Greetings from first La Junta, Colorado
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And then Calhan, Colorado
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From the travels and adventures of the
“World’s #1 Trackchaser”
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La Junta Raceway
Asphalt road course
Lifetime Track #1,356
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: 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! I often see two or more tracks in a single day or in a single weekend. Sometimes when that happens I will combine my observations from multiple tracks into a single Trackchaser Report. That is the case today. I saw the La Junta Raceway in the afternoon and the El Paso County Speedway in the evening. DAY 2 – FIRST TRIP OF THE SUMMER TRACKCHASING TOUR TODAY’S HEADLINES Finally, what do double chocolate chip cookies and trackchasing have to do with each other?……………….details in “The Objective”. What unusual circumstance almost caused a trackchasing cancellation today …………..details in “Rave Review – La Junta Raceway”. I had a lifetime personal best this week…………..more in “Just Comments”. GREETINGS FROM LA JUNTA, COLORADO AND THEN CALHAN, COLORADO. I WOKE UP THIS MORNING IN FLORENCE, KENTUCKY. I WENT TO SLEEP IN DENVER, COLORADO. THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY. JUST COMMENTS I had a personal best this week. For the first time ever, I paid more than $100 to fill the tank of the Carol Lewis owned and Life of Virginia sponsored LX 430. Gas is more expensive in California than just about everywhere else in the country. The Lexus requires premium fuel. Even though I still had 40-50 miles left in the tank before reaching empty, I was able to put 21.899 gallons in the fuel cell. At $4.779 per gallon, my total fuel charge was $104.66! Each time I write a Trackchaser Report, I send a blind copy to myself. My email program sends that copy to my spam folder. That’s harsh! PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS The Objective A few reports ago, I wrote this about double chocolate cookies… I have a dilemma. I need the help of all you loyal and steadfast Trackchaser Report readers. Yes, I need your advice. What would you do in this situation? I’m going to lay out a hypothetical collection of facts for you. I would like you to analyze the circumstances. There’s just one caveat. You can’t change the givens. Here goes: Let’s say you really like double chocolate chip cookies. No. I mean you REALLY like double chocolate chip cookies. They are your favorite food by far. If given the chance you might eat them for every meal. Additionally, these chocolate chip cookies cost so little that you don’t even notice the expense. If you want, you can go down to Mrs. Fields (do they still have Mrs. Fields?) and get all of the double chocolate chip cookies you want free. You can get them at home. When you go to work, they’re waiting for you in the vending machine at a penny apiece. In addition, the chocolate chip cookies don’t have any calories at all. They have no negative effect on your overall health whatsoever. The amount of double chocolate chips cookies you eat has no effect whatsoever on you or your family. There you have it. What would you do? Would you eat double chocolate chip cookies for every meal? How do you feel about double chocolate chip cookies under these circumstances? Please keep your responses to 270 words or less. I’ll gather feedback for a couple of days from each of you. Then I will tell you why I needed your advice. Remember, you can’t change any of the parameters listed above. These are two of the more interesting responses I received. I have both practical and demented readers. I like ‘em all. I am not a political person and do not endorse any political candidates or philosophies in the RANLAY Racing Trackchaser Report. Randy, Initially, I might eat the cookies for every meal. However, very quickly the novelty would wear off, and they would not be as appealing. Then I would not eat the cookies for every meal. But I would still eat them several times per week, perhaps every other day. Over time consumption would drop even more, but I would still eat them regularly. Most things become less interesting if they are readily available three times a day for free, don’t they? Randy, Headlines – day after inauguration 2009: Obama’s first act: double chocolate chip cookies free for everyone VP Hillary says if she had been elected pres, it would be free triple Jesse says they must be delivered first to minorities, elderly, and Cheney returns to head Haliburton’s new double chocolate chip cookies First of all, I would like to thank everyone who provided a response about “double chocolate chip” cookies. I always appreciate readers who take the time to share in the fun. Here’s why I brought up the subject. As you might have guessed, I equate double chocolate chip cookie eating with the seeing of new tracks in trackchasing. If you substitute the word “trackchasing” with “double chocolate chip cookies” you’ll be up to speed in this essay. I know it might seem like an odd couple but hear me out. I like trackchasing. I really like trackchasing. It’s my most fun individual thing to do with my recreational time. A fellow golfer told me that “golfing is my passion, but it’s only your hobby”. That’s probably true. Trackchasing is my passion. Everyone in my family respects and admires the time I spend with my hobby. My trackchasing doesn’t negatively affect anyone else in my family. Our kids are grown and have moved away on their own. Given the fact that they live in Honolulu, Chicago and Los Angeles (about an hour and a half away), I probably see them more often that most parents see their adult children who might live much closer. Carol doesn’t mind my trackchasing a bit. She’s willing to come along about once a month or more. Although I could eat double chocolate chip cookies every day, her appetite for them is a little bit less. Maybe that’s why she’s thinner! That’s O.K. I think married couples should each have their own interests to supplement what is hopefully a large number of common interests. In all of my days, I can never recall Carol ever making an admonishing statement regarding the time I spend trackchasing. I can’t imagine there’s another wife out there where that statement would be true. I compliment her for recognizing that trackchasing is my passion. I compliment myself for hooking up with a woman who would feel this way after being together for nearly 40 years. If I weren’t married, I would likely trackchase even more than I do now. Some folks might think that trackchasing is an expensive hobby. They might think that flying 40 round-trips, staying in 150 hotel rooms and renting 40-50 cars might strain someone’s budget. Somehow I was lucky enough to save and invest my money so that these expenses don’t really matter. I don’t want those “dreaded East cost trackchasers” to know this, but I really don’t give the expense of trackchasing any real serious thought. So trackchasing really IS like eating double chocolate chip cookies that are free, have no calories, are readily available and have no negative effect on anyone else at the table that is not eating double chocolate cookies. So then what is the problem? Why even bring up double chocolate chip cookies? Here’s why. I’m always looking for self-improvement ideas. I guess it’s my Total Quality management training that stresses continual improvement in a large number of minor areas. When that happens, the overall long-term net change is very positive. Somehow, I don’t think it’s a good idea to eat double chocolate chip cookies for every meal, every day. When you sit down with your friends, and they are having a grilled chicken Caesar salad, eating chocolate chip cookies seems a bit out of place. Despite the freedom offered by everyone in the family to eat whatever I want, possibly some restraint on my part would be a good idea. How do you think it makes the other people in the world feel who also spend their time eating double chocolate chip cookies, when I always eat the most. Carol tells me I have to look out for their feelings as well. If I didn’t spend so much time with double chocolate chip cookies, I would have more time to spend on peanut butter cookies or sugar cookies or even cheesecake! I’ve really enjoyed the international trackchasing we’ve done this year. I never thought of that much before. When we go trackchasing in a foreign country it’s really like a vacation with some unusual racing thrown in. I want to do more of that. I guess that would be my “peanut butter cookie”. Grand kids might be my “sugar cookies”. Heck, I might even throw in a vegetable or two…..but not very many. Am I saying that I’m swearing off eating double chocolate chip cookies? No way! I just may eat fewer of them. In the past several years, I’ve averaged more than 150 double chocolate chip cookie eating episodes each year. I’m thinking that about 100 double chocolate chip cookies a year would be good. Just a few people who also strongly prefer these types of cookies have ever eaten as many as 100 cookies each year. I’m always looking for balance in life. I think a minor reduction in chocolate chip cookie consumption will allow me to diversify even more. Anyway, while I ponder the relationship between double chocolate chip cookies and trackchasing……..I think I smell some cookies baking in the oven. The Trip I spent a good deal of time driving over the two-lane highways of southeastern Colorado today. I’m noticing that traffic is down, especially in rural areas. I suspect that high gas prices are keeping people home. The People Trackchaser Ed Esser issued a warning to me about trackchasing in Colorado. He told me I had just one more year to even consider holding a #1 position in the state (or something along those lines). Just a week ago, Ed held the lead here by one track. I have now matched and surpassed Mr. Esser in the state. I can only guess that his resources are being stretched thin with four dollar plus gasoline. Maybe, he will just forget about coming back to Colorado for a good long time. I don’t want to have to come here every weekend just to hold him off. I’d like to see the rest of the country too. RACE REVIEW LA JUNTA RACEWAY, LA JUNTA, COLORADO The La Junta Raceway was my “signature” track in Colorado. I’ve identified one track that I have not visited in every state as a special track that I would like to visit when the time is right. That track is a “signature” track. The Hayden Speedway replaces the La Junta Raceway as my “signature” track in Colorado. I was a little disappointed in the La Junta Raceway experience. I have had this track on several tentative trackchasing plans in the past. Finally, today I made it. It was a warm (89 degrees) day under mainly blue skies. Southeastern Colorado is desert country. It can get hot and dry here. The La Junta Raceway is owned by the city of La Junta. That’s unusual for a road course. I spoke with one of the city employees a few weeks ago about the track. I believe he told me the track was a private enterprise that didn’t go well. When it failed the city took it over. The track is run on what used to be an old airport sight. The track is flat and has limited spectator viewing. What’s new, huh? The racing program called for wheel to wheel racing to begin after lunch. Although that turned out to be a technically true statement, I was beginning to think about supper before they actually ran a trackchasing countable race. I was thinking they might start racing at 1 p.m. I showed up at 2 p.m. I didn’t dawdle. I landed at the Denver airport from Cincinnati, rushed to pickup my rental car and then drove 200 miles in a hurry. Even though I was “late”, I didn’t miss anything. They were still practicing when I arrived. It didn’t take long to walk all over the paddock area taking pictures of everything of interest. A nice woman in the media center gave me a printed schedule of the weekend’s events. When I noticed practice was going to continue I took the opportunity to drive four miles south into town for some lunch. It’s a sleepy little place but had more fast food locations than I ever would have expected. I picked up a quick Sonic Drive-In orange crème slush to go along with a Carl’s Jr. Chili Cheeseburger and headed back to the track. I found a spot where I could watch from the car. Considering how hot it was, this was a good idea. Probably the best part of the day was using the Ponte Vedra Based Jim Sabo sponsored Uniden Bearcat race scanner. I tuned into two channels (466.5875 & 468.3125) where I could get the skivvy on what was really going on today. Many road courses of this type that offer club racing don’t have a formal announcer and they didn’t today. I was surprised by the tone of the race officials over the radio. They were extremely formal. I suspect they were all either air traffic controllers or former military people or both. A good part of the day today was set aside for driver training. They seemed to take a sadistic pleasure in finding drivers who made an error on the track of one sort or another. Think of it as the city cop who enjoys busting people for doing 37 M.P.H. in a 30 mile an hour zone. Finally, they got to racing….almost. Just after the final practice session was finished, I looked up to find a man lying on the ground less than 50 yards from me. He lay motionless on the ground as first one then two rescue units came to his aid. For the longest time, I didn’t know what happened to him. Maybe he had a heart attack, maybe the hot sun got to him. After nearly 30 minutes of administering to him, they came over the radio with a report. All they said was that this was the “chief instructor” who would have a serious case of “road rash”. I’m thinking he may have been hit by one of the race cars, although I don’t know that for sure. Although I am always concerned about the welfare of my fellow man, it did cross my mind that the races could be cancelled if this were a serious life-threatening accident. I waited. Soon, they hauled him off to the hospital. The radio dispatcher told everyone she would provide a report on the injured man’s condition if she got one. They never did, but the racing went on. The first event of the day was for students. The race did not begin until 4:40 p.m. Few trackchasers are still at a road course by this time of day. However, I had to be in order to get a countable track. The race format was unusual. The students would have three green flag starts. The first two green flags were just for practice to make sure they could handle a real green flag beginning. The third green flag would be the start of the race for a duration of eight laps. It took them FOUR attempts to get two practice green flags for just five cars. No, this was not the most exciting race event I had ever attended. The race organizer seemed to take particular glee in their aborted attempts. She shortened their race from eight laps to six because of their ineptitude. At one point a voice came over the radio asking, “Do you know the Hog’s Breath closes at midnight”. I think they were trying to make a statement. The actual race was uneventful. The next student race of about five cars also had the practice green flag race plan. They did better, but with the track configuration, the entertainment value was stunted. EL PASO COUNTY SPEEDWAY, CALHAN, COLORADO The El Paso County Speedway is just in its second year of operation. They have an unusual starting time for a Saturday “night” track. They begin at 5 p.m. Actually, that policy has some benefits. First, it almost guarantees the fans will get out at a reasonable hour. With six classes, fans can arrive at any time they feel comfortable knowing they will be able to see feature racing at a little past 7 p.m. rather than past 11 p.m. as was the case at last night’s track in Williamsburg, Ohio. Of course, southeastern Colorado can get a bit toasty in the summer at 5 p.m. Fortunately, the EPCS has a covered grandstand to keep the sun away from the fans. I arrived at a few minutes past 7 p.m. for what would be the second half of my day/night trackchasing double. Technically, “night” doesn’t begin until 6 p.m., but since the lion’s share of the racing (more than 75%) takes place in the night at this track, it looked more like a “day/nighter” double than anything else does. My Google Earth capabilities just makes finding these tracks just too doggoned easy. It’s taken all of the challenge out of finding the track. It’s also taken all of the hassle, angst and consternation out of finding the track. I think I’ll stick with Google Earth! When I arrived they were grading the track at intermission. This meant the heat races were finished. That’s actually a good thing. I would much rather watch feature races, when there are enough cars to make up more than one heat race. Tonight, there were. Also, missing two hours of heat races makes for a much more comfortable “butt” experience when the feature races will take another two hours or so. The track itself is a fairgrounds track. It’s a small quarter-mile dirt oval with just a little banking. The cars pit beyond turns three and four. A minor drawback is there is a good deal of rodeo paraphernalia (stock pens, fencing, etc.) in the track’s infield. This does block some views of the track. The grandstand is huge, and as mentioned is covered. The grandstand has 22 rows and runs the length of the front straight. Tonight there was a good crowd on hand. I’m guessing a little more than 1,000 people were here to see the races. The restrooms are situated underneath the grandstand. There are two temporary food concession trailers. The beer concession is located behind the grandstand. I had to get a bracelet signifying my age had been checked before I could pay four dollars for a Budweiser! I also qualified (age-wise) for the senior admission rate admission. This saved me two bucks. The track announcer did a short interview with me over a good-sounding P.A. system. He was one of those old-time announcers who knows the value of entertainment for the fans. He correctly recognized that somebody who have been to 1,357 different racetracks might be a nice enough diversion during intermission compared to “dead air”. He told me he thought what I was doing “would be a lot of fun. He said, “I’d love to do that but I’m been behind this microphone for 45 years!” He did ask me how I could afford to pay for such an activity. He asked me if I had any sponsors. I did allow that I had “some support” from the airlines, but provided a good deal of “self-funding” for my most enjoyable hobby. The car counts were decent for racing on a small track. Here’s what the car classes and car counts looked like: street stocks (14), 1200 cc winged mini-sprints (14), micro sprints (6), wingless mini-sprints (10), modifieds (14) and trucks (about six). The features were 15-20 laps in length. There were two program-delaying flips with the mini-sprints. During the modified feature one of the track lights in turns three and four went out. I thought they could have easily continued racing, but they chose to stop the program to repair the lighting. Nevertheless, the entire program was finished before 9:30 p.m. The strategy of starting at 5 p.m. and getting over early is a good one. I think more tracks should do it this way. An alternative, that I also support, is having a features only program. STATE RANKINGS Colorado Today I saw my 15th and 16th lifetime tracks in Colorado. This allows me to maintain a first place ranking in the Centennial state. I now hold a three track advantage over Wisconsin’s Ed Esser. This gives me a first place ranking in eleven of the 13 Far West states. I still have Hawaii in the Far West where I have a realistic chance of reaching first place. Additional details regarding my “Far West – Chase to be #1” at the bottom of this report. RENTAL CAR UPDATE Denver, CO – Saturday/Sunday I will be driving the National Rental Car Racing Chevy Malibu on this trip. This is my second rental car of the trip. I picked this car for one reason…..it had XM satellite radio. I drove the National Rental Car Racing Chevy Malibu 426 miles in the less than 24 hours I had it away from the airport. I paid an average price of $3.88 per gallon. The Malibu gave me 27.9 miles per gallon in fuel mileage at a cost of 13.9 cents (U.S.) per mile. The car cost a miniscule 7.1 cents per mile to rent, all taxes included. Thanks for reading about my trackchasing, Randy Lewis Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser The little foolery that wise men have makes for a great show. TRAVEL DETAILS AIRPLANE Orange County, – Cincinnati, OH – 1,877 miles RENTAL CAR Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport – trip begins Williamsburg, OH – 49 miles Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport – 101 miles AIRPLANE Cincinnati, OH – Denver, CO – 1,069 miles RENTAL CAR Denver International Airport – trip begins La Junta, CO – 199 miles Calhan, CO – 316 miles Denver International Airport – 426 miles TRACK ADMSSION PRICES: Moler Raceway Park – $15 La Junta Raceway – Free El Paso County Speedway – $8 (senior rate, normally $10) RANKINGS LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE: There are no trackchasers currently within 100 tracks of my lifetime total. Other notables These worldwide trackchasers are within 10 tracks (plus or minus or more) of Carol’s current trackchaser total. 2008 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS LIFETIME COUPLES TRACKCHASING STANDINGS LIFETIME NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY STANDINGS After the most recent updates (June 7, 2008), I have a comfortable 21 state position lead. As long as I can keep a 10 state position lead, things will be under control. So far, I’ve made the flights that have taken me from races in the Eastern Time zone to the Mountain Time zone. I didn’t plan on seeing anything in the Central time zone but I would. 1,299. Barnes Lake Ice Track, Ashcroft (road course), British Columbia, Canada – January 13 1,300. Bira Circuit, Pattaya (road course), Thailand – January 19 1,301. Cameron Lake Ice Track (oval), Erskine, Minnesota – January 26 1,302. Birch Lake Ice Track (oval), Hackensack, Minnesota – January 27 1,303. Mille Lacs Lake Ice Track (road course), Garrison, Minnesota – January 27 1,304. Mille Lacs Lake Ice Track (oval), Garrison, Minnesota – January 27 1,305. Ozark Empire Fairgrounds (oval), Springfield, Missouri – February 1 1,306. Atlanta Motor Speedway (road course), Hampton, Georgia – February 2 1,307. Brainerd International Raceway Ice Track (road course), Brainerd, Minnesota – February 3 1,308. Bay of Green Bay Ice Track (road course), Marinette, Wisconsin – February 9 1,309. Lake Speed Ice Track (oval), Tilleda, Wisconsin – February 9 1,310. Shawano Lake Ice Track – North Shore (oval), Shawano, Wisconsin – February 10 1,311. Cecil Bay Iceway (oval) – Cecil, Wisconsin – February 10 1,312. Mototown USA (oval) – Windsor, Connecticut – February 15 1,313. Moosehead Lake Ice Track (oval) – Greenville Junction, Maine – February 16 1,314. Clarence Creek Ice Track (oval) – Clarence Creek, Ontario, Canada – February 17 1,315. Durban Grand Prix (road course), KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa – February 24 1,316. Lake La Biche Ice Track (road course), Lake La Biche, Alberta, Canada – March 1 1,317. Rice Lake Ice Track (oval), Rice Lake, Wisconsin – March 8 1,318. Ashland Ice Track (oval), Ashland, Wisconsin – March 9 1,319. Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez (road course), Mexico City, Mexico – March 16 1,320. Hartwell Motor Speedway (oval), Hartwell, Georgia – March 22 1,321. Lavonia Speedway, Lavonia (oval), Georgia – March 22 1,322. Dover Raceway (road course), Brown’s Town, St. Ann, Jamaica – March 24 1,323. Lake Country Speedway (oval), Ardmore, Oklahoma – March 29 1,324. Swainsboro Raceway (oval), Swainsboro, Georgia – April 3 1,325. Screven Motor (oval), Sylvania, Georgia – April 4 1,326. Centerville Super Speedway (oval), Centerville, Arkansas – April 5 1,327. Central Arkansas Speedway (oval), Plumerville, Arkansas – April 5 1,328. Clinton Country Speedway (oval), Alpha, Kentucky – April 6 1,329. Pleasant Valley Raceway (oval), Boise, Idaho – April 20 1,330. Bremerton Raceway (road course), Bremerton, Washington – April 26 1,331. Port Angeles Speedway (oval), Port Angeles, Washington – April 26 1,332. Evergreen Speedway (1/5-mile oval), Monroe, Washington – April 27 1,333. Virginia Motor Speedway (oval), Jamaica, Virginia – May 1 1,334. Natural Bridge Speedway (oval), Natural Bridge, Virginia – May 2 1,335. Sturup Raceway, Malmo (road course), Sweden – May 10 1,336. Ring Djursland, Tirstrup (road course), Denmark – May 11 1,337. Nisseringen, Naestved (road course), Denmark – May 12 1,338. Valentine Speedway (oval), Glenrock, Wyoming – May 17 1,339. Gillette Thunder Speedway (oval), Gillette, Wyoming – May 17 1,340. Phillips County Speedway (oval), Holyoke, Colorado – May 18 1,341. North Pole Speedway (oval), North Pole, Alaska, – May 22 1,342. Tanacross Airport (road course), Tok, Alaska, – May 24 1,343. Mitchell Raceway (oval), Fairbanks, Alaska, – May 24 1,344. North Star Speedway (oval), Wasilla, Alaska, – May 25 1,345. Capitol Speedway (oval), Willow, Alaska, – May 25 1,346. Elk City Speedway (inner oval), Elk City, Oklahoma, – May 30 1,347. Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex (oval), Sweet Springs, Missouri – May 31 1,348. Central Missouri Speedway (oval), Warrensburg, Missouri – May 31 1,349. Lucas Oil Speedway (road course), Wheatland, Missouri – June 1 1,350. Ark-La-Tex Speedway (oval), Vivian, Louisiana – June 5 1,351. Monticello Speedway (oval), Monticello, Arkansas – June 6 1,352. Paris Motor Speedway (oval), Paris, Texas – June 7 1,353. Grayson County Speedway (oval), Bells, Texas – June 7 1,354. Prowers County Motorsports Park (oval), Lamar, Colorado – June 13 1,355. Moler Raceway Park (oval), Williamsburg, Ohio – June 20 1,356. La Junta Raceway (road course), La Junta, Colorado – June 21 1,357. El Paso County Speedway (oval), Calhan, Colorado – June 21 Far West “Chase to be #1” In the business world, the U.S. is often divided up into geographic areas that are referred to as East, Central and the “eleven Western states plus Alaska and Hawaii.” No, I don’t know why they don’t just say the “thirteen western states.” Those states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming and, of course, Alaska and Hawaii. The far west probably has the most beautiful scenery per square mile anywhere in the United States. This got me to thinking. Over the next 1-2 years, I’d like to put a “full-court” press on these far west states for trackchasing purposes. I want to establish a goal of becoming the number one trackchaser in each of these states except California by the end of 2009. Becoming #1 in California is not a realistic goal at this time. Below is a listing of these thirteen Far Western states. The state’s name is followed by my current rank and how many tracks I need to see to gain at least a tie for 1st place. As an example, I’m currently in third place in Hawaii and trail first place by one track. I’m looking forward to spending more time than usual in the Far West, a great part of our country. Alaska – 1st by 2 Arizona – 1st by 8 California – 2nd – trail by 46 Colorado – 1st by 3 Hawaii – 3rd – trail by 1 Idaho – 1st by 3 Montana – 1st by 1 Nevada – 1st – tie New Mexico – 1st by 4 Oregon – 1st – tie Utah – 1st by 2 Washington – 1st by 3 Wyoming – 1st by 2 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. My racing day at the La Junta Raceway . . My racing day at the El Paso County Raceway 
chocolate chip cookies
poor, and chocolate milk too
division
UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS
RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2008 (** not the first time to visit this track)
