Greetings from Riverside, California
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From the travels and adventures of the “World’s #1 Trackchaser”
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Lifetime Track #1,940
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I had a busy week this week…………..more in “The Details”. Who wouldn’t want to spend the day with his five-year-old grandson?………….more in “The Details”. No tickets; no problem………….more in “The Details”. Sold out!………….more in “Attractions”. Everyone should avoid Arizona Wildcat fans………….more in “Attractions”. I don’t take long to make decisions and act on them.…..details in “Race Review”. So what’s a ‘moto’?…..details in “Race Review”. Three Hands Racing……details in “Race Review”. I have a very busy schedule. I woke up this morning in San Clemente, California. I went to bed in San Clemente as well. I don’t get to say that very often. Here is how the day worked out. I would be the first to admit it. I keep a very busy schedule. I think that’s the way retirement life should be. No expectations. Up until about 20 minutes before I left for today’s track I had ZERO expectations of doing any trackchasing today. That should give you some indication of how “flexible” my trackchasing schedule is. I had a busy week this week. My week’s plan called for golf in San Diego with my Delta Sigma Pi college fraternity brothers on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. That would be followed by a day of NASCAR Nationwide racing at the Auto Club Speedway on Saturday with my grandson Mitchell. Then on Sunday Carol and I would go out to the Auto Club Speedway to see NASCAR’s top division, Sprint Cup race. The plan is the plan and not much more. Of course, that was the plan. If you’ve read my reports for very long you know the plan changes more often than not. This plan would change but only for the last day of this five-day entertainment extravaganza. WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY Lifelong friends are hard to come by. I’ve been lucky enough to play in these annual fraternity golf outings for nearly 20 years. For the most part we rotate between Southern California and Las Vegas. However, we have traveled to Florida and South Carolina as well. I was able to help out my brothers with some Priceline.com hotel savings. Mssrs. Hammer, Kozak, Skonicki, Thompson and Vorel joined in. I met each of these Chicago area natives when we all went to school back at Northern Illinois University nearly 50 years ago! Despite having only played golf twice in the past five months I was reasonably happy with my scores of 89, 85 and 84. It’s not what I used to shoot but golf is a game of proper repetition and I don’t have much recent repetition. SATURDAY Who wouldn’t want to spend the day with his five-year-old grandson? On Saturday morning I hustled up from San Diego to Pasadena, a distance of 130 miles. There was a brief stop in San Clemente to grab a child’s car seat. Then when I arrived in Pasadena I picked up my grandson Mitch for our first ever circle track race outing. From the back seat on the way to the Auto Club Speedway Mitch reminded me this was actually our second race together as I had taken him to a “monster truck race” early last year. Of course, he was referring to our historic visit to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the Robby Gordon Super Truck Series. Today Mitch and I were going to see the NASCAR Nationwide series featuring NASCAR’s second tier of stock cars. I noticed a good deal of families bringing their kids to the track today. I understood their motives. The crowds and ticket prices are smaller for this preliminary race. No tickets; no problem. We didn’t have any tickets when we arrived at the track. I had enrolled Mitch and his twin sister Astrid in the speedway’s “Kid’s Club”. This entitled them to free admission with an adult for today’s race. I would need a ticket as well. General admission prices were $30. As soon as we parked a ticket “reseller” aka scalper asked me to buy a GA ticket for “just the face value on the ticket” which was thirty dollars. I’m sure he had paid much less and maybe even gotten that general admission ticket for free. I brushed him aside by saying, “No thanks, I’m going to buy a ticket for just ten dollars or so”. His reply was “You know what you’re doing don’t you? Have a good day”. Yes, he was right. In this instance I did know what I was doing. Mitch and I made the long walk to the track’s ticket window. There were not many people selling any extra tickets. However, I continued to hold one finger high in the air, while Mitch circled me waiting for us to enter. Of course, the “one finger in the air” is the universal signal that I needed one ticket. In about five minutes a young man came up and said, “I’ve got an extra ticket. Give me ten bucks so I can buy a beer and we’re good”. Considering tickets were selling for three times that at the ticket window and there weren’t that many “other” tickets being sold by individuals I agreed to his price without even making a counter offer. Then Mitch and I were headed inside. Today’s race. Today’s race would be for 150 laps which was 300 miles around the 2.0-mile asphalt oval. I had not seen racing at this track since it’s inaugural season in 1997. Back in ’97 Carol and I saw Jeff Gordon win in NASCAR’s then “Winston Cup” division. She and I returned there in the fall to see Mark Blundell (what happened to him?) win the Indycar race at the California Speedway. For that matter what happened to Indycar racing? We had plenty of time to walk the grounds. NASCAR does a great job of having race cars on display. Even the race car haulers are brightly painted with the drivers and the sponsors all decked out. Mitch has long been a Kyle Busch support (I can’t stand Kyle!) possibly because of his M&Ms sponsorship? How much racing can a five year old take? Three hundred miles of stock car racing on a warm day in the sun is a lot for a 5-year old. My plan was to have us “take a walk” after 50 laps to check out the souvenirs. At that point I would judge Mitch’s interest in staying. As planned we headed out of the grandstands at about the 50-lap mark. It was loud and we were having a hard time talking to each other. As we walked out I could see tears on his face. I stopped and asked what was wrong. He told me “I don’t want to leave yet”. We returned to the grandstand and stayed through the checkered flag! Every young fan needs a souvenir. On the way out of the track we stopped to check out the souvenirs. Mitch selected a black #3 Dale Earnhardt Sr. replica car in 1/24th scale. Then we jointly picked out a rainbow colored teddy bear with an “Auto Club Speedway” vest on it for Astrid. By the way Astrid and I will be doing a grandfather/granddaughter activity later. From there Mitch and I headed to the parking lot. On the way home we made a stop at McDonalds for a chocolate sundae. It was a great grandfather and grandson outing. We had a fun time. Sold out! By the way, great news was coming from the Auto Club Speedway. Today they announced that tomorrow’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race was sold out. Wikipedia tells me the place seats 84,000. Auto racing is not all that popular with the masses in SoCal. I guess the National Football League isn’t either since we haven’t had a team in 15 years. Selling out the Auto Club Speedway is a major accomplishment. SUNDAY Auto Club Speedway not really what I was looking for. Today’s plan was for me to return with Carol to the Auto Club Speedway for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race. I figured it was time for a follow-up visit since the last time I had seen Cup racing was in 1997. However, after seeing yesterday’s race I was reconsidering. I had enjoyed the last 15 laps of yesterday’s race. Three drivers (Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick) put on a great show passing and re-passing each other in a tight pack. Larson ended up winning. However, the Auto Club Speedway and 2-mile tracks in general are not my favorite. When the cars are on the backstretch they can hardly be seen. Then when they race down the front stretch next to the wall I can’t even see the car numbers. There are several tracks where I would much rather watch NASCAR races on TV than see them in person. After seeing racing at Auto Club yesterday I reminded myself it would be better to simply watch Sunday’s race on TV. Everyone should avoid Arizona Wildcat fans. However, I also learned that our UCLA basketball Bruins were playing on Sunday afternoon in San Diego against the 32-2 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. I figured that would be a better entertainment option. However…. The University of Arizona would be playing in the second game in San Diego against Gonzaga. Arizona brings huge amounts of fans all wearing red. I find Arizona fans to be more than obnoxious as I was reminded when we were at the Pac-12 basketball tournament in Las Vegas last weekend. Lots of Arizona fans meant heavy demand for tickets as well as having to listen to the “U of A…U of A…U of A” chants all afternoon. I decided that rather than spending more than $100 per ticket for Carol and me it would be better to kick back and watch the game on TV. Of course ANYTHING I watch on TV at home is done on a recorded basis. I’m a busy guy. I don’t have time to be in front of the TV at the exact moment the event begins live NOR do I have any interest in listening to commercials that dominate live broadcasts. The new plan. The new plan was to stay home on Sunday. There would be no NASCAR race and no NCAA tournament game to see in person. Then I woke up on Sunday morning…. I don’t find any need to get up early in retirement….so I don’t. I did wake up at 7:45 a.m. Almost immediately I thought about a trackchasing opportunity that had been put on the back burner for several reasons. I’ll tell you about all of that in the “Race Report” section. Milestone MX – Vet Track – Riverside, California I needed more information about the Milestone facility. Initially the Sprint Cup race was trumping a visit to the Milestone MX track. I figured it was about time to re-visit the Auto Club Speedway after a 17-year absence. However, after I DID visit the track on Saturday I figured I wouldn’t need to go back Sunday. I had visited Milestone MX track last October (track #1,914). At the time I wasn’t sure which track of the several they have at Milestone I had seen. I emailed the promoter a few weeks ago. He responded firmly that the race last October was on what is called the “Main” track. Today’s racing would take place on the “Vet” track. More on that later. Overcoming informational obstacles. The final “obstacle” was whether or not the racing would be “trackchasing countable”. Motorcycles and ATV racers dominated today’s program. However, there would be several UTV aka SXS (side by side) racers here as well. SXS racing machines ARE countable. For today’s track to count the SXS would have to have a “countable” start. Yes, I know what you’re saying. “You guys sure have a lot of rules”. Yes, trackchasing’s Founding Fathers and their sons and daughters have come up with a lot of “restrictions”. As long as they don’t make up any new stupid rules I will continue to follow the existing trackchasing rules. I don’t take long to make decisions and act on them. I woke up at 7:45 a.m. I was in my car after a quick shower at 8:15 a.m. Racing at Milestone was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. The track was 67 miles from my home. I would be driving the Carol Lewis owned and MFunds sponsored 2013 Lexus RX 350. I HATE driving my car on trackchasing trips. I would much rather wear out a rental car than my own car. Nevertheless it was what it was. Off I went. It was another beautiful sunny day with temps in the 70s. The SoCal weather has been like that every day all winter. We’ve had about 2 inches of rain during our “rainy season”. In another couple of weeks we will be in the “dry” season and won’t get virtually any rain for the next seven months. Yep! It’s tough living here. The ‘Milestone’ experience. I arrived at the Milestone MX track without delay. Admission price was $10 U.S. I found a spot to park and began my exploration of the place. Everything involves a learning curve. With just about everything in life there is a “learning curve”. That is certainly the case when visiting a new track. I was lucky to rely on my Milestone experiences from last October. So what’s a ‘moto’? I quickly found the driver’s meeting. There I learned there would be 13 “motos”. Moto is another word for “race”. Each class here today would race in one of the 13 motos during the morning races. Then in the afternoon all of the classes would race a second time in one of the 13 afternoon motos. There were a few classes of SXS racers. They would compete in the fourth and eighth motos of the morning round. I learned during the driver’s meeting that the SXS racers would have “rolling” starts. I would see what that was later. I don’t mind saying that I have introduced SXS racing to the trackchasing hobby. Folks saw and read about my experiences and then began finding out about SXS racing in their areas. I don’t mind sharing. I believe I have shared more about the trackchasing hobby with more people than anyone….by a factor of many. I hope to continue to do that. With the first races featuring motorcycles and ATVs I wandered around exploring and taking pictures. Don’t miss the videos and pictures from this track. There’s a good deal of action that you won’t want to miss. I’m guessing there were a good 200 competitors or more racing today. As a spectator you can walk through the pits to your heart’s content. However, you had better be alert or you might get run over. They have a LOT of activity in the pit area. Three Hands Racing. While exploring I came across a SXS driver in the “850” class. His name was Dave Miller. Dave took the time to explain how the SXS program would work today. He had raced with the bigger WORCS SXS racing group previously. Dave and his wife are the owners and operators of “Three Hands Racing”. That seemed like an unusual name for a racing team. However, Dave a good-natured fellow, lifted his left arm to show me he had lost his hand and arm just above the elbow. He smiled, pointed his arm at me, and explained that was where his racing team name came from. He certainly had a great attitude toward his disability. I doubt very much that Dave is slowed in many ways from his situation. Short races but very entertaining. SXS races are short in duration. They race for just 6-7 laps. They keep the program moving well with one moto after another. Today the SXS racers lined up in rows of two. Then the entire pack rolled out of the pits in one large group, made a left hand turn onto the track and in 50 yards or so took the green flag. That was all good. There were several “tabletops”. These are jumps where the racers fly through the air. Those are exciting for fans and drivers alike I am sure. They have a few “short track oval type turns” as well. Overall, I would guess the “Vet” track was about one mile long. From what I could tell it is shorter than the “Main” track that I saw last year. Milestone has 2-3 other smaller tracks at the facility. However, I don’t think they race any SXS machines on those tracks. Nevertheless, I’ll keep my eyes open. On the way out I took this overhead panoramic view of the tracks. Second place ain’t as good as first but it’s a lot better than third. Today’s track was my 127th in California. I still trail Gary Jacob, now deceased, who is credited with 149 Golden state tracks. I doubt I can ever catch him based upon the lack of remaining tracks to see here. However, with the plethora of “desert type” tracks popping up you just never know. On the way home I stopped for a Subway sandwich lunch. I was back in San Clemente by 2 p.m. I hadn’t planned on seeing a new track this weekend but it was a pleasant surprise to see the track I did. STATE COMPARISONS California The Golden State This evening I saw my 127th lifetime track in the Golden State, yes the Golden State. I would expect to see another track or two in California before the year is finished. 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 California sayings: See the glowing beams of California dreams.
QUICK FACTS AIRPLANE No airplanes! RENTAL CAR No rental cars! PERSONAL CAR San Clemente, CA – trip begins Riverside, CA San Clemente, CA – trip ends – 134 miles Total air miles – 0 (0 flights) Total rental car miles – 0 (0 cars) Total personal car miles – 134 (1 car) Total miles traveled on this trip – 134 miles TRACK ADMISSION PRICES: Milestone Vet Track – $10 LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS The three most important trackchasing comparisons to me are: Total lifetime tracks seen Total “trackchasing countries” seen Lifetime National Geographic Diversity results Total Lifetime Tracks There are no trackchasers currently within 375 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me. Total Trackchasing Countries There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total. Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results That’s all folks! Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report 
