Greetings from Price, Utah
From the travels and adventures of the
“World’s #1 Trackchaser”
Desert Thunder Raceway Dirt oval Lifetime track #1,112 Reprinted with permission from my Friday, September 29, 2006, Trackchaser Report. THE CLASSIC TRACKCHASER REPORT Editor’s note: This is a CLASSIC Trackchaser Report. What the heck does “Classic” mean? It’s simply a Trackchaser Report that comes from my trackchasing archives. Typically these will be stories from tracks I visited five years or ten years or more ago. For whatever reason (usually not enough time) this trackchasing adventure didn’t get posted to my website when I first made the track visit. Often a classic TR will not have a video and/or photo album attached. I didn’t begin producing my YouTube videos until 2009 (YouTube channel: RANLAY). I didn’t begin writing a complete Trackchaser Report until I had seen about 425 tracks. This was during the 2000 trackchasing season. Photo albums were sort of hit or miss during the early years of my trackchasing. Additionally, if you see a website link know that link worked when the TR was originally written. Will it work now? Your guess is as good as mine! Nevertheless, this CLASSIC Trackchaser Report has finally bubbled to the surface and is now available for everyone to see at www.randylewis.org. I hope you enjoy it. I AM A TRACKCHASER. My name is Randy Lewis (above on the way to an indoor figure 8 show in British Columbia, Canada). I hail from the sleepy little village by the sea, San Clemente, California. I am a “trackchaser”. I trackchase. Have you ever in your life heard of “trackchasing”? I didn’t think so. I live in southern California. That’s probably the most inconvenient location in the country for seeing tracks in the U.S. Most of the racetracks in the U.S. are located well over 1,000 miles from where I live. 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 from all over the world. With trackchasing trips to 85 countries and counting just getting the chance to experience so many unique cultures, spend time in the homes of my friends and meet so many people is a huge reward for being in this hobby. I am indebted to several of these folks for their help and friendship. Once you begin researching my trip itineraries from my website, yes you will want to do that, you will be surprised. One day I’ll be in Tucson, the next in maybe Tuscaloosa and the following day in Syracuse. I do that kind of thing all the time. Figuring out the logistics of a trip like that is as much fun for me as watching a figure 8 race. Now you know a little bit about my trackchasing addiction. When you receive one of my Trackchaser Reports or find one on my website at www.randylewis.org I hope you will take the time to imagine in your mind what it took to make this trip from SoCal and understand the fun I had doing it. There you have it. That’s trackchasing…the way I do it. Do others trackchase? Absolutely. Do they share their experiences? Sorry. They don’t. If you want to see the true “essence” of trackchasing you’ve come to the right place. Today’s adventure was one more of the 2,000 trips that have taken me up, down and around the proverbial long and dusty trackchasing trail. If you would like to see where I’ve been and experience those adventures here’s the link: 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! FOREWORD Friday, September 29, 2006. Greetings from Price, Utah MEDIA UPDATE Randy & Carol Lewis – Enid Daily News – Enid, Oklahoma I have posted the trackchasing newspaper story that appeared in the September 27, 2006 issue of the Enid (Oklahoma) Daily News and Eagle on www.randylewis.org. It’s in the media section of my site. This story covers some ground not previously included in other stories. I woke up in San Clemente, California this morning. This is what transpired today. PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS The Strategy Today I begin a new era in my trackchasing career. I am now a sponsored trackchaser. My primary partner is SkyWest Airlines and my associate partners are Delta Airlines and United Airlines. With this additional sponsorship, I will be able to attend racing events at tracks that I would never have considered before. My trackchasing fellow competitors may have real cause for concern with this new development. You might think that I keep myself very busy (and Carol too) with my trackchasing and travel schedule. What you may not know is our schedule around San Clemente is just as hectic as and maybe even more so than “being out on the road.” Let’s take this trip as an example. There are a few homeland activities that “trump” any trackchasing plan I might have. First, we are contracted to attend 10 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball games. Carol is the biggest fan of baseball in our household. My job is to have my butt in section 414, row C, seat 7 at 7:05 p.m. for each of those games. If that requires walking, running or flying home early from a trackchasing trip then that is what I must do. Of course, UCLA sports play a big role in our entertainment lives as well. Fortunately, there is not much trackchasing going on in the winter during basketball season. However, UCLA football is a different story. The Bruins play 6-7 home games in the Rose Bowl each year. The first game normally happens around Labor Day. The last home game can be as late as the first week in December. The games are all played on Saturdays, primarily in September and October. By that time in the year, almost all of the tracks are racing Friday, Saturday and Sunday only. If I have to be in the Rose Bowl (Section 22H, Row 57, Seat 108) on a Saturday that means it’s nearly impossible and for the most impractical to try to go trackchasing in the Midwest or East. All of these obstacles were a problem until I joined up with my new airline partners. This weekend was the perfect opportunity to use my sponsor benefits. We had an Angels’ game on Thursday night. We didn’t get home from that game until 11 p.m. We have a UCLA football game (against Stanford) on Saturday at 7 p.m. The “Window of Opportunity” between those two events is just 44 hours. In the past, I never would have had the time or been willing to spend the money on an out of state trip that had to be completed from start to finish in 44 hours. As you know, the “12/24” rule requires 36 hours just to get to the track and return home. However, with no or little airfare expense, I can afford to make trips that can fit in the 44-hour window I had for this weekend. Therefore, I’m off to Salt Lake City and then Price, Utah, where I will visit the Desert Thunder Raceway. I’m looking forward to all of the tracks I will be able to see with this new arrangement. Up to now, I have turned down all overtures from hotel companies for trackchasing sponsorship. I am not certain if that will change or not in the future. I am working on an airport parking deal, which could offset a good deal of expenses for my 6th highest trackchasing expense category. The Trip If you’ve flown lately, you know that the process requires both time and patience. This is my 25th trackchasing airline trip of the year. Right now, I have five more planned before the season wraps up. I prefer to fly from the nearest airport to our house, the John Wayne Orange County Airport (SNA). However, the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) offers more non-stop flights, more departure and arrival times and lower prices. LAX is about 65 miles from our home in San Clemente. During rush hour the trip can take 2-3 hours. This is one of the reasons, although not the main reason, I normally schedule 6-7 a.m. departures. Today’s flight departed at 6:30 a.m. I left the house at 4 a.m. At that time of day there is no stop and go traffic but there is a good deal of traffic. I often wonder where so many people could be going at 4 o’clock in the morning! At this time of day, I can make the trip to LAX in about one hour. Security precautions at the airport can be both time and patience consuming. I do better with this than Carol does. The time it takes to get through security has DRAMATICALLY improved since the early days following 9/11. Rarely do I have to spend more than 10 minutes getting through security. With all of the stuff I carry on board an airplane, you have to be quick when it’s time to put everything through the x-ray machine. The airports have only recently standardized the rule that all shoes must be removed and sent through x-ray. They are also trying to enforce the rule requiring all video cameras to be removed from carry-on luggage and x-rayed separately. I have one of those small digital video cameras and I can get away with leaving it in my carry-on luggage. I carry my laptop with me on each trip. The laptop must be removed from my briefcase and x-rayed separately. Just recently, with the London area terror discovery, airports have placed a ban on carrying liquids, beverages, gels and aerosols onboard. I made the mistake of carrying my shaving kit aboard during a recent trip to Hawaii. That mistake cost me about half of the contents of the kit! Just last week, the airport security rules were relaxed. Now each passenger can carry up to 3 oz. of each item that might be a liquid, gel or aerosol. These items must be placed in a clear quart-sized Ziploc bag. That’s where my deodorant, toothpaste and shaving cream went. If you are going to go through the airports and expect the carry these items, you need to be able to get at them quickly so you don’t hold up the security line. I use one plastic tote for my shoes, one for my computer and the third tote for my “Liquids, gels and creams.” These totes are followed by my briefcase and carry-on luggage bag. By now, I am a very experienced pro at handling these security issues. The People Today is a special day on the people front. I’ll be going trackchasing with our oldest son, J.J. Carol and I are equally proud of all three of our children. We’re especially proud of J.J at this time as he begins a new career as a commercial airline pilot. He’s been living in Salt Lake City for a few weeks during his initial training. At this point, he expects his first duty station to be in Chicago. As all goes well, he hopes to begin the actual “people flying process” next month. Airline pilots have “crash pads.” I used J.J.’s Salt Lake City crash pad after the race. Earlier in the day, J.J. conducted a short course in “airline sponsorship management” with me as a student. Properly used my new airline support should give me the chance to go all over the country at a moment’s notice. J.J.’s final comment was, “I’ll be anxious to hear what the other trackchasers have to save about your new capabilities.” Well, J.J., it’s just like American politics. If you are a Republican and a Republican elected official says we should do this or that, you are likely to be fully supportive. If you are a Democrat, you will likely feel the Republican’s idea is a pretty poor idea. Of course, it works the same way if you interchange the words Republican and Democrat in the above sentence. I expect a similar reaction from my fellow trackchasers. RACE TRACK STATS: DESERT THUNDER RACEWAY #1,112 – 9/29/06 This was just my 3rd-lifetime track to see in the Mormon state. This is my third individual trackchasing trip to Utah. I have moved out of a five-way tie for fourth place and am now tied with Andy Sivi and Ron Rodda for second place. This gives me an additional two NGD points. I now trail first place in the lifetime NGD standings by just 11 positions. Andy Ritter leads the state with four tracks. I’ve added a new feature to my Trackchaser Reports. It is a real-time update of the lifetime National Geographic Diversity standings. I am attempting to overtake Gordon Killian for the lead in this category. To date, I have seen 121 tracks this season and Gordon has seen 42. Nevertheless, I have only gained 0.50 lifetime NGD points on my fellow competitor. This goes to show how difficult advancing in the lifetime NGD standings can be. Nevertheless, I am undeterred. RACE TRACK NEWS: DESERT THUNDER RACEWAY Once we got off the freeway and onto route 6, J.J. and I encountered some of the most beautiful scenery any trackchaser is likely to see. However, getting out of Salt Lake City on a Friday night was a challenge. SLC can give Los Angeles a run for its money in the traffic category. Tonight’s racing at the DTR was a modified special called the “Castle Country Clash.” The “Castle” portion of that name refers to the various local rock formations. This was day one of a two-day show. It was termed a “qualifier” night, but they did run a full program. There were just two classes on the card tonight with the modifieds (41) and street stocks (9). Rural western racing is normally not of high quality. The late Gary Jacob and I used to discuss that particular phenomenon often. This weekend’s race was billed on the track’s website as the Western United States’,“Biggest Modified Show” or something like that. I would equate it to a regular weekly modified program at many Midwestern tracks across the country. The admission price was more than reasonable at $6 per adult. The P.A. was strong and the two announcers (who stood on the rooftop of the concession stand) were enthusiastic if not always correct. Most of the time, they told the crowd a driver’s name and number. I suspect there were many traveling racers here tonight. It would have been nice to know where they were from. The announcers did apologize in advance for some of their errors. One said, “If we say a name wrong, please don’t get pissed off at us.” I don’t make the news I just report it. The flagman was poor. He threw the yellow flag too quickly for spinners and didn’t start the field quick enough after they were already lined up. He also gave them unintelligible hand signals when he wanted the drivers to change positions. Couple this ineptitude with a 45-minute intermission under cooling temperatures at an altitude of about 6,000 feet and you have an inefficient racing program. The dirt oval 3/8-mile track is located next to the Price, Utah airport. At one point, a single engine Cessna flew over the concession stand at an altitude of 100-200 feet. I could see the braces on the pilot’s teeth! J.J. looked at me at said, “There must not be any FFA inspectors in the audience. The minimum altitude when flying over people is 500 feet.” The scenery in and around the track was gorgeous. The track had far too many yellow flags, a too long intermission and follow the leader racing. There were a couple of good moments but not much. We did share a $2.50 bowl of chili. It was meaty and spicy, just the way I like it. However, I was not looking for a complete intestinal overall, which this chili provided. While at the concession stand, I struck up a conversation with a few people who had heard about my trackchasing achievements over the P.A. As almost always, folks with this type of background admire my ability to trackchase all over, all the time. One fellow wanted to know if he could stow away in my suitcase. Another fellow, who is the flagman at the Olathe, Colorado track insisted I drive over there for tomorrow tonight’s show. Of course, that would not fit Trackchasing’s First Mother’s plan, so I’ll be sitting in the Rose Bowl on Saturday night. WEATHER CONDITIONS Overall, the weather was really gorgeous for this time of the year. According to weather.com, September is the rainiest month of the year in Price, Utah although not by much. The area received rain last week and that resulted in the mountains being snow-capped. The temperature did start to cool as the evening wore on. RENTAL CAR UPDATE: I am using the National Rental Car Racing Pontiac Grand Prix for this weekend’s trip. I probably prefer Grand Prix’s more than any other car I rent from National right now. Friday total driving miles – 281 Saturday total driving miles – 8 The driving portion of this trip covered just 289 miles. We stopped just once for gas. I was surprised to see that 85-octane gas was sold in Utah. I paid an average price of $2.63 per gallon. The Pontiac Gran Prix gave us 30.1 M.P.G. in fuel mileage at an average cost of 8.7 cents per mile. The car cost 15.9 cents per mile to rent, all taxes included. LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE: These worldwide trackchasers are within 100 tracks (plus or minus) of my current trackchaser total. * Warning, you are within 50 tracks of being removed from this list. ** Special exemption. Other notables These worldwide trackchasers are within 10 tracks (plus or minus) of Carol’s current trackchaser total. 2006 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS LIFETIME NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY STANDINGS 2006 (current)** **Lifetime NGD results could be affected by current track counting proposals 2005 (final) Thanks for reading about my trackchasing, Randy Lewis #1 Trackchaser Living West of the Mississippi If you want to be in first place, go faster. CUMULATIVE TRAVEL DISTANCES: AIRPLANE Los Angeles, CA – Salt Lake City, UT – 574 miles RENTAL CAR Salt Lake City International Airport – trip begins Price, UT – 155 miles Salt Lake City International Airport trip ends – 289 miles AIRPLANE Salt Lake City, UT – Los Angeles, CA – 574 miles Total Air miles – 1,148 miles Total auto and air miles traveled on this trip – 1,437 miles TRACK ADMISSION PRICES: Desert Thunder Raceway – $6 Total race admissions for the trip – $6 Could Trackchasing’s First Mother squeeze in one more new state before the snow falls? Maybe! 1,000. Auburndale Kartway, Auburndale, Florida – February 10 1,001. Ocala Speedway (asphalt oval), Ocala, Florida – February 12 1,002. Speedworld Speedway, Surprise, Arizona – February 19 1,003. Lowe’s Motor Speedway (1/5 mile asphalt oval), Concord, North Carolina – February 25 1,004. Concord Raceway, Concord, North Carolina – February 25 1,005. Antioch Speedway, Antioch, North Carolina – February 25 1,006. Green Valley Speedway, Gadsden, Alabama – February 26 1,007. East Bay Raceway (inner oval), Gibsonton, Florida – March 17 1,008. Volusia Speedway Park West (1/6M oval), Barberville, Florida – March 18 1,009. Speedway Park, Fruitland Park, Florida – March 18 1,010. Sand Mountain Speedway (road course), Fort Meade, Florida – March 19 1,011. Anderson Motor Speedway, Anderson, South Carolina – March 31 1,012. Westminster Speedway, Westminster, South Carolina – March 31 1,013. East Lincoln Motor Speedway, Stanley, North Carolina – April 1 1,014. Margarettsville Speedway, Margarettsville, North Carolina – April 2 1,015. Sunny South Raceway, Grand Bay, Alabama – April 7 1,016. Barber Motorsports Park, Leeds, Alabama – April 8 1,017. Coldwater Raceway, Coldwater, Alabama – April 8 1,018. Talladega Short Track, Talladega, Alabama – April 8 1,019. Ballymena Raceway, Ballymena, Northern Ireland – April 14 1,020. Oulton Park, Little Budworth, England – April 15 1,021. Somerset Rebels Banger Raceway, Rooks Bridge, England – April 16 1,022. Mendips Raceway, Shipham, England – April 16 1,023. Oval Raceway, Angmering, England – April 17 1,024. Arlington Stadium, Eastbourne, England – April 17 1,025. Southside Speedway, Midlothian, Virginia – April 28 1,026. Motor Mile Speedway, Radford, Virginia – April 29 1,027. Wythe Speedway, Wytheville, Virginia – April 29 1,028. Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point Circuit, Summit Point, West Virginia – April 30 1,029. Old Dominion Speedway – inner inner oval, Manassas, Virginia – April 30 1,030. Shenandoah Speedway, Shenandoah, Virginia – May 4 1,031. Bridgeport Speedway (inner oval – front), Bridgeport, New Jersey – May 5 1,032. Empty Jug, Hawley, Pennsylvania – May 6 1,033. Oakland Valley Race Park, Cuddebackville, New York – May 6 1,034. Thunder Mountain Speedway, Center Isle, New York – May 6 1,035. Motocross 338, Southwick, Massachusetts – May 7 1,036. Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, Fultonville, New York – May 7 1,037. Calumet County Speedway, Chilton, Wisconsin – May 19 1,038. Grant County Speedway, Lancaster, Wisconsin – May 20 1,039. Blackhawk Farms Raceway, Rockton, Illinois – May 21 1,040. The Milwaukee Mile (Road course), West Allis, Wisconsin – May 21 ** Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – May 21 (new track Carol only) 1,041. Park Jefferson Speedway, Jefferson, South Dakota – May 25 1,042. Superior Speedway, Superior, Wisconsin – May 26 1,043. Brainerd International Raceway, Brainerd, Minnesota – May 27 1,044. Canby Speedway, Canby, Minnesota – May 27 1,045. Crawford County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Denison, Iowa – May 28 1,046. Tri-State Speedway, Sisseton, South Dakota – May 29 1,047. Sheyenne River Speedway, Lisbon, North Dakota – May 29 1,048. Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, Pahrump, Nevada – June 3 1,049. The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada – June 3 1,050. Hibbing Raceway, Hibbing, Minnesota – June 6 1,051. Buena Vista Raceway, Alta, Iowa – June 7 1,052. Lebanon Midway Speedway, Lebanon, Missouri – June 8 1,053. Rocky Top Raceway, Coal Grove, Ohio – June 9 1,054. Midvale Speedway (oval), Midvale, Ohio – June 10 1,055. Midvale Speedway (figure 8), Midvale, Ohio – June 10 1,056. Spring Valley Raceway, Millport, Ohio – June 11 1,057. Rialto Airport Speedway, Rialto, California – June 17 1,058. Lawrenceburg Speedway (figure 8), Lawrenceburg, Indiana – June 20 1,059. Lawrenceburg Speedway (temporary oval), Lawrenceburg, Indiana – June 20 1,060. Thunder Mountain Speedway, Knox Dale, Pennsylvania – June 21 1,061. State Park Speedway, Wausau, Wisconsin – June 22 1,062. Dodge County Fairgrounds Speedway, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin – June 23 1,063. Lucas Oil Speedway (oval), Wheatland, Missouri – June 24 1,064. Lucas Oil Speedway (figure 8), Wheatland, Missouri – June 24 1,065. Tri-City Speedway, Pontoon Beach, Illinois – June 25 1,066. Lake Ozark Speedway, Eldon, Missouri – June 29 1,067. Poplar Bluff Speedway, Poplar Bluff, Missouri – June 30 1,068. Indianapolis Motor Speedway (road course), Indianapolis, Indiana – July 1 1,069. Rush County Fairgrounds, Rushville, Indiana – July 1 1,070. Rock Castle Speedway, Mount Vernon, Kentucky – July 2 ** Windy Hollow Speedway (oval), Owensboro, Kentucky – July 2 1,071. Heartland Park Topeka (dirt oval), Topeka, Kansas – July 3 1,072. Thunderhill Speedway, Mayetta, Kansas – July 3 1,073. Little Valley Speedway, Little Valley, New York – July 13 ** Twin State Speedway (oval), Claremont, New Hampshire – July 14 1,074. Twin State Speedway (figure 8), Claremont, New Hampshire – July 14 1,075. Canaan Speedway (asphalt oval), Canaan, New Hampshire – July 14 ** New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire – July 15 1,076. White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, New Hampshire – July 15 1,077. Legion Speedway, Wentworth, New Hampshire – July 15 1,078. Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Fair Haven, Vermont – July 16 1,079. Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford Springs, Connecticut – July 17 1,080. Little Log House Speedway, Hastings, Minnesota – July 28 ** Elko Speedway (outer oval), Elko, Minnesota – July 28 ** Elko Speedway (inner oval), Elko, Minnesota – July 28 ** Elko Speedway (figure 8), Elko, Minnesota – July 28 1,081. Chickasaw Big Four County Fairgrounds, Nashua, Iowa – July 29 1,082. Buffalo River Speedway, Glyndon, Minnesota – July 30 1,083. Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, Utah, – August 4 1,084. Atomic Motor Raceway, Atomic City, Idaho – August 4 1,085. Mission Valley Speedway, Polson, Montana – August 5 1,086. Rock Creek Race Track, Kimberly, Idaho – August 6 1,087. Stevens County Fairgrounds, Morris, Minnesota – August 9 1,088. Norman County Raceway, Ada, Minnesota – August 10 1,089. Miller Speedway, Miller, South Dakota – August 11 1,090. Gimli Motorsports Park, Gimli, Manitoba, Ontario, Canada – August 13 1,091. Bemidji Speedway, Bemidji, Minnesota – August 13 1,092. Dayton Fair (figure 8), Dayton, Pennsylvania – August 14 1,093. Holmes County Fairgrounds, Millersburg, Ohio – August 15 1,094. Lawrence County Fairgrounds, New Castle, Pennsylvania – August 16 1,095. Armada County Fairgrounds, Armada, Michigan – August 17 1,096. Spencer Speedway, Williamson, New York – August 18 1,097. Yates County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Penn Yan, New York, – August 19 1,098. Tillsonburg County Fairgrounds, Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada – August 20 1,099. Marshfield Fair, Marshfield, Massachusetts – August 21 1,100. Cambridge Fair, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada – September 9 1,101. Georgetown Fair, Georgetown, Ontario, Canada – September 9 1,102. Oakwood Fair, Oakwood, Ontario, Canada – September 10 1,103. Western Fair, London, Ontario, Canada – September 10 1,104. Rice Lake Speedway, Rice Lake, Wisconsin – September 14 1,105. Iowa Speedway (oval), Newton, Iowa – September 15 1,106. Harrison County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Missouri Valley, Iowa – September 16 1,107. Calhoun County Raceway (oval), Rockwell City, Iowa – September 16 1,108. Hutchinson Raceway Park, Hutchinson, Kansas – September 22 1,109. Dodge City Raceway Park (outer oval), Dodge City, Kansas – September 23 1,110. Dodge City Raceway Park (inner oval), Dodge City, Kansas – September 23 1,111. Enid Motor Speedway, Enid, Oklahoma – September 24 1,112. Desert Thunder Raceway, Price, Utah – September 30 You might have remembrances about this track. If so, please feel free to share your memories in 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. That’s all folks! Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report 
UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS
RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2006
(** not the first time to visit this track)
