Jacobson Exhibition Center

 

 

 

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:

 

 

Randy’s Complete Track List

 

 

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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

ON THE WAY TO THE RACES

 

 

THURSDAY

 

 

Should anyone be forced to do this?

It’s been a good week in San Clemente. The weather has been seasonal with temperatures in the high 60s. I wear shorts virtually every day of the year. I don’t believe anyone should be forced to live in a climate where they can’t wear shorts every day.

 

 

I have relaxed and slept in like anyone in retirement should do. However that is going to change for this weekend as I go out into the cold Midwestern weather. Likely it won’t be as cold as it could be. I expert temperatures to top out at 25-35° each day.

 

 

Staying indoors.

Two of the three tracks I’ll be seeing this weekend will be racing indoors. However at times indoor racing can be cold as well. Some of the buildings are not heated. I have a feeling the ones I will be visiting will be.

 

 

Three new states for 2016.

I will be trackchasing in three states for the first time this year including Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. I routinely trackchase in 30-35 states each year. I suspect that will be a rough total again for the 2016.

 

 

My home base for this trip will be Omaha, Nebraska. I’ll fly from Los Angeles to Seattle and then on to Omaha. Once I’m in the Cornhusker state I will rent a car for three days. I expect to drive approximately 1,500 miles across the frozen tundra.

 

 

My first flight calls for me to fly from Los Angeles to Seattle. I’ll spend the night in Seattle and then hop on an early morning flight to points eastward. For the past couple of trips, where I have connected in SeaTac, I’ve simply slept for a few hours overnight in the airport.

 

 

On this adventure I decided to get a hotel in Seattle. I would be arriving into Washington at about 9 p.m. Tomorrow morning’s flight would not be leaving until 9:20 a.m. That would give me enough time to get a hotel.

 

 

Was this the best idea?

I only like to go with the best ideas. That’s why I spend so much time researching things before I make a decision.

 

 

As I was leaving security at the airport and standing out in the cool Seattle winter weather waiting for a hotel shuttle bus I questioned the decision to get a hotel. Wouldn’t it have been simpler to stay in the Alaska Airlines Board Room airline club until midnight when they closed?  The I could have found a quiet place to sleep in the airport terminal until the Board Room re-opened again at 5 a.m.

 

 

Funny but true.

It seems pretty funny that actually sleeping in the airport can be more convenient than sleeping in a hotel. It’s cheaper as well. However I was proud to get a Priceline.com hotel booking at the Red Roof Inn SeaTac. I paid about 60% of what “normal” people do.

 

 

 

Why were people always picking on Jeffrey Dahmer?

During my airplane rides I spend most of my time listening to Apple iTunes movies. On the flight up to Seattle I listened to the “Jeffrey Dahmer Files”. That went well with my “Habit” double cheeseburger.

 

 

I am also busily planning the rest of my winter trackchasing season. The ice is starting to firm up a bit. Ice racing clubs are beginning to post their schedules. Stay tuned.

 

 

 

FRIDAY

 

 

Cost control and nutrition.

I boarded the 7:20 a.m. shuttle bus bound for the SeaTac International Airport. This would give me enough time to stop in the Board Room for a quick complementary breakfast of raisin toast, peanut butter, blackberry jelly and Diet Coke. Anyone who says that’s not nutritious doesn’t understand taste.

 

 

Unlimited is normally a good thing.

As a family we have switched over to a new AT&T cell phone plan. This plan gives me unlimited data. I will no longer have to keep an eye on that statistic.

 

 

Not that long ago the National Dar Rental Company started charging six dollars a day for satellite radio. Now I will be able to listen to satellite radio on my iPhone with my unlimited data plan at no charge. I pay about $10 a month for my entire satellite radio package at home compared to six dollars a day from the rental car folks. Remember it’s not how much you make, it’s how much you spend.

 

 

Here’s a newsflash.

I can’t imagine living life without an Apple iPhone. Here’s a newsflash. I actually made a telephone call with my iPhone today. What will I think of next?

 

 

The problems of everyday life.

My TV is on the blink and has to be sent into the shop. With any luck, because I bought it with my American Express card, they will extend the warranty by year costing me nothing for the repair. I’m like any other American. When a problem comes my way I want someone else to pay for it. More on that later.

 

 

Of course my Apple iPhone is my GPS unit on these trips. I’m a Waze user. I’ve tried other GPS units/apps and find Waze to be the best.

 

 

Smaller markets often give me limited choices.

When I arrived at the National Car Rental lot in Omaha I was given a wide selection of cars to choose from. They don’t have the traditional Emerald Isle option. Many smaller markets don’t.

 

 

I chose a Hyundai Sonata, which has long been my favorite rental car within its class. However as I was walking toward the Sonata I passed a Toyota Avalon. The Avalon is an upgrade from the Sonata. I returned to the counter and switched over to the Toyota Avalon.

 

 

The Toyota Avalon has a special audio source titled “iPhone 6”. This allows me to listen to all of my iPhone audio programming such as podcasts and Sirius satellite radio through the car’s speaker system. That is sweet.

 

 

How is inflation ever going to get a foothold with policies like this?

On my way to Des Moines I made a dash through the McDonald’s drive-through to pick up a couple of McDoubles (double cheeseburgers). I was expecting to pay the very low price of a $1.59 each. However McDonald’s has a special promotion now, two sandwiches for two dollars. Inflation will never get much traction with these types of policies.

 

 

Of course I used my iPhone and it’s Apple Pay feature to pay for my meal. A large Diet Coke and two double cheeseburgers for four bucks? Unbelievable. These truly are the good old days.

 

 

I don’t get to pay the prices normal people do.

I was heading toward Urbandale, Iowa where I would be staying for the next three nights. I had purchased a room at the Extended Stay America hotel there.

 

 

Priceline.com saved me about $110 for the three night stay compared to the least expensive regular price at Extended Stay America. I can only imagine what would happen to the American economy if everybody bought things at the prices I buy them. Nearly every company in the country would go out of business!

 

 

I flew on a regional jet from Seattle to Omaha. This is a 76-passenger airplane called the CRJ–700. With no one sitting next to me it was a very comfortable ride. Nevertheless, these jets are being phased out. They are not that fuel efficient.

 

 

Like racing? Like Paul Newman? See this movie.

The movie I watched on my Apple MacBook Pro from Seattle to Omaha was the life story of Paul Newman as an auto racer. It’s titled “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman”. I knew he raced but had no idea how serious he was about it. If you like Paul Newman and or you like auto racing or both I recommend this film. Right now if you are an iTunes user you can see it for just $.99. Of course if you rent it at that price you will have to watch it within 30 days or less. Once you start watching you have 24 hours to finish up. Them’s the rules.

 

 

This is a real timesaver.

I am using my iPhone app “Evernote” to dictate virtually all of this Trackchaser Report. When I finally get around to publishing it I will spruce it up a bit, add some photos via Phanfare.com and produce a YouTube video. Using all of these kinds of technologies makes me very productive with little cost added to the process. It’s much less effort to do all of this compared to if I didn’t have these capabilities. I hope it makes your viewing/listening experience better too.

 

 

Living on the edge.

I had taken a chance by booking, in advance, my hotel stay for three nights in Des Moines, Iowa. As you know with Priceline.com once a reservation is made it is non-refundable. That’s right. You cannot get your money back no matter what your sad story might be.

 

 

If you have followed my hobby for very long you know that the original plan changes most of the time. The flight might be full and I don’t get on. The weather could change forcing me to an alternate location. The tracks themselves often cancel or modify their events. I almost never book my hotel until I’m on the ground in the location that meets my plan. It is also rare for me to stay in one hotel for more than just single night.

 

 

However, all of these “deal breaker” items looked good. Flights were wide open. The weather in the Midwest was cool at about 20° or so but clear. The East coast was getting hammered with a major snowstorm. I lucked out there. As far as I could tell the racing events were going to go on as scheduled

 

 

I would fly into and out of Omaha, Nebraska. However Des Moines, Iowa would be my hotel headquarters. The first race of the weekend was in Des Moines. Each of my next two trackchasing and events, in Missouri and Wisconsin, would have me driving through Des Moines. Des Moines was going to be a perfect overnight spot.

 

 

I was headed to the Jacobson Exhibition Center on the grounds of the Iowa State fair. This was a special once a year event, called the “Battle at the Barn”, to be held indoors at the center.

 

 

Why had I not come here before?

As I am the #1 trackchaser in Iowa I figured I shouldn’t pass this up. This was already going to be the eight annual running of this event. The reason I had not come here previously was that they weren’t running any classes that count in the trackchasing hobby.

 

 

However some secret trackchasing surveillance revealed a class called the “outlaw caged karts”. That class is pretty big in Iowa. They were listed on this year’s race itinerary.

 

 

Questions? Go to the top.

I called the promoter Toby Kruse to confirm the details about this class. My main question was whether or not the outlaw caged kart class was open to adults. Toby, a well-known promoter who manages the Marshalltown speedway among other tracks, confirmed all I needed to know. I was on my way to Iowa.

 

 

Sponsorship meetings are a must.

The expenses in attending this race were more than reasonable. Before leaving Los Angeles I had a special meeting with my airport parking sponsor in Southern California. I was excited to learn that the Los Angeles World Park group would be backing me again in 2016. Sponsors are the lifeblood of my trackchasing effort. Without them I couldn’t do this.

 

 

 

 

THE RACING

 

 

Jacobson Exhibition Center – Des Moines, Iowa

 

 

I’m in. Let’s go trackchasing.

For this trip to Des Moines I parked for free in a huge lot adjacent to the exhibition center. Then I was able to use my Visa card, they didn’t accept my American Express card, for my eight-dollar general admission fee.

 

 

Just before getting to the fairgrounds I searched out a Wendy’s restaurant. I love Wendy’s chili for two reasons. First I love chili of all types. Secondly a large Wendy’s chili is only 250 calories. If I’m only counting calories that’s great. If I’m counting carbs Wendy’s chili is off the charts primarily with the sugar that goes into each serving. Right now I’m counting calories. Bring on the chili.

 

 

Just one negative from tonight’s racing.

I had a very good time with the racing tonight. However I’m going to start off by telling you the one major negative of the night. Air-quality is nearly always a problem at the indoor events.

 

 

I guess there’s a reason why not that many folks go out into the garage with the door closed and stand next to their car while the engine runs for three hours. They say that carbon monoxide is odorless. If that is true then there was no carbon monoxide in the Jacobson Exhibition Center tonight.

 

 

However the air was bad. I felt like I was on the receiving end of the Carol Lewis owned and MFunds sponsored Lexus RX 350 exhaust pipe. It was sort of like being in the “smoking area” at a major airport….for three hours. That part of the program definitely was not very good.

 

 

However, the rest of the racing experience was great.

Tonight, Friday night, was reserved exclusively for heat races and the feature events for five classes. There were 30 classes of competitors in total racing tonight. The average class had 2–3 heat races each. I would estimate I saw 75 races tonight.

 

 

Racing was scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Toby, the promoter, told me he expected the entire show to be over by 9:30 p.m. I wanted to believe Toby. But Toby is a race promoter. They are always optimistic folks. I will give them that.

 

 

Folks I’ve seen a lot of the racing shows indoors. If the show was going to be finished by 9:30 p.m. with 30 classes racing in 75 events I would eat my stocking cap. I’m glad I didn’t tell Toby that or anyone else for that matter. I would’ve been eating my stocking cap!

 

 

On time! Let’s get to it.

The show started promptly at 6:30 p.m. with a racer’s prayer and the national anthem. That is standard operating procedure at most tracks especially in the Midwest as well as the Bible belt.

 

 

Coke syrup?

The track itself featured a flat concrete oval racing surface. Then “Coke syrup” had been applied to the concrete to make the whole thing a sticky affair. With the increased grip several of the competitors could complete a lap around the 200-yard or so race distance in less than six seconds. I can’t recall seeing lap times any faster than that.

 

 

A good announcer is worth his weight in gold.

The announcer was most entertaining. He could talk a mile a minute and did for three hours straight. I cannot imagine what my vocal chords would be like after essentially yelling into a microphone nonstop for that long.

 

 

The guy met my two requirements for being a good announcer. He was very entertaining and informative. He did an outstanding job. I would say he was one of the best announcers I’ve heard in a very long time. The PA system was generally good as well which is not always the case for these indoor racing shows.

 

 

Don’t miss the YouTube video.

I took well over fifty racing video clips. I think if you watch my quick-paced YouTube video you’ll get a great sense what I saw tonight.

 

 

I go to very few shows that feature thirty race classes. Tonight those classes consisted of series of flat kart groups, motorcycles of several genres and quads or more commonly called ATV racers.

 

 

Possibly the most entertaining class of the night was a group called “Outlaw Three Wheelers”. You will not want to miss the photos and videos of these crazy people. They were absolutely wild.

 

 

Thirty classes. Only one met trackchasing’s stringent requirements.

Don’t even get me started on the rules of trackchasing. Don’t even get me started. Of all thirty race classes only one would meet trackchasing’s stringent standards for countability. The outlaw caged karts were scheduled to be the 15^th class on the 30 class race program.

 

 

By the time they hit the track I had seen about 40 races. My original plan was to leave following the outlaw caged cart racing. However I was having such a good time, even though the air quality was poor, I stayed for all 30 classes of racing. I did not stay to see the feature races for the five classes that would run main events.

 

 

Earlier in the program I had missed the announcer’s description of which classes would be feature racing tonight. However in two and one-half hours I had seen thirty groups race in 75 or more events. Without being able to measure the oxygen or lack of oxygen that was now in my red blood cells due to the air-quality I elected to call it a night after only 75 races.

 

 

My blood pressure was rising. Was it the air quality or the Coke syrup of the outlaw caged kart situation?

Was the oxygen content in my blood really that low? I don’t know for sure. However I would tell you that my blood pressure probably raised up a few points when the outlaw cage cards hit the Coke syrup concrete oval.

 

 

Why would that be? I had come all the way from San Clemente. I had flown to Seattle, Washington and then Omaha, Nebraska. Then I had hopped in a rental car and driven more than 150 miles over to Des Moines, Iowa. I had done this simply to see the outlaw caged carts race. Why would their appearance on the racetrack raise my blood pressure?

 

 

You see it’s like this.

You see trackchasing’s founding fathers set the rules for trackchasing all the way back in the last century. Folks that was a long time ago. In their infinite wisdom they elected not to count racing that was conducted by “kids”.

 

 

Did they have something against kids? Were they discriminating against kids? Or, where they simply looking out for the well-being of child racers? I cannot answer these questions. I wasn’t there. I didn’t vote on the original rules. I wasn’t a member of the trackchasing founding father’s group.

 

 

I think there might have been ten founding fathers. I’m not sure I could name all of them but I could name several. As far as I know not a single one of these males ever fathered an offspring. Was that why they were against children? Again I can only pose the question. I don’t have the answers.

 

 

No rug burners.

Nevertheless “kids” racing does not count in the hobby of trackchasing. I once heard Guy Smith state that if kids were allowed to count then everyone would be seeing racing events around hay bales at a Home Depot parking lot. Of course I am paraphrasing here.

 

 

Mr. Smith was apparently expressing a concern that the quality of a racing event with kids racing around hay bales at a Home Depot parking lot might not be meeting the true spirit of auto racing. I can understand a concern like that.

 

 

However if you consider many of the lame events that have been counted by trackchasers over the past decade, kids racing around hay bales in a Home Depot parking lot might be an upgrade. There I’ve said it. No one else in the trackchasing hobby would have the guts.

 

 

Back to the ‘Battle at the Barn’.

Nevertheless, let’s get back to the “Battle at the Barn” inside the Jacobson Exhibition Center with its less than quality air. When the outlawed caged karts hit the track my heart sunk and my blood pressure rose.

 

 

When I racer is inside a caged kart it is impossible to determine their gender or their age. They are buckled up with a driver suit on and a race helmet.

 

 

However there was one feature that stuck out about the drivers (about six of them) that appeared in this first outlaw caged kart heat race. They all seemed to have one thing in common. They were small in stature. Most NASCAR racecar drivers are small. However the drivers of these karts were “too small”. They had to be kids.

 

 

A rush of emotions came over me. I thought about trackchasing’s founding fathers sitting in a smoke-filled room on the outskirts of Philadelphia. They must have at least had a conversation about whether or not kids racing should count in this hobby. I wonder how that discussion went? Was this just a group of hardhearted white males or was it a group of compassionate man who might have grown up in an orphanage and were simply looking out for the welfare of children to come? Again I cannot answer the questions. I can only ask them.

 

 

Toby! What was up with this?

I was thinking about the promoter Toby. Toby told me this class was open to adult racers. Toby, “What was up with the size of these drivers?”

 

 

I was pretty well convinced I had come all this way to the Jacobson Exhibition Center for no good trackchasing reason. I was NOT going to be seeing my lifetime 2,190th track. I was bummed.

 

 

Rainbows and ice cream.

However when the first outlaw caged kart heat race was completed the second outlaw caged kart came onto the track. I could see the drivers in this group were much larger. Maybe rainbows and ice cream were going to rain down on the Jacobson Exhibition Center after all.

 

 

However I could not get too euphoric. I have seen “large” people racing these karts in the past. However large people do not necessarily equate to people 18 years of age or older.

 

 

I have seen 6’4″ 225-pound specimens exit a caged kart only to flash a toothy smile encumbered with braces inside the pimply face of a 16-year-old.

 

 

I would have to wait until this second outlaw caged kart race was finished. Then I would watch the drivers exit their cars and remove their helmets. At that point and only at that point could I determine whether or not the class was open to adults. That’s exactly what I did. I didn’t have a great view of the pit area but I did have a good view of one particular racer.

 

 

The make or break moment of the day.

When he removed his helmet I could clearly see he was more than 18 years old. That image pretty much was the make or break moment of the day. I know that others may not understand this from my point of view. However, I come on these trips to add to my lifetime trackchasing total. This track was countable. That’s what I had come so far to achieve.

 

 

From that point I moved around the arena getting photos and videos from several locations. Again I encourage you to look at the photos/videos. Even if you’re not a racing fan I think you’ll get a kick out of the outlaw three wheelers and their big main straightaway crash. I recorded it in living color and slow motion.

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

 

 

Highly recommended.

I left the exhibition center at about 9 p.m. I had certainly got my eight dollars worth of racing. This is a great promotion and I recommended strongly.

 

 

What?

I had searched for waffle houses in and around the greater Des Moines area. They don’t have them. That wasn’t good news. I love Iowans. I would live here except for the climate…and now that I know they don’t have any Waffle Houses.

 

 

I would replace a Waffle House visit with a stop at the “Kum and Go ” convenience store chain. There I would buy snacks for the next couple of days that could be refrigerated when needed in my Extended Stay America hotel room.

 

 

I was down with four large bottles of Diet Mountain Dew. I added a can of Vienna sausages only because there was only one can on the shelf. I followed that with a refrigerated breakfast burrito (680 calories) and a bag of Duke’s beef jerky sausages. The total bill came to more than $19. Beef jerky is expensive and was half the cost of everything I bought. Then, as you will find out later I didn’t even get the chance to eat all of the beef jerky! American’s law enforcement officials can be a rough bunch.

 

 

I stay busy on the trackchasing trail.

I went to bed about midnight. The next thirty-six hours were going to be busy. I would have about 16 hours of driving. I planned to see two basketball games. I had another indoor track to visit before catching a track racing on ice on a frozen lake way up in Wisconsin. It’s going to be fun. However, after spending three hours in an oxygen deprived compression center, I was a little worse for the wear.

 

 

 

 

Iowa

 

 

The Hawkeye state

This evening I saw my 102nd lifetime track in the Hawkeye state, yes the Hawkeye state. I’ve seen 102 or more tracks in three different states.

 

 

 

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

Iowa sayings: We do amazing things with corn

 

 

 

 

QUICK FACTS

 

 

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Seattle, WA (SEA) – 958 miles

Seattle, WA (SEA) – Omaha, NE (OMA) – 1,365 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR #1

Eppley Field (OMA) – trip begins

Des Moines, IA

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Jacobson Exhibition Center – $8

 

 

 

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

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2,190

 

 

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 – 4.47

 

 

 

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

 

 

Click on the link below to see the “Video Plus” 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 Battle at the Barn photo album