Greetings from Centerville, Washington
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From the travels and adventures of the
“World’s #1 Trackchaser”
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Eddieville Motorsports Park
Dirt road course
Lifetime Track #2,288
THE EVENT Today’s undertaking was just one of more than 2,000 trips that have taken me up, down and around the long and dusty trackchasing trail. If you would like to see where I’ve been and experience those adventures here’s the link: 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! ON THE WAY TO THE RACES FOREWORD I am very proud of the diversity of my trackchasing trips. If you were to visit my website at www.randylewis.org I believe you would find some of the most diverse travel itineraries that you’ve ever seen. This weekend’s trip was noteworthy because of its diversity of activity. Carol and I would be doing just a little bit of everything. The primary purpose of the trip was to visit Carol’s 87-year old mother, June, who lives in an assisted living care facility in Colorado. We get over there from time to time. This trip would be great for seeing how she was doing since her hip fracture. I’m happy to report that she’s doing great. Carol and I took her mother out on a field trip to a nearby shopping mall. With her mother in a wheelchair we raced from one end to the other seeing all of the upcoming Christmas displays. June was quite amazed at the capabilities of our iPhones. Can you imagine what the technology was like when she was a young girl? We had time to experience some other major activities as well. We would have a chance to go up to Boulder, Colorado to see the UCLA Bruins play the 15th ranked Colorado Buffaloes. The Buffs joined the Pac-12 conference a few years ago. In the entire history of the school they have never beaten UCLA. The game was being played on a Thursday night with special ESPN TV coverage. With Colorado doing so well the game was a near sellout. Of course we arrived on campus without any tickets to the game. Don’t worry. That’s how we roll. Before I left home I painstakingly prepared just the right “message” that would get us into the game. I always bring my “sign” when I’m going to need a ticket. The sign is simple. When Carol is with me it reads, “Need two” on one side and “Need 2” on the other. I almost always have my tickets within five minutes after I display my sign. That was the case tonight at the game. It’s a bit like taking candy from a baby. I’ll cut to the chase. We got our tickets and had a great time at the game. We’ve seen UCLA basketball, football or basketball AND football on the road at every Pac-12 school. It’s fun to follow big-time college sports. Over the years we’ve had season tickets to both UCLA football and basketball. This trip also gave me the opportunity to renew my friendship with former Procter & Gamble co-workers Frank E. and Steve T. Steve and Frank and I had a nice lunch. We discussed the current topics of the day as we normally do on these outings. I feel quite fortunate to be able to meet up with my friends who live so far away as often as I do. We were in Colorado to see Carol’s mother, go to a UCLA football game and meet up with some old friends. One might think that’s as productive of a trip as any trip should be. However, I always try to put ten pounds in a five-pound sack. I don’t always get those ten pounds in that sack but I usually get more than five pounds to fit. On the way home from Denver back to Los Angeles we would make a side trip. If you’re looking at a map you might conclude that Portland, Oregon is not exactly on the route from the Mile High City to the City of Angels. Under the cover of darkness we were able to slip into Oregon on Friday night. Priceline was helping us with a hotel sponsorship. When we landed in Portland I took a moment with my laptop. In less than five minutes I wrapped up a reservation at the Towne Place Suites hotel in suburban Portland. If you were going to land in a place like Portland on a Friday night would you do so without a hotel reservation in advance? I like maximum flexibility. I want to be able to change the plan at the last minute. That gives me the best chance to replace what I think is the best plan with a “new best plan”. Make sense? I feel badly for the guests who were paying the normal price at tonight’s hotel. They were being charged $129 plus tax. We were able to get a room for $52 plus tax and fees. We took the savings and stashed it under our pillow. We may need that money for a rainy day. If you’ve ever been to Portland, Oregon you know that they get more than their share of rainy days. We were not going to be spending much time in Portland. On Saturday morning our destination was Centerville, Washington. However, if you DO get to Portland I’d recommend staying downtown. Then you can go to Jake’s Seafood. I’ve been there a million times. It’s the best. Actually downtown Portland reminds me of a mini San Francisco. It’s a very cool place although the weather is commonly yucky. THE RACING Eddieville Motorsports Park – Centerville, Washington We were headed to the Eddieville Motorsports Park in Centerville, Washington. I think the Eddieville track primarily focuses on motorcycle and ATV racing. Nevertheless, it was going to be a perfect venue for some Saturday morning/afternoon UTV/Truck/Buggie racing. We were out of the Towne Place Suites, after a very solid complementary hot breakfast at the hotel, and on our way to Washington. It was about a two-hour drive each way. As noted we were expecting to see UTVs, buggies and trucks race in Washington. The racing was being sanctioned by the Pacific Northwest Off Road Racing Series. The drive from Portland to the track is a beautiful journey along the Columbia River. The fall foliage was in full-bloom featuring beautiful yellows and oranges along the river. This is one of the most scenic drives that I make in the entire United States. Remember that’s coming from a person that travels as I do. It should mean something to you. The Columbia River separates the state Oregon and Washington. Centerville, Washington is located just a few miles from the state line. We found the Eddieville Motorsports Park easily. The race group had plans to race this weekend, rain or shine, on both Saturday and Sunday. This racing series gets together about eight times a year. We paid our $10 general admission with a clear understanding that we would not be here for Sunday’s racing. The race grounds reminded me of trackchasing in Belgium or the Netherlands. The entire property was laid out over a rolling hillside. The grounds looked like a pasture where it would be a good idea if you watched where you were stepping. Everything was damp from the rain. Yep, just like my experiences in Belgium and the Netherlands. The racing folks who run this group are very efficient. The program called for two heats and a feature for about six or seven classes of motorized racing vehicles. There was one class of quads. There was an additional class of trophy trucks driven by people would not be classified as adults. I would call them kids! As you know these two classes do not count in the trackchasing hobby. Nevertheless there were 4-5 classes for UTVs, trucks and buggies. They even had Volkswagen Beetle bodies on a few competitors. Yes there were “bugs” and buggies. From what I could tell most of the heat races ran for eight laps. I never count the laps. I’m too busy looking around. The feature events would go for twelve circuits. They had a great temporary PA system with a very good announcer. The guy had a radio quality voice. The track itself was a dirt road course. I’m going to guess it was about 8/10 of a mile in distance. There were two or three jumps where the racers got some air. Carol and I both appreciated the fact that we could see the racers 100% of the time. That’s my favorite type of UTV racing compared to the cross country events that I sometimes attend. They ran one race right after another. There was no need to rework track. Car counts were small ranging from 2-7 in each event. Actually the races that had seven competitors really were combining the classes of trucks and buggies. Nevertheless, there was plenty of time to walk through the paddock area. We did just that getting up close and personal photos of the racers as well as all of the various camping arrangements. Those ran from tends to luxurious recreational vehicles. As always don’t miss the video of today’s racing action. Watching the video gives you the best shot to see a wide range of racing types that I watch during each trackchasing season. AFTER THE RACES Carol and I are the only two trackchasers that frequently pursue our hobby in the Far West. Why is that? It’s really for two reasons. First and foremost, Carol and I are residents of the west. Virtually every other trackchaser that currently follows the hobby does so from the east or Midwest. Some of those people might make a trip out to the Far West every once in while but not very often. Secondly, the Far West doesn’t have all that many racetracks comparatively speaking. The Far West also doesn’t have very many racetracks (almost none) that race during the week. The vast majority race only on Saturday. Why is that? Saturday is the best day of the week to draw a crowd and attract a racer. If there is little competition from neighboring tracks then a promoter is naturally going to go with a Saturday event. I have broken down the United States into four regions, West, South, Midwestern and East. Here’s how my lifetime track totals break out by those regions. West – 388 – AK-AZ-CA-CO-HI-ID-MT-NV-NM-OR-UT-WA-WY Midwest – 829 – IA-IL-IN-KS-MI-MN-NE-ND-OH-OK-SD-WI South – 464 – AL-AR-FL-GA-KY-LA-MO-MS-NC-SC-TN-TX-VA East – 277 – CT-DE-DC-ME-MD-MA-NH-NJ-NY-PA-RI-VT-WV That leaves a total of 330 tracks that I have seen outside the United States. Today Carol was seeing her 9th lifetime track in the Evergreen State. Carol gets a congratulatory kiss after each need track she visits. I was piling on my 34th track in Washington. That gives us a cumulative lifetime total as a couple of 2,850 tracks. Yes, we are the “World’s #1 Trackchasing Couple”. While comparing various trackchasing stats I will tell you that I lead my nearest trackchasing fellow competitor by nearly 600 tracks. That seems like a pretty impressive statistic. However I’ve got a comparison that I think is even more noteworthy. I lead my nearest competitor, WHILE BEING MARRIED, by about 900 tracks!! Most trackchasers have never married or married later in life. I was married at age 23. How many tracks had I seen before I was married? About twenty-five! That means I have seen nearly 2,300 tracks since my marital bliss began. What’s the significance of the “marriage” trackchasing phenomenon? When you’re married you have to take another person’s wants and needs into consideration. If you’re single who cares if you go trackchasing every day? Now do you understand why so few trackchasers are married and the ones who are couldn’t pull the trigger for a long time? After today’s racing we headed back in the rain along Interstate 84 paralleling the Columbia River. With the fall colors showing it was a beautiful drive despite the wet weather. We were able to hop on a flight back to Los Angeles that got us home Saturday night. We hope to get back to Oregon one more time this year for some very special activities. I’ll tell you about all of that someday in the future. However, for now, we had to prepare for Halloween. We never get many kids but we’re ready if we do. Speaking of the future, what does my trackchasing future look like for the rest of 2016? I’ve got two more trips planned. However they are BIG ones. Stay tuned! Good afternoon from Centerville, Washington Washington The Evergreen state This afternoon I saw my 34th lifetime track in the Evergreen state, yes the Evergreen state. I hold the #1 trackchasing spot in Washington. I’ve seen 34 or more tracks in 19 separate states. No one beats that stat. 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 Washington definitions: Beach What it means everywhere else: Sunshine, blazing hot sand, bikinis, warm waves, and loads of tourists. What it means in Washington: Gray skies, lots of rocks, freezing cold water, and loads of locals. Because traditional beaches are for wussies. QUICK FACTS LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS The three most important trackchasing comparisons to me are: Total lifetime tracks seen Total “trackchasing countries” seen Lifetime National Geographic Diversity results Total Lifetime Tracks There are no trackchasers currently within 575 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me. Total Trackchasing Countries There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total. Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results That’s all folks! Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report Click on the link below to see the video production from the racing action today. Click on the link below for a photo album from today’s trackchasing day. You can view the album slide by slide or click on the “slide show” icon for a self-guided tour of today’s trackchasing adventure. We did a little bit of everything on this trip. Don’t miss it. 
