2014 Trackchasing Goals
First Quarter Trackchasing Goals Status Update
Period ending March 31, 2014
It doesn’t take much effort to set a few goals. However, there are some aspects of goal setting that ought to be considered. Why set any goals in the first place? It’s simple. By setting goals you can “stretch” to achieve more and/or improve yourself in whatever area you find important.
If you’re going to set goals there are a few things that will make the process better. First, the goals have to be as specific as possible. The more specific they are the easier it will be to see if you achieved your goals. It’s also most important to tell folks who care what your goals are BEFORE you try to achieve them. If one doesn’t do that it’s easy to “forget” about some goal when it’s not achieved. It’s all too easy to pat yourself on the back for a goal that might only have “materialized” AFTER you achieved it! I’ve seen a trackchaser or two fall into this category.
I think you will find my goals specific. I publish my goals during January of each year. So there you go. My goals are “out there” for all to see. Now I’ll go about doing the best I can against those goals that are important to me in trackchasing. At the end of each quarter I’ll post the results. Stay tuned. I probably won’t make them all but I will be trying.
Below is an update of my progress against my 2014 trackchasing goals. My goals are both quantitative and qualitative.
Goal – Maintaining my title of the World’s #1 Trackchaser”
Maintain a lead of at least 350 tracks over my nearest fellow competitor. That should be enough to keep my title of the “World’s #1 Trackchaser” for a very long time.
Current results through March 31, 2014
The first quarter was a good one. I ended up seeing 18 tracks. My nearest fellow competitor, Guy Smith, was limited to seeing just six. This increases my overall lead to 393 tracks. That will be good enough for now.
Goal – Foreign country trackchasing
Add, at a minimum, five or more new countries to my trackchasing list. This will bring my lifetime “trackchasing countries” total to at least seventy-two. Adding this many new countries after I have seen racing in as many places as I have (67 countries) is one of my most challenging but most entertaining goals.
Current results through March 31, 2014
The year got off to a good start with a visit to the country of Trindad and Tobago. This South American country just off the coast of Venezuela comes in at country #68. Carol joined me for five days of fun and sun in T&T. The racing people we met were fantastic and very interested in my hobby. You can read all about our visit elsewhere on my site.
Goal – Lifetime National Geographic Diversity results
1. Maintain my leadership position in the NGD lifetime category. 2. Lower my 2013 lifetime NGD score from the hobby’s all-time record high score of 4.96.
The National Geographic Diversity stats measure both numbers of tracks and numbers of states where a chaser has trackchased. You can’t be a “regional” trackchaser and do well in the National Geographic Diversity rankings. You can’t be a foreign trackchaser and do well in the NGD results. The NGD category rewards American trackchasers who pursue the hobby frequently all over the United States. Maintaining a #1 position in the lifetime NGD rankings is one of my three most important trackchasing ranking categories.
Current results through March 31, 2014
My annual results won’t change until the end of the year. Why? I won’t know how my fellow competitors have done on a state by state basis until then. However, you can rest assured I will keep my eye on tracks that will benefit my “NGD” results all year. A track here and a track there will improve my score on a state by state basis.
Goal – Far Western states lifetime rankings
1. Maintain leadership position in 12 of the 13 Far Western states (x California). 2. Grow my lead in at least half (6) of the Far Western states where I do currently hold the #1 ranking.
I have an advantage with this goal. I live in the Far West. Virtually all other leading trackchasers live in the east. They won’t come out to the Far West to trackchase very often because the pickings are so slim. My leads in each state might not seem like much but since there are so few tracks to see the advantage in most cases is substantial.
There isn’t all that much happening in the Far West for me trackchasing wise now either. I’ve already seen the majority of tracks in this vast region. I don’t set a goal of ever beating Gary Jacob’s California totals unless some new genre of countable Golden state tracks pop up.
Current Results – Through 12/31/13 (my totals)
Alaska – (10) – lead by two
Arizona – (30) – tied for first with the racing Eckels
California – (124) – trail Gary Jacob’s total of 149
Colorado – (20) – lead by four
Hawaii – (5) – lead by one
Idaho – (14) – lead by eight
Montana – (12) – lead by five
Nevada – (27) – lead by seven
New Mexico – (14) – lead by eight
Oregon – (19) – lead by five
Utah – (11) – lead by seven
Washington – (25) – lead by six
Wyoming – (11) – lead by three
Current results through March 31, 2014
I think this is going to be a very good year for my Far West trackchasing. During the first quarter five of my 18 tracks were seen “out west”. That included three California visits as well as one track seen in both Arizona and Oregon. The Arizona track, in Lake Havasu City, puts me back into the sole lead in the Grand Canyon state. That’s important to me. I have big Far West plans for the remainder of the year.
Goal – Exercise
Exercise at least 45 minutes per day for two times as many days as I trackchase. As an example, if I trackchase for 75 days I will need a minimum of 150 days of strong aerobic exercise in order to meet this goal.
Although this is a most worthwhile goal it is also one of the most difficult to attain. Why? My schedule, when I’m on the road, doesn’t fit well with exercise opportunities. Often times I am flying and/or driving for virtually every hour of the day. That doesn’t leave much time for exercising or create a mindset where I WANT to exercise. However, I know it’s important to do well in this area. This will have my focus this year.
Current results through March 31, 2014
During the first quarter I went trackchasing over 17 days. That means my goal for aerobic exercise events was thirty-four. How did I do against that goal? Not so well. I exercised for 45 minutes just 18 times during the quarter. Injuries and a general malaise held me back. However, if I remain healthy I still expect to achieve this goal. The second quarter will be important to see if I can do it.
Goal – Trackchasing Tourist Attractions – Major League Ballparks
Continue to be the leader in the trackchasing hobby when it comes to Trackchasing Tourist Attractions. Strive to see all kinds of “fun stuff” when I’m away from home trackchasing.
My most specific goal is to see a major league baseball game in every currently active park. There are 30 major league baseball parks. To date, I have seen major league games in 28 different stadia. Doing the math it would seem as if I have just two to go. Not true.
Here is the list of those 28 stadia where I have seen a game. As you can see some of these parks have been closed and replaced. My goal is to see a game in every currently active major league baseball stadium.
Addendum added February 18, 2014
In the back of my mind I thought I had seen a game played at Kaufman Stadium home of the Kansas City Royals. However, because I couldn’t remember for sure I couldn’t count it. Today I came across a photo of my attending a game there in August, 1994. I checked my racing results from that year. Bingo! On August 4, 5 and 6 my brother Mark and stepfather Bill were first trackchasing (night 1) and then racechasing (nights 2 and 3) at the famous Belleville High Banks in Belleville, Kansas. The puzzle was complete. I had seen a game in Kansas City. The record will be updated to account for this stadium being seen.
American league parks seen (13)
Boston Red Sox – Fenway Park
Chicago White Sox – Comiskey Park
Cleveland Indians – Progressive Field
Detroit Tigers – Comerica Park
Kansas City Royals – Kaufman Stadium
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – Angels Stadium
Minnesota Twins – Metrodome & Target Field
New York Yankees – Old Yankee Stadium & New Yankee Stadium
Oakland Athletics – Oakland Coliseum
Tampa Bay Rays – Tropicana Field
Toronto Blue Jays – Rogers Centre
National League parks seen (16)
Arizona Diamondbacks – Chase Field
Chicago Cubs – Wrigley Field
Cincinnati Reds – Riverfront Stadium & Great American Ballpark
Los Angeles Dodgers – Dodger Stadium
Miami Marlins – Marlins Field
Milwaukee Brewers – Miller Park
New York Mets – Shea Stadium & Citi Field
Pittsburgh Pirates – PNC Park
San Diego Padres – Qualcomm Stadium
San Francisco Giants – Candlestick Park & AT&T Park
Seattle Mariners – Kingdome
St. Louis Cardinals – Old Busch Stadium
Washington Nationals – Nationals Park
Ocean’s Eleven – Now revised to “Ten Little Indians”.
My goal in 2014 is to see a major league baseball game in the following 10 major league baseball stadia. If I achieve this goal I will have seen a game in 38 different major league parks and EVERY current MLB stadium.
I have seen these teams play in their OLD parks. My goal is to return for a game in each of these new parks where the teams now play.
Chicago White Sox – U.S. Cellular Field
Seattle Mariners – Safeco Field
San Diego Padres – Petco Park
St. Louis Cardinals – New Busch Stadium
I have not seen these teams play in their current locations.
Baltimore Orioles – Oriole Park
Houston Astros – Minute Maid Park
Texas Rangers – Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
Atlanta Braves – Turner Field
Colorado Rockies – Coors Field
Philadelphia Phillies – Citizens Bank Park
Additionally, I’m building a pretty robust “Trackchasing Tourist Attractions” section on my website. I’ll update that as often as I can. I never get enough of seeing things for the first time. TTAs are a lot like trackchasing. Some places you might like to go back again and again. Others are “one and done”.
Current results through March 31, 2014
This goal will be achieved during the second and third quarters of the year. Some 99% of all MLB games are played during this time. Seeing ten more ballparks will increase my travel and driving distances a good deal. That’s fine with me. It’s something I want to do. The challenge will be “blending in” the logistics of trackchasing and ball parking. I’m up for that challenge.
Goal – Racechasing
Go to 3-5 major race shows for the year without regard to existing trackchasing opportunities. Go to at least two NASCAR Sprint Cup shows including the Daytona 500.
Current results through March 31, 2014
The year started off in a fantastic manner with a visit to the Daytona 500 with good buddy Jim Sabo. The race was majorly effected by rain. For me that extended my time at the Daytona 500 from just a few hours to all day. That made it all the more fun. Who wants to go to such a big event and be outta there in just 4-5 hours. The Daytona 500 was a wonderful experience.
I also made a trip to the Volusia County Speedway during Florida Speedweeks. Toward the end of the quarter I made a return visit to the California Speedway, for the first time in 17 years, with my grandson Mitch. That was a great day of NASCAR Nationwide racing.
Goal – Free time diversification
This is my most revolutionary goal for 2014. Have you ever heard of a trackchaser setting a goal to LIMIT their trackchasing? No, I haven’t either. Pursuing any one hobby to the exclusion of others is a bad idea in my opinion. Therefore, I plan to limit my trackchasing to just 75 days in 2014.
Let me put 75 days of trackchasing in some context. During the three-year time frame of 2005-2007 I averaged 118 trackchasing days each year. That’s too much. My new goal of a maximum of 75 trackchasing days will be nearly a 40% decrease from before I became a “semi-retired” trackchaser. It will take a good deal of restraint (I could go trackchasing nearly every day of the year and still enjoy it!) on my part to meet this goal. Nevertheless, this area of trackchasing will receive my highest priority. It’s that important in achieving a well-rounded lifestyle.
Current results through March 31, 2014
I trackchased for 17 days during the quarter. I don’t have the foggiest notion, except for about 6-8 races, where I will track chase for the balance of the year. I just don’t plan very far ahead. Often times my plan changes on hours or even minutes notice. I do keep an eye on how often I trackchase. I have family and friend responsibilities. I have other hobbies. As you can see 75 days of trackchasing, when achieved, will be a dramatic decrease from my busiest trackchasing years.
Goal – Have Fun
I plan to see as many new tracks in 2014 as I want too. If I don’t go trackchasing, it won’t be because of bad weather, a lack of tracks to see or any other form of restraint on my part. It will be because I found something more fun and interesting to do not because I couldn’t find a place to go trackchasing.
Current results through March 31, 2014
This is a subjective goal. However, here’s a good way to think about it. I go trackchasing because I want too. It isn’t like a job. I don’t HAVE to go trackchasing. I do it because I enjoy it. If you see me trackchasing, you will know I’m having fun!
If you get time check out the guestbook tab of my website at this link Randy’s past guestbook. I get lots of comments like this one from race fans and travelers, “You are living my dream”. Heck, I’m living my dream as well. Trackchasing is OPTIONAL for me. If I didn’t want to do it I wouldn’t do it. On the other hand, despite my “love for the road” it’s never a good idea to do anything too much. Right now I’m very happy with the frequency of my trackchasing. My current pace is one I would be comfortable with for many years to come.