Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park – Vet Track

 

 

 

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.  Or you can visit me on Facebook.  Thanks!

 

 

Randy on Facebook

 

 

 

 

 

ON THE WAY TO THE RACES

 

 

Just lucky I guess.

This was an unusual trackchasing weekend on a couple of fronts. First I planned to visit two different tracks over the weekend in Southern California. Each of these tracks was holding their once a year form of racing that would be considered countable in the trackchasing hobby. How lucky was I to get two California tracks doing this on the same weekend?

 

 

150!

Another thing that made today’s trackchasing in Lake Elsinore, California noteworthy was that I would be seeing my 150th lifetime track in the Golden State. I’ve seen more tracks in California than in any other state.

 

 

There was something very significant about seeing my 150th track in my home state. Today I would break the tie with California racechaser Gary Jacob for seeing the most tracks in California.

 

 

Yesterday I saw racing at the Streets of Willow Springs configuration at the Willow Springs International Raceway. There I tied Gary’s number of 149 California tracks. Today’s track in Lake Elsinore would make it 150 for me.

 

 

I now hold a number one trackchasing ranking in 20 different states. Here’s the list:

 

 

Alaska

Arizona

California

Colorado

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Iowa 

Minnesota

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada 

New Mexico

Oklahoma

Oregon

Rhode Island

Texas

Utah 

Washington

Wyoming

 

 

 

Right next door….almost.

The Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park might be the closest active track to where I live in San Clemente. According to Google maps it’s only 43.9 miles from our driveway.

 

 

Today Trackchasing’s First Mother a.k.a. wife Carol would join me on the trackchasing trail. She jumps in and makes a contribution from time to time. This helps us maintain a comfortable lead as “The World’s #1 Trackchasing Couple”.

 

 

My second trip to Lake Elsinore.

Back in 2009 I saw a Lucas Oil Off-Road event on the main track at Lake Elsinore. Earlier research this year made me think today’s racing would take place on that main track. I was wrong. I have a good contact with the Dirt Series group, promoters of today’s racing. He told me they would be racing today on the “Vet” track. The vet track is a freestanding permanent dirt road course. That’s all I needed to know. I was headed to Lake Elsinore.

 

 

The dreaded Ortega Highway.

Even though the track is less than 50 miles from my home getting there is not for the faint hearted. We would have to take Ortega Highway, which, winds through the mountains over to Lake Elsinore. The road was built in 1934. This is a very dangerous road. I drive it only about every three or four years. I avoid Ortega Highway any time I can.

 

 

 

 

THE RACING

 

 

Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park – Vet Track – Lake Elsinore, California

 

 

 

Keeping it simple.

Today’s racing would include UTVs, quads and motorcycles. The Dirt Series group runs 4-5 classes of UTVs. They have been very consistent in their starting procedure. They use land rush starts for all of their classes. I wish every UTV race promotion did that. It would make the planning of these track visits much simpler.

 

 

Today there would be 13 different events. Some of these events had a “race within a race”. When the racer counts were low some classes competed in the same event. Nevertheless, there was always a standing start for each class. The different classes racing in the same event would go off at 15-20 second intervals. All racers competing in one individual class started their race at the same time.

 

 

Dirt series does a nice job of starting their events on time. The first scheduled race of the day was for the UTV open 800 class. There were seven racers in that group.

 

 

Ten and ten.

Steve, my Dirt Series contact, told me that the UTV race would begin at 10 a.m. Carol and I were up early and arrived at the track by 9:30 a.m. We paid our $10 per person admission fee. It was easy to find a place in the paddock area to park our car.

 

 

So how would things work?

We attended the driver’s meeting where it was explained how the race order would go. True to Steve’s word the UTVs would be the first race of the day. The remaining UTVs would not run until the very last event, number 13.

 

 

In that race three classes of UTVs would compete. The number of UTVs in each of those three classes was somewhat limited with three, one and five competitors.

 

 

The “Vet” course.

The vet course is a freestanding MX style permanent dirt road course. The course had lots of jumps and whoops. We were able to walk around pretty much the entire course getting photos and videos for your viewing enjoyment.

 

 

We stayed at the track for a little bit more than two hours. During this time we saw six of the thirteen race events. We had already seen racing that counted toward my trackchasing totals with the first event of the day. It didn’t seem necessary to be at the track for more than four hours and wait for such small UTV competitor counts in the last event of the day.

 

 

Hola!

We did have a late morning snack at the track. They had some pretty good homemade Mexican food made by an authentic Mexican couple. After enjoying a quesadilla and burrito we explored every nook and cranny of the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park vet track.

 

 

Two different languages.

There was something I found kind of funny and somewhat ironic about our visit to the “vet” track. Several months ago I had contacted the folks running the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park. I had been getting some “vibes” that Lake Elsinore raced on more than a one track configuration.

 

 

I told the man I was talking to that I had seen the Lucas Oil Series race years ago on their main track. My question was “Did the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park have racing on any other tracks for UTVs?” His response was a firm and convincing “No”. However, today we saw racing on ANOTHER permanent track at Lake Elsinore.

 

 

How can this be explained?

How can I explain this? It’s really rather simple. A trackchaser knows the trackchasing rules. He knows what will count and what will not count. However, a track promoter is used to entirely different “non-trackchasing” terminology. He speaks his language. A trackchaser speaks another language.

 

 

I don’t think a promoter has ever lied to me. However, often times it is like talking to a person in a foreign country who isn’t all that fluent with English. In both cases as I’m carrying on the conversation I am pretty well convinced the other person doesn’t really “understand me”.

 

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

 

 

It was time to take our chances with Ortega Highway again.

As mentioned you were taking Ortega Highway to and from the races. Don’t miss the video where I used time-lapse photography to show what 3- 4 miles of driving this road looks like. It’s wild.

 

 

Not since we were pups.

On the way home we decided to do something that we hadn’t done in many many years. We stopped to look at the model home displays.

 

 

California probably has more tract housing that any state in the country. Tract housing is simply “cookie-cutter” type housing where three or four basic models are replicated in one fashion or another in housing tracks of 200-500 homes.

 

 

When we were youngsters we used to go model home browsing all the time. It was one of our weekend forms of entertainment. Today we stopped to see what things were like just because we could.

 

 

Break out the big bucks.

Real estate is very expensive in southern California and California in general. This is especially true in and around metro areas. Today we were looking at homes in the 1,800-2,300 square-foot range.

 

 

Of course these types of homes are all built within 10 feet of their neighbor. There’s no land offered with them to speak of. What do you think homes like this would cost?

 

 

The simple answer is a lot. The quoted price for the 2,300 square-foot home was in the “Mid-900s”. However, the models we were looking at were really “dressed up”. I’m talking better cabinets, flooring, etc.

 

 

We were told these models had upgrades amounting to $150-$200,000 each. They also had upgraded lots with better views. One of these “model” homes would probably come in at about $1.3-1.4 million. How is that for a 2,300 square-foot home on a very small lot?

 

 

Of course you can buy one of these homes in the mid-900s with no lot upgrade and none of the nice features that make the models look so attractive. Then you’re going to have a very bland and a very small house that costs nearly $1 million. Where’s the fun in that?

 

 

150 California tracks. Let’s celebrate!

Just before we reached home we stopped at one of my favorite locations in San Clemente. We were celebrating my 150^th California track. Of course I don’t need anything to celebrate to make a stop at Yogurtland. I hold a platinum card with Yogurtland because of my frequent visits. We enjoyed the treat.

 

 

Today was a satisfying day of trackchasing. I had seen my 150th lifetime track in California. Breaking the California track totals of Gary Jacob was a nice accomplishment.

 

 

Travel is on the horizon.

Overall it was a very good day to spend in Southern California. I’m considering a midweek trip to Indiana but the weather forecast isn’t looking that great. I checked the temperature in Fort Wayne, Indiana a moment ago. The temperature was 39°! Gee whiz. It’s mid-May by gosh.

 

 

Whether I go to Indiana or not I’ve got an extremely busy trackchasing travel schedule in the next few weeks. This includes some international activity. We’ll be gone for a long time. Nevertheless our pit bull will be standing at the ready for any unwelcome intruders.

 

 

 

Good afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

 

 

 

 

 

California

 

 

The Golden state

This afternoon I saw my 150^th lifetime track in the Golden state, yes the Golden state. It took me a long time but I can now say I’ve the #1 trackchaser in California. Here’s a complete list of the my California tracks.

 

 

 

TRACK	CITY	STATE	COUNTRY	DATE	TRACK TYPE
Riverside International Raceway	Riverside	California	United States	Pre-1980	PRC
Ascot Park	Gardena	California	United States	Pre-1980	OUTER-DO
Ascot Park	Gardena	California	United States	Pre-1980	INNER-DO
Ontario Motor Speedway	Ontario	California	United States	Pre-1980	PO
Speedway 605	Irwindale	California	United States	Pre-1980	PO
Corona Raceway	Corona	California	United States	Pre-1980	DO
West Capital Raceway	West Sacramento	California	United States	Pre-1980	DO
Dixon Fairgrounds Speedway	Dixon	California	United States	Pre-1980	DO
El Toro Speedway	El Toro	California	United States	Pre-1980	DO
All American Raceway	Roseville	California	United States	Pre-1980	PO
Cajon Speedway	El Cajon	California	United States	Pre-1980	PO
California Mid-Winter Fairgrounds	Imperial	California	United States	Pre-1980	DO
Mesa Marin Raceway	Bakersfield	California	United States	Pre-1980	PO
Orange Show Speedway	San Bernardino	California	United States	Pre-1980	PO
San Jose Fairgrounds Speedway	San Jose	California	United States	Pre-1980	DO
Saugus Speedway	Saugus	California	United States	Pre-1980	PO
Speedway 117	Chula Vista	California	United States	Pre-1980	DO
Silver Dollar Speedway	Chico	California	United States	June 6, 1980	DO
Baylands Raceway Park	Fremont	California	United States	June 23, 1984	DO
Watsonville Fairgrounds Speedway	Watsonville	California	United States	June 29, 1984	DO
Santa Maria Speedway	Santa Maria	California	United States	September 14, 1984	OUTER-DO
Placerville Speedway	Placerville	California	United States	September 4, 1985	DO
Kings Speedway	Hanford	California	United States	September 25, 1985	DO
Ventura Raceway	Ventura	California	United States	November 21, 1986	DO
Long Beach Grand Prix	Long Beach	California	United States	April 5, 1987	STREET-RC
Bakersfield Speedway	Oildale	California	United States	October 8, 1988	DO
Colorado River County Fairgrounds	Blythe	California	United States	November 13, 1988	PO
Madera Speedway	Madera	California	United States	June 24, 1989	PO
Rose Bowl	Pasadena	California	United States	March 13, 1991	DO
Delta Speedway	Stockton	California	United States	May 17, 1991	DO
Petaluma Speedway	Petaluma	California	United States	June 8, 1991	DO
Plaza Park Raceway	Visalia	California	United States	June 14, 1991	DO
Calistoga Speedway	Calistoga	California	United States	July 6, 1991	DO
Lake Perris Speedway	Perris	California	United States	October 11, 1991	DO
Willow Springs Raceway	Rosamond	California	United States	October 27, 1991	PRC
Carlsbad Raceway	Carlsbad	California	United States	July 30, 1992	DO
Victorville Grandstand Arena	Victorville	California	United States	July 31, 1992	DO
Thunderbowl Speedway	Tulare	California	United States	October 17, 1992	DO
Antioch Speedway	Antioch	California	United States	April 30, 1993	DO
Stockton 99 Speedway	Stockton	California	United States	May 1, 1993	PO
Twin Cities Speedway	Marysville	California	United States	July 1, 1993	DO
Orange County Fairgrounds	Costa Mesa	California	United States	July 10, 1993	DO
I.M.I. Raceway	Pearsonville	California	United States	November 27, 1994	DO
Sunrise Valley Raceway	Adelanto	California	United States	April 22, 1995	DO
Sacramento Raceway Park	Sacramento	California	United States	June 16, 1995	DO
Ernie Purssell Memorial Speedway	Grass Valley	California	United States	June 17, 1995	DO
Barona Speedway	Ramona	California	United States	July 1, 1995	DO
Rocky Hill Speedway	Porterville	California	United States	July 8, 1995	DO
Glen Helen Speedway	San Bernardino	California	United States	July 15, 1995	DO
Cal Expo	Sacramento	California	United States	October 7, 1995	DO
Kern County Raceway	Rosamond	California	United States	November 26, 1995	PO
Altamont Raceway Park	Tracy	California	United States	May 19, 1996	OUTER-PO
Perris Auto Speedway	Perris	California	United States	July 4, 1996	OUTER-DO
Lemoore Midget Raceway	Lemoore	California	United States	August 17, 1996	DO
Ukiah Speedway	Ukiah	California	United States	May 1, 1997	PO
Orland Fairgrounds Raceway	Orland	California	United States	May 31, 1997	DO
Cycleland Speedway	Nelson	California	United States	June 1, 1997	DO
Shasta Motorsports Complex	Anderson	California	United States	June 18, 1997	PO
California Speedway	Fontana	California	United States	June 22, 1997	PO
Redwood Acres Raceway	Eureka	California	United States	June 26, 1997	PO
Merced Fairgrounds Speedway	Merced	California	United States	July 15, 1997	DO
Tustin Thunder Road Course	Tustin	California	United States	August 3, 1997	TEMPORARY-PRC
Lakeport Speedway	Lakeport	California	United States	June 27, 1998	DO
Sears Point Raceway	Sonoma	California	United States	June 28, 1998	PRC
Edison International Field	Anaheim	California	United States	January 30, 1999	TEMPORARY-DRC
Irwindale Speedway	Irwindale	California	United States	May 15, 1999	OUTER-PO
Temecula Speedway	Temecula	California	United States	June 5, 1999	DO
Stoddard Valley OHVA	Barstow	California	United States	July 17, 1999	TEMPORARY-DRC
Irwindale Speedway	Irwindale	California	United States	August 6, 1999	INNER-PO
California Speedway	Fontana	California	United States	February 13, 2000	PRC
Chowchilla Speedway	Chowchilla	California	United States	February 25, 2000	DO
LA Street Race	Los Angeles	California	United States	July 16, 2000	STREET-RC
Pauline Davis Pavilion	Red Bluff	California	United States	February 17, 2001	INDOOR-DO
The Pavilion at the Fairgrounds	Chico	California	United States	February 18, 2001	INDOOR-PO
Buttonwillow Raceway Park	Buttonwillow	California	United States	May 6, 2001	PRC
Anderson Dry Lake	Lucerne Valley	California	United States	June 23, 2001	TEMPORARY-DRC
Perris Auto Speedway	Perris	California	United States	June 23, 2001	DF8
Ventura Raceway	Ventura	California	United States	August 1, 2001	DF8
Orange Show Speedway	San Bernadino	California	United States	Retroactive – 2001	PF8
Watsonville Frgrds Spdwy	Watsonville	California	United States	Retroactive – 2001	DF8
Ascot Park	Gardena	California	United States	Retroactive – 2001	DF8
Irwindale Speedway	Irwindale	California	United States	May 25, 2002	PF8
Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds	Yuba City	California	United States	August 2, 2002	DO
Thunderhill Raceway Park	Willows	California	United States	August 4, 2002	PRC
Butte County Fairgrounds	Gridley	California	United States	August 23, 2002	DO
Altamont Raceway Park	Tracy	California	United States	August 24, 2002	INNER-PO
Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca	Monterey	California	United States	August 25, 2002	PRC
Floyd Baldwin Pavilion	Lakeport	California	United States	December 21, 2002	DO
Lassen Speedway	Susanville	California	United States	August 16, 2003	DO
American Valley Speedway	Quincy	California	United States	August 17, 2003	DO
Antelope Valley Fairgrounds	Lancaster	California	United States	August 29, 2003	DF8
CORA Speedway	Dixon	California	United States	April 16, 2005	DO
Chula Vista International Off-Road Raceway I	Chula Vista	California	United States	October 2, 2005	DRC
Naval Air Station North Island	Coronado	California	United States	October 9, 2005	TEMPORARY-PRC
Wheel 2 Wheel Raceway	Victorville	California	United States	November 19, 2005	DO
Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport	Thermal	California	United States	November 20, 2005	PRC
Qualcomm Stadium	Mission Valley	California	United States	January 21, 2006	DO
Rialto Airport Speedway	Rialto	California	United States	June 17, 2006	PO
Angel Stadium of Anaheim	Anaheim	California	United States	January 13, 2007	INNER-DO
Angel Stadium of Anaheim	Anaheim	California	United States	January 13, 2007	OUTER-DO
Antelope Valley Fairgrounds	Lancaster	California	United States	April 22, 2007	DRC
Fairplex at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds	Pomona	California	United States	May 20, 2007	TEMPORARY-DRC
Victorville Auto Raceway	Victorville	California	United States	September 29, 2007	DF8
Chula Vista International Raceway II	Chula Vista	California	United States	September 30, 2007	DRC
Perris Auto Speedway	Perris	California	United States	March 14, 2009	TEMPORARY-DRC
Siskiyou Motor Speedway	Yreka	California	United States	May 16, 2009	DO
Delberts Memorial Raceway	Lakeport	California	United States	May 17, 2009	DO
Prairie City Short Course	Rancho Cordova	California	United States	November 1, 2009	DRC
Lake Elsinore Motorsports Complex – Main	Lake Elsinore	California	United States	December 19, 2009	DRC
Glen Helen Raceway Speedway-4.5M	San Bernardino	California	United States	January 9, 2010	DRC
Chowchilla Barn Burner	Chowchilla	California	United States	March 6, 2010	DO
Glen Helen Speedway-1M	San Bernardino	California	United States	March 13, 2010	DRC
Perris Auto Speedway	Perris	California	United States	March 13, 2010	INNER-DO
Santa Maria Speedway	Santa Maria	California	United States	May 23, 2010	INNER-DO
Chuckwalla Valley Raceway	Desert Center	California	United States	November 20, 2011	PRC
Antelope Valley Fairgrounds	Lancaster	California	United States	August 23, 2012	DF8
Stockton 99 Dirt Track	Stockton	California	United States	March 22, 2013	DO
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	Los Angeles	California	United States	April 27, 2013	MIXED-RC
Qualcomm Stadium	San Diego	California	United States	May 4, 2013	MIXED-RC
Qualcomm Stadium	San Diego	California	United States	May 4, 2013	DRC
Kern County Raceway Park	Bakersfield	California	United States	May 25, 2013	INNER-PO
Kern County Raceway Park	Bakersfield	California	United States	May 25, 2013	OUTER-PO
Hayfork Speedway	Hayfork	California	United States	May 26, 2013	OUTER-DO
Milestone MX – Main Track	Riverside	California	United States	October 6, 2013	DRC
Bakersfield Speedway Kart Track	Oildale	California	United States	January 5, 2014	INNER-DO
Honolulu Hills Raceway – 7M	Taft	California	United States	January 18, 2014	DRC
Milestone MX – Vet Track	Riverside	California	United States	March 23, 2014	DRC
Desert Empire Fairgrounds	Ridgecrest	California	United States	May 10, 2014	TEMPORARY-DRC
Tulare County Kart Club	Tulare	California	United States	May 10, 2014	DO
Del Mar Arena	Del Mar	California	United States	June 29, 2014	TEMPORARY-DRC
Orange County Fair & Event Center (large)	Costa Mesa	California	United States	September 19, 2014	TEMPORARY-MRC
Orange County Fair & Event Center (small)	Costa Mesa	California	United States	September 19, 2014	TEMPORARY-MRC
Port of Los Angeles	San Pedro	California	United States	September 19, 2014	TEMPORARY-MRC
Thunderhill Raceway Park – 5 mile	Willows	California	United States	November 15, 2014	PRC
AV Motoplex Motocross Park	Lancaster	California	United States	March 15, 2015	DRC
Finger Lake Raceway – Outback track	Red Bluff	California	United States	March 21, 2015	DRC
Finger Lake Raceway – MX track	Red Bluff	California	United States	March 22, 2015	DRC
Speedway Willow Springs – North Oval	Rosamond	California	United States	June 13, 2015	INNER-PO
Speedway Willow Springs – South Oval	Rosamond	California	United States	June 13, 2015	INNER-PO
Speedway Willow Springs	Rosamond	California	United States	June 13, 2015	PRC
Alameda County Fairgrounds	Pleasonton	California	United States	July 3, 2015	DF8
Speedway Willow Springs	Rosamond	California	United States	September 12, 2015	MF8
Ukiah Speedway Flat Track	Ukiah	California	United States	October 2, 2015	DO
California Mid-Winter Fairgrounds	El Centro	California	United States	November 21, 2015	INNER-DO
Superstition Mountains OHV Open Area	Edgar	California	United States	December 12, 2015	TEMPORARY-DRC
The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park	Bakersfield	California	United States	January 16, 2016	INNER-DO
Plaster City West	Plaster City	California	United States	January 30, 2016	TEMPORARY-DRC
Auto Club Speedway	Fontana, CA	California	United States	May 1, 2016	PRC – 2.8M
Streets of Willow Springs	Rosamond	California	United States	May 14, 2016	PRC
Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park – Vet	Lake Elsinore	California	United States	May 15, 2016	DRC

 

 

 

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

California sayings: Frickin freezing:   This is used to refer to any time the temperature drops below 65 degrees.

 

 

When it’s “frickin freezing”, this is when the parkas, sweaters, knit caps, and scarves come out. At 61 deg. Also, this is when women will bring blankets to their air conditioned office.

 

 

 

 

QUICK FACTS

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park – $10

 

 

Total racetrack admissions for the trip – $10

 

 

 

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 – 2,215

 

 

 

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