upmost importance.  Why?

 

 

If you were to check my “2014 Goals” tab on my website you would find a very specific goal amongst several.  That goal has me shooting to maintain my trackchasing lead in every one of the Far West states (13) except California.  I’m so far behind and with so few tracks remaining to be seen I won’t ever be able to have a #1 ranking in my home state.

 

 

However, today Carol and I were going to Arizona.  That would be a special place for both of us.  Why so special for Carol?  She would be seeing her 499^th lifetime track this afternoon.  As a matter of fact, we could have driven less than 10 miles down the road for her 500^th lifetime track this evening.  That visit would have been to the Havasu 95 Speedway.  They race mainly in the winter and the fall.  Even then they only race every other week.  However, when I told Carol about the opportunity she simply replied, “We would get home too late if we did that”.

 

 

What was behind Carol’s thinking?

Why would Carol have such a tepid response?  There are really just two reasons that come to mind.  Ever since trackchasing commissioner Guy Smith effectively kicked her out of the trackchasing group Carol has had little interest in trackchasing since her tracks no long “count”.  Guy’s behavior in this regard has been detailed in other reports.  If you want to read about the background simply do a “Guy Smith” search on my website.

 

 

Still trackchasing’s #1 couple!

I do find it amazing, that as this is written, Carol and I are still the leading trackchasing couple.  This is despite the fact that Carol’s trackchasing production has fallen off a cliff since her banishment from trackchasing.  It’s also important to note that most of the remaining trackchasing trips that I take are not “spousal friendly” from a travel and logistics point of view.  Who wants their wife to sleep overnight in an airport?  Make sense?

 

 

Oh yes.  What’s the second reason Carol might not prefer to see here 500^th lifetime track at the Havasu 95 Speedway?  We tentatively have her 500^th track planned for what will be my 68^th lifetime trackchasing country.  It will be a double celebration.

 

 

Saving by spending.

With all of the above in mind we headed first to Vegas for that 591-mile round-trip drive.  With a stop off in Lake Havasu City, Arizona on the way home that trip would become 763 miles.  However, if we made a solo trip from home in San Clemente to Lake Havasu it would be 622 miles.

 

 

Doing the math….we drove 172 miles out of our way on our Las Vegas trip to include Lake Havasu City.  That was 450 miles LESS than if we have made a “Havasu City only” trip.  Pretty good timing to include racing there when we were going to Las Vegas anyway.

 

 

It was time to put the ‘Racing Eckels’ where they belonged….in second place in Arizona.

Seeing a new track in Arizona was most important to me.  This would help me achieve my goal of holding a #1 ranking in each of the Far West states.

 

 

Sometime in 2013 the “Racing Eckels” a husband and wife twosome had passed me for the Arizona lead 30-29.   That was unheard of.  It was at this point I knew how those “Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers” feel just about every day they wake up when they’re getting their butts kicked.  It did not feel good.

 

 

Some how I managed to score an Arizona track at the aforementioned Havasu 95 Speedway in October 2013.  Havasu 95 was one of those rare tracks that I thought I had seen but I really hadn’t.  I can thank my brother Mark for the heads up here.  I’ve had the same thing happen with a track in Texas.  I hope to knock that one off in 2014.

 

 

It was time to break the tie.

When the 2013 season wrapped up I was tied with the Racing Eckels at 30-30.  Today it was time to break that tie and break that tie I did.  I now lead those folks 31-30 and hope to never have them catch up again.  As a matter of fact, I have some very specific plans to prevent that from EVER happening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRACKCHASING TOURIST ATTRACTION

I very much enjoy the racing when I go on trackchasing trips.  However, I am not the type of person who would feel the trip was complete if I simply left home, went to the race and came back home.

 

I do a good deal of traveling.  I want to do my best to see the local area when I come for a visit.  There are often some unusual attractions that one area is noted for more than any other locale.  I want to see those places.  I want to touch them and feel them.  When I leave an area, I want to have memories of these special places that I call Trackchasing Tourist Attractions.  I will remember those experiences long after the checkered flag has fallen on whatever race I have seen that day.

 

MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, Nevada

 

 

Who wouldn’t want to follow UCLA?

We are UCLA basketball fans.  Why?  There are many reasons.  First of all, each of our children graduated from this prestigious school.  They didn’t take the six-year plan but each graduated in four years.  Son J.J. even has his MBA from UCLA.  We are also basketball fans.  Everyone wants to follow a winner and who has won as many basketball championships as UCLA.  Make sense?

 

 

We used to be season ticket holders for Bruin basketball at Pauley Pavilion.  However, especially during the week, it’s a 2 ½ hour drive one-way to the game.  We gave up our season ticket position and now attend games when we have the time and inclination.

 

 

This year we saw the UCLA Bruins play twice at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.  We also made road trips to see them play the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado and the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.  We have now seen UCLA play either basketball or football, and several times both, at every school in the Pac-12 conference.

 

 

With our visit to Las Vegas this weekend we would see them play two more times, against Oregon and Stanford.  However, “Vegas” is a lot more than just seeing basketball games.

 

 

This was not my first Vegas rodeo.

I estimate I have been to Las Vegas more than 100 times.  As a businessman, early in my career, my sales territory included Las Vegas.  I would go up on a Sunday night and stay for five days before returning to home base in Phoenix five days later.  I worked during the day and gambled non-stop from 6 p.m. until past midnight.  I would go out with my fraternity brother Jim H. night after night.

 

 

On this trip I would play golf with Jim H. at the most exclusive country club in all of Las Vegas.  Then he and I would meet to discuss our business partnerships.  If all goes well I might not ever have to stay in a Motel 6 or sleep on the floor of an airport ever again.  I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

When Carol travels first class I travel first class.

Of course we would need a nice hotel in Las Vegas.  Why?  Carol was traveling with me.  When she comes along we always get a nice place and I get to stay in her room.  It begs that questions “Why not always bring Carol?”  I don’t think I could afford it.

 

 

My buddies over at Priceline.com put us up at the Westin Resort & Spa overlooking Lake Las Vegas.  This property is located well off the Las Vegas strip.  Since I no longer gamble that location is perfect.  Check out the photos of this upscale hotel.  It’s nice!

 

 

Do you want to be in the major league or the minor league?

We follow big-time sports.  I like following “minor-league” sports too.  However, if I had to choose I would big seeing the really “big” games.

 

 

Our first game would be on Thursday in the quarter-finals of the Pac-12 basketball tournament.  UCLA was playing Oregon.  If they won we would see them play on Friday night.  However, if they lost we would go to a Las Vegas show.  Regardless of whether UCLA won Thursday and Friday night we would not be staying for Saturday afternoon’s championship game.  We were committed to trackchase on Saturday afternoon.

 

 

How many schools do you think the Pac-12 has in its conference?  You might think that is an easy question but it could be a trick question.  The “Big Ten” has 12 schools in its conference to prove that point.  However, if you guessed that the Pac-12 might have twelve member schools you would be correct.

 

 

Each of the schools plays in the tournament.  On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday there are two games in the afternoon and two games in the evening each day.  Then on Saturday afternoon there is just one match-up the championship game.

 

 

Tickets?  Who needs a ticket?

An individual ticket gets you into an “afternoon session” and its two games or the “evening session” and it’s two games.  Up until just 3-4 days before the tournament begins you don’t know when “your” team will play.

 

 

This makes buying tickets in advance and making a travel plan impossible.  That’s not a problem for me.  I am a “last minute” traveler anyway.

 

 

The University of Arizona sucks!

Just one school “travels” well in the Pac-12.  That would be Arizona.  They bring literally thousand of fans up from Tucson, Arizona to Las Vegas.  For lack of a better description I would call the Arizona Wildcat fans a bunch of #$%^#%.  You can interpret that any way you want but I think you might get what I mean.

 

 

Buying good stuff cheap.

Our first game would be against the Oregon Ducks.  I consulted my buddies over at Stubhub.com for tickets.  I buy “good stuff cheap”.  There were three seating levels at the MGM Garden Arena.  I wanted to sit in the lowest level nearest the court.  If this was our only game in the tournament I didn’t want to see it from up in the rafters.

 

 

For just $71 per seat, that’s twenty bucks over face value per ticket, we had great seats just 20 rows or so from the court.  I could have bought tickets from scalpers at the arena but probably would have paid just as much for possibly not nearly as good of a seat.

 

 

This would be the third time UCLA had played Oregon this season.  In the first game at the Ducks home court (Carol and I were there) in Eugene, Oregon the Bruins pulled the game out in the end 70-68.  Then when Oregon came to Los Angeles they bested the Bruins 87-83 in two overtimes.  In that game UCLA’s two best players were serving a one-game suspension for “breaking team rules”.  Tonight the Bruins won the season tie-breaker going away 82-63.  We also got to see the Stanford Cardinal beat up on the school I attended (one of three) for my MBA, the Arizona State Sun Devils 79-58.  Normally, each and every game of this tournament is nip and tuck.  However, this year most of the games were blowouts.  That was very surprising.

 

 

We needed more tickets.

On Friday night we would not be seeing a Las Vegas show because UCLA had come through.  That meant we still needed tickets.  As the tournament progresses demand for tickets increases especially if Arizona is still in the tournament.  I don’t have much good to say about the Arizona fans so I simply won’t say much more.

 

 

The cheapest ticket for tonight’s game was going for about $150.  Those were for upper deck seats.  I had Carol with me.  I couldn’t bring her all the way over to the tournament and make her sit in those seats.  What was I to do?

 

 

I don’t know a lot of people but I do know people.  I called up a buddy in Las Vegas who knows more Vegas people than me.  Soon I had tickets!  Yes, the world operates on a “who do you know” and “what can they get done” basis.

 

 

I can’t tell you too much more about this.  However, I will tell you that we showed up in the “V.I.P. lounge” behind gold plated doors at a major Las Vegas hotel to get the tickets.  Of course they were gratis.

 

 

The rubber match.

This would be the third time UCLA had played Stanford this season just like last night’s matchup against Oregon.  In the first game in Los Angeles UCLA won 91-74.  Then when the Bruins went to Stanford, Stanford won 83-74.  Tonight would be the “rubber match”.  It turned out to be a laugher with UCLA winning 84-59.  We also got to see the Arizona-Colorado game that the Wildcats dominated 63-43.  It doesn’t take long to get tired of people in red shirts shouting “U of A” “U of A”.  You can only imagine what I think the “A” stands for.

 

 

We had seen two games and two UCLA wins.  UCLA would be in the championship game.  The MGM Garden Arena seats 16,800 and opened in 1983.  It has been the home to the Pac-12 tournament since just 2012.

 

 

UCLA would play Arizona in the championship game.  They played just once this year with the UA winning 79-75.  We would listen to the game on satellite radio following the races in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

 

 

I am happy to report that the UCLA Bruins are the Pac-12 tournament champions.  They defeated the Arizona Wildcats 75-71 in what sounded like a fantastic game.

 

 

Would I have liked to be there?  Yes.  Would I have liked to have seen the demeanor of the Arizona fans as they filed out of the arena?  Absolutely.  Would I have like to have paid $150 and up for the privilege?  Not so much.

 

 

It was a great time in Las Vegas.  The weather was spectacular, the friendship, golf, food and basketball was just as we expected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ONE CANNOT LIVE WELL OR SLEEP WELL IF ONE HAS NOT DINED WELL

 

China a Go Go – Henderson, Nevada

There is one drawback to staying at the Westin on Lake Las Vegas.  It’s in a brand new development area.  There hasn’t been much retail build out there yet.  Nevertheless, Yelp! came up with an excellent Chinese restaurant recommendation just seven miles from the hotel.

 

 

This restaurant had a 4.5-star rating from 16 reviewers.  Seeing a 4.5-star rating from that many reviews almost never happens.

 

 

Using my iPhone GPS Google Maps! capability we soon found the Chinese A Go Go restaurant in a strip shopping center next to an Albertsons food store.

 

 

The place was unassuming but the food and service was great.  Within 20 seconds of being seated we had menus, water and a Chinese appetizer.  You can’t beat that for service.

 

 

I went with the “Salt and Pepper” shrimp.  Delicious and spicy!  One of the restaurant’s employee’s stood just a few feet away.  All I had to do was make eye contact and she came running to our table to offer service.  We’ll be back to the China A Go Go as soon as we can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crazy Horse Campground – Lake Havasu City, Arizona

 

 

W.O.R.C.S. rocks!

Some time late last year I discovered SXS (Side by Side) racing.  It wasn’t too long after that that I found out about W.O.R.C.S. or World Off-Road Championship Series racing.  And then from there I met Tim Shelman, Director of Competition.  I’m very happy this chain of events has taken place.

 

 

Racing in a campground?

Today Carol and I showed up at the Crazy Horse Campground for some SXS racing.  You might wonder if I have ever seen racing in a campground before.  In point of fact I have….twice that I can recall.

 

 

Back in 2007 I saw an ice racing event at the Mi-Te-Jo Campground in Milton, Vermont.  Even earlier, in 2005, I saw a figure 8 race at the Broken Arrow Resort Park in Fullerton, Nebraska.  Today’s event now gives me the “campground triple” having seen racing in campgrounds at an oval, figure 8 and road course configuration.

 

 

This was a W.O.R.C.S. racing event.

Today the W.O.R.C.S. group would be racing motorcycles, ATVs and Side by Side (SXS) machines.  That’s their normal type of race program.

 

 

Admission was $10 per person.  However, we were the guests of Tim Shelman and the WORCS racing organization.  WORCS does have an unusual policy as regards seniors (65 and over) and members of the military.  Folks in those groups are admitted for free!  You can’t beat that.  The only other track that admitted seniors at no charge in my experience was the Will Rogers Raceway in Claremore, Oklahoma.  Yes, after seeing racing at more than 1,900 tracks even what seems unusual might have been seen previously.

 

 

A most unusual course.

Today racing would take place on a 3.5-mile dirt/sand course.  In fact, some parts of the racecourse were within feet of Lake Havasu itself.  Lake Havasu is a large reservoir behind Parker Dam on the Colorado River, on the border between California and Arizona.

 

 

I had never seen this before.  Wow!

I never think I’ve seen it all when I go trackchasing.  At virtually every new track I visit I see something I’ve never seen before.  What was it today?  Fans were standing in two feet of water just 5-10 feet from the race track itself watching the racing!  Amazing.

 

 

This place was packed with racers.  If I heard things correctly over a very stout P.A. system there were nearly 1,400 (fourteen hundred) competitors here for the weekend.  Somebody is doing a pretty good job, and has been doing a great job for years, to get that many racers to come for a single weekend don’t you think?

 

 

 

A most unusual outfit.

We arrived just in time for the SXS driver’s meeting.  Tim Shelman was conducting it.  I’m not sure who dresses Tim.  Either they or Tim or both may have a touch of color blindness.  Today Tim was wearing his knee-high bright green “leprechaun” socks like he was when I first met him in Taft, California several weeks ago.  However today he had accessorized his outfit with a neon pink cowboy had and some most unusual sunglasses.  I’d like to get a pair of those sunglasses!

 

 

Tim was most welcoming and happy to see us.  This was his first time meeting up with Carol.  He told her how much he admired her lifestyle of getting to travel the world under such fun circumstances.  What do you think of Tim and Carol’s photo?

 

 

What did today’s racetrack look like?

After meeting Tim we were off to explore today’s racecourse.  When I saw my first WORCS race at the Honolulu Hills Raceway the track was seven miles long.  Spectators couldn’t really see that much of the entire course.

 

 

However today, with a little moving around, spectators could see nearly the entire course.  On the one end it nearly touched the waters of Lake Havasu and then went inland nearly a mile.  Elevation changes and jumps were all over the course.  The only thing that affected the quality of my photographs was the setting sun facing the spectators most of the time.

 

 

There was one place near the lake where Carol and I attempted to get down toward the beach.  There was heavy brush and bushes to wade through that were easily ten feet high.  I sent Carol in first.  After she had passed through just five feet of bush she was out of sight!  Then when we DID get through the heavy undergrowth we weren’t exactly at the beach.  However, we were within 2-3 feet of where the racers came up the sandy nearly one-lane at this point part of the track.  Appropriately, there was a “danger” sign at this point.  I sent Carol back to our original position on higher ground.  I did my best to “stand my ground” but it was a bit like facing a right-handed pitcher throwing sidearm.  I admit to “bailing out” just a bit.

 

 

Spectators can go anywhere at these events.

Our admission wristbands allowed us to explore anywhere we wanted to go.  We tried a BBQ sandwich at the only food concession stand we saw.  I can’t give it a very high rating.  Then we saw a beautiful event t-shirt but the trailer featuring the shirts was closed.  Maybe the operators were racing when we passed their area.  I would loved to have purchased one of those shirts.  I’ll try to get one at my next WORCS racing event.

 

 

SXS racers rock.

The SXS racing vehicles are growing fast in popularity.  They had about 80 of them (maybe more) racing today in 6-8 classes.  The two top classes, the SXS Pro (38 entries) and SXS 1000 (29 entries) had the most racers.  The starting line was wide enough for ten SXS machines to start at the same time.  That meant that each of these classes started their racing with 10 cars going off at a time.  When one row left the next row started 30 seconds behind them.  In the SXS Pro class there was nearly four complete rows of competitors.  The winner of this class would be the driver who posted the lowest time in their 45-minute race.  Trackchasing rules do not allow racing to “count” toward a track if all competitors in a given class do not start at the same time.

 

 

I had contacted Tim Shellman in advance of the racing today.  By now, Tim understands how the trackchasing rules go regarding starting formats.  I know he probably thinks we are crazy to count racing this way.  I would have to agree.  Once all 40 racers are on the track they are driving and passing like crazy.  Who caused this problem in counting?  In reality it was simply of bunch of oval loving Easterners.

 

 

I’m becoming a bit more knowledgable about this type of racing.

I am now understanding the WORCS racing system better than I did compared to my first visit in Taft, California.  Tim told me he could not guarantee that any one class would start their race at the same time.  Nevertheless, Carol and I made the trip to Lake Havasu City based upon my research of the two WORCS racing events that had been completed in 2014.

 

 

I noticed there were a couple of classes that were getting less than ten competitors.  Those classes, if they continued to get ten or less racers, would be starting ALL of their drivers at the same time.  That meant the race and therefore the track would be countable under existing trackchaser rules.  I can only imagine the uproar this is causing some more “traditional” trackchasers.  They would have a difficult time living in a multi-cultural society like we have in SoCal I suspect.

 

 

In this type of racing one SXS racer looks very much like the next one.  That makes figuring out which class  a racer is competing in somewhat difficult.  However, I had learned the classes are differentiated by the color combination of their “number plate”.  Every racer carries their number on a small metal plate.  Every class has a different color combination.  This is how I can decide which class each driver will compete in.

 

 

The countable classes.

There were two countable classes racing today.  The first was the SXS Sport division.  If I understood correctly this division was made up of military people who had become disabled during their combat war experiences.  Their number place was black and white.  The WORCS results page shows three competitors but I saw four racing with that color number plate.

 

 

Nate Longley from Bernalillo, New Mexico was the class winner.  During the 45-minute race he completed six laps to win his classes race.  He finished about 40 seconds ahead of Warrior Strong for the win.

 

 

The second countable class was the SXS 850 group.  They started five drivers with Danny Rosenzweig from Vista, California winning.  He completed six laps in a little over 45-minutes.  The last place finisher was Michael Redhead from Yorba Linda, California!

 

 

These were the only two countable classes, by trackchasing requirements racing today.  The other classes either had too many starters to have everyone leave the starting line at the same time or they had just ONE racer also not countable.

 

 

DECT shivers?

Overall, it was a fantastic day of racing on many different levels.  This is all fairly new to me.  Can you imagine my seeing a couple hundred SXS racetracks.  This would send absolute shivers up the backs of those “Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers”.

 

 

In the meantime you can sit back in the comfort of your own home or office and see what Carol and I saw today under blue skies, 85-degree temps and winds of 25 M.P.H.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

STATE COMPARISONS

 

Arizona

 

The Grand Canyon State

This evening I saw my 31st lifetime track in the Grand Canyon state, yes the Grand Canyon state.  I expect to be back in Arizona a time or two in 2014.  Stay tuned.

 

 

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

Arizona sayings:  Yes, but it’s a dry heat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

QUICK FACTS

 

 

AIRPLANE

No airplanes!

 

 

RENTAL CAR #1

No rental cars!

 

 

PERSONAL CAR

San Clemente, California

Lake Havasu City, Arizona (through Las Vegas!)

San Clemente, California – trip ends – 672 miles

 

 

Total air miles – 0 (0 flights)

Total rental car miles – 0 (0 cars)

Total personal car miles – 672 (1 car)

 

 

Total miles traveled on this trip – 672 miles 

 

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Crazy Horse Campground – Complimentary admission

 

 

 

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

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,939

 

 

 

Total Trackchasing Countries

There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total.

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 68

 

 

 

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 4.96

 

 

 

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