Lawrence County Fairgrounds

How would you answer these questions?…………….more in “The Plan”.

I’m not bitter, I’m #$%#%^ happy!……………..more in “The Trip”

“If you $%$# in one hand and wish in the other which one fills up the fastest?”…………..details in “The Trip”.

This may be your one chance in a lifetime to sit it on a driver’s meeting.  Don’t miss it…………….more in “Race Review”

How much time and effort?

Before any trackchasing plan can be finalized I have to answer just one question.  How much time and effort am I willing to expend to get the next track “in the books”?

What if you were doing this?

Let’s say YOU were planning a trackchasing trip.  What if I asked you how much time and effort would you be willing to put into seeing a county fair figure 8 race?  O.K., I can already hear the wise guy/gal who has responded with the word, “None”.

You do know that how you respond to a question tells people a good deal about you don’t you?  If someone said they didn’t want to put any time and effort into seeing a county fair figure 8 race volumes are really being spoken about that person.

That person would be saying “no” to an American tradition, the county fair.  They would be saying “no” to seeing farm animals especially the kind you eat.  Of course, no one would ever want to go to the fair without a visit to the livestock barns.  That’s where the cows and pigs hang out.  Someone once asked if animals should be eaten?  The answer to that question is pretty simple.  Why do you think God made cows taste like steak?

Of course, there are lots of other reasons to go to the fair.  Who wants to miss out on deep-fried Oreos, “shakeup” lemonade, county fair queens, the demo derby, the country and western singer and, of course, the county fair figure 8 race.

Now back to the original question.

Yes, now we’re back to the original question.  How much time and effort would you be willing to expend to go to a county fair figure 8 race?  Would you drive 65 miles?  I did on the way to the Los Angeles International Airport.  Would you walk twenty minutes to get there?  I did from my parking garage to LAX.

Would you be willing to take a “red-eye” flight overnight while flying standby?  I did.  There were 16 passengers on the standby list.  I was standby passenger #16.  Yes, I was last on the standby list, which is not all that unusual.  It’s the middle of the summer.  The plane was leaving the airport at 9:30 p.m.  If I didn’t make this flight I could standby for a few other red-eyes to locations all over the Midwest and East.  If I didn’t make any of THOSE flights I could sleep overnight in the airport and try again tomorrow.

How far would you travel?

If you were going to fly to a county fair figure 8 race how far would you be willing to travel?  I flew from Los Angeles to New York’s JFK airport, a flying distance of 2,475 miles.  I landed at 5:33 a.m. Eastern time (2:33 a.m. San Clemente time).  What was most noticeable about some of the New Yorkers I met at that time of day?  Many were surly and rude.  However, some were cheerful and friendly.  There are all kinds in New York and just about every place I visit.  The east just seems to have a few more “surly and rude” than statistically expected.

If you landed at JFK would you be willing to take an airport shuttle over to one of New York’s other airports, LaGuardia?  I did.  I paid $13 for the privilege.  Why do that?  Because I needed to take another airplane flight to Cincinnati, Ohio to get somewhat closer to the county fair figure 8 race.  Would you do that?

Yes, I had flown across our entire country.  Then I turned around and flew back across about one-third of it.  The flying distance from New York to Cincinnati is 584 miles.

Would you be willing to rent a car to go to a county fair figure 8 race?  I did.  One of my corporate trackchasing sponsors is the National Rental Car Company.  When I first called them to make a reservation they told me they were sold out of cars.  Then I told them who was calling and a “car became available”.  Yes, it pays to know people.

How much more could you be expected to do?

Would you be willing to drive ANOTHER 162 miles (after your 65-mile drive to LAX) taking approximately three hours and ten minutes (according to Google Maps) to get to the fairgrounds?  I did.

Would you jeopardize the “streak”?

Would you be willing to do all of this traveling even though you had a streak of rain free trackchasing that exceeded two years and the rain forecast for the night was 40%?  I did.  I did have the word of the promoter that he had never canceled a show in “15 years of doing demo derbies and figure 8s”.

Do you accept?

So there you have your plan…..should you be willing to except the challenge of attending a county fair figure 8 race?  Could or would any of my fellow competitors accomplish this achievement?  You’re kidding right?

I’ve mentioned that trackchasing really is all about “counting”.  If a trackchaser can’t count the track he won’t go.  My current track count is pushing 400 more than the next highest chaser.  For all but about two handfuls of trackchasers my trackchasing totals are 1,000 tracks higher than my fellow competitors.

The ‘counting system’ is missing something.

However, the “counting process” does not take into consideration how much “time and effort” is needed to chalk up a track.  Most trackchasers have simply driven the family sedan out of the driveway, down the road and back to the barn to add the majority of their tracks.  I have had to hop on an airplane and jump through the hoops noted above for more than 80% of the tracks I have seen.  It just doesn’t seem fair does it?

Cincinnati is a special place.

I woke up this morning in New York, New York, after flying overnight from Los Angeles.  I went to bed in in the back of my rented SUV.  I’ll tell you more about that later.  This is what today looked like.

My final flying destination today was Cincinnati, Ohio.  By reading the “Plan” section you pretty much know how I ended up here.  Cincinnati is a special place for the Lewis family.  Back in 1974 Carol and I lived in Cincinnati (Fairfield – northern suburb to Cincinnati).  We were here for the “Big Red Machine” with Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez.  We had season tickets to the Cincinnati Bengals.  Living in Cincy was the last time we ever lived in an apartment.  We were only in Cincinnati for one year before moving onto Phoenix, Arizona.  Of course Procter & Gamble, the company I retired from is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that at different points in my life I really hated Cincinnati.  Cincinnati is in the Eastern time zone.  I have lived in the Pacific time zone for most of my adult life.  Most of our business meetings were in Cincinnati.  A business meeting would often start with a breakfast meeting.  What time did that begin?  Usually at about 7:30 a.m. Eastern time which was 4:30 a.m. Pacific time.  That’s right.

I would fly across most of the country the night before the meetings began.  When most people were going to bed locally it was 8 p.m. my time.  Then in order to make a 7:30 a.m. breakfast meeting I would have to get up at 6:30 a.m. Eastern time to get ready.  That was 3:30 a.m. Pacific time!!!

Do I still sound bitter?  Let me put it this way.  I am not bitter.  I am relieved.  I am happy.  I am so #$%&#$# happy I can’t put it into words.  Once I retired I never looked back.  You won’t find me having breakfast with anyone in the Eastern time zone at 7:30 a.m. Eastern time ever again in my lifetime.

What happened at the airport?

Over the past several years the Cincinnati airport was expanded greatly to support it’s being a hub to Delta Airlines.  However, as time has gone by Delta has changed its corporate direction.  Now the Cincinnati airport has lost more than two-thirds of the flights they once had.  It’s nearly a ghost town of its former self.

Cincinnati is the “chili capital of the world”.  I’m not talking Wendy’s chili although I very much like their stuff too.  I’m talking CHILI!  I couldn’t leave the airport without a stop at Gold Star Chili.

In a 200- miles circle with the intersection of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia as it’s center you will find the most rural living of anywhere in the U.S.  If you live in a small town in Kansas, Idaho or Vermont then you are living in New York City compared to this part of the country.  Don’t miss the pictures.

After the races……

No, it’s not a very good word picture is it?

You all know by now what it takes to plan and implement the travel plans I come up with.  Someone told me the other day that “You have a lot of patience”.  For a trackchasing plan that is true.  I simply understand what my options are and go about making them happen the best way I can.  I don’t fret too much over the things that I wish were options but really are not.  In the Marines they constantly told us, “If you $%$# in one hand and wish in the other which one fills up the fastest?”.  It doesn’t paint a very good word picture but it makes a lot of sense.

After the races I had a nearly three-hour drive back to the greater Cincinnati area.  It was a weird trip.  I was leaving Proctorville, Ohio bound for the Cincinnati airport.  Of course Cincinnati is a city in Ohio.  However, I ended up driving through both Kentucky and West Virginia to get there.  Of course, the Cincinnati airport is in Kentucky!  Make sense?  No, it doesn’t to me either.

I’ve had better nights of sleep.

I had specifically rented a large Ford SUV for this trip.  I knew with a 6:30 a.m. flight (needing to be returning my rental car by 5 a.m. or so) there would not be enough time to get a hotel.  This happens a few times each year.  It seems to be happening more often lately.

I would sleep in the back of my SUV.  Where would I sleep?  I’m partial to Wal-Mart parking lots.  They’re well lit, spacious and seem to be quite safe with all of the activity that Wal-Mart generates.

However, on this night the temperature never got below 80 degrees.  The back of my SUV was not all that comfortable when I couldn’t figure out how to get the rear seats to lay flat.  Then, when I decided I could no longer endure the back of the SUV, I couldn’t figure out how to open the tailgate from inside the vehicle.  Luckily, I am a former yoga student and used those skills to “matriculate” to the front seat.  Once there I simply leaned the seat back and did my best to sleep in the stifling heat.  I finally resorted to lowering the window only to be eaten alive by mosquitos.  There’s a reason more people don’t do what I do.  I wish all the people who tell me, “I would love to do what you do” or “You’re living my dream” could spend just one weekend on the road with me.

Honesty is always the best practice.

I make friends easily.  I’m a huge fan of personal integrity.  I’ve been known to completely walk away from “friends” who lied and/or cheated.  The way I look at it, life is to short to spend any time whatsoever with people who can’t be trusted.  I can always make new friends!

This personal philosophy is why I was so impressed with tonight’s racing promoter Tim Clark of Smash It Demolition Derby.  I had noticed Tim was going to pay a huge purse for tonight’s figure 8 show in Proctorville, Ohio.  As I understood it this was the first ever F8 performance at this fairgrounds.  By the way, I didn’t see any of my fellow competitors here this evening.  Are their research departments failing them?

Thirty figure 8 cars?

I had called Tim Clark in advance to get the details of tonight’s event.  I asked him how many F8 cars he expected.  He said, “About thirty”.  Folks, this is not the first time I have ever called a promoter after seeing racing at 1,854 locations.  When a promoter says “About thirty” I hear “ten maybe twelve”.  Is the promoter lying?  Absolutely not.  Is the promoter hoping?  Absolutely.  In sales this is called “puffing”.  It’s like your local Chevy dealer saying he sells the “best” cars.  It’s a subjective way of phrasing things.

Why do I believe that Tim Clark really WAS expecting thirty F8 cars?  Because he was paying a $5,000 purse for this figure 8 race.  I know that many people who read my reports do it for the “over the top” pleasure it brings them and not because they are a race fan.

Let me put this in perspective.  If I see 100 tracks this year and each track has ten races then that’s a grand total of 1,000 races.  With me so far?  At the short track level there will not be five of those races that pay tonight’s winner’s purse of $3,500 U.S.  How many F8 races will pay that?  Zero!  Tim Clark WAS expecting thirty cars or more and their $100 entry fee.  Click on the “Race Review” tab to see how things actually turned out.  Then you’ll know why I speak so highly of Tim Clark.

LAWRENCE COUNTY FAIR – PROCTORVILLE, OHIO

$3,500 to win!

Remember this was just five F8 cars.

Before I go any further let’s not forget one very important item.  We’re talking about a race with FIVE figure 8 cars.  One race only.  Nevertheless, seeing five cars in a figure 8 race is as valuable to a trackchaser as seeing the Daytona or Indy 500 or the Grand Prix of Monaco.  They all “pay the same”.

Hard to believe.

I arrived at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds under the severe threat of impending rain.  I’ve seen racing at well over 200 county fairs.  I can never recall having a single one of them rained out.  I’ve seen some fairs that had heavy rains earlier in the day.  In those cases they raced with very muddy conditions.  However, I can never recall a huge downpour coming along and stopping or cancelling a county fair show.

Think about what a strong statement that is above.  Virtually all country fair activity in the U.S. happens in July and August.  They race in the evening.  What are some of the rainiest times of year and times of day?  That would likely be July and August moving into the evening!

This is the way Smash It Demolition Derby does things.

I was just in time to meet up with promoter Tim Clark and attend the driver’s meeting.  I was allowed to film the driver’s meeting.  You simply will not want to miss this.  You’ll get the inside scoop on exactly how these things “come down” that the fan in the stands has no idea about.  Please, watch the racing action video from the Lawrence County Fairgrounds.

Tonight’s racing purse was paying $3,500 to win, $1,500 for second and $500 for third.  Then to top it off there would be a $1,000 U.S. payout for the “hardest hit” in an event following the F8 race.  Those are simply unheard of payoffs.

How’s this for an idea?

I considered paying each of the five drivers a GUARANTEED $500 to race.  I would then collect all the purse money being offered.  Do the math.  Make good sense don’t it?

I don’t think any of the cars in the five-car field was worth as much as $500.  Therefore, the purse they were racing for had to be the strongest in all of their racing careers.

The show got off to a late start.  The parking lots and pit area were beyond muddy from the previous day’s rain.  Tim Clark couldn’t believe that only five cars showed up especially with such a large purse being offered.  I considered going out and getting my SUV to pick up some quick money.  However, I didn’t think my rental car sponsor, National, was looking for THAT kind of publicity.

The race, considering it was just five cars, was pretty good.  They ran for thirty laps.  For some reason they were all blowing left front tires.  At the end only two were running.  Damn!  I should have raced my rental car.

Don’t miss the video of today’s driver’s meeting.  It’s “inside stuff” that fans never get to see.

STATE COMPARISONS

Ohio

The Buckeye State

This evening I saw my 67th lifetime track in the Buckeye state, yes the Buckeye state.  I hope to do some more trackchasing and racechasing in Ohio this year.

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

Randy Lewis

World’s #1 Trackchaser

Peoria Old Timers Racing Club (P.O.R.C.) Hall of Fame Member

Ohio sayings:  Ohio, Japanese for good morning.

TRAVEL DETAILS

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – New York, NY (JFK) – 2,475 miles

AIRPORT SHUTTLE

New York, NY (JFK) – New York, NY (LGA) – 12.2 miles

AIRPLANE

New York, NY (LGA) – Cincinnati, OH (CVG) – 585 miles

RENTAL CAR #1

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport – trip begins

Proctorville, OH

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport – 368 miles

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Lawrence County Fair – $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 300 tracks of my lifetime total.  Don’t blame me.

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,854

Total Trackchasing Countries

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

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 65

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 5.10

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