Kankakee County Fairgrounds

 

 

Monday

After a 990-mile one-way drive from Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada to Denver (DEN), Colorado I made the 9:45 p.m. flight from DEN to Chicago’s Midway airport. My flight landed at 1 a.m. Fraternity brother Mike Skonicki was there to pick me up. That’s what fraternity brothers are for!

 

 

 

Tuesday – Day 22

 

Golf….but lunch first.

Today was reserved for golf with my long time 40+ year friends and fraternity brothers. However, before golf could start we would need lunch.

 

 

Mike’s suggested a local “ma and pa” Greek restaurant called “Chickies”. I ended up with a popular sandwich in the Chicago area the Italian beef sandwich. It wasn’t the best one I ever had but it was still pretty good.

 

Day 2 – Day 22.

From there we drove over to the Palatine Hills public golf course. I last played golf with Mike on day two of this trip. Today is day number 22. Mike’s been keeping my golf clubs at his house near Chicago over the past three weeks.

 

 

During the past couple of years Mike’s golf game has improved. I’ve gotten worse. He’s played a little bit more. I’ve played a little bit less. I used to give him 14 strokes per round. I can’t do that anymore. However he thinks I should. Unfortunately as a retiree living on a small fixed income I can’t afford to offer wagers where I have no chance of winning.

 

Meet Phil…newly minted retiree.

We were also playing with brother Phil Thompson today. Phil is a newly minted retiree just getting comfortable with his new circumstances. Mike will be retiring by the end of the year and joining the retiree club, which I am so fond of.

 

 

It was a beautiful summer day with temperatures in the higher 70s, clear and with no humidity. You can’t ask for much more than that in July in Illinois.

 

All I could do was to be fair with my fraternity brothers.

As we warmed up I offered both Mike and Phil various wagering opportunities. To my way of thinking it’s always a lot more fun when you have “a little skin in the game”. I would make one offer and then another and I was continually rejected. Ultimately we never did settle on a wager. It’s important to note that each of the wagers I offered these two fellows would have had me on the losing end. In spite of my offering opportunities that they ultimately would have won they still wanted more. It reminded me of union leaders asking for more and more with the company threatening to shut down if the union didn’t accept what the company was offering. In hindsight my offers to these two gentlemen were more than fair. As they went home with no wagering profits in their pocket I’m sure they understood that particular point.

 

 

With my travel schedule this is the best I can do.

As it was Phil ended up shooting 99. Mike shot an 87 and I had 85. My game is not all that sharp but I can still beat most of my peers. I’m relegated to playing golf only about a dozen times per year now. With my travel schedule I can’t expect more.

 

The Donkey Inn in Palatine, Illinois….don’t miss it.

After golf we all sat around and had a drink and enjoyed our nearly 50-year brotherhood. Then Mike and I headed off to dinner at the “Donkey Inn” in Palatine, Illinois. The Donkey Inn is a sports bar. I like their onion rings and their broad menu. I’ll go back there whenever I get the chance.

 

 

Later in the evening Mike and his lovely wife Mary and I spent the evening chatting about all forms of activities. We had a good time as we always do. Then it was off to bed as I resume my trackchasing pursuits tomorrow. What pursuit? The pursuit of the once unheard 2,000-track trackchasing total.

 

 

 

Wednesday – Day 23

 

Back to the Peoria Speedway….almost.

This day was originally scheduled for a racechasing visit to my all-time truck favorite track the Peoria Speedway. Unfortunately a few days before the event the race was canceled. I heard the track was having some problems with noise complaints from neighbors. That’s never a good thing.

 

 

I had just completed a feature interview with the Peoria Journal Star. They were interested in my return to my hometown area of Peoria, Illinois. When I lived near Peoria it was the second biggest city in Illinois. Now with the industrial woes of the Midwest, Peoria and the Caterpillar Tractor Company it’s the seventh largest city in the state. Peoria has been losing population with the demise of manufacturing facilities from the Caterpillar Tractor Company. “Cat’s” world headquarters are in Peoria.

 

 

Nevertheless, even with the cancellation at the Peoria Speedway, the Journal Star wrote about my trackchasing trip up to this point and my interest in the Peoria Speedway.

 

 

With Peoria not running my trackchasing opportunities were limited on a Wednesday night. That surprised me a bit. However I really shouldn’t have been. I have removed a lot of tracks from my “futures” map over the past few years.

 

 

What were my options?

I was left with a karting track up in Wisconsin. There was also an opportunity in West Virginia. I was in Illinois. West Virginia was just too far away to make it. Considering what I had planned for the rest of the week I needed to stay in the Midwest. I knew in advance the karting track in Wisconsin probably wasn’t going to have the right kinds of cars and drivers in order for me to count it in my trackchasing totals.

 

 

I made a couple of calls. I determined the Badger track would probably have only one countable racer in attendance tonight.

 

How about some “racechasing”?

I checked around and found a county fair stock car track racing just 85 miles away. Of course I had already been to that track. If I returned it would be on a “racechasing” basis and not for “trackchasing”. I decided to head to Clintonville, Wisconsin to see if I might get lucky with their go-karts. I didn’t expect too but it was worth a try.

 

 

If not enough karts and or drivers showed up in Clintonville I would drive over to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and catch some good modified racing on a dirt track. That would put me in a great position for tomorrow’s county fair racing in Illinois.

 

 

The Randy Lewis Racing research department has a long reach.

I did not come up with this plan lightly. I had stopped at a highway rest area. There I quickly surveyed all of the county fairs in a five state area including Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio and Michigan.  I was reminded that 80% or more of the county fairs wrap up their activity by the end of July. I always thought of county fairs as running almost exclusively in July and August. In reality July is a much more popular county fair month than August.

 

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was calling.

I also fielded an interview request from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation regarding my visit to Saskatchewan last Sunday. They thought I was coming to their province NEXT Sunday. Since I had already come and gone to Saskatchewan we agreed to do that interview during my next visit to the province.

 

 

When I was just about 30 miles outside of Clintonville, Wisconsin I used my Culver’s restaurant iPhone app to locate the nearest Culver’s. It was gratifying to know they had a store in Clintonville. I would stop there for an early dinner and use the restaurant as a base for additional trackchasing research. With me the research never stops.

 

 

 

The Racing.

 

 

GSR Raceway – Clintonville, Wisconsin

 

 

I was looking for ‘adults’ at this nice looking kart track.

I showed up at the GSR Raceway kart track at about 6:30 p.m. I paid the three dollar spectator admission fee. Pit passes were $12 USD. The kart drivers were the middle of hot laps when I arrived.

 

I saw some winged karts racing. Those were countable karts. However, I could tell this was the “junior winged kart” class for drivers aged 12-16. Classes must be open to drivers who are considered “adults” in order to be considered “trackchasing countable”. Who is an “adult” in the trackchasing world? Folks who are 18 years of age are older.

 

Childless cranky white men!

Why 18? Why doesn’t the trackchasing hobby allow classes that are limited to drivers younger than eighteen? Don’t even get me started. I don’t and didn’t make these trackchasing rules. These rules were made by people who never took their daughter to a ballet class or their son to a little league game. These rules were made by a group of childless cranky white men. That’s the best explanation I can give you.

 

 

One and done!

I made a quick stop at the pit shack to ask about how many adult winged car drivers were in attendance. The lady in charge made a quick telephone call. As I had expected and been told by Mike Mitchell from the track, just one countable driver and kart had shown up. That was Mike himself! This was the fourth race of the “Wisconsin state qualifiers” series. In the first three races, one of which was at GSR, at least two wings karts showed up. However that was not the case tonight. Therefore the GSR Raceway was not going to be a countable track this evening.

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

 

 

No go.

I didn’t stay to watch the program. I figured that someday I’ll be back here to see countable racing. When that happens I will get a chance to see the entire program at this track at that time. I decided I would drive about 85 miles to the Thunderhill Raceway in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to see their county fair stock-car racing tonight.

 

 

I did a quick iPhone search and found that the “racing” was to begin at 6:30 p.m. I hate it when a track’s website can’t define what “racing” means as it relates to starting time. I didn’t know if it meant practice, time trials or actual racing. My GPS system told me I would arrive at the track at about 8:50 p.m. I headed out in that direction for about 40 miles.

 

 

Abort! Abort!

I would certainly be willing to see this program if I could get there in time for the feature events. However the more I drove along two lane Wisconsin country roads the more I thought I might not get there in time to see all the features. The plan to see Thunderhill’s racing was taking me out of my way from my two nights hotel stay in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. When I crossed Highway 41 I made the executive decision to abort the Thunderhill plan. I would instead head over to the Quality Inn hotel in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, a Priceline sponsored hotel for me. I would relax for the evening. I had a big six days ahead of me before meeting up with Carol again on the East Coast.

 

 

The weather forecast for the next several days in the Midwest looks generally good. I’ll cast my lot with that plan and see what happens.

 

 

 

Thursday – Day 24

 

 

Back to trackchasing.

I woke up this morning in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. I went to bed in Bettendorf, Iowa. This was day #24 of my 42-day mega trackchasing trip.

 

 

Today started off in a leisurely fashion. I like it when I don’t have to check out of my hotel room until 12 noon. That was the case today.

 

 

This gives me time to catch up on my near-term future travel arrangements and other items of personal business. There are always a few irons in the fire that need to be taken care of.

 

If I only had the discipline to use this every day.

After I checked out I went to the hotel parking lot to use my “swing fan”. I made 50 practice golf swings with it. I’m putting a focus on using this training aid to increase my golf swing speed. In order to get a positive affect I need to do this every day for a couple of months or so. 

 

 

Culver’s….on of my favorites.

I am a big fan of the Wisconsin-based chain Culver’s. As luck would have it a Culver’s was right across the street from my Quality Inn hotel. I stopped there for lunch. I love taking photos from the places where I dine. If you’ve never been to a Culver’s you’ll get a tour of today’s stop.

 

 

No tolls!

Then I chose the “no toll” option from Sheboygan to Kankakee, Illinois. If I used the toll routes getting down to Illinois I would be charged about $10-$15 USD. Using my “no tolls” Google Maps GPS app the actual driving distance from the no toll option was a few miles less than the toll road! However it would take me another half hour or so. I had the time. I wasn’t going anywhere special. I figured I would relax, enjoy the drive and listen to both the PGA golf channel and the NASCAR channel on satellite radio. Having satellite radio on these rental cars for the type of mileage I’m driving is a must.

 

 

 

 

 

The Racing.

 

Kankakee County Fairgrounds – Kankakee, Illinois

 

Early and ready.

I had known about the county fair racing in Kankakee featuring figure eight racing for some time. I showed up early and paid my eight-dollar admission to the fair.

 

 

I was pleasantly surprised to see there was no additional charge to enter the grandstand. That would be the end of the pleasant surprises for this evening.

 

Were they racing already?

When I arrived the grandstand was jam packed with people. It was standing room only. Several Easter egg colored school buses were driving around the Dirt figure 8 track.

 

I grabbed a seat near the top of the grandstand. The place was packed.  I asked the family sitting next to me if the buses were racing or just riding around. The answer was “riding around”. The buses were taking kids on a ride around the racetrack. Actually any fan could hop on a bus and take a few laps around the dirt figure 8 track. I thought about doing it but didn’t want to give up my prized seat in the packed grandstand.

 

 

This all sounded wonderful.

The announcer was telling the crowd there were 22 buses in attendance tonight. There would be two heat races with 11 buses in each race. Five buses would advance to the feature event. That all sounded wonderful.

 

 

During the first heat the 11 buses were surprisingly aggressive. They were smashing into each other as if this were a demolition derby. Soon there were only five buses left running. The “race” was declared complete. Those five would advance to the “feature”.

 

The same thing happened with the second heat. Eleven buses started. When five remained the “race” was red flagged. Then the five remaining buses advanced into the feature race.

 

 

Oh $%#(%!

Unfortunately I was noticing a disturbing trend. These “races” were not running for a certain amount of laps or a certain amount of time. They were continuing until there were just five buses left. That sounded like more like a demolition derby heat event than a race. In point of fact it was.

 

 

The Kankakee County fair website had trumpeted the “extreme school bus racing”. All of the signs at the fairgrounds tonight read, “Welcome to the school bus races”. However this was not a race it was a demolition derby.

 

 

So is this the way they always handled the figure 8 “racing” at Kankakee?

Here’s the funny thing about the situation. Others have counted the “figure 8 races” at the Kankakee County Fairgrounds in the past. Who? You might try checking www.roamingtheraceways.com for more info on that. I don’t know what type of “racing” those chasers saw when they saw it. However tonight’s “race” was not countable. It wasn’t a race it was a demo derby. That was a bummer. I’m pretty sure I was the only trackchaser at the event. That being the case no one would know if I interpreted this event as a race or not.

 

 

I would know.

However I would know and that was what was most important thing. I had not seen a race I had seen a demolition derby albeit with the competitors “racing” around a figure 8 track. I will tell you this. In all of my racechasing and trackchasing I had never seen such a thing as I did tonight. I’ve never seen a demolition derby run over a figure 8 track.

 

It was official. “This is a derby and not a race”.

I stayed for the feature and the buses began to knock one out after another. When they got down to just four there wasn’t much crashing action. I guess each driver was waiting for the others to knock themselves out in the hopes of winning the event. The announcer yelled out what I had already known “This is a derby and not a race”. That drove the final nail in the coffin of the Kankakee County Fairgrounds. Of course I was disappointed. I am always disappointed when I expect to see a countable track and I’m not allowed to for one reason or another. On the other hand I’ve had many more pleasant surprises when I a new track popped up that was unexpected. I figure I’m ahead of the game.

 

 

 

After the races……..

 

 

Onward and upward.

After the race I headed up to the Quad cities area. I would be staying at the Isle Casino Hotel in Bettendorf Iowa. I arrived at just past midnight. This was a hotel connected to one of the riverboat casinos in the Quad Cities. The hotel was quite nice. I wasn’t much interested in the hotel being attached to a casino. I’ve been to Las Vegas well over 100 times. Back in the 70s I played blackjack eight hours a day for the 4-5 days each month I would be in town. However I don’t do much of that type of gambling anymore.

 

 

Wisconsin and Illinois

 

I struck out in both of these states. However, when you strike out you walk back to the bench, wait your turn and give it a try a little bit later. That’s what I would do.

 

 

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

Quotes from a trackchaser who missed seeing countable tracks two nights in a row: #$%&^#@#!

 

 

 

QUICK FACTS

 

 

AIRPLANE

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

 

RENTAL CAR #1

O’Hare (Chicago) International Airport – trip begins

Charlotte, MI

Cortland, OH

Davisburg, MI

Davisburg, MI

Mechanicsburg, IL

Harlan, IA

Primghar, IA

Knoxville, IA

Bucyrus, OH

O’Hare (Chicago) International Airport – trip ends – 3,516 miles

 

RENTAL CAR #2

O’Hare International Airport – trip begins

Carlyle, IL

St. Louis International Airport – trip ends – 412 miles

 

RENTAL CAR #3

St. Louis International Airport – trip begins

Hastings, MI

Greenfield, IA

Atchison, KS

David City, NE

Dighton, KS

Malvern, IA

Eldon, MO

St. Louis International Airport – trip ends – 2,760 miles

 

 

Editor’s note: The above did involve three different rental car contracts. However, I did it all with the SAME car. When I pulled in for the final time to the St. Louis airport the car was huffing and puffing. In 15 days I had driven it 6,688 miles.

 

RENTAL CAR #4

Denver International Airport – trip begins

Powell, WY

Plentywood, MT

Crary, ND

Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada

Denver International Airport – trip ends – 3,044 miles

 

RENTAL CAR #5

O’Hare (Chicago) International Airport – trip begins

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Eaton County Fairgrounds – $10

Trumbull County Fairgrounds – $4

Oakland County Fairgrounds – oval – $10 ($10 to park!)

Oakland County Fairgrounds – figure 8 – $10 ($10 to park….again!)

Ealyville Speedway – Complimentary pit pass

Shelby County Speedway – $5

Primghar Raceway – $5

Knoxville Raceway – Complimentary admission

Crawford County Fairgrounds $10 ($5 fair; $5 grandstand)

Clinton County Fairgrounds – $10

Barry County Expo – $13 ($3 fair; $10 grandstand)

Adair County Fair – $6

Atchison County Raceway – $12

Butler County Fairgrounds – $10

Lane County Fairgrounds – $10

Mills County Fairgrounds – $10

Miller County Fairgrounds – $10

Parker County Fairgrounds (Night #1) – Complimentary admission

Parker County Fairgrounds (Night #2) – Complimentary admission

Sheridan County Fairgrounds – $10

Devil’s Lake Speedway – $20 (ouch!)

Yellowhead International Speedway – $10 Canadian

 

 

 

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

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,996

 

Total Trackchasing Countries

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

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 68

 

 

 

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 4.96

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Click on the link below for a photo album from my trackchasing day:

 

The long drive from Saskatchewan to Kankakee with lots in between