McLean County Speedway

Dirt oval

 Lifetime track #1,445

 

Reprinted with permission from my Thursday, June 11, 2009, Trackchaser Report. 

 

THE CLASSIC TRACKCHASER REPORT

 

Editor’s note: This is a CLASSIC Trackchaser Report. What the heck does “Classic” mean? It’s simply a Trackchaser Report that comes from my trackchasing archives. Typically these will be stories from tracks I visited five years or ten years or more ago.

 

For whatever reason (usually not enough time) this trackchasing adventure didn’t get posted to my website when I first made the track visit. Often a classic TR will not have a video and/or photo album attached. I didn’t begin producing my YouTube videos until 2009 (YouTube channel: RANLAY). I didn’t begin writing a complete Trackchaser Report until I had seen about 425 tracks. This was during the 2000 trackchasing season. Photo albums were sort of hit or miss during the early years of my trackchasing. Additionally, if you see a website link know that link worked when the TR was originally written. Will it work now? Your guess is as good as mine! Nevertheless, this CLASSIC Trackchaser Report has finally bubbled to the surface and is now available for everyone to see at www.randylewis.org. I hope you enjoy it.

 

I AM A TRACKCHASER.

My name is Randy Lewis (above North Dakota native Dustin Mcleod helps with my carpool lane stickers). I hail from the sleepy little village by the sea, San Clemente, California. I am a “trackchaser”. I trackchase. Have you ever in your life heard of “trackchasing”? I didn’t think so. 

  

I live in southern California. That’s probably the most inconvenient location in the country for seeing tracks in the U.S. Most of the racetracks in the U.S. are located well over 1,000 miles from where I live. My average trip covers 5,000 miles and more. I take 35-40 of those trips each season. In any given year I will travel well over 200,000 miles, rent more than 50 cars, and stay in more than 150 hotel rooms. 

 

I get the chance to meet people from all over the world. With trackchasing trips to 85 countries and counting just getting the chance to experience so many unique cultures, spend time in the homes of my friends and meet so many people is a huge reward for being in this hobby. I am indebted to several of these folks for their help and friendship.

  

Once you begin researching my trip itineraries from my website, yes you will want to do that, you will be surprised. One day I’ll be in Tucson, the next in maybe Tuscaloosa and the following day in Syracuse. I do that kind of thing all the time. Figuring out the logistics of a trip like that is as much fun for me as watching a figure 8 race.

 

Now you know a little bit about my trackchasing addiction. When you receive one of my Trackchaser Reports or find one on my website at www.randylewis.org I hope you will take the time to imagine in your mind what it took to make this trip from SoCal and understand the fun I had doing it.

   

There you have it. That’s trackchasing…the way I do it. Do others trackchase? Absolutely. Do they share their experiences? Sorry. They don’t. If you want to see the true “essence” of trackchasing you’ve come to the right place.

  

Today’s adventure was one more of the 2,000 trips that have taken me up, down and around the proverbial long and dusty trackchasing trail.  If you would like to see where I’ve been and experience those adventures here’s the link:

Randy’s Complete Track List

  

If you’ve got a question, comment or whatever please leave it at the bottom of this report.  It’s very easy to do.  Or you can visit me on Facebook.  Thanks!

  

Randy on Facebook

 

FOREWORD

 

Thursday, June 11, 2009.

 

“JUST A DAY TRIP TO NORTH DAKOTA” TRACKCHASING TOUR

 

Greetings from Underwood, North Dakota,

 

TODAY’S HEADLINES

I trackchased in North Dakota tonight for just one reason. …………..details in “The Objective”.

 

I faced so many obstacles I probably shouldn’t have even done this trip……………….more in “The Trip”.

 

The people were great as they always are.…………..details in “The People”.

Today would be a real challenge to get from San Clemente, California to Underwood, North Dakota. On day #2 of this trip, I reversed the path and hustled back to San Clemente just in time for the weekend’s family festivities. This is what transpired on day #1 and day #2 of my 17^th flying trip of the 2009 season.

 

THE OBJECTIVE, THE TRIP, THE PEOPLE…AND A WHOLE LOT MORE

 

The Objective 

I traveled to North Dakota for one reason….to get two lifetime National Geographic Diversity (NGD) points.

 

Folks in the know thought I was crazy to take on reigning and four-time lifetime NGD champion, Gordon Killian for the 2009 NGD title.  They said there was no way I could compete with his powerful East coast trackchasing conglomerate.  He has drivers to move him around.  He has people paying his gas and hotel monies.  I, on the other hand, had no one to drive me around except for a little 100-pounder that traveled with me occasionally.  I had nobody paying my way.  I paid it all!

Today’s trip to North Dakota will be a case in point to support those that doubted my ability to even compete with the perennial NGD champion.  If I were successful in North Dakota today I would pick up two valuable NGD points.  Remember, I only lost the 2008 lifetime NGD title by three points and that’s spread over the rankings of 50 states and the District of Columbia.

 

Please take a moment to look at “The Trip” section of this report.  I had so many obstacles to contend with, I should never have even attempted the trip.  As late as bedtime last night, I was seriously considering canceling.  No one would have known.  However, every NGD point is valuable.  Come the end of the season, these two points might make the difference.

 

The Trip

I don’t know which of these obstacles was the biggest potential hindrance to this trip’s success.

 

Airplane availability.

I know that you continually hear how I barely got on this airplane or that one.  I’ve only missed getting on airplanes since I’ve been flying standby, three times.  In every one of those cases, the seat availability looked bad and it was.  Today’s flight to North Dakota looked very bad.

 

My first flight took me from Los Angeles to Denver.  The flight had been “wide open” all week.  However, airline employees and fellow dependents often “book” at the last minute.  The flight had 27 open seats but 27 people were listed on a standby basis.  That would make a full flight if everybody showed up.  However, this flight was not terribly concerning.  There is always some 5-10% (usually) who don’t show up.  I got on the flight to Denver with no major problems, although I did have to leave the house at 3:44 a.m. to make the 6 a.m. departure.

Getting to North Dakota would be another bag of beans.  From Denver, only smaller regional jets fly to places in North Dakota.  These planes seat just 50 passengers.  I had two North Dakota destinations that would work for this trip.  I could fly to Fargo (600 miles of round-trip driving once I landed) or Bismarck (108 miles of round-trip driving).  If you picked Bismarck as the preferred choice, you were voting with me.  However, the flight to Fargo had better availability.

 

The night before the flight, the plane going to Fargo was booked beyond capacity by three seats with two people flying standby.  The Bismarck flight looked worse.  It was overbooked by six (capacity = 50) with one standby passenger.  When I analyze these flights, I always have to assume I will be at the bottom of the standby list.

 

Would they race?

During the week, I called the track to get some details about this mid-week county fair enduro race.  The woman I talked to told me they would be racing at 7 p.m. on Thursday night.  However, I pressed the conversation a bit further as I am apt to do. 

 

I mentioned that I was coming all the way from California.  Was there anything that might come up that would cancel the race I asked?  With that question on the table, she didn’t feel quite as confident about things.  She gave me another phone number to call for more information.

I called this number and reached a man named “Bob”.  I explained to Bob what I was up to with my trackchasing.  I always feel a little “lame” during this explanation period.  I mean let’s think about this.  If you’re sitting in your office in North Dakota or North Carolina or Northern Ireland for that matter, how often do you get a call from a guy thousands of miles away who travels the world going to little tracks just like the one you manage. Does “never” sound like the correct answer?

 

Bob explained there was one slight problem.  They only had four enduro cars signed up for the race.  I spoke to Bob just 36 hours before race time.  He explained that the poor advance car registration was not unusual.  Apparently, the $25 savings for signing up early was not enough of a motivator.  He told me in the past they had poor pre-signups and still had 15-25 cars racing.  I will tell you this.  If I were in the economic group of most enduro stock car racers, I would be all over the chance to save $25 on my entry fee. 

Could I get a rental car in North Dakota?

I preferred to fly into Bismarck.  It would save me 400 miles of driving.  If I flew in and out of Fargo, I would have to drive 5-6 hours after the finish of the race at 9 p.m.  My return to home flight would be departing at 6 a.m. on Friday morning.  There would not even be enough time to get a hotel.  I would have to “catnap” for 2-3 hours on the way to the airport from the racetrack in overnight temperatures that would reach into the 40s.

 

I had a solution.  I would try to fly into Fargo (that airport had the best availability) and then drop the car in Bismarck.  That would save about 250 miles of driving.  This is when I learned that North Dakota is not Los Angeles.  It’s not even Birmingham, Alabama.  My preferred car company, and only rental company where I can get a free one-way rental, didn’t even have an office in Bismarck.  Oh, my.

 

Family commitments provided even more boundaries on this trip.

My immediate and extended family is one of the larger ones in the hobby of trackchasing.  With that comes more weddings, birthdays, outings and celebrations.  This coming weekend is the first birthday celebration of the two most beautiful and brightest grandkids to ever come down the pike. Yes, I’m talking about James and Kristy’s little rug rats, Astrid and Mitchell.  Can you believe they will be one year old already?

This celebration knocked out trackchasing for me over the weekend of June 13-14.  My brother, Mark (above), was coming in from Phoenix for the celebration.  He would join me for an Angels’ baseball game on Friday night, June 12.  That meant I would have to leave North Dakota (flying standby no less) on Friday morning.  If all went well I would land about three hours before Mark did.

 

On the other hand, if things did not go well logistically……oh my.  I didn’t even want to think about what would happen if things did not go well.  I couldn’t bring myself to even tell my brother that I was in a life or death NGD struggle with a fellow who calls himself “The Breadman”.  I might end up missing the Angels ball game.  Heaven forbid, I might end up missing the twins’ big birthday party.  And what would I be missing this special onetime only event for?…….a potential four-car enduro.  Oh, my.

 

What finally happened?

First of all, I made my flight from Los Angeles to Denver.  I expected too.  When I got to Denver, the gate agent told me my chances of getting on the flight to Bismarck were better than getting on the flight to Fargo.  She told me to sit tight.  I was the only person standing by for this trip.  I made it.  Actually, there were about five seats open when the flight departed.

It wasn’t long before I was landing in Bismarck, North Dakota.  Did you know Bismarck is the capital of this state?  Their airport sure is tiny.  It’s newer but only has four gates.  I could run from one end of the building to the other in about ten seconds…..or so.

 

I needed a rental car.  My limited advance research told me that a one-day rental of an economy car would be about $85.  Ouch!  There are only three rental car companies in the Bismarck Airport.  Hertz, Enterprise and Avis were the three.  I had envisioned getting to the airport and having a vicious bidding war break out amongst all of the car companies trying to get my business.  They would all be yelling like they do in “the pit” of the Wall Street Stock market.  Soon I would select the low bidder and drive off in a Cadillac for $9.99 a day.

This did not happen.  I walked up to the Avis counter and asked if they had a car.  No, they did not.  The agent proudly told me they were sold out until July 18.  Heck, that was seven days from now.  What really peeved me was the way the agent seemed so proud that their cars were in such demand that I couldn’t have one for at least a week.  I moseyed over to Hertz and Enterprise.  Did they have a car?  They weren’t as obnoxious as Avis, but they didn’t have any cars either.  Later questioning would provide some answers to the rental car shortage.  It turns out the devastating North Dakota floods of early April had brought all manner of government and FEMA workers to the area.  They had all the rental cars.

 

I have been trained since I was in my teenage years, not to take “no” for an answer.  This approach sometimes annoys Carol.  However, she has come to enjoy the benefits attached to my never taking no for an answer and no longer chides me for this approach.

 

I quietly went over to a corner of the small airport.  I had to stay out of sight of the rental car counters.  From there I went online and tried www.priceline.com, www.sidestep.com and www.carrentals.com.  My best hope was Priceline.  However, Priceline often does not allow a rental car bid only hours before the car is to be picked up.  They don’t want characters like me landing at the airport and trying to get Priceline to beat the price of an existing reservation.  I hate it when people use the same tactics I use to prevent me from “working the system”.

 

I needed a car and was willing to pay just about any price.  Carrentals.com came back and offered up an Avis economy car for the less than princely sum of $84.99.  To rub salt in the wound I could only drive the car 200 miles in the one day I had it.  Any miles over that limit would cost me $0.19 per mile.  Luckily, I only expected to drive about 135 miles in total.

 

I copied down my Avis confirmation number and triumphantly walked back to Avis.  Fortunately, the woman who was proud to tell me they didn’t have any cars for a week was now off duty.  I got an older woman.  I told her I was here to pick up my car. 

 

She wrinkled up her nose and said, “YOU have a reservation?”.  Although that tone did not sound friendly (mainly because it wasn’t), I told her that yes I did and gave her my confirmation number.  “I can’t believe you have a car.  We don’t have your name and these are the only people with advance reservations”, she said.  I implored her to look in her computer for my confirmation number.  Yes, I had a car.  The woman kept shaking her head in disbelief.  I could only assume she had never run into anyone like the “World’s #1 Ranked Trackchaser”.

I made a quick call to the track’s promoter, Bob.  He was more confident they would have a few more cars.  They only had four “firm” cars but had been receiving inquiries from several other race teams.  I asked him if they would race with only four cars.  He was adamant.  “We’re racing no matter what…….unless it rains” he told me.  Then he went on to describe in some detail the rain chances for the evening.  He made a 30% rain chance sound like Hurricane Katrina was about ready to descend on North Dakota.

 

The People

 

When was the last time you talked to a “carnie?”.

Once I landed in Bismarck it was a 50-mile drive up to the track in Underwood, North Dakota.  The weather was threatening.  It began to rain when I was just five miles from the track.  I have not been rained out during the entire 2009 season.  I didn’t want to be rained out tonight.

Tonight’s enduro racing was being run in conjunction with the McLean County Fair.  The fair had a small carnival.  Since I arrived early, I took a brief walking tour of the fairgrounds.  With the early hour and poor weather, the carnival wasn’t doing any business yet.

 

I took this opportunity to spend a few minutes talking to a “carnie”.  A “carnie” is a carnival worker who travels the county fair and state fair circuit all year.  The man I talked to was manning the ticket booth to the carnival’s freak show.  For a shilling or two, I could see “Tyrone, the giant rat” or the “World’s smallest horse” or even a “two-headed snake”.  I took the opportunity to just converse with a man who had probably seen it all in his life.

“Chuck,” told me he was more of a circus worker than a carnival worker.  He had worked in the circus for more than 30 years.  Of course, that was before they played Norfolk, Virginia home to PETA headquarters.  I guess the PETA people didn’t like the way the circus treated the elephants and shut the circus down.  From that point forward, the circus business took a hit and my new friend migrated to the carnival.  He told me that the carnival business wasn’t too bad considering the overall economy.  He figured that local people saved a few bucks by coming out to the county fair as opposed to taking long driving vacations.

 

I had the race director on my side.

The next person I met up with was Bob Rosselli.  Bob was an Italian whose card says he goes by the name of “Rosie” but I knew him as “Bob”.  He sells cars for a living but also runs the local racing organization.  I had talked to him a couple of times on the phone, trying to get more details about tonight’s racing event.

Bob was glad to see me.  I think he felt somewhat obligated to make sure the races were run, despite the weather.  He was pulling for me to add another track to my list.  Bob made sure I met the key people and that they looked out for me.  He and others provided a pit pass so I could get some good photos for all of you to see.  Bob doesn’t like enduro races, compared to their weekly programs, but the enduros are a financial winner.  He may add another enduro to the schedule later in the year.  Bob, thank you very much for your help tonight.

 

Would you like to have an oil well in your backyard?

I also spent several minutes talking with Ron Jones.  If trackchaser Ed Esser has a twin brother, it might be Ron Jones!  Ron and I talked about the local economy and lifestyle in North Dakota.  Ron told me the North Dakota economy is doing quite well because of oil.  Apparently, many people are becoming very wealthy when oil companies drill for oil on local resident’s private properties.  It was fun spending the evening with Ron.

 

Several other people including Judy at the pit shack, the track’s announcer and an 81-year old hobby stock driver came up to talk.  Yes, folks from small towns can be very friendly.  Since I’m from a relatively small town, I can talk “small town” with the best of them.  The people I met tonight were great.

 

RACE REVIEW

MCLEAN COUNTY SPEEDWAY, UNDERWOOD, NORTH DAKOTA

 

Forty-five and oh!

I am a lucky trackchaser.  I had now seen 45 new tracks this year without a single rainout.  Tonight I came close to being rained out for the first time in 2009.  It did rain as I approached the track from just five miles away.  Then 30 minutes before the program was to begin, while I was indoors looking at a county fair 4-H exhibit, a solid shower came down. Throughout the race, my iPhone weather radar showed rain cells to the north, west and east of the track’s location.  The race ended at 8:45 p.m.  The track area was in the middle of solid green radar at 10 p.m.  Yes, I was lucky to escape a rainout.

The McLean County Speedway hosts the enduro racers just once a year during the fair.  They benefit from the advertising the fair does to get their best crowd of the year.  One of the fair board members told me that tonight’s revenues will “make” their racing year.

 

Although only four cars had taken advantage of the pre-entry $100 entry fee, a total of seventeen cars took the green flag.  The fourteen entries that did not pre-enter paid a $125 entry fee.  The race was scheduled to pay $1,000 to win based upon 30 cars racing.  I suspect the purse was reduced based upon the lower car count.

The race started 20 minutes later than the scheduled start time of 7 p.m.  The enduro race would be for 200 laps or two hours whichever came first.  The drivers were instructed during the driver’s meeting that this would be a “no contact” event.  Violators would be penalized five laps for each offense.

 

In order to finish first, first, you must finish.

Overheating seemed to be a big problem for these enduro stock cars.  For the first half of the race, only 10-11 cars were on the track at any one time.  The rest were in the pits adding liquid to their radiators!  By the race’s end there were just five cars running.

During the race, two cars flipped in separate accidents.  The race was red-flagged during these accidents.  No one was hurt and the racing continued.

I was surprised to see that this track, which has been managed by the McLean County Racing Association racing club for the past 20 years, does not have lights.  Tonight sunset did not come until about 9:40 p.m. The lights were not needed.

 

The track offered some quality concessions with a pork rib and potato salad special for $5.50.  I went with the smallest item in terms of quantity, the track hot dog, and shared my banana bread with Ron Jones.  This followed a treat of peach pie (my server and I both thought it was apple pie!) and vanilla ice cream.  It wasn’t a great night for the calorie-conscious but, heck, this is the beginning of county fair season.

Overall, I had a good time tonight.  First, there was a solid NGD point gain.  Secondly, I had to overcome some significant obstacles to get here and see the race.  Thirdly, and most importantly I met some great people that were fun to talk too and watch the race with.  I was very pleased with my visit to Underwood, North Dakota.

 

STATE COMPARISONS

North Dakota

This evening I saw my ninth lifetime track in North Dakota.  I have a very specific strategy for 2009, designed to maximize my lifetime National Geographic Diversity standing.  I am now tied for fourth place with Rick Schneider.  I entered the evening tied with fellow NGD competitor Gordon Killian for fifth place.  Now, I am in fourth and Gordon is in sixth in North Dakota.  That’s a valuable two NGD point swing. 

 

I was in North Dakota for just 16 hours.  We’re talking “pinpoint airstrikes” baby!  Jack Erdmann leads the state with 16 tracks.  I have just three countable tracks in ND that I have not seen.  North Dakota will now go off my NGD radar screen as I don’t have much to gain at this point in time.

 

RENTAL CAR UPDATE

 

Bismarck, ND – Thursday/Friday

My Avis rental car was expensive, but I was lucky to get it.  I stayed under their 200-mile driving limit.  This experience reminded me to better manage my rental car reservations when trackchasing in small towns.

Coming soon!

Why I fear Ed Esser. (Coming, hopefully, by June 30, 2009).

 

My six-month trackchasing budget results (coming July 2009)

 

My objective is to be a balanced trackchaser in eleven key trackchasing comparisons (more info coming in Trackchaser Report #1,454)

 

How do fellow P&G retirees really think? (Coming in Trackchaser Report #1,464)

 

TRAVEL DETAILS

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA – Denver, CO – 861 miles

Denver, CO – Bismarck, ND – 517 miles

 

RENTAL CAR

Bismarck Airport – trip begins

Underwood, ND – 60 miles

Bismarck Airport – 111 miles – trip ends

 

AIRPLANE

Bismarck, ND – Denver, CO – 517 miles

Denver, CO – Los Angeles, CA –861 miles

 

Total Air miles – 2,756 (4 flights) 

 

Total auto and air miles traveled on this trip – 2,867 miles

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

McLean County Speedway – $5 fair admission (complimentary pit pass)

 

Total racetrack admissions for the trip – $5

 

COMPARISONS

 

LIFETIME NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY STANDINGS

Past Champions

2003 – Allan Brown

2004 – Gordon Killian

2005 – Gordon Killian

2006 – Gordon Killian

2007 – Randy Lewis

2008 – Gordon Killian

 

Top 10 – Final 2008 lifetime National Geographic Diversity standings.

 

1. Gordon Killian, Sinking Spring, PA – 5.96
2. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, CA – 6.02
3. Allan Brown, Comstock Park, MI – 7.98
4. Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 8.33
5. Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 9.16
6. Rich Schneider, Bay Shore, NY – 9.33
7. Andy Sivi, Clairton, Pennsylvania – 9.59
8. Jack Erdmann, DePere, Wisconsin – 10.61
9. John Moore, Knoxville, Tennessee – 10.76
10. Will White, Quakertown, PA – 11.90

 

Current 2009 lifetime NGD leader board

Note:  When a trackchaser improves his or her state ranking that reduces the NGD score.  The objective is to get a low score.  As an example, by improving from sixth to fourth in a particular state the NGD score goes from six to four.  That equates to a net change of -2.  Conversely, when a trackchaser falls in the state rankings from seventh to tenth, the NGD score goes from 7 to 10, a net change of +3.

 

As an example, when you see “Alabama -6” that means the trackchaser has improved his state ranking in Alabama by six positions.  If the scorecard reads “Alabama +4”, the chaser has fallen by four positions in that state.  Notably, an individual trackchaser’s ranking is affected by any other trackchaser that moves ahead of him/her.

 

Randy Lewis – current score = 5.43 (tracks posted thru June 11)

2009 changes

Connecticut -6

Maine -6

New Hampshire -11

North Dakota -1

Ohio +1

Rhode Island – 8

Texas +1

Net changes -30

 

Gordon Killian – current score = 5.86 (tracks posted thru May 15)

2009 changes

Georgia -6

New Jersey +1

North Dakota +1

Ohio -1

Rhode Island -1

South Carolina +2

Net changes -4

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS UPDATE:

 

There are no trackchasers currently within 200 tracks of my lifetime total. 

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,445

 

Other notables

These worldwide trackchasers are within 10 tracks (plus or minus or more) of Carol’s current trackchaser total.

 

26. Kevin Eckert, Indianapolis, Indiana – 460

 

27. Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 392

 

28. Ken Schrader, Concord, North Carolina – 374

 

2009 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS

Lifetime track totals in (  ).

 

1. Bing Metz, Tatamy, Pennsylvania – 48 (359)

 

2. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 45 (1,445)

 

UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS

There will not be any trackchasing for me this coming weekend.  The entire time will be spent with family.  My brother Mark will come over from Arizona.  Then the family will congregate for the big celebration.  I’m talking about birthday #1 for our grandbabies, Astrid and Mitch.  Pictures to follow!!

 

RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2009

1,401. Death Valley Raceway (oval), Armargosa Valley, Nevada – January 3

 

1,402. Lake Weyauwega Ice Track (oval), Weyauwega, Wisconsin – January 11

 

1,403. Marion Pond Ice Track (oval), Marion, Wisconsin – January 11

 

1,404. Grandvalira Circuit (road course), Port d’Envalira, Andorra – January 17

 

1,405. Kuna International Raceway (oval), Kuna, Idaho – January 25

 

1,406. Circuito Efren Chemolli (oval), Buenos Aires, Argentina – January 31

 

Ozark Empire Fairgrounds (oval), Springfield, Missouri – February 6 (new track for Carol only)

 

Lake Speed Ice Track (oval), Tilleda, Wisconsin – February 7 (new track for Carol only)

 

1,407. DeltaPlex (oval), Grand Rapids, Michigan – February 8

 

1,408. Losail International Circuit (road course), Doha, Qatar – February 13

 

1,409. Lake Washington Ice Track (road course), Mankato, Minnesota – February 15

 

1,410. Bahrain International Circuit (road course), Sakhir, Bahrain – February 27

 

1,411. Dubai Autodrome (road course), Dubai, United Arab Emirates – February 28

 

1,412. Dunkin Donuts Center (oval), Providence, Rhode Island – March 6

 

1,413. Fur Rondy Grand Prix (road course), Anchorage, Alaska – March 8

 

1,414. Perris Auto Speedway (road course), Perris, California – March 14

 

1,415. Autodromo de Tocancipa (road course), Tocancipa, Colombia – March 22

 

1,416. Motorland Aragon (road course), Alcaniz, Spain – March 28

 

1,417. Circuto de Murca (road course), Murca, Portugal – March 29

 

1,418. High Plains Speedway (oval), Clovis, New Mexico – April 19

 

1,419. Flomaton Speedway (oval), Flomaton, Alabama – April 22

 

1,420. Kapelluhraum (road course), Hafnafjorour, Iceland – April 25, 2009

 

1,421. Monadnock Speedway (oval), Winchester, New Hampshire – April 25, 2009

 

1,422. Berlin Lions Club Fairgrounds (oval), Berlin, Connecticut – April 26, 2009

 

1,423. Tri-State Speedway (oval), Amarillo, Texas – May 1, 2009

 

1,424. Uranium Capital Speedway (oval), Milan, New Mexico – May 2, 2009

 

1,425. Speedworld Off-Road Circuit (road course), Surprise, Arizona – May 3, 2009

 

1,426. Hungaroring (road course), Mogyorod, Hungary – May 8, 2009

 

1,427. Hoch Ybrig (road course), Hock Ybrig, Switzerland – May 9, 2009

 

1,428. Vighizzolo d’Este Stock Car Track (road course), Vighizzolo d’Este, Italy – May 10, 2009

 

1,429. Siskiyou Motor Speedway (oval), Yreka, California – May 16, 2009

 

1,430. Delbert’s Memorial Raceway (oval), Lakeport, California – May 17, 2009

 

1,431. Canaan Dirt Speedway (oval), Canaan, New Hampshire – May 22, 2009

 

1,432. New Hampshire International Speedway (road course), Loudon, New Hampshire – May 23, 2009

 

1,433. Bear Ridge Speedway (oval), Bradford, Vermont – May 23, 2009

 

1,434. Riverside Speedway (oval), Groveton, New Hampshire – May 23, 2009

 

1,435. Quic Raceway (oval), Tiverton, Rhode Island – May 24, 2009

 

1,436. Seekonk Speedway (figure 8), Seekonk, Massachusetts – May 25, 2009 (Carol added Seekonk Speedway oval to hear track list)

 

1,437. Lee USA Speedway (oval), Lee, New Hampshire – May 29, 2009

 

1,438. Pomfret Speedway (oval), Pomfret, Connecticut – May 30, 2009

 

1,439. Route 106 Race Park (oval), Pembroke, New Hampshire – May 30, 2009

 

1,440. Sugar Hill Speedway (oval), Weare, New Hampshire – May 31, 2009

 

1,441. Unity Raceway (oval), Unity, Maine – June 5, 2009

 

1,442. Get-Er-Done Raceway (oval), Skowhegan, Maine – June 6, 2009

 

1,443. Thundering Valley Speedway (oval), St. Albans, Maine – June 6, 2009

 

Oxford Plains Speedway (oval), Oxford, Maine – June 6, 2009 (new track for Carol only)

 

1,444. Spud Speedway (oval), Caribou, Maine – June 7, 2009

 

1,445. McLean County Speedway (oval), Underwood, North Dakota – June 11, 2009

 

 

Official end of RANLAY Racing Trackchaser Report

 

You might have remembrances about this track.  If so, please feel free to share your memories in the comments section below.  If you have any photos from back in the day, send them to me at Ranlay@yahoo.com.  I’ll try to include them here.

 

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

 

I’m still trackchasing out of a tiny three-car garage in the faraway but sunny seaside village of San Clemente, California.

 

 

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.  You can view the album slide by slide or click on the “slide show” icon for a self-guided tour of today’s trackchasing adventure.

 

Check out North Dakota and tonight’s enduro pit area!