Greetings from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
From the travels and adventures of the
“World’s #1 Trackchaser”
Lifetime Track #1,925
Was I lucky to have a new passport and have it with me?…………..more in “The Details”. Would there have been a trackchasing hobby if trackchasing’s originators had grown up in Southern California?………….more in “The Details”. What is Tim Hortons share of the Canadian coffee market compared to Starbucks?…………..more in “The Details”. It pays to know people. When you do the gates to the Red Sea open a lot easier…………..details in “The Details”. If you don’t text get your head out of the #$%#% sand and walk quietly into the 21st century. …………..details in “The Details”. Are the benefits of a private airline club worth it? …………..details in “The Details”. Who gets more than 11,000 people to attend a regular season college hockey match?…………..details in “Trackchasing Tourist Attractions”. My unplanned trip to Canada went off as well as if I had planned for it…………..more in “Race Review”. If the original trackchasers hailed from Southern California would there even be a trackchasing hobby? I woke up this morning at home in Drayton, North Dakota. I spent the day in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada before staying overnight in Edina, Minnesota. The next day I returned home to San Clemente, California. I suspect that if all trackchasers lived in Southern California there would be no trackchasing. Why is that? How many of my fellow competitors would have been willing to spend an EXTRA night on the road after almost each trip just trying to get home? Historically, most trackchasers after the last track of the trip simply got in their car and drove home. That made their life pretty simple. However, in my situation I normally can’t get home to California after seeing the last track of the trip. If I take 40 trips each year then I’ll likely have to spend 30 or more extra nights on the road just waiting for transportation to get home at the end of the trip. I don’t really mind this disadvantage because I’ve grown up with it. No affordable room at the inn. On Saturday night following one of the best Trackchasing Tourist Attractions (TTA) I’ve had in a long time I needed a place to stay. By the way, please check out the “Attractions” tab. You won’t want to miss seeing and reading about this one. I was in Grand Forks, North Dakota on Saturday evening but couldn’t stay there. First, with the University of North Dakota hockey game in town few hotels had availability. Those that did seemed to have jacked up their prices. Hotels that normally might go for $60 were selling for as much as three times higher. I guess that’s to be expected when more than 11,000 fans show up in a small town (Grand Forks: population 52,838) for a regular season college hockey game. I have no idea how I did this seven years ago before the iPhone was invented. A did a quick iPhone search of any and all hotels along I-29 between Grand Forks and the Canadian border. How many hotels was that? One! The only hotel that fit that search criteria was the Motel 66 in Drayton, North Dakota. I called them up, the price was right and they had a room. I had NO idea what type of quality this hotel offered. The one other Drayton motel was closed for the winter season! What was the Motel 66 like? I found a very simple and clean 24-room motel. On most nights I would not have stopped at a place like this. However, on this night the Motel 66 was perfect for what I needed. I walked into my small room with all of the amenities I might need including fast Wi-Fi. I peeked out the window on the snow covered parking lot glistening under a winter’s moonlight. Most of the cars were plugged into electric engine heaters! I am the last major independent trackchaser. It would be just a two-hour drive up to Winnipeg, Manitoba from Drayton, North Dakota. After the races it would be a little more than seven hours of driving to my Residence Inn by Marriott in Edina, Minnesota. I take solace in these long drives knowing I’m not wearing out my own car doing this. Just lucky? No not JUST lucky! Just three days ago I received my new U.S. passport in the mail. Passports are good for ten years. You can bet my old passport, which took me to about 80 countries, was well worn at the end of its ten-year life. Travelers didn’t used to need a passport going into and out of Canada. However, a few years ago that changed. Had I not sent my passport in for it’s renewal on the exact day I returned from my last international trip (New Zealand) I would not have been able to make this trip to Canada. How many people might have waited a few days to send their passport in after an 18-hour flight from NZ. On the other hand how many people would have been checking their iPhone for ice racing dates while they drove northward on the interstate yesterday? This was after I had previously checked that group’s schedule several times before and knew they had nothing set for this weekend. I’m just sayin’. The harder I work at this the luckier I get. Wait. There was one other issue. I had one other “issue”. I wouldn’t have any GPS capability while traveling in Canada. In order to have an accident several things have to lead up to the problem. Some of those things were lining up to create an “accident” today. I was working hard to prevent that accident from happening. Normally on short trips to Canada (like this one when I would be ‘in country’ for just six hours or so) I use my Garmin GPS system. That’s because I don’t want to pay $30-60 U.S. for a cellular phone data package from AT&T for such a small amount of usage. However, on this trip my Garmin GPS unit didn’t make the cut because I had to use a tiny carryon bag to meet Spirit Airlines somewhat draconian bag size limits. This meant I had no GPS capability (no Garmin; no iPhone) for today’s trip into Canada. What would I do? I would need to be creative and resourceful. That’s what I’m good at. I simply used Apple Maps from my iPhone the night before I left North Dakota to plot the way. Then I did “screen shots” of the turn by turn routing to take pictures of the directions. Now at least I had a static illustration of how I would get from point A to point B. Lots of questions at the border. At the border there was no wait to clear Canadian customs at all. However, the female border agent, who didn’t seem to have much else to do, had a series of questions for me. I’ve found that security people will often ask a lot more questions (some people would say “hassle you” but I wouldn’t) if the line is short than if it is long. Her most unique question was “You’ve come all the way to Canada from California just to see ice racing?” I had several canned responses I could have used. I rejected going with “It’s not that expensive when you consider the money I make smuggling drugs across the border” or “You sound a lot like my wife”. I did go with this response, “Yes, the Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers can’t figure out that question either”. She nodded, smiled, gave me a thumbs up and let me pass. I would need a Canadian ATM. My first stop in Canada was planned to be a Tim Hortons. I didn’t use to like Tim Hortons. Why? They didn’t accept credit cards. I pay EVERYTHING POSSIBLE by credit card. It would be rare for me to be carrying any coins on my person. Credit cards are convenient. They also earn me miles with even the littlest of purchases toward use with my upscale, even opulent, travel partners. For the life of me, I can’t understand people fishing in their pockets, purses and the like for “exact change”. I can only surmise they aren’t very good at paying off their credit card bills at the end of the month. Tim Hortons as an ATM? Tim Hortons, officially known as a “Café and bake shop” has more than 3,000 stores most of which are in Canada. How big is Tim Hortons in Canada? They have 62% of Canadian coffee market and Starbucks has 7%! I was interested in Tim Hortons for two reasons this morning. First I would have breakfast. I like, not love, their chili. However, the mini wheat baguette that comes with it is so delicious with butter and salt. Of course the combo comes with a Tim Hortons donut of your choice. I wasn’t there just to eat though. I needed to use Tim Hortons as an ATM. As you recall this trip to Canada was totally unplanned. I didn’t know I might be going to Canada until yesterday’s iPhone search told me that the Winnipeg racing had been canceled last week due to the cold and rescheduled for this weekend. That meant I had no Canadian cash. I couldn’t recall if they charged an admission price when I went to my last Winnipeg Sports Car Club ice racing event or not. At Tim Hortons I could pay with a $20 U.S. bill and get my change in Canadian currency. That’s what I did. Then when I got to the track they were NOT charging admission to the ice races. Most ice races do not charge for spectators to watch. That Canadian change will go into the “Canadian pot” for use on a future trip. After the races…… Canadian souvenirs. When the races were finished I noticed there was another Tim Hortons a few blocks from the ice track. That’s not unusual. It seems as if there is a Tim Hortons on every other corner in Canada. I had some more chili and wheat bread but passed on the donut this time. It was a “Lose it” thing. However, I was stopping at Tim Hortons for another reason late this afternoon. I needed to pick up two boxes of “Timbits” for those smarter than you and me grandkids. Timbits are essentially “donut holes”. They come in boxes of 10, 20 and 30. I love bringing people gifts from my trips. It will be a chore to get those Timbits back home in just ten pieces each but the joy of seeing those little rug rats dive into them makes it well worth it for me. Just keep it between the white lines. Soon I was on the road for the 464-mile drive to Edina, Minnesota sight of tonight’s stay at the Residence Inn. Long drives like this one don’t bother me in the least. I love to drive. I had to be a bit careful since the temperature was right at 32 degrees and the roads were slick from the afternoon’s minor ice and snow melt. I would end up driving my Chevy Impala rental car more than 1,000 miles. It was good that I wasn’t driving my own car. The poor trackchasers who must drive their own vehicles are getting hit with massive depreciation and maintenance expenses. I couldn’t afford that on my budget. My error. However, I did make a mistake in settling for a Chevy Impala. I had landed in terminal 2 at MSP after flying with Spirit Airlines. All of the minor airlines are relegated to terminal 2. National Car Rental doesn’t have as broad of a selection of cars at terminal 2 as they do at terminal 2. That’s why I had to take an Impala. That car would give me just 23 M.P.G. or so. I could have rented a Hyundai Sonata (in terminal 1) and gotten 32-35 M.P.G. The difference would have saved me $30-40 in gasoline expense. My error! I will try not to make it again. It pays to have the right travel partners. On Sunday evening I arrived at the Residence Inn in Edina, a suburb of Minneapolis. Recall I had made a Priceline reservation with this hotel for SATURDAY night when I didn’t realize I would be heading to Canada on Sunday. Priceline NEVER lets you change dates even if you’ve made an honest mistake and reserved your room for the wrong day. However, I called the hotel, reminded them I was a PLATINUM member of their frequent stay program, and miraculously the gates to the Red Sea opened. Folks, it pays to know people! They would have no problem honoring my Priceline reservation on Sunday night rather than Saturday night. By the way, I ended up paying just $46 (less than the price of a Motel 6 in the area) for a room that was priced at $109 on the hotel’s website. My two-room suite, which included a cooked breakfast, was delightful. Just a little less flexibility now. With my current airline sponsorship I don’t have the flexibility I had for the past seven years. The number of flights that will take me “to and from” is much more limited. However, in every grey cloud there is a silver lining. In the past, I often had to get up at 4 a.m. to standby for a 6 a.m. flight. In the standby game early flights are usually the easiest to find a seat on. However, with my new airline sponsorship I have two things I didn’t have in the past. Both of them are going to be very positive. First, I have a higher standby priority. That means I’m going to get on some planes ahead of other standby passengers that I wouldn’t have in the past. In several “non-hub” cities there will be only one flight flying into my new hubs. Sunday morning’s flight left Minneapolis at 1:05 p.m. That was wonderful. This meant I could sleep in, have a leisurely hotel breakfast sponsored by the hotel and then go back to the room for awhile and leave at nearly noon. That was nice. Monday. What a place! I had never seen anything like it. On Monday morning I did exactly as planned. I slept in, had breakfast and went back to my room to relax until it was time to head to the airport. However, before I went back to the room I had to check something out about this Residence Inn. I had read about an “indoor park” connected to the hotel. I had never seen something like that before. This indoor park had everything. It was owned and operated by the city of Edina. Don’t miss the pictures on this one. The park had all kinds of play ground equipment for kids. Some crawling spaces went up three stories or more. There was a walking track, a basketball court, a snack bar and much much more. What a place especially for an area with such a harsh winter climate. There was one more unusual thing about this setup. The indoor park served as a connection between two large buildings. One was my hotel the Residence Inn. The other was a 10-story retirement home. As I walked through the park I could see “super seniors” having breakfast in an atmosphere that reminded me of the Ritz-Carlton. Those people must have planned very well! Good on them. It pays to have smart kids who text you with good ideas. While I was relaxing in my room I received a text from son J.J. Before I go any further I must offer this observation and recommendation. If you are not using the benefits of texting I feel badly for you. Would you try to live your life without a car, a phone or a refrigerator? Unless you are Amish (no offense whatsoever to my Amish readers) you are living a pretty sheltered and limited life without texting. If you object to that statement please let me politely say you simply do not know what you are talking about. I am certain there are people who do not have a car, a phone or a refrigerator and think they are living a perfectly fine life. Would YOU be willing to give up those conveniences? Folks, if you don’t text get your head out of the #$%#% sand and walk quietly into the 21st century. J.J. wanted me to spend money. J.J. was texting to recommend that I spend $450 for a one-year airline club membership. Don’t know exactly what an airline club membership is? It’s simply a private club atmosphere located in several major airports around the country and the world. If you are a member you can go into one of these clubs to relax and enjoy the amenities. Often, especially internationally, these clubs have showers for the traveler who has flown overnight to some far flung destination. Keeping the riffraff out. Every club offers there members free food and drink (including alcoholic beverages). Then there’s free Wi-Fi, business services, TV, etc. etc. During my business career I was usually a member of the American Airlines Admirals club. Being a member of just about any private club keeps the “riffraff” out as one woman once told me. At a minimum it would keep those “Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers” from tramping about and that’s a good thing. Was this a good value? However, I am a retired person living on a fixed and by some standards small monthly stipend. I get by but I didn’t think I had the resources to ever join a private airline club again. However J.J., ever the good salesman, made several good points that I had to consider. I would be having layovers all over the country. I could bring two guests with me every time I visited a club. There WAS free food, drink, Wi-Fi and more. Was it worth paying $450 for the year for these benefits? Carol is always telling me “J.J. sure can spend your money for you”. I don’t think that’s a compliment. Luckily, (of course it wasn’t really luck) all of our kids have been able to support themselves since leaving college. Not many parents can say that. The ideas J.J. has for my money don’t benefit him they benefit me. That makes me pretty lucky to get such good advice. You already knew this. Remember I may not be very smart. However, I know a lot of smart people. That makes me smarter. I also take the advice of people. Frankly, I don’t know anyone who takes other people’s good ideas and runs with them (sometimes with minor tweaks) more than I do. He and I exchanged several texts covering club strategies (ours) and how best to “manage” the system. Fathers always try to teach their children “things” when they are growing up. One of the things I taught J.J. was to “manage” systems. He does it very well. Let’s look at the numbers. I started thinking. I would imagine the food and drink I would consume during each airline club visit would be valued at $10 U.S. or so. Buying things in airports is expensive. At $450 for the year I would need to make only 45 stops to break even. On several of those visits Carol would be with me. That would make things pay for themselves twice as fast. Remember I could stop at a club before my first flight of the trip, while I was connecting and after I landed. That’s three opportunities in one day. Then when I was returning I could do the same thing. That’s another three uses for a total of six overall opportunities in just one round-trip itinerary. If Carol was with me that would be TWELVE opportunities. Folks, at this rate the airline club would soon be paying ME to use their services. You’ve got to spend money to make money. I am a strong believer that you do have to spend money to make money. I see so many people who are “tight” with their money. Not wasting your money is a good idea. However, if you don’t spend your money on good values you’re going to have a very basic and mundane lifestyle. In the midst of texting with J.J. I went on line to order my annual airline club membership. Yes, one year would cost me $450. However, THREE years would cost me just $1,050 a $300 savings on an annual basis. If this was a good deal at $450 per year then it was an even better deal at $350 per year. I whipped out my American Express card faster than a speeding bullet and placed my membership order. When the invoice came up they had given me a $50 discount for using my American Express card! Wow. Now my annual cost was just $333. If Carol and I used this benefit 33 times in a year we would be breaking even. You can bet I’ll keep track and led you know when I’m in the red. I don’t think it will take long. TRACKCHASING TOURIST ATTRACTION I very much enjoy the racing when I go on trackchasing trips. However, I am not the type of person who would feel the trip was complete if I simply left home, went to the race and came back home. I do a good deal of traveling. I want to do my best to see the local area when I come for a visit. There are usually unusual attractions that one area is noted for more than any other locale. I want to see those places. I want to touch them and feel them. When I leave an area, I want to have memories of these special places that I call Trackchasing Tourist Attractions. I will remember those experiences long after the checkered flag has fallen on whatever race I have seen that day. Ralph Engelstadt – Grand Forks, North Dakota University of North Dakota vs. Colorado College hockey. This past summer I had the occasion to spend an overnight in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The next day I didn’t have to be anywhere soon so I took the time to tour the city and its offerings. It was a glorious summer weather day in Grand Forks. It was just like San Clemente is virtually every day. I’m talking about 70-75 degrees and sunny with no humidity. Just perfect. Somehow during my tour of the University of North Dakota campus on that summer day I found the Ralph Engelstadt Arena. Wow! I knew that college hockey was big in these parts but this big? My history watching hockey. When the National Hockey League’s Anaheim Mighty Ducks came on the scene Carol and I were season ticket holders during their first three seasons. I never really got into hockey but was angling toward NBA season tickets if a team ever came to Orange County. That has not happened yet and we no longer go to Anaheim hockey games. Nevertheless, I love seeing new stadia (yes, that’s the plural for stadium). I vowed last summer that I would return someday soon to see a hockey game, or is it “match” in Grand Forks? I’ve been to the real Taj Mahal and this IS the “Taj Mahal” of college hockey arenas. The Ralph Engelstad Arena, known as “The Ralph” is often referred to as the “Taj Mahal” of college hockey. List WIKI details. By the way “The Ralph” is not to be confused with “The Betty” which is Ralph’s wife. “The Betty” is UND’s basketball arena. The hockey and basketball venues are attached is one huge brick structure. Can you imagine? Can you imagine any place that gets more than 11,000 fans to attend a regular season college hockey game? I couldn’t. That’s some kind of support. Of course, I didn’t have a ticket. I never buy a ticket in advance to events like this. There is always somebody who has an “extra”. There were no ticket scalpers operating in and around the arena tonight. North Dakota doesn’t support the demographics. Heck, Minneapolis didn’t last night either. I try to keep it simple. Nevertheless, I had my simple blue and white sign that read on one side, “Need 1” and on the other “Need One”. Believe it or not I still get people who come up and ask “Do you need one ticket?” Let’s meet the people of North Dakota. I stood near the entry door to the arena. It was cold and somewhat windy outside not very much like it was last summer. Did I have to stand out in the cold long before getting a ticket offer? Nope. In less than 20 seconds I had an offer. It came from a father who was attending the game with his kids. “I’ve got an extra”, he told me. “It’s down by the glass, just three rows from the ice” he continued. That sounded pretty good to me. “How much do you want for it?” I asked. He came back like any good negotiator would with “How much do you want to pay?” I looked at him and then at his children. He was from North Dakota for gosh sakes. Did I really want to threaten his personal dignity with his children looking on? Did I want him to break down under the pressure of intense personal negotiating. Nah, this wasn’t the time or place. “How does twenty bucks sound?” I asked. “That’s good” he replied. We both breathed a collective sigh of relief. The children had been spared. I had my ticket, from a season ticket holder no less, just three rows from the ice in a sold out arena. I couldn’t beat that. What a crowd. I’ve been to some pretty wild arenas with great crowd support but none better than this one. UND has had some trouble with their school’s nickname formerly the “Fighting Sioux”. Now it seems as if they go by just Sioux. The crowd is loud but well behaved. You would expect that from a place like North Dakota, which borders the “NIMS” region. When the national anthem finishes up with what would normally be the “Home of the brave” the crowd yells “Home of the Sioux”. Then it’s game on. How passionate in all areas of support were these fans? At last night’s NBA Minnesota Timberwolves game the 50/50 pot was about $1,000. Tonight it was more than $14,000! I even bought a chance (three numbers for five bucks) and I never do that. I made a pack with myself. If I won half would go to the grandkids college fund and the other half would go, in $500 increments, to deserving people whom I meet on trips just like this. I didn’t win. Please don’t miss the photos and video clips from tonight’s adventure to Sioux nation. I’m impressed with the passion and enthusiasm of the fans I observed tonight. By the way, the seven-time NCAA champion Sioux came back to win the match tonight 3-2. Rocko Giam was the game’s MVP. Mazenod Road Pond Ice Track – Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada It’s about the journey not the destination. I know that many of my readers are not really racing fans. However, they might enjoy a good travel log story with all of the unusual and interesting things that can happen when one hits the road. I know that many (most?) of my civilian friends can’t really understand the attraction of visiting those “old dirt tracks”. However, most know by now that this hobby is about the journey and not the destination. I love it when people “get it” about my hobby. I suspect that folks who can’t understand the attraction of a good ol’ dirt track REALLY can’t understand the attraction of racing on a frozen lake in frigid weather conditions. #1 on the ice. Despite getting a slow career star with ice racing I now find myself as the World’s #1 ICE Trackchaser with more ice tracks, states, provinces and countries to my ice racing credit than anyone else. Who would have thought a fellow from sunny Southern California would have that distinction? The gateway to Manitoba ice racing is North Dakota. North Dakota is the only Canadian border crossing where I have been required to go to “secondary” as in secondary screening. That’s never a good thing. However, today traveling both directions into Canada went smoothly. I found the track, with only one stop at a nearby convenience store, without much trouble. I arrived just before noon. This was a very good ice racing venue. Today’s racing was taking place on a frozen “redemption pond”. The pond was at the bottom of a bowl like topography. The paddock area (that’s the term for the pit area when watching circuit racing) was at an elevation some 50-75 meters or more above the level of the racing surface. Fans could watch from their vehicles at an equally high level. The ice racing track, like all water based ice racing tracks, was flat. Why? Water, even frozen water often referred to as ice, seeks its own level. I loved the course layout, which was about 1.6 km (I’m guessing) in length. With turns requiring drivers to steer both left and right this was classified as a road course or circuit. Variety is the spice of life. In 2014 the Winnipeg Sports Car Club will race at five different venues. I asked Scott, the club president, “Why so many locations?” He told me it provided the drivers variety. Additionally, most ice courses would get chewed up from one race to the next by the ice racing studs affixed to the racing tires. Therefore the racing surface would be damaged and not suitable for good racing. That made sense to me. I’ve now seen two of their five configurations. We’ll see if I can add anymore this year or not. Now that’s a lot of racing. This group does something I haven’t seen done much at any other ice racing track. Each racer participates in SIX races. That seemed like a lot. There are two classes of racing primarily differentiated by the tires they use. There are studded and non-studded racing tires. The non-studded version are referred to as “rubber to ice” in some places. Each race was scheduled for 12 minutes plus one lap. Those are long races over a course like I saw today. Imagine if you were at your local quarter-mile dirt track. Most competitors could get around an oval in 15-20 seconds. A 12-minute race, without stoppages, would have the oval racers running 30-40 laps. Can you imagine a short track racer running six 30-40 lap races? You won’t see that very often. The studded tire class brought about a dozen race cars. The non-studded class had seven. One of the best things about today’s racing was there were no yellow flags delays. When a car was disabled or stuck in a snow bank only a “corner yellow” was issued. This meant all the drivers kept racing and only slowed a bit when passing through the area of the corner yellow. I liked that. They’ve got some nice folks working with the Winnipeg Sports Car Club. I was looking for my friend Hamish Donaldson. Hamish has stayed in touch with me about Manitoba ice racing for years. Unfortunately, I could only give him somewhat less than 24 hours notice about my plan to come to Canada to see ice racing. When I inquired about his whereabouts I was told he was at next week’s track plowing the surface. However, it was my good fortune to run into the club’s president. Scott recommended I go down into the bowl so I could get some close up pictures of the racing. Thanks Scott. From here I could get within a few feet of the high speed race cars. That was fun. The corner works were nice guys too. The first fellow I met was a bit concerned about my personal safety. I appreciated that. I did tell him I had seen racing at 1,925 different tracks in an effort to allay his fears. Was that effective? You be the judge. He went to get me a fluorescent green vest. These folks have it together. The Winnipeg Sports Car Club does an excellent job with their ice racing. They bring a good amount of professional high-speed racers. The program is well-organized and well-run. Amenities at ice racing events are normally on the “slim” side. There were porta-potties in the paddock area. However, there was no spectator announcing or concessions that I saw. All of that is to be expected at an ice racing event. My original trip had been planned for two nights out with one track to be seen. However, when I found out about the Winnipeg racing that trip turned into being three nights out for two new tracks. Considering I was also able to add two major Trackchasing Tourist Attractions the trip was filled with fun and action from the time I landed in Minneapolis until I left. As always if you want to really see what the racing was like you need to watch my racing action video. You’ll find that and much of the touring activity hiding behind the “Video” and “Pictures” tabs. PROVINCE COMPARISONS Winnipeg The Manitoba Province This afternoon I was seeing just my 4th lifetime track in Manitoba. However, I’ll be back most likely for more ice racing. 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 Manitoba sayings: When we die we become “stories” in the minds of other people.
QUICK FACTS AIRPLANE Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Minneapolis, MN (MSP) – 1,535 miles RENTAL CAR #1 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – trip begins Rush City, MN Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – trip ends – 1,046 miles AIRPLANE Minneapolis, MN (MSP) – Seattle, WA (SEA) – 1,503 miles Seattle, WA (SEA) –Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – 958 miles Total air miles – 3,996 (3 flights) Total rental car miles – 1,046 (1 car) Total miles traveled on this trip – 5,045 miles TRACK ADMISSION PRICES: Rush City Ice Track – Zero Mazenod Road Pond Ice Track – Zero Total racetrack admissions for the trip – What else? Zero! 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 350 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me. 1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,925 Total Trackchasing Countries There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total. 1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 67 Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results 1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 4.96 That’s all folks! Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report 
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Believe you me, this picture looks a lot like my drive to work!
SL