Lonetree Creek Racepark

 

 

 

THE EVENT

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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.  I’ll try my best to respond.  Thanks!

 

 

 

 

ON THE WAY TO THE RACES

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Today is a new day.

Yesterday (Friday) was a big day for me in the hobby of trackchasing. I ended up seeing my 99th and 100 lifetime tracks in my boyhood state of Illinois. That was important to me.

 

However today is a new day. It is day #48 of my 63-day “Long and Arduous Mega Trackchasing Summer Tour of 2015”. I’m having as much fun on day 48 as I did on day one or any other day of the trip. I ALWAYS have fun on each and every day of any trackchasing trip I make.

 

 

How do I know this? Because I’m retired and can do virtually anything I want. Often times I choose to go trackchasing. I do it just because it’s fun.

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It was time to hit the highway.

When the races were over in Springfield, Illinois last night I made haste to get to Palmyra, Missouri. How in the heck does someone end up in Palmyra, Missouri on their vacation? The answer revolves around “logistics”.

 

 

According to Google maps it was going to be an eight hour and fifty-three minute drive from Springfield, Illinois to tomorrow’s trackchasing location in Scotland, South Dakota. Lucky for me, I always try to take the positive view. My South Dakota race was in the southern part of the state. Had it been in the Northwestern section of South Dakota hundreds of miles would have been added to my journey. As it was the driving distance from Springfield to Scotland was a mere 617 miles. In my world that’s not all that much.

 

 

Getting into Palmyra, Missouri last night would take just about two hours. That would make today’s one-way drive just a bit more than seven hours. I will normally try to knock off one to three hours of my next day’s drive following the conclusion of any nighttime race I attend.

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I try to believe everyone…until they can’t be believed.

Recall I had rented a Priceline.com car from Avis. After all debits and credits were considered, except gas mileage, I had saved $64. The Avis Rental Car agent told me that the GMC terrain SUV was “rated” at 31 miles per gallon.

 

 

That sounded too good to be true. Lots of things that sound too good to be true aren’t true. Imagine that! However I’m one of these people who likes to believe just about anything I’m told.

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There is one caveat to that policy. If someone tells me something and it ends up not being true and I believe they had some malicious or dishonest intent in telling me what they told me I don’t forget it. A checkmark is then placed next to their name. They are then on my “list”. Yes, this is how a good deal of the Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers got on my “list”.

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I can’t say for sure.

I can’t say if the Avis counter agent was being dishonest and lying to me or just got caught up in his own boyish enthusiasm. However I am not getting 31 miles per gallon with this GMC SUV. In point of fact my first tank of gas yielded only 20 Miles per gallon.

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No one was Harvard bound.

I’ve always had a good mind for mathematical analysis. I was the flash card champion in my grade school class of upper lower class people. I grant you I wasn’t competing against a lot of Harvard bound academicians….but still someone had to dominate flash cards at Jefferson School.

 

 

Nevertheless I quickly figured out that at $2.50 per gallon I would be paying 3.8 cents per mile more if I got 22 mpg compared to getting 33 mpg. Further analysis told me I could drive 1,684 miles before I “ate up” my $64 savings.

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Loser.

I actually figured I would drive a bit more than 1,684 miles in this car before I turned it in in 10 days. That meant I would actually “lose” money on my “good” deal. Additionally I wouldn’t have the use of satellite radio for 10 days.

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Don’t do it.

This only reinforces the idea that it is virtually never a good idea to buy “cheap things cheap”. One time out of 100 I try to do that. I almost always end up regretting it.

 

 

My advice to anyone who wants a happy life is to not buy cheap things cheap. If one sticks to finding good things cheap they will be happy, healthy and fiscally secure. Who wouldn’t want that?

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Smoking crack?

Last night I had stayed at the Budget Inn in Palmyra. I made the reservation on Priceline.com for just $37 plus tax. You’re not going to get a hotel very much cheaper than that anywhere in the United States.

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Priceline rates their hotels on a 1-5 star basis. The Budget Inn was given a two star rating. The person who gave this hotel that rating must have been smoking crack.

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The place was a single level 1950s style motel. I noted at least four different species of bugs and insects inside the room.

 

 

There were some positives associated with this stay. First of all, I wasn’t checking in until about 12 midnight. I would be leaving by 8 a.m. Secondly, and very surprising to me, their Internet connection was super fast. I appreciated that.

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There is always time for “figuring”.

No matter how late I check into a hotel room I always have several minutes of “administrative homework” to do. This commonly involves calculating the next day’s driving distances, possibly getting a hotel reservation and confirming racetrack locations and itineraries.

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This morning I would only have a drive of a bit more than 500 miles up to the racetrack. If I drove nonstop I would get there with three hours to spare. When I see numbers like this I know that I have at least two hours of “free” time. I’ll use that time for eating, sleeping and peeing along the way. This is a plan that has worked for me over the years.

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What’s for breakfast?

When it was time to refuel, I discovered I was only getting 22 MPG. I also decided it was a good time for breakfast on the go. So what is a world-class trackchaser who’s in the midst of a world-class trackchasing trip have for breakfast?

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Low-carb baby! Convenience stores do not sell a lot of low-carb products. In point of fact they sell a lot of HIGH carb products.

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A boyhood staple.

Today I went with a can of Vienna sausages. Growing up in East Peoria, Illinois this was a staple. This was supplemented by a couple of 2-ounce bags of barbecue flavored pork skins. Haven’t tried pork skins lately? What are you waiting for?

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I succumbed to some out of the box thinking.

Showing extreme personal self-discipline I passed on a package of six miniature chocolate donuts. I would wash down all of the delicacies with a 1-liter bottle of Diet Mountain Dew. In a bit of out-of-the-box renegade type thinking I succumbed to a checkout counter offering. What was that? A small bottle of Wild Turkey American honey bourbon whiskey.

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The whiskey came in one of those little “airline bottles” that cost you seven bucks on the plane. The convenience store was selling these small bottles for just $.99 each. That was a fantastic bargain. I only bought one but I should’ve bought several.

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Keeping in touch.

All during the drive I was sending photos and videos via text and email to my friends and family. This probably bugs them but it makes my drive go so much faster! I was also helping my neighbor get ready to install a solar electric system on his roof.

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I had a plan to go without air-conditioning on my next tank of fuel see how that might boost my fuel mileage. However when the temperatures got up into the mid 80s that plan was aborted. I went back to air-conditioning.

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Another reason I like Iowa.

Iowa is one of the few and maybe only states to offer complimentary Wi-Fi in their interstate rest areas. They have been doing this forever. Although I could just “tether” anywhere I had a phone connection I could save my data by using Iowa’s generosity.

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I pulled over into one of these rest areas just south of Council Bluffs, Iowa. I would need a hotel for tonight. Following the races tonight I would be headed from Scotland, South Dakota to St. Louis, Missouri, a nine-hour drive. I certainly didn’t want to drive nine hours after the race.

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A quick search using Google maps told me Omaha, Nebraska was about three hours south of Scotland. That’s about the maximum amount of driving I want to do after a race if I’m going to stay in a hotel.

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Omaha would be a good location. From there I would have “only” a six-hour drive to the St. Louis airport tomorrow. I’ll be picking up Trackchasing’s First Mother there for a week of fun and frolic in and around Branson, Missouri.

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Strategies and more strategies.

Most of the time when I need a hotel I hop on the Priceline.com website. I employ several strategies to get the best hotel for the least amount of money.

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Today I would end up at the Baymont Suites Hotel in central Omaha for a price of $40 plus tax. The very best price the hotel was offering online was $65 for the night. Getting a $65 hotel for just 40 bucks when a Motel 6 was priced higher than that seemed like a pretty good deal. I would likely get to the hotel by midnight or later and have to be out the door no later than 8-9 a.m.

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A lot of people don’t understand this.

Someone once said to make money you have to spend money. I guess that’s the strategy I’ve been using my entire life. So far I can say I haven’t had to stay at Motel 6 for a single night during the first 48 nights of this trip. For the next week Carol and I will be staying at the Marriott is in Branson. I guess my Motel 6 streak will stay alive a little bit longer.

 

 

 

 

 

THE RACING

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Lonetree Creek Racepark – Scotland, South Dakota

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It was time.

It was time to go trackchasing now. Race time was set for 7 p.m. I pulled into the small town of Scotland, South Dakota at just before 6 o’clock.

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There are a few things that caught my attention as I took a quick tour around Scotland. First it wasn’t a very big place. The town’s population sign read “981”. The little village had some very unique and attractive streetlamps. These are the kind of streetlights I rarely see. They gave the place an upscale look.

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The V.F.W. club was rocking.

Although it was early Saturday the biggest cluster of cars in town appeared to be around the taverns. The VFW club was doing particularly well!

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My National Car Rental Racing GMC Terrain SUV would need gas soon. The last 40 miles of my drive into town have been on a two-lane highway. I wasn’t sure what the gas availability would be after tonight’s races. Some stations close early in small towns. In Scotland the price of gas was about $2.85 a gallon. That was a good $.30-$.40 higher than what I had seen driving up here. I bought just three gallons and made a note to stop for gas once I got back on Interstate 29.

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My world revolves around contacts.

I had established a really good contact in Christian Sorlien. He and his family own the Lonetree Creek Racepark. Christian and I talked about 10 days ago. Then we agreed to touch base just yesterday. Actually Christian left a message for me giving me the go-ahead. The race was on.

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What was the go-ahead? It was simply a notification there would be racers that would meet the stringent requirements that trackchasing’s founding fathers came up with many years ago. In the Lonetree situation that meant they would be hosting mini- sprints. Their regular classes of racers are motorcycles and quads. Neither of those racing machines counts in the trackchasing hobby.

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Build it and they will come.

Just as Christian had promised, when I got within a mile or so of the track I began to see signs directing me to its location. Over the past few years I’ve seen a few tracks, which were essentially built in the “backyard” of the track’s owner and operator. That would be the case with Lonetree Creek Racepark.

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I followed the signs. I was soon turning into the driveway of a farmhouse. The road wound its way behind a farmhouse. Then I passed a big red barn. A little further back I could see the track and the pit area. They were already practicing when I arrived.

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Lonetree’s matriarch.

It wasn’t long before I met the matriarch of the Sorlien family. Yes I was soon meeting and chatting with a woman named Geneva as if we had known each other for a very long time. Geneva was Christian’s mother.

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She and her husband as well as her children were the driving forces behind the construction of the racetrack. She told me her son Eric had the original idea for the track.

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I believe the track was originally built when Eric couldn’t build the type of track he wanted somewhere out of town. Then he came up with the idea to use their own farmland for a track that would host motorcycle and quad racing. It was my good fortune that mini- sprints race here from time to time.

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California? No way. Too many earthquakes.

Geneva was telling me that she hadn’t done much traveling. I believe she said she had never been south of Nebraska. She told me that she wouldn’t want to visit California because of her fear of earthquakes. I’ve heard that concern before but not so much lately. Just wait until California has its next big earthquake. People will be talking about that again. I don’t worry about California earthquakes. I’m not likely to be home when they happen anyway!

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I don’t know what the charge was for admission to the track today. Geneva wouldn’t let me pay. I certainly appreciated her hospitality and enjoyed our conversation.

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Let’s find Christian.

It didn’t take me long to meet up with Christian my track contact. He was manning the starting duties with the quad racers when I arrived. Christian picked me out of the crowd and came over to say hello. I don’t know how people always know who I am. I think it might have something to do with the idea that I usually don’t “look like I’m from around here”. I must look like I’m from somewhere right?

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Christian and I had talked on the phone a couple of times. We had also made contact a couple of years ago. He had a pretty good understanding of what type of racing I needed to see in order for me to add the Lonetree Creek Racepark to my lifetime list. Tonight he quickly pointed out that there were eight mini-sprints at the track. They were all parked together in the far end of the pit area beyond turns one and two.

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Just a little more each year.

Geneva told me the track had been in existence for about four years. They were trying to do one little project after another whenever time and money allowed. She told me someone had given them enough wire to hook up the lights and a PA system. She also told me that her sons had worked diligently to straighten the frame of the grandstand after it had been damaged in a tornado!

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Tonight’s oval track was about a quarter-mile in length and slightly banked. Racers were pitted all around the outside of the track except on the backstretch. Christian told me that racer counts were down because another South Dakota track was using a rain date today.

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Let’s meet the drivers.

I took some time to walk out to where the mini-sprints were parked. I soon met up with a driver named Nick who was piloting the car number 15 racer.

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Nick told me he had raced last night at the Kam Kartway in Hastings, Nebraska. I went there back on June 7, 2014. The Kam Kartway was my 1,964th lifetime track. Nick said he was planning to go to Nebraska this afternoon to race but the weather forecast scared them off. That’s why he and three other cars out of the eight total racers showed up in South Dakota today. I guess I was lucky there was bad weather in Nebraska!

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This was his first full year of racing a mini-sprint car. Nick was a friendly young man. I was happy to see him win the feature event later on in the evening.

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Thanks Rob.

I’ve got to thank Rob Palmer for initially giving me the heads up about this track a couple of years ago. Rob saw racing here last year. I would have joined him except for a conflict in scheduling. Tonight I was seeing my 19th South Dakota track. I believe Rob Palmer has the same number of SD track visits.

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TT track.

The quads and motorcycles also race on a “TT” track. In trackchasing parlance this is a dirt road course with some minor jumps and several hairpin turns. Currently there are no countable trackchasing classes racing on this track.

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It was the “shady lady” from the snack shack.

I tried to move all around the track getting good angles for video clips and still photographs. It was during this time that a young woman popped out of the concession stand. Her name was Sheryl. She was daughter to Geneva and brother to Christian. Yes, I was meeting the entire family it seemed like. However Cheryl assured me that there were more siblings and lots of in-laws that were all working at the track in one capacity or another. This truly was a family affair.

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Later I stopped by the concession stand to get my supper for the evening. Although the double hamburger wasn’t on the menu Sheryl and her staff whipped it up quickly. I was surprised at how large and tasty the hamburger patties were. I wonder if they use their own local beef? Sheryl wanted to give me my supper at no charge but I pointed out that Geneva had already treated me to free admission to the track. I insisted on paying for my meal.

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Fall can’t be far off.

I’ve seen racing at more than 100 tracks already this year and it’s only August. Tonight was the first night of the season where I’ve noticed coolness in the air. That signals that fall and then winter will be coming our way before we know it. This is always a strange feeling especially for a Californian where our weather is pretty much the same all year round.

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Not enough drivers? Really?

Although there were eight mini-sprints in the pit area only four of them took to the track for the group’s heat race. I was told there were not enough drivers for all eight racecars. I don’t hear that often. I think they should have given Paul Weisel a call. I’m sure he would have loved to fill-in.

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There was not a whole lot of action in the mini-sprint heat race. After that race I went back to their pit area and chatted with the drivers again. Some drivers thought the track was dusty. It didn’t seem dusty to me although the mini-sprints did have a hard time passing each other.

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Today’s weather forecast called for 20-30 mile an hour winds with gusts exceeding 40 miles an hour at times. That’s a lot of wind. Although it was windy tonight I don’t think it was quite as strong as the forecast had called for.

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Nevertheless as the sun sat beyond the horizon it was chilly with the wind. I was one of the few people in attendance wearing short pants. That is often the case.

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With night upon us I went back to the car to get out of the cool weather as some of the quad and motorcycle events took place. This was also a good place to enjoy my hamburger supper.

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I needed to pace myself.

I had driven nine hours from Springfield, Illinois to get to this track in Scotland, South Dakota. I certainly didn’t want to leave after seeing only one mini-sprint race. Therefore I hung around until nearly 9:30 p.m. to watch the main event.

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During intermission they bladed the track with an old farm tractor as the drivers had requested. Then they put a lap of water down to help the racing surface. The racing might have been better but there still wasn’t much passing. A fifth car tried to start the race but mechanical woes sidelined him. The first three finishers ran under a blanket as they crossed the finish line with the checkered flag. As mentioned Nick the driver I’ve spoken to for several minutes tonight was the feature winner. Good job Nick.

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Time to head on down the road.

Even though there were still going to be some racing with the quads and motorcycles it was time for me to leave. I had a nine-hour drive from tonight’s track to the St. Louis international Airport to complete. I’ll pick Carol up there tomorrow in the afternoon. Then we will head to Branson, Missouri.

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AFTER THE RACES

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Good-bye South Dakota for 2015.

Tonight my plan was to make it as far as Omaha, Nebraska. That three-hour drive would have me arriving at about 1 a.m. I needed to be out the door by no later than 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. That would give me “just” a six-hour drive from Omaha down to St. Louis.

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South Dakota tracks are hard to come by. This has been a big South Dakota year for me. I’ve seen racing at two separate tracks in the state. I was also rained out of another that I had looked forward to seeing.

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I have now seen racing at 2,156 tracks. That means my 19 South Dakota tracks represent just a little bit less than 1% of all the tracks I’ve seen.

 

 

Here’s a list of states where I’ve seen fewer than 19 tracks. Most of the states don’t have very many trackchasing opportunities. If they did my totals would obviously be taller. Actually I’m a little surprised I’ve seen more tracks in South Dakota than I have in several of these states.

 

 

Alaska – 11

Arkansas – 12

Connecticut – 14

Delaware – 5

Hawaii – 6

Idaho – 15

Louisiana – 11

Maine – 12

Maryland – 4

Massachusetts – 10

Mississippi – 13

Montana – 13

New Jersey -14

New Mexico – 14

North Dakota – 14

Rhode Island – 3

Utah – 13

Vermont – 8

West Virginia – 9

Wyoming – 13

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I’ve been busy and productive.

After tonight I’ve seen 41 new tracks in the 48 days I’ve been traveling. I’ve had a couple of rainouts. On one day there was no countable racing at the track I visited. I think that’s a pretty good record. There are lots of people who set their annual goals with the numbers I’ve seen in the past 48 days.

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That’s it from Scotland, South Dakota. A hearty thank you goes out to the entire Sorlien family for their generous hospitality.

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My next Trackchaser Report will likely come to you from somewhere in Missouri. Carol and I hope to add one track during our weeklong Branson, Missouri vacation.

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Good night.

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South Dakota

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The Mount Rushmore state

This evening I saw my 19th lifetime track in the Mount Rushmore state, yes the Mount Rushmore state. Butch Knouse, lifelong South Dakota resident, leads here with 20 tracks.

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Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

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Randy Lewis

World’s #1 Trackchaser

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

South Dakota definition: Dinner.

 

What it means everywhere else: The last meal of the day, eaten in the evening.

 

What it means in South Dakota: The second meal of the day, eaten after breakfast and before supper.

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QUICK FACTS

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AIRPLANE

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

 

RENTAL CAR #1

O’Hare International Airport – trip begins

London, KY

Indianapolis International Airport – trip ends – 766 miles

 

RENTAL CAR #2

Indianapolis International Airport – trip begins

Bedford, KY

Indianapolis International Airport – trip ends – 603 miles

 

RENTAL CAR #3

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – trip begins

Aitken, MN

Morten, Manitoba, Canada

LaGrange, IN

Manchester, IA

Oskaloosa, IA

Bowling Green, IN

Buncombe, IL

Ionia, MI

Osgood, IN

Hemlock, NY

Taylorville, IL

Cambridge, MN

Mora, MN

Urbana, IL

Bedford, KY

Owenton, KY

LeMars, IA

Belleville, KS

Grayslake, IL

Brazil, IN

La Grange, KY

Grayslake, IL

Sturgis, SD

Martinsburg, WV

Tazewell, VA

Henry, VA

Belmar, NJ

Berryville, VA

Croton, OH

Stockton, KS

Bates City, MO

Farmington, MO

Barnum, MN

Victoria, British Columbia

Springfield, IL

Scotland, SD

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TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Laurel County Fairgrounds – $10 (not a trackchasing expense)

Trimble County Recreational Facility – $10

Aitken County Fairgrounds (oval) – complimentary admission

Aitken County Fairgrounds (RC) – $8

ALH Motor Speedway – complimentary admission

LaGrange County Fairgrounds – $10

Delaware County Fairgrounds – $10

Mahaska County Fairgrounds – $5

Sandstone – $15 (include pits)

HBR Raceway – $10 (included pits)

Ionia Free Fair – $13

Ripley County Fairgrounds – complimentary admission

Hemlock County Fairgrounds – complimentary admission

Christian County Fairgrounds – $8

Isanti County Fairgrounds – $12

Kanabec County Fairgrounds – $10

Champaign County Fairgrounds – $6

Dirty Turtle Off-Road Park – complimentary admission

Owenton County Fairgrounds – $10

Plymouth County Fairgrounds – complimentary admission

Belleville High Banks – $20

Lake County Fairgrounds – $8

Staunton MX – $15

Oldham County Fairgrounds – $10

Lake County Fairgrounds – $10

Buffalo Chip – $20

Berkeley County Youth Fairgrounds – $10

Tazewell County Fair Speedway – $10

Providence Raceway – $10

Wall Stadium Speedway – no charge

Clarke County Fairgrounds – $7

Hartford County Fairgrounds – $7

Rooks County Speedway – $10

JSI Off-Road Park – No charge

St. Francois County Raceway – $5

Carlton County Fairgrounds – $15

Western Speedway – $5 Canadian (about four bucks U.S.)

Multi-Purpose Arena @ Illinois State Fairgrounds

Lonetree Creek Racepark – Complimentary admission

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LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS 

The three most important trackchasing comparisons to me are:

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Total lifetime tracks seen

Total “trackchasing countries” seen

Lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

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Total Lifetime Tracks

There are no trackchasers currently within 500 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me.

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2,156

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Total Trackchasing Countries

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

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 70

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Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 4.88

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

 

 

 

 

Click on the link below to see the “Video Plus” production from the Lonetreek Creek Racepark in Scotland, South Dakota

 

 

 

 

 

A picture is worth more than 900 words.

That’s right. Click on the link below for a photo album from today’s trackchasing day.  Double click on a photo to begin the slide show or watch the photos at your own pace.  Hover over a photo to read the caption.

 

 

 

A fun trip up to Scotland, South Dakota