HBR Raceway

 

THE EVENT

Note! If you’ve got a question, comment or whatever please leave it at the bottom of this report. It’s very easy to do. I’ll try my best to respond. Thanks!

I sometimes see two or more tracks in a single day. When I do I will commonly combine my observations from both tracks into a single Trackchaser Report. That is the case today.

ON THE WAY TO THE RACES

Not exactly as planned.

They was going to be another unusual trackchasing day. Aren’t they all? I spend a lot of time planning these things but each day’s effort virtually never works out 100% as planned.

Today I hoped to see three tracks, two in Illinois and one in Indiana. I figured the first track in Greenup, Illinois was a sure thing.

The other two tracks were a little bit iffy. The second planned track of the day in Indiana might or might not have the right kind of start to meet trackchasing rules. The third and final track might not have enough countable cars racing. I was taking some risks but I thought there were calculated ones.

If it plays in Peoria….

My day began at the Extended Stay America hotel in Peoria, Illinois. Peoria is special to me for several reasons.

Peoria, Illinois is the world headquarters city of the Caterpillar Tractor Company. I worked three summers in the factories at Caterpillar. I worked both second and third shifts. I think my top pay back in 1968–70 was $3.33 an hour. That was a good wage for those times. My earnings at Caterpillar as well as a few jobs I held during school allowed me to pay for my college education in full. I graduated with not a penny of debt.

Peoria was my “metro” boyhood home. I lived across the Illinois River in Tazewell County in East Peoria, Illinois until I was 18 years of age.

Not a pot to piss in?

We really didn’t have a material thing to our name during those first 18 years. However if you’ve never had anything then you don’t miss anything. None of my friends had anything either.

Central Illinois has some of the most God awful weather you will experience anywhere. People think the middle of the winter is horrible. Anyone who thinks that is actually correct.

However the hot and humid and muggy and wet summers are no bargain either. Right now the temperatures are above 90° during the day with matching humidity. When I walk out of my air-conditioned car my glasses fog up.

Spring and fall is no vacation in paradise either in the area. Some of the most uncomfortable days I’ve ever spent in Illinois were with temperatures of 35-40° with a strong biting wind and maybe a little rain thrown in during the spring and or fall.

Ignorance is bliss.

Did the central Illinois weather bother me when I was a kid? No it did not. Why? I didn’t know any better!

I can remember spending a few New Year’s Eves shooting baskets in my driveway until the clock struck midnight. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t 75° on any of those New Year’s Eve evenings in Illinois.

As a boy I was poor. We ate a lot of mayonnaise sandwiches. That’s bread and mayonnaise only. We had a lot of gravy dinners with a few chicken parts tossed in for flavor. We started some of our cars with a screwdriver when the ignition didn’t work. However as a boy I can never remember lacking for anything. I had a very happy childhood. When you don’t have anything and the folks around you don’t have anything then you don’t feel like you’re missing anything. Make sense?

THE RACING

Cumberland County Fairgrounds – Greenup, Illinois

Illinois dirt off-road racing.

With that as my Peoria area background I headed out of the Extended Stay America hotel at 9 a.m. this morning. I would be traveling in the direction of the Cumberland County Fairgrounds in Greenup, Illinois. I was hoping to see some off-road dirt racing with trucks and dune buggies.

I expected my drive to take about 2 1/2 hours. This is my 12th complete day on the “Long and Arduous Mega-Trackchasing Summer Tour of 2015”. When I reach my hotel tonight I will have driven about 4,300 miles on the trip so far. You can do the math on my daily driving distances.

I try to confirm the details in advance.

I always try to calI ahead to confirm the details of any race I will be attending. I had called the vice president and the president of the Mid America Off-road Racing Association a few days ago to confirm a few things about today’s racing.

Years ago trackchaser P.J. Hollebrand and I had met for the very first time at the Soggy Bottom Raceway in Greenup, Illinois. This week I was calling the key members of this racing group to confirm that the Cumberland County Fairgrounds was a different racing venue that Soggy Bottom.

They told me these two places were in the different locations. They were located about a mile apart. Soggy Bottom Raceway is long gone.

Actually the president of MAORA didn’t return my call for about a week after I left him a message. However the vice president was on top of things. He gave me all the details I needed to know. I was all set to add another Illinois track to my list.

Stuff changes.

However in life things change. I guess that’s what makes life the trip that it is. I had been told that racing would begin today at 12 noon or maybe 1 p.m. I decided to show up at 12 noon just in case they started early.

The Cumberland County Fairgrounds property is one of the most rural and rustic I’ve ever seen. A block from the fairgrounds, which is out of the country, is a very beautiful reconditioned one-lane covered bridge.

I liked the covered bridge but I did not like what I saw on the fairgrounds property. It was actually what I didn’t see that I didn’t like. There was nobody there!

Not the first time…and probably not the last.

There is been a few times in my trackchasing career where I have driven a long distance only to find no one was at the track. I did that earlier this year on a drive up in northern Michigan. On that occasion it was my mistake. I had the wrong date.

With no one at the fairgrounds and no one to ask any questions of the best I could do was call some MAORA contacts. I soon reached a woman named Becky. Becky was the group’s treasurer. She was most apologetic that I was unaware that they had canceled the event about 10 days ago! That must’ve been only a day or two after I talked to Jerry, the MAORA vice President, and confirmed the race.

Becky told me they canceled 10 days ago or so because of wet grounds. I’m sure that 10 days ago it could’ve been very wet. However today everything looked dry as a bone.

Would it be a good idea to update their website?

I pointed out to Becky that the MAORA website was not updated with any cancellation information. She agreed that that could likely be the case. It was. She recommended I follow their Facebook page since she updates that constantly. That would’ve been good to know earlier!

Then, with nothing else to do, I gave the group’s vice president Jerry another call. We talked for a few minutes. He told me that racer count is way down. He said at the last event they had only seven racers. A couple of years ago they would routinely get 25-30 competitors. For the past few years I have been seeing racing car counts go down down down. Racing is just too expensive for the common man relative to the return. The same phenomenon is effecting our aging trackchasers. When the entertainment value doesn’t equal the cost of the entertainment folks stop going.

Sandstone – Bowling Green, Indiana

Every cloud has its silver lining.

There was a minor silver lining to the problem I encountered today. I had been told racing at Greenup would start at noon or 1 p.m. However in “promoter speak” that could have easily been two or 2:30 p.m. Then I would have had a difficult time getting to my late afternoon race over in Indiana.

That’s right. Following the racing in Greenup I was planning to drive over to Indiana for some late afternoon racing there. The Indiana track was just an hour and nine minutes from Greenup. Despite the short driving distance I would be changing time zones. Illinois in the central time zone and most of Indiana is in the eastern time zone.

The Indiana race was set to begin with a UTV race at 4 p.m. Eastern time. If Greenup had started as late as 2 o’clock, which would be 3 o’clock Indiana time, I probably would not have made it to Indiana in time for their racing.

I’m “going for it” in Illinois.

I was more interested in notching an Illinois track than an Indiana track. I’m getting close to Ed Esser’s Illini state leading total of 99 tracks. It was a significant blow to miss out on the race in Greenup, Illinois this afternoon.

That’s right. YOU get to choose your own reaction.

However some time ago I learned that each individual gets to choose their own personal reaction to the situation they encounter. That’s a very important concept to learn in life. I’ve applied to golf and to trackchasing.

If I have a bad shot in golf I’ve learned the best course of action is to simply shout out an expletive! Then I almost immediately move on to the next shot. This works for me.

If I drive up to an empty county fairgrounds and know that I have missed the race I don’t even shout an expletive. I just immediately put my transmission in drive and head onto the next dot on the map. That’s what I did today.

Which Bowling Green?

I would be seeing some UTV aka SXS (Side by Side) racing at the Sandstone racetrack in Bowling Green, Indiana. I had visited Bowling Green, Kentucky in the past. That’s where they make Corvettes. For today’s racing I had to confirm we were talking about Bowling Green, INDIANA. We were.

I figured that Bowling Green, Indiana would be a small town. It was. I figured I could just drive into town and either see the racetrack or see a sign directing me to the racetrack. That was an incorrect assumption. I couldn’t.

The Sandstone racetrack was out in the friggin’ boonies. I had to drive on several dusty gravel roads to get there. When I saw a few trailers leaving the general vicinity with their ATV racing machines I had a good sense that I was getting close.

It was a dreadfully hot and humid day. The temperature was 91°. It felt warmer. The humidity was worse than most humans should be subjected to.

I found the track…but it wasn’t easy.

However I was on time for the 4 p.m. start. I paid my $15 general admission fee and got my wristband. The young woman ticket seller gave me a recommendation on the best place to park. That was helpful so I can leave the track without a hassle when the time came.

I didn’t know this at the time. I had parked my National Car Rental Racing Toyota Avalon within 25 yards of the actual UTV racetrack! Yikes.

It was a pretty good walk, on a hot and humid day, down to where the UTVs would start the race. I continue to be amazed at how this particular niche form of racing is so well attended with campers and racers alike.

How about this for the reason the start of the race was delayed.

Often times dirt oval tracks delay the racing programs because they have to water the track. Or they have to dry the track because they watered the track too much. There are a lot of other reasons why they delay their programs as well. Don’t get me started.

Today’s UTV race was delayed from 4 p.m. until about 4:40 p.m. However after having seen more than 2,000 racetracks in my time I could never recall hearing the reason for the delay to be what it was today. Yep. There’s always something new.

I was standing next to the track announcer. It was his responsibility to tell the crowd that the race wasn’t going to start on time. Why was that? Out in the woods they had a few trees they had to cut down to make it safer for the UTV racers!

I am convinced about one thing. I am convinced that if I see racing at 10,000 different tracks I will continue to hear things and see things and do things that I’ve never ever done before. That motivates me to get to the next track.

I had been texting back-and-forth over the past couple of days with a young woman named Erica. She was prompt and complete in answering my questions.

How did the race program work?

Just as she said there would be two classes of UTVs racing today. Each would start their race in their own row. The classes were named heavy and light.

The first race would be for the heavies. They brought 8 competitors to the track today. They would be racing along a 5-mile course much of which was out of sight in a heavily wooded area. The light division had just two competitors. They started about 30 seconds after the heavies saw their green flag raise. That’s right. Raise. Get used to is. SXS racing is growing lots of other forms of racing are not.

I’m going to guess that 80-90% of the 5-mile racing distance was done behind closed doors. That’s right. The racing was back in the woods out of sight from the fans. I got some good video footage of the start. I was a little bit amazed at how closely the pilots, that’s what they call UTV drivers, passed by the on looking crowd. It reminded me of seeing all those European rally videos where rally cars race past spectators standing five feet off the race course.

Up close and personal.

I trudged up a long hill in the hot and muggy weather. That’s when I discovered that a part of the open track was just in front of my rental car! However that turned out to be a good thing. I got inside my car and cranked up the air to -20°F or whatever. Then I just sat back with a couple of one dollar ice cold bottled waters and enjoyed the remainder of the race.

Nope. Not your father’s auto racing.

I must say that UTV racing is not your father’s auto racing.  Here’s an example of why I say that. I was talking with trackchaser Roger Ferrell the other evening at an Indiana county fair oval track. I must admit that some of Roger’s logic goes over my head.

Roger is an oval racing fan by nature. I’m not sure if he has ever seen any side-by-side racing. I know that he views my website religiously as do most trackchasers within the hobby.

How do I know this? When I run into them they mention things that could’ve only come from my website that I have long forgotten. I am happy they show an interest in what I am doing within the trackchasing hobby. Pennsylvania ranks in the top few states for viewing my YouTube videos.

Back to Roger.

But wait. Let’s get back to Roger. As I talked with him he looked a little skeptical about the countability of UTV racing. Take a look at the picture above. It’s a UTV racing machine.

Compare it’s basic ingredients to a sprint car or a NASCAR stock car or any other type of “traditional” racing machine. Does this UTV and his cousins have the same basic ingredients? Roger isn’t sure that UTVs should be or are a trackchasing countable type of race car. Roger. They are.

They each have four wheels. They have roll cages. They have steering wheels. I would have to say that four wheels, a steering wheel and roll cage (the roll cage is not mandatory) pretty well define what a basic racecar should include. Heck in England they have THREE-wheeled race cars!

HBR Raceway – Buncombe, Illinois

I was busy today.

Following my event in Bowling Green, Indiana I still had plenty of trackchasing work to do. Now I would have a three hour drive down to southern Illinois. No, I wasn’t giving up on closing the gap with Ed Esser on Illinois trackchasing lead.

Gaining a #1 ranking in Illinois is important to me.

I was in search of the HBR Raceway in Buncombe, Illinois. I had come to learn this track has been around for four years. I had not been here in the past because it didn’t look like they had any racing machines that met our trackchasing guidelines.

However lately the printed material I’ve seen about HBR seemed to indicate that they had some caged racing cars. I called the promoter and confirmed this was the case.

He told me they had caged karts appearing on a regular class at the HBR Raceway. He also told me they’ve been getting three or four competitors on a weekly basis. I must tell you that when a race promoter tells me he gets 20 cars I should expect eight or ten.

If someone tells me they get three or four cars how many should I expect? Did three or four caged karts show up tonight? No they did not. Only two caged karts were there. That was exactly the minimum needed for me to count the HBR Raceway as track number 2,126.

Surprising.

To my surprise there was also a QRC class. QRC racers are typically professionally built racing caged karts.

I figured the QRC class, where there were three competitors, would be a second countable class. However, I cannot confirm that.

I asked the woman “manning” the weight scale what the age limit was on the QRC group. She didn’t know but directed me to a young man in the race director position.

I went up and asked him if there was an upper age limit for the QRC class. He didn’t know either! He told me the QRC racers had shown up tonight for the first time. They had come from nearby Missouri.

He agreed that normally QRC racers are open to adults. Although he admitted tonight that all of the QRC racers in attendance were kids. Nevertheless, with the countability of the senior champs I didn’t have to worry about the age limit for the QRC class tonight. I’ll leave that for another chaser to confront on another night.

The track.

The HBR Raceway is a nicely contour nearly circular and smooth 1/10-mile oval. The lighting wasn’t the best. They only use the PA system to tell the drivers which class is racing next.

Each class raced two heats and a feature. When I arrived they were in the midst of intermission between the first and second heat races. I paid $10 as an admission fee. This allowed me to roam the pit area. One of the very best features for the spectator is to be able to walk the pits without paying an extra charge.

Counter-intelligence.

While I was in the pits I interviewed the driver and owners of the two senior champ karts. I was interested in where else they raced besides the HBR Raceway.

I got some very interesting answers. I can’t share them in this report. There are prying eyes you know.

Skeeters and bugs.

This part of Illinois has had a lot of rain this spring and summer. The track is located well outside of town in the midst of farm fields. I have been to a few tracks where mosquitoes were a problem. However tonight was one of the worst for bugs I’ve ever seen or felt. It was nearly as bad as when Carol and I went to the Paradise Speedway in Maui, Hawaii.

I have never known of bugs to be a problem in Hawaii. However on that racing evening in Maui the bugs were so strong that it was IMPOSSIBLE to sit or stand outside and try to watch the racing. We left the track after only a few minutes just to avoid the bugs.

This track was well-organized.

They ran the races efficiently at HBR. After seeing the two kart senior champ race and the three kart QRC race as well as a few flat cart races it was time for me to leave.

There was no way I was going to stay through another “intermission” to see a two car senior champ kart feature. Heck, I had just seen the same two karts compete in their heat race.

I had no idea if I would be carted off (pun intended) to nearby Missouri by these gigantic bugs that were swarming, buzzing and pounding me throughout my entire stay at the HBR Raceway. I certainly wasn’t going to chance it.

AFTER THE RACES

This day was fast moving into my rearview mirror.

Following the racing I had confirmed a hotel up in Champaign, Illinois. Of course Priceline got me this $100 hotel for 40 bucks. That’s what they do and that’s what I do.

It would be a three hour drive up to Champaign, home to the University of Illinois. This would have me well-positioned for tomorrow evening’s racing up in Michigan.

So how did the day go?

How do I evaluate wait my trackchasing day? It was generally good. The weather sucked. It was disappointing to miss the Greenup, Illinois track. I’m a little concerned for the MAORA group. It seems as if they might be on life-support.

Sending shivers.

So far I’ve seen more than 70 tracks during the 2015 trackchasing season. We’re only in the middle of July. I would say that nearly half of those tracks are places I had never heard of 12 months ago. I can only wonder how many of these new “venues” I am going to discover over the coming years. I know the situation send shivers down the backs of my fellow competitors… and well it should.

Good night.

 

Indiana

 

Illinois

 

 

The Hoosier state

This afternoon I saw my 83rd lifetime track in the Hoosier state, yes the Hoosier state. I might have a chance to get that total up to 100 or more in the next couple of years.

The Illini state

This evening I saw my 98th lifetime track in the Illini state, yes the Illini state. I’m just one short of matching Ed Esser’s state leading total of 99 Illinois tracks. I’m just two short of the magic century mark in my boyhood state.

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 

Indiana sayings: Indiana girls – the kind of girl you can take home to meet your mom, but who can outdrink your dad

Illinois sayings: Land of Lincoln

QUICK FACTS

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Chicago, IL (ORD) – 1,745 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR #1

O’Hare International Airport – trip begins

London, KY

Indianapolis International Airport – trip ends – 766 miles

RENTAL CAR #2

Indianapolis International Airport – trip begins

Bedford, KY

Indianapolis International Airport – trip ends – 603 miles

RENTAL CAR #3

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – trip begins

Aitken, MN

Morten, Manitoba, Canada

LaGrange, IN

Manchester, IA

Oskaloosa, IA

Bowling Green, IN

Buncombe, IL

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Laurel County Fairgrounds – $10 (not a trackchasing expense)

Trimble County Recreational Facility – $10

Aitken County Fairgrounds (oval) – complimentary admission

Aitken County Fairgrounds (RC) – $8

ALH Motor Speedway – complimentary admission

LaGrange County Fairgrounds – $10

Delaware County Fairgrounds – $10

Mahaska County Fairgrounds – $5

Sandstone – $15 (include pits)

HBR Raceway – $10 (included pits)

 

 

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

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2,126

Total Trackchasing Countries

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

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 70

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 4.88

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

Click on the link below to see the one-minute “Video Lite” production from first Sandstone and then the HBR Raceway.

 

UTV racing from Sandstone in Bowling Green, Indiana 

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Caged kart racing from the HBR Raceway in Buncombe, Illinois

Click on the link below for a photo album from today’s trackchasing day.  Double click on a photo to begin the slide show or watch the photos at your own pace.  Hover over a photo to read the caption.

 

Sandstone – Bowling Green, Indiana – Lifetime track #2,125

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HBR Raceway – Buncombe, Illinois – Lifetime track #2,126