Hocking County Fairgrounds

Just a retired pensioner living the dream out on the road……………more in “The Details”.

There is a place in every negotiation for the ‘nibble’……………more in “The Details”.

Now it was time to ‘nibble’……………more in “The Details”.

Can an individual ever get enough fried food? ……………more in “Attractions”.

How much longer can an 835-day rain-free streak last?………..details in “Race Review”.

How is it I almost always see something I’ve never seen before night after night? ………..details in “Race Review”.

Racing in a gravel pit? ………..details in “Race Review”.

You can’t judge a book by its cover………..details in “Race Review”.

Just a retired pensioner living the dream out on the road.

I woke up this morning in Cleveland, Ohio.  I went to bed in the same place as the night before.  That would be the Holiday Inn in Cleveland.  It’s rare that I stay in the same place for more than one night.  However, the Holiday Inn would be my home away from home for three straight nights.  This is what today looked like.

I had arrived into Cleveland late at night following a flight from Newark, New Jersey.  Priceline.com, a long-time trackchasing sponsor of mine had come through once again.

As you know I like to buy good stuff cheap.  The Holiday Inn chain is not at the top of the hotel food chain but they aren’t all that bad.  This hotel was better than most Holiday Inns.  Their rates weren’t cheap.  The best I could find on their website was $120/night.

Priceline rocks!

As you also know I am a retired pensioner living on a small fixed income….or something like that.  My trackchasing budget requires that I get “good deals” when I travel.  Priceline got me this $120 per night plus taxes hotel for just $45 per night.  Not bad huh.

There is a place in every negotiation for the ‘nibble’.

However, after sitting through days of corporate negotiating training I did learn a thing or three.  One absolutely essential item is the concept of “nibbling”.  The “nibble” is used after most of the deal is closed.  At this point I just have to ask for a “little bit more”.  Sometimes I am successful; sometimes not.  I was staying at this Holiday Inn for about one-third of the normal price.  That was pretty good but could it be better?  I would give it a try.

I am a member of the Holiday Inn “Priority Club” which has now become the “IHG Rewards Club”.  Back in the 70s the Priority Club was brand new.  Their first major promotion allowed members to get a huge prize.  If I stayed 75 nights in a Holiday Inn during one year Carol and I could fly just about anywhere in the world for free AND get a week’s hotel, also for free, from Holiday Inn.

I could do this.

Prisoners are staying in our nation’s prisons some 365 days a year.  I figured I could tough out 75 nights in a Holiday Inn.  I did and Carol and I took our first ever trip to Europe.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Paris, France.

Back then one U.S. dollar bought about nine French Francs.  Today the French Franc has been replaced by the Euro.  However, back in the day, the conversion rate was outstanding.  We went to quaint little French restaurants every night with dinner and a bottle of wine going for about $25 in total.

When an idea doesn’t make financial sense it doesn’t stay around long.

That promotion ended after just one year.  I probably paid $40 per night for each of my 75 nights at a Holiday Inn.  That’s only $3,000 in revenue for the Holiday Inn.  They were giving more than half of that amount back to me in free airfare and hotel accommodations.

Now it was time to ‘nibble’.

Back to Cleveland and THEIR Holiday Inn.  Even though I was staying at the hotel on a Priceline rate I “mentioned” that I was also a “Priority Club” member.  The desk clerk’s face lit up.  I’m sure he had been trained to be extra nice to Holiday Inn frequent stayers.

Soon I was being given a coupon for three days worth of the hotel restaurant’s breakfast buffet.  That was a daily savings of $15 U.S.  Now I was paying the equivalent of just $30 per night for a $120 daily value.  I learned a lot being part of the corporate lifestyle.  “Nibbling” was just one of the benefits.

New interests keep this gig interesting.

Later in the week I would pursue one of my newest interests.  That’s trying to see a major league baseball game in every active stadium.  I couldn’t wait for that.

However, tonight I was going to see some county fair “crash and bang” racing at a southern Ohio fair.  Ohio tracks are important to me.  Why?  National Geographic Diversity points!  It seems I always have lots of Ohio tracks on my agenda that end up getting replaced because of bad weather or a better logistical opportunity.

Check out the “Race Review” tab to see how tonight’s racing went.

ONE CANNOT LIVE WELL OR SLEEP WELL IF ONE HAS NOT DINED WELL

Hocking County Fairgrounds – Logan, Utah

Can an individual ever get enough fried food?

Our nation’s county fairs have some of the most unusual food that you are not likely to find in your normal restaurant.  If you want stuff fried, anything fried, you will probably find it at a county fair.

However, tonight I found a NEW fried food I had never heard of.  How does “Deep fried corn on the cob” sound?  I love corn on the cob but I had never heard of it being deep-fried.

The vendor told me this was a brand new concoction of his.  He told me people were raving about it.  What did that mean to me?  It meant I had to try it right now!

Good but not that much different.

I will have to tell you I was mildly disappointed.  The product was tasty when smothered with Morton Sale and lots of butter.  It’s just that it didn’t taste that much different from regular boiled corn on the cob.  I mean if you go to a country fair and have a deep-fried Oreo cookie it’s going to taste much different than a regular Oreo cookie.  The next time I see such a thing I’ll have to try it again.  I want to be sure I still don’t like it any better than the original version!

Hocking County Fairgrounds – Logan, Ohio

How much longer can an 835-day rain-free streak last?

Often times the food at a county fair racing event is better than the racing.  I guess that was the case tonight.  I drove through a rain shower on the way to the track.  It wasn’t serious rain but it did remind me that I have a VERY long streak of rain-free trackchasing going.  How long?

Was this a rainout or something else?

I was last rained out of a race on June 3, 2011 at the Whiskey Lake Speedway in Junction City, Kansas.  That was a tough rain out to take.  Why?  It had not rained in the 48 hours preceding the race’s starting time.  I had contacted the track 24 hours in advance of the race and the race was on.  Then when I pulled into the track on Friday afternoon the skies could not have been bluer or the temperature much hotter.  Was this really a rainout?  Or was this the result of a track about ready (already ready?) to go out of business?  In point of fact the track closed for the season a few weeks later.

My most previous rainout from the debacle in Kansas was on November 14, 2010.  On that day Paul Weisel and I visited the Wild West Speedway in Clinton, Oklahoma.  I was there to see the racing on the inner oval.  Paul was intent on seeing his racing on both the inner and outer track ovals.  They had had some rain previously but it wasn’t too bad.  They easily raced on the outer oval.  There was just one small class scheduled to race on the inner oval.  The track’s management decided not to waste time getting the little track in shape (it would have taken just a few passes to run that track in) and ran their small cars on the bigger oval creating a “rainout” for me.

I don’t get rained out often.

As you can see I don’t get rained out very often.  That’s why my current streak of rain free trackchasing days is 835 days and 254 racetracks.  No one in U.S. trackchasing will ever beat those numbers!!!  European trackchasers also get rained out very rarely.  However, those tracks have traditionally run in all kinds of bad weather.  People expect them to do that, although I have been rained out in Belgium!

How is it I almost always see something I’ve never seen before night after night?

Tonight there would be no rainout (again).  I was seeing junk car racing on a dirt road course at the Hocking County Fairgrounds.  This was going to be a most unusual road course.  I guess I had never seen anything like it.  How can that be?  I’ve seen racing at 1,910 tracks.  In all those times why hadn’t I seen a track like this?  The simple answer was “I don’t know.  I just hadn’t”.

It is very normal to have elevation changes when a road course is involved.  However, normally the track begins a “grade level” and any elevation changes go UP from grade level.  That was not the situation tonight.

Racing in a gravel pit?

With tonight’s dirt road course “grade level” was the HIGH point on the track.  At times the cars drove DOWN into some sort of a “gravel pit” type area.  When that happened the cars went out of sight for several seconds.  Yes, most unusual.

I had parked in the track infield due to the crowded conditions at the fair.  County fairs do a landmark business.  I rarely visit a fair that isn’t jam-packed.  This allowed me to saunter into the pit area.  There I could get close-up photos of the cars and equipment.  I attended the driver’s meeting as well.  There I learned that rough driving would not be tolerated.  The drivers were reminded that “the demo is on Saturday night”.  This was only Monday night.

You can’t judge a book by its cover.

I did sit next to an interesting fellow.  I was in southern Ohio.  The intersection of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia is the most rural area of the United States I visit.  Much of the geography is part of Appalachia.  Folks, that’s rural.

However, I have long ago learned that you cannot judge a “book by its cover”.  I prove that daily with my own personal appearance.  You will rarely catch me not wearing shorts.  Cargo shorts to be exact.  I will usually be wearing an “Aloha” shirt.  Yes, some folks call them “Hawaiian” shirts.  They are wrong.  I know the readers of my Trackchaser Report would never make such a fashion faux pas.  You’ve all been screened for superior intelligence and a sense of sophistication.  Everyone passed although a couple of folks had to be nudged over the chin-up bar.  Nevertheless, given my attire, I could be taken for something I am probably not with that “get up”.

My new grandstand buddy.

The fellow sitting next to be was a bit overweight, wore some pretty funky clothes and didn’t have much to say at least initially.  However, I worked hard to engage him in conversation.  Soon I found out he worked for IBM and traveled extensively on business internationally.

From that point forward we had a lot of “road warrior” stories to compare.  Folks, IBM is one of the most conservative companies in both dress and thought that exists in the world.  I never would have thought my new friend at a country fairgrounds in Southern Ohio was an “IBMer”.  No, you cannot and should not attempt to judge a book by its cover.

What were my dinner dining options?

At intermission I made the difficult decision to have dinner at the fair.  It was nearly impossible to decide amongst the tens of FRIED options what to eat.  As mentioned above, who in their right mind could pass up “deep fried corn on the cob”.  I couldn’t.  That entrée was smothered in salt and butter.  Then THAT was supplemented by a hot dog and bowl of chili from one of the church food booths.

This doesn’t need to be great to be great.

The racing wasn’t fantastic but I had a great time.  It’s important to have a hobby that doesn’t need to be great to be great.  Understand?  It’s similar to the statement that “It’s not about the money…it’s about the money”.  Some folks can wrap their arms around that line of thinking…..and some cannot.

STATE COMPARISONS

Ohio

The Buckeye State

This evening I saw my 70th lifetime track in the Buckeye state, yes the Buckeye state.  Here’s a list of states where I have seen 70 or more tracks.

California

Illinois

Iowa

Indiana

Michigan

Minnesota

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Wisconsin

No other trackchaser can match this productivity.

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:  Ohio, Japanese for Good Morning

What did it take to get there?

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Austin, TX (AUS) – 1,241 miles

RENTAL CAR #1

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport – trip begins

San Antonio, TX

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport – trip ends – 237 miles

AIRPLANE

Austin, TX (AUS) – Newark, NJ (EWR) – 1,504 miles

RENTAL CAR #2

Newark Liberty International Airport – trip begins

Saylorsburg, PA

Newberrytown, PA

Monticello, NY

Newark Liberty International Airport – trip ends – 545 miles

AIRPLANE

Newark, NJ (EWR) – Cleveland, OH (CLE) – 403 miles

RENTAL CAR #3

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport – trip begins

Logan, OH

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

San Antonio Speedway – $15

Borger’s Speedway – $5 ($5 senior savings)

Susquehanna Speedway Park – $10 ($2 senior savings)

Hocking County Fairgrounds – $10 (estimated)

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

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,910

Total Trackchasing Countries

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

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 65

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 5.10

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