Greetings from Alliance, Ohio
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From the travels and adventures of the
“World’s #1 Trackchaser”
Good’s Raceway Dirt oval Lifetime Track #2,619 THE EVENT I AM A TRACKCHASER. Are you new to the hobby of trackchasing? If so, let me give you just a little bit of background. Before I go any further I will tell you that a lot of people get pretty enthused about what I’ve been doing with trackchasing. I will offer this warning. If you try it yourself it could become addictive. My name is Randy Lewis (above with my good buddy Tim Frost). 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. Trackchasing is a “collecting” hobby. Trackchasing is a “counting” hobby. It’s really not all that much different than when you were a kid and you collected stamps or beer cans or bottle caps. Trackchasing is all about visiting new auto racing tracks for the very first time. Believe it or not, trackchasing has “rules“ as to what kind of racetrack and race car and race driver count toward your lifetime totals and which ones would not. I’ll try to oversimplify the rules situation for you. Trackchasers are allowed to count racing cars and trucks that compete on oval, road course and Figure 8 configurations. Any class that is racing, in order to count, must be open to racers 18 years of age or older. This means that trackchasers cannot count racing down exclusively by kids. There are also various motorsports events and classes of cars that do not count. Trackchasers does not count drag racing, demolition derbies, motorcycle racing or boat racing. Just cars and trucks on ovals, road course and figure 8 tracks. Trackchasing does not allow the counting of flat go-kart racing either. Before the hair on the back of your neck starts to stand straight up as you think one or more of these rules are just preposterous let me explain. First, I didn’t set up these rules. I only count by them. The rules were set up in the 1990s by a group of white men who primarily hung out in Pennsylvania. I don’t know that any of them had ever seen any racing on a road course or figure 8 track or maybe even a drag race, with a few exceptions, when the rules were established. There is one good thing about having a common set of rules. It allows each trackchaser to compare his or her list to the next trackchaser. Trackchasers like to do that. For me, I need three things in order to make my hobby hunt. First, I need a race date. Then I need good weather because folks in the U.S. often cancel racing events when it rains. Finally, I need a way to get to the track. I live in Southern California. The lion’s share of racing events in the United States are located in the Midwest and east. I trackchase just a little bit differently than my fellow competitors. For me there are three essential elements to the enjoyment of trackchasing. First, I like to see auto racing. I prefer to see racing on what we call “short tracks” more so than a visit to Daytona, Indianapolis or Monaco. By the way I’ve seen racing in each of those three iconic locations. In addition to the racing part of trackchasing for me I really enjoy seeing the local sights and sounds of whatever area I am visiting. I called these “Trackchasing Tourist Attractions”. If you go to my website at www.randylewis.org and click on the Trackchasing Tourist Attractions tab you’ll see where I’ve been all over the world. Here’s a link to that tab. Trackchasing Tourist Attractions The third and final reason that trackchasing is a lot of fun for me is simply the logistical part of the hobby. I have been retired for nearly 20 years. During that time I have not earned a single dime of work income. That means I have to manage my money pretty closely enable in order to be able to do what I do. Logistically I have to handle seven different categories of trackchasing expense. Those expenses include airplanes, rental cars, hotels, airport parking, gasoline, food and race tickets. As an example, you can just imagine what traveling from Southern California out to the Midwest for four days of racing would cost. In any given year I will travel well over 200,000 miles. I’ll stay in hotels 150-200 nights a year, rent 50-75 rental cars every year and buy a full tank of fuel about 100 days a year just for trackchasing. After each and every event that I attend I post a YouTube video, a SmugMug photo album and a very detailed Trackchaser Report about the experience. My stories are not just about what happened at the track but about my visit to the area and what exactly it took to make the trip happen. That’s where the racing, the touring and the logistical challenges come from. I told you that trackchasing is a “counting” hobby. Trackchasing is ultra-competitive as well. Lots of people don’t recognize that when they are initially exposed to this hobby. Trackchasing has had all of the political drama, cheating, accusing people of cheating and other aspects of poor personal behavior that any other competitive activity might have. This is why I am NOT a member of any organized trackchasing group. The management of these groups has been so poor over the years these groups are not something I want to be associated with whatsoever. As this is written I have seen racing in 85 different countries at more than 2,630 racetracks. During all this time I have never tried to benefit financially from my hobby. This is despite being interviewed by hundreds of track announcers, newspaper reporters and radio and TV outlets as well as doing a TV pilot. I’m a volunteer. I do this 100% for the fun of it. Because I have seen racing in 85 countries at this point I am considered the World’s #1 Trackchaser. That’s good enough for me. Now I encourage you to drop down a few spaces and read about trackchasing adventure. As you discover what went on today just think about the idea that I’ve done this more than 2,600 times. I don’t mind admitting I am addicted to that hobby of trackchasing. Yes, 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, July 3, 2020. This was going to be a most unusual trackchasing trip…if things went according to plan. I must tell you that one of the most fun things about my hobby of trackchasing is being able to react when the original plan must be changed. “Trackchasing’s First Mother”, that would be wife Carol is joining me on this trip. Before the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020 she and I went trackchasing together in France, Italy and Mexico. We were off to a fast start. Then COVID-19 came along and shut me down for nearly 3 months. Today we were back! Carol and I are the world’s #1 trackchasing couple. We hold a lead of nearly 300 tracks over our nearest fellow competitors. By myself, I try to surpass the totals of the next trackchasing couple. Whatever Carol can add to our totals is just icing on the proverbial cake. We will be trackchasing in Ohio and Michigan and then racechasing back in Ohio. My sister Becky and her husband Bob were going to join us along the trackchasing trail from their home in northern Illinois. One of the best parts of trackchasing all over the country is meeting up with family and friends who live a long way from my home in Southern California. Our daughter Kristy and her friend Laura along with Kristy’s children, our grandchildren, Mitch and Astrid as well as Laura’s children, Aurora and Eleanor were in the midst of a 61-day 48-state driving vacation. Travel is in the genes of our family! We expect to meet up with them. When we do they will have completed about four weeks of their trip. Yes, there was a lot of people maneuvering to make this trip a success. THURSDAY Carol and I had a leisurely 3 p.m. departure from Los Angeles on a Spirit Airlines non-stop flight bound for Detroit. So many of our flights leave at six or seven in the morning which requires getting up very early. Being able to leave at 3 p.m. was a luxury. Spirit Airlines is a discount airline. They offer really cheap flights. This has a direct influence on their customer demographics. Trust me when I say it is an eclectic group! Everyone in the airports today was wearing a mask. I believe in masks. Carol is not much of a believer in masks. It’s pretty easy to tell which way someone leans politically if you simply ask them what they think of masks! When we landed in the Detroit airport we grabbed the shuttle over to the Sheraton Hotel at the airport. By taking a shuttle tonight I would save a day’s rental car expense. That seemed like a good idea. As you will continually see I try to buy travel right. When Carol comes along on the trip I also try to make sure she gets first-class treatment. Of course, as her bodyguard, some of that first class shade falls on me as well. Tonight we were upgraded to a suite. Our bedroom side of the suite was a normal hotel room. However our adjoining, “relaxation area” was probably about 60 square feet in size. We could have hosted 50 guests easily. The first day of our trip was a grand success. We had re-positioned ourselves from Southern California to Michigan. FRIDAY Today we are meeting my sister Becky and her husband Bob down in Toledo, Ohio. On the way down to Toledo from Detroit Carol and I had time for both a Trackchasing Tourist Attraction and a road food experience. We stopped at a place called Pete’s Garage in Monroe, Michigan. Pete’s is a sports bar. The unique thing about Pete’s is that you get to eat your meal sitting inside of a 1950s vintage automobile! We had our lunch in what looked to be about a 1953 Chevy. They also had 57 Chevies and a 55 Ford to choose from. By the way the first car I ever drove, at age 10, was a 1955 Ford. Pete’s fit the requirements for both the Trackchasing Tourist Attraction and a road food stop. Whenever I have the time I try to stop in unique, quality restaurants. I even have a special section of my website at www.randylewis.orgdedicated to Best Road Food stops. I haven’t kept this section as up-to-date as I would like but here’s the link. You might’ve stopped in some of these special eateries during your own travels. Road Food – The Best of the Best Tonight’s trackchasing adventure was going to be at the Good’s Raceway in Alliance, Ohio. I’ve been trying to see this track for well over 10 years. In its former life, the track was called the Deerfield Raceway. Then a couple of years ago the track closed. This year a fellow by the name of Jim Good re-opened it under his own name, Good’s Raceway. We were staying over near Toledo, Ohio. It was here at the Hampton Inn that we met Becky and Bob who have driven in the night before from Illinois. They enjoy traveling and coming along on some of these racing trips. As a matter of fact, Bob coming into this weekend, hopes to increase his current track total from 42 different tracks. He keeps his own list. The weather this weekend was going to be warm with high temperatures in the 90s with a little bit of humidity as well. That’s to be expected in early July in this part of the Midwest. Tonight’s admission price for seniors at the Good’s Raceway was a more than reasonable eight dollars. Sister Becky bought our tickets. We were very appreciative of that. As you probably know if you’ve read these reports for very long I travel on a shoestring budget compared to the Dreaded East Coast Trackchaser fellow competitors. They spend money like somebody gave it to them. As a matter of fact, if I had their money I’d throw mine away. Today’s racing program was going to take place on a quarter-mile slightly banked dirt oval. A racing group called the “young guns” a traveling series was in the house tonight. There was a full smorgasbord of racing classes on the card tonight. The Good’s Raceway is a well-kept facility with a very modern building housing the office and the two-story announcing tower. They used separate buildings for their concession stands. The Young Guns brought a couple of classes of caged open-wheel karts. One class was for children and another class for adults. There was also a winged kart class. The mini modified class raced tonight as well. I found them to be the most entertaining division. In addition to the modifieds, a group of about six dwarf cars competed. They were followed by a class of mini stocks. The announcer talked to the crowd over a solid PA system. He gave us quite a bit of information about who was racing what kinds of cars. He also reminded the fans of the concession stand frequently. Tonight’s 50-50 winner collected about $275. At 9 o’clock at night, it was still a warm 80°. We didn’t win the 50-50 even though Becky made a solid contribution! I have to be honest with you. I don’t write these reports to suck up to anyone. I don’t write these reports to be overly critical about anyone or anything. However, I just didn’t find tonight’s program all that entertaining. It was difficult to see the cars when they were racing. The grandstands were only five rows high. The protective catch fence went up about 4 feet blocking a good view of the cars when they came down the front straightaway. There were seven or eight classes running. Some of those classes had three heats. We watched a lot of heat racing. Seeing five or six cars running around the track for a few laps isn’t nearly as exciting as seeing 15 of those cars battle their way through a feature event. The show started on time at 7 p.m. However, when the heats were finished and intermission wrapped up along with two main events for the kid’s classes it was already 9:40 p.m. In my judgment, I show that starts at 7 p.m. should be almost finished if not completed by 9:40 p.m. Having spectators sit on a hard board for nearly three hours and for the most part only get to see heat racing out of all of that just doesn’t fly in my entertainment book. For the most part, the operators of Good’s Raceway were efficient. It just seemed that in virtually every heat race there was a yellow flag or two. This really added to the length of the show up to the point where we left after seeing just two features. Those features were for the kid’s classes only and not all that entertaining. A race promoter is sort of between a rock and a hard place. They make a lot of money from the back gate. Driver entry fees, if there are entry fees, and pit passes which often times sell for two and three times the cost of a general admission ticket are a real profit maker for the track owner. I’ll say there were 100-150 spectators in the small multiple 5-row high grandstands. I wonder how many of those folks watching on the grandstand side of things were not associated with a race car or driver? I’m going to guess not many. I’ll take a wild guess and say they were about 75 race cars in the pit area. A racing team brings their car, driver, car owner, some pit people possibly and then moms, dads, grandparents and kids who are part of that racing team by relation. Effectively those 75 race teams probably accounted for 90% of the revenue that the track generates in any individual evening. I’m sure the promoter would like to get to real feature racing before the show is approaching three hours in length. At the same time, the race organizer wants to have as many race cars in the pits as possible. As I noted those race teams account for virtually all of his revenue. I think short track racing really hurts itself by spending the first couple of hours of a program with somewhat meaningless heat races. A college basketball game is going to be finished in about two hours. A baseball game or a football game is going to be finished in about three hours. People are heading to the parking lot at these events in three hours. Why does auto racing think they can take the first two or three hours with “preliminaries” when the fans really want to see the feature events? Additionally, I felt tonight’s quarter-mile dirt oval was way too big for many of the classes racing tonight. The mini-stocks were just about the “biggest” class tonight and even a track this size might have been too big for them. The track was definitely too large for the open-wheeled classes. I’m not here to provide all of the answers. I’m simply commenting as a race fan. That’s about all a race fan can do is comment right? Well, I guess a fan can just stay away and not comment. That approach doesn’t help the promoter much does it? I’ll comment and send a copy of the message to the promoter. I do that in the spirit of constructive observation. It is no secret that the short track racing industry is not awash in race fans or race teams for that matter at most locations. I challenge the race promoters of the U.S. to come up with a better format, maybe features only, to entertain the fans. The next night when we ventured up to a small town short track in Michigan the entire program was much more entertaining. I’ll tell you more about as we go along. Good evening from Alliance, Ohio. Randy Lewis – 85 countries – 2,619 tracks. Ohio The Buckeye State This evening I saw racing at my 82nd-lifetime track in the Buckeye State, yes, the Buckeye State. I hold the #8 trackchasing ranking in Ohio. Ohio ranks #11, amongst all the states, in tracks seen for me in the U.S. 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 Ohio sayings: “JC Penney’s, “Kroger’s” and “Meijer’s” are what you think they are. We just like to make them possessive. JUST THE 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 745 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me. Total Trackchasing Countries My nearest trackchasing competitor, a native of Belgium, has seen racing in more than 30 fewer countries compared to 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. The trip to Good’s Raceway in Alliance, Ohio 
