Lonesome Pine Raceway

 

 

 

THE EVENT

 

 

ON THE WAY TO THE RACES

 

Two nights in one hotel!

I woke up this morning in Norton, Virginia. I went to sleep in Norton, Virginia. When I’m on the road I don’t get to stay in the same place two nights in a row very often. Tonight I would see racing at my 2,076^th lifetime track. This is how the day turned out.

 

 

I was visiting the home of some major league baseball history.

Coeburn is a small town of just 2,139 residents. Major league baseball player Tracy Stallard is from Coeburn. He played in the majors from 1960-1966. Tracy was famous for something he did while pitching. Any ideas? He gave up home run #61 in 1961 to the Yankees’ Roger Maris. That home run broke Babe Ruth’s major league home run record set all the way back in 1927.

 

 

This weekend I am trackchasing in the Eastern time zone. Just a few days ago I had spent 10 days in the Hawaiian-Aleutian time zone. There’s a difference of six hours from Hawaii to Virginia at this time of year.

 

 

This morning I slept until 10:30 a.m. local time. That’s 4:30 a.m. Hawaiian time or 7:30 a.m. San Clemente time. Whatever it was it felt good considering I took a “redeye” flight the night before from Las Vegas to Baltimore.

 

It’s Bristol baby!

This is Bristol race weekend for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. That race will be in Bristol, Tennessee. The track at Bristol, a half-mile paved oval, has a grandstand seating capacity of 140,000. Should I repeat that? The Bristol motor Speedway has a grandstand seating capacity of 140,000!

 

 

Carol and I watch our college football games in the famous Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. With the possible exception of my foreign readers everyone has heard of the Rose Bowl. What’s the seating capacity of the Rose Bowl? It’s about 80,000. The Bristol Motor Speedway seats almost twice as many patrons as the Rose Bowl!

 

 

I would have to shop hard for a reasonably priced hotel this weekend.

What does that mean for me this weekend?  Hotels are hard to find. When the lion’s share of 140,000 people wind their way into the Smoky Mountain geographical area hotel prices are jacked up and hard to find.

 

 

Knowing this I made my reservations a few weeks ago. Of course my first night would be spent on an airplane. That’s pretty economical.

 

 

My first two hotel stay nights would be at the Super 8 in Norton Virginia. My room rate came in at about $60, which isn’t very far off of “normal” Super 8 rates.

 

 

Trying to be logistically efficient.

My base of Norton, Virginia would be very convenient to the racetracks I would be visiting. My hotel was just 40 miles or so from last night’s track in Kingsport, Tennessee. Today it would only be a 6-mile drive from the hotel to Lonesome Pine Raceway in Coeburn, Virginia. Just outside my hotel window there was a sign that told me I could be in Kentucky in just a few miles. I was in Virginia but near both Kentucky and Tennessee. Tomorrow morning I would be taking a two-hour drive to play golf in North Carolina!

 

There are some folks who are in for a rocky road in life.

I must tell you that the service I received from local fast food and hotel employees was some of the worst I have seen anywhere. Please don’t accuse me of being biased toward the south. Truth be told I wish I was FROM the south. As a matter of fact on my father’s side his kinfolk came from Kentucky. I love the south.

 

 

However, many of the people I came in contact with provided me with someone sullen, grammatically incorrect and less than caring service. All of these people had a couple of things in common. They were young WHITE people. Is it racist to criticize people of your own race?

 

Folks I don’t have to be politically correct.

I no longer work for the man. I do not have to be politically correct. I will tell you this. When we built our new home about a dozen years ago, which took 19 months to complete after 11 months of architectural planning, I cringed whenever a white laborer came on the job. Those folks simply couldn’t do the high-quality work that the other workers did on our project. Most of the best workers were Hispanic.

 

 

I will tell you this. The type of person working in the fast food or hotel service businesses in the south is going to have a very difficult road to hoe in building a successful financial life. I feel badly for these 18-25 year-olds. Is it their fault? Nope. I’m sure you can point to their parents and family life as the cause for their significant interpersonal skills and work ethic deficiencies. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Don’t kill the messenger. That’s just the way I’ve seen it this weekend.

 

 

Finding the time to exercise during these trips is difficult.

I spent 45 minutes powerwalking around the local hotel parking lots. I couldn’t find a better place to exercise without getting in my car. As you know I have a goal to exercise aerobically on twice as many days as I go trackchasing for the year. This goal motivates me to exercise even when I might not feel like it.

 

Could I get me golf game in shape on short notice?

When my trackchasing weekend concludes I will fly directly from Baltimore to Las Vegas, Nevada. There I will meet my college fraternity brothers from nearly 50 years ago. We still get together once a year for our annual four-day golf outing. 

 

 

That being the case, and considering I don’t play golf all that much anymore, I needed to hit the driving range a time or two during this trip. I guess the Norton, Virginia area is not that hospitable toward golf. The closest decent driving range I could find was down in Kingsport, Tennessee. When was the last time you drove one hour one-way simply to go to a driving range?

 

 

Don’t miss this place.

If you get the chance to go to the K&G Golf Center in Kingsport do it. First of all the fella that runs it is a most friendly sort. You’ll like him.

 

 

Secondly you’ll have a hard time finding a more “down-home” golf driving range than what K&G offers. They even have a stream running through the range. The back part of the driving range goes steep uphill and the entire thing looks pretty much like a cow pasture.

 

 

One of the things that separates a good driving range from a not so good one is the quality of the golf balls offered. I’ve seen some pretty bad golf balls in my time at driving ranges. Many of those balls should have been retired long, long ago. However the balls at K&G are close to what most people play with. As a matter of fact the proprietor told me that many of his customers tell him at the balls in his driving range are better than the ones they play with!

 

 

When it comes to advice who should you listen too?

I have a few basic tenets in life. One concerns the question of “Who should I take advice from”. I contend most voraciously that you should listen to people who give advice on topics where they are doing better than you are.

 

 

Warren Buffett likely has a lot more money than you do. If Warren Buffett tells you something about finances I suggest you listen. If Martha Stewart tells you something about making scones I suggest you listen.

 

 

When I want to get better in golf I seek the advice and teachings of a golf pro. Why? Because he or she has spent their life playing and understanding the game and know a lot more about it than I do.

 

 

These are pearls. All you need to do is bend over and pick them up.

I am observer of people. I find the people who do the best in all aspects of life are the people who educate themselves. Education is basically simply listening to what others have accomplished and are willing to share. The people who don’t do as well in life, as a generality, are the less educated. Those are the people who can’t seem to take advice from others. It’s the same way in the workforce. The people who do the best are the folks who listen to others and take those ideas and run with them.

 

 

I always think my newest golf instructor is my best.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I have taken 300-400 golf lessons in my life. I recently discovered a new golf teacher. I took a lesson from him a couple of days ago. In just one hour both my long game and my short game had improved dramatically. Thank you James!

 

 

I needed to head down to a driving range to check out what I had learned. Often times I’m hitting the ball great after I leave a lesson but as soon as I go to the range or the golf course I don’t do nearly as well. However, today I may have hit the golf ball as well as I have ever had in my life. Folks I’m 66 years old. I’m on Social Security. I’m living on a small fixed income or whatever.

 

 

With that profile and considering my golf handicap has been as low as a five and my all-time low score on a very difficult course was a 68, you wouldn’t expect me to say that I’m hitting the golf ball as well as or better than ever. However if you stay in reasonable physical shape and have the capability of listening to others you can implement their thoughts and ideas. If you do there’s no telling what you can do as you enter geezer hood.

 

 

Nevertheless this is not a story about golf driving ranges. It might be a story about the benefit of listening to others. Nevertheless there was trackchasing to do today.

 

I use Apple Pay as much as I can.

Wherever I go I try to use Apple Pay.  Right now the only folks who can use Apple Pay are people who have the iPhone 6.  Don’t have an iPhone 6?  Don’t worry the world will include “late adapters” sooner or later!  The two main restaurant chains that accept Apple Pay are McDonalds and Subway.  I love using my phone to pay my restaurant bills.  I love it for two reasons.  Often the restaurant cashier is “blown away” with the technology.  Either they’ve never seen it used or seen it used rarely.  Secondly, I feel I am “paving the way” for others to come behind me.  If I can educate the server, and I have in several instances, then by the time the late adapter comes pulling through the drive-thru the entire process will be seamless.  Make sense.  Above is a photo of two Mickey D employees who were getting their first taste of Apple Pay.  They seem overjoyed don’t they?

 

 

 

THE RACING

 

Lonesome Pine Raceway – Coeburn, Virginia

 

 

In most cases I have known about any oval track I have NOT visited for a LONG time.

Following golf I was now going to have to retrace my steps and drive an hour back to the greater Norton, Virginia/Coeburn, Virginia area. I was in search of the Lonesome Pine Raceway in the small burg of Coeburn, Virginia.

 

 

I grew up watching racing on oval tracks, primarily dirt ovals. Despite having seen more figure 8 races than anyone in the world and more road course racing than any trackchaser from United States I still prefer racing on ovals.

 

 

There are very few permanent weekly scheduled oval racetracks that I have not seen. However the Lonesome Pines Raceway was one of them. That’s why I was coming tonight.

 

 

A large number of the oval track sites I visit are in very rural areas. That is definitely the case with Lonesome Pine. A good deal of these rural tracks are pretty rundown. That is NOT the case with the Lonesome Pine Raceway.

 

 

High quality but possibly its best days are in the past?

This is a high quality high-banked nearly half-mile asphalt oval. Granted its best days may have been behind it but that’s more of a consumer demographic issue probably than anything else.

 

 

The Lonesome Pine Raceway has been home to some major NASCAR Grand National and ASA races. Racing icons such as Bobby Isaac, Dick Trickle, Alan Kulwicki, Harry Gant (pictured above) Mike Eddy have taken feature wins here.

 

Getting a good deal from two ‘sisters’.

Tonight’s general admission price was $10. However I didn’t have to pay that. Why? Last night I had visited Lonesome Pine’s “sister” track the Kingsport Speedway. They were offering a $15 “combination” ticket for the racing at both Kingsport and Lonesome Pine. I have not seen that kind of an offer in that kind of situation more than a couple of times in my life. Maybe never.

 

 

This meant that I got to see racing at two quality high-banked paved tracks for $7.50 each night. That made up for the rip off prices being offered by Hardees for inferior food that I experienced twice during the trip.

 

 

Anorexic?

Like last night at Kingsport as well as tonight the racing program would be “feature racing only”. The car counts were skinny. Skinny might not be the real word for it. How does anorexic sound?

 

 

I believe there were six classes racing. The largest car count in any class was eight or nine cars. One class had four cars. The feature lap distances ranged from 20-30 laps. That’s a lot of laps when you don’t have too many cars.

 

 

Once again I listened in on my race scanner at channel 461.2000. Using a race scanner is a great way to go behind the scenes. I could hear how the race organizers were running the program.

 

 

Overall the tracks management did a good job and kept the program running smoothly. They started on time at the advertised 7 p.m. There would be seven feature races tonight with the late-models running twice. I stayed for the second late-model feature. I bypassed, as I did last night, the rookie four-cylinder division. I figured there must be a reason they put them last on the program. I was out of the track by 9:15 p.m.

 

Take a look at Lonesome Pine for yourself.

Please don’t miss the photos of the Lonesome Pine Raceway. I think you will be impressed. The lights were good, the PA system and announcer were above average and the track itself was excellent for racing. The stands were made of concrete. There were a few spots in the grandstand where the concrete was beginning to crumble. The entire grandstand seating area had a capacity of 6000-7000 people. I didn’t try any of the concessions but they had them.

 

 

It was an Allison that was the show’s highlight just like last night at Kingsport.

A highlight of the evening was watching a young driver by the name of Robbie Allison race. Robbie Allison is the grandson of NASCAR’s famous Bobby Allison and the son of deceased NASCAR star Davey Allison. I’m pretty sure that Robbie’s mother was pregnant with him at the time of Davey’s untimely demise in a helicopter crash at the Talladega Speedway.

 

 

I was at the Talladega race a few days after Davey’s accident. One of the most memorable events I have ever seen at any racetrack was the black #28 Havoline Oil sponsored stock car making a lap around the track by itself in memorial to Davey Allison.

 

Robbie Stanley.

I don’t know how long Robbie Allison has been racing. Tonight he did not do well. He was racing in two different classes.

 

 

In the first class he raced in the feature event started six cars. He ran in fifth place for most of the race before crashing into the backstretch wall to end his night in that class.

 

 

In the second class he tried he ended up wrecking one driver and causing a yellow flag. On the restart the offended driver spun the young Allison out. That race started just seven cars and with a couple having mechanical problems Robbie Allison finished third.

 

 

Very well spoken.

After each race the top three finishers were interviewed. That was actually a nice touch on a night when the car counts were so small. I was most impressed with how well spoken Robbie Allison was. At this point he seems to be able to speak better than he races.

 

 

Meet Nasty Jones!

The driver highlight of the night came from driver “Nasty Jones”. I had noticed his winner’s interview last night as well at Kingsport. This guy was loud, entertaining and controversial. He also looked to be in serious need of a haircut. His hair came down around his head to the tune of 5-6 inches. He appeared to be your stereotypical redneck.

 

 

However when his interview in the winner’s circle was finished and the spotlight was no longer on him he removed a baseball cap and most of the hair went with it. The “real” nasty Jones looked like he could be an executive from Procter & Gamble. Now I’m wondering if the name “Nasty Jones” appears on his driver’s license?

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

 

 

No Waffle House in the south?

I had only eaten twice by the time I left the track for the day. One of those was at the aforementioned Hardees in Norton. Don’t go there!

 

 

I was somewhat surprised and even more disappointed that there appeared to be no Waffle House locations anywhere near Norton, Virginia. That fact of life made me settle for a “Huddle House”. Huddle House is the “redheaded stepsister” of the Waffle House. Aren’t you amazed at the information you get by reading these reports?

 

 

Does the service and cleanliness of a restaurant mean anything? You bet.

The service and cleanliness of the Huddle House was a concern. Recently Consumer Reports did a study and survey on these issues within the fast food and casual dining genre. Who ranked last in overall quality? Buffalo Wild Wings! My 10 p.m. entrée consisted of a Philly cheesesteak omelet, wheat toast and grits. I told you I love the south.

 

 

It was nice to finally see the Lonesome Pine Raceway. It was just by happenstance that Lonesome Pine and Kingsport were so close geographically. I didn’t discover that fact until I committed to seeing them both and then checked out their respective locations with Google maps. It usually doesn’t work that way. It might’ve been better to come on a night when they had more cars but this is the way it worked out.

 

 

Virginia

 

 

The Old Dominion state

This evening I saw my 22th lifetime track in the Old Dominion state, yes the Old Dominion state. That’s one of the lower state track totals I have. I’ve seen more than 22 tracks in 33 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

Virginia sayings: Please don’t confuse us with West Virginia.

 

 

 

 

QUICK FACTS

 

PERSONAL CAR

San Clemente, CA

McCarran (Las Vegas) International Airport – 282 miles

 

AIRPLANE

McCarran (Las Vegas) International Airport, Las Vegas, NV (LAS) – Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Baltimore, MD (BWI) – 2,100 miles

 

RENTAL CAR #1

Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Baltimore, MD – trip begins

Kingsport, TN

Coeburn, VA

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Kingsport Speedway – $7.50

Lonesome Pine Raceway – $7.50

 

 

 

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

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2,076

 

 

 

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 – 4.88

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Click on the link below for a photo album from today’s trackchasing day: 

Lonesome Pine Raceway and the day that surrounded my visit