Greetings from Polson, Montana
From the travels and adventures of the
“World’s #1 Trackchaser”
Mission Valley Speedway Asphalt oval Lifetime track #1,085 Reprinted with permission from my Saturday, August 5, 2006, 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 with my midwestern racing buddy, Greg Robbins). 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: 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! FOREWORD Saturday, August 5, 2006. Greeting from Polson, Montana, Carol and I woke up in Arco, Idaho this morning. This is what transpired today. PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS The Strategy Our new state trackchasing strategy for this trip was completed today. Carol was able to add her 43rd different trackchasing state. That would be Montana. She needs only Alaska, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Rhode Island to complete the 50 United States. I think she’ll add new countries before she sees tracks in all 50 states. The Trip The trip to Montana started about 11 p.m. last night. We needed to begin a 370-mile drive up U.S. 93, a two-lane highway through the Rocky Mountains. We didn’t have a hotel reservation. I wasn’t sure what type of overnight accommodations we might find out in the boonies as midnight approached. The first town we hit was Arco, Idaho. They had two small hotels located right along the highway. Great. Well, not so great. They both had “No vacancy” signs posted. I was just about ready to head north to the next town nearly an hour away. By the time we got up there, it would be about 1 a.m. Arco is not a large town. The downtown area is about one block wide and five blocks long. For some reason, I decided to get off the highway and drive downtown looking for a place to stay. Bingo! We found the Lazy A Motel. A knock on the office door yielded no activity. Finally, I rang the bell and an elderly woman came to the door wearing a housecoat. Yes, she had a room. No, they didn’t take credit cards. It was cash or check only. The room rate was just $35 for the two of us. Room #22 was complete with orange shag carpeting and a swag lamp. The room’s décor made us feel young again! Nevertheless, the shower was good, the bed was firm and it was clean and quiet. At past midnight we were pleased with our find at the Lazy A Motel. The morning brought a blue sky warm summer day. Pickle’s Place is a great spot for breakfast in Arco, Idaho. By the way, Arco is famous for being the first town, in 1955, to ever have electricity supplied with nuclear power. Arco also has “Numbers Hill.” This is a mountain above Arco marked by every high school graduation class in Arco since 1920 with its class year. Pickle’s Place has the “largest rocking chair in Idaho” sitting out in front. I’m not sure where the rocking chair stands in the nation’s rankings. Inside you will find soda fountain type bar stools and all the Idaho locals you will ever want to see. Most of them wore cowboy hats and many wore spurs on their cowboy boots. Of course, when I walked in wearing deck shoes and a four-inch-tall white skin ankle golf tan, they knew I “wasn’t from around here.” I get that a lot. Nevertheless, Carol and I sat down to have a delicious breakfast. If you go to Arco, you need to go to “Pickle’s Place.” Tell them Randy sent you. #1 Trackchasing Tourist Attraction We had a very unique TTA on today’s docket. We’d be going to the “Craters of the Moon” national monument. This is located just 18 miles south of Arco. The Craters of the Moon National Monument is a stunning landscape of volcanic features and the largest lava field of its type in the contiguous U.S. The geography is so lunar-like that NASA astronauts such as Alan Shepard explored the monument in 1969 while training to visit the moon. I recommend the 7-mile loop road drive and a hike beyond the spatter cones to the big crater. You’ll likely notice the 6,000-foot elevation during the quarter-mile hike. We did. Of course, as loyal readers of the Trackchaser Report, you’ll see pictures of the Craters of the Moon, the Pickle Place and much more. We go there so you don’t have to unless you want to. The People Contrary to what some people think about my trackchasing, I do not go trackchasing to watch the racing. I do enjoy trackchasing when I get to see the cars race. There is a difference. Tonight’s track was much more about the people than the racing. I did get to see the cars race, so that part of the equation was covered. I realize now that I have seen nearly 1,100 tracks that the racing will not be great at each of my future tracks. However, the people of the Polson, Montana area and the Mission Valley Speedway were way above average. First of all, a reporter from the Lake County Leader newspaper contacted me a few days before we left for the trip. The writer’s name was Nate and he wanted to do a story about my trackchasing. It turned out that Nate would not be coming to the races tonight. He had to cover a rodeo instead! That didn’t stop the wheels of journalism. We did a phone interview for several minutes. He told me he would get additional information from my website. In closing our conversation, Nate told me, “I won’t be able to meet you at the track. Nevertheless, I’d like to get a picture of you at the track. I’ll have a photographer meet you there to take some pictures.” That sounded fine to me. It was about 320 miles from our Lazy A Motel in Arco, Idaho to the track in Polson, Montana. That was no big deal. We had all day Saturday to get up there. According to the track website, the racing was to begin at 7 p.m. We ran into some unexpected road construction (miles of gravel road) and arrived 15 minutes late. The parking lot was full and the grandstands were nearly full with a crowd of, I would guess, 1,000,-1,200 people. The cars were parading slowly around the oval, so we had not missed any racing. I’ll tell you more about the racing itself in the racetrack news section. The newspaper photographer had been described to me as having “long hair.” With the racing not yet started, I went about looking for such a man. It didn’t take me long to spot the likely suspect sitting with some others on the track’s large starter’s stand. I went up and introduced myself. Sure enough, I had the right guy. It was a pleasure meeting Mike Humphrey. You can check out his work at www.mikehumphreyphotos.com. With the racing not yet started, Mike had several ideas regarding our “photoshoot.” The track’s announcer was also on the flag stand with a remote microphone along with the racing association’s president. The photographer told me to go stand out in the middle of the track while the flagman stood behind me with the checkered flag stretched out behind my head. All the while, the track announcer is telling the crowd about trackchasing and reminding them who the top 5 worldwide trackchasers are (per the RANLAY Racing provided press release.) The crowd was very patient while all of this went on and, according to Carol, interested in this trackchasing thing. Modifieds from Flemington Speedway when it was dirt. Following the photo session, the announcer brought me up on the flag stand and we did an interview. He asked me what my favorite type of racecar was. “northeastern modifieds,” I answered. Sensing this response was not quite registering with a Montana based racetrack announcer, I added, “I liked stock cars of all sorts.” He also asked me who my favorite NASCAR driver was. I replied, “Jeff Gordon.” This seemed to get a negative reaction, although Carol later told me there was a positive reaction where she was sitting. Based upon the crowd’s feedback I went on to tell them about my experience in Rushville, Indiana last month. Rushville is home to reigning NASCAR champion, Tony Stewart. My statement over the P.A. that I preferred Jeff Gordon was not fully supported in Tony Stewart’s hometown. The track association’s president told me they lease the speedway from a local Indian (Sitting Bull not Gandhi) tribe. By the way, I would estimate that nearly 50% of tonight’s crowd was of American Indian descent. The track was converted from dirt to asphalt back in 1981. The racing association is a “not for profit” group. Both the association president and the announcer told me to enjoy myself and if I needed anything whatsoever to let them know. Finally, I wanted to thank Nadine for organizing the trackchaser autograph session. One fan wanted four signatures. That was fun to meet everyone and answer questions about trackchasing. I think this was Carol’s first opportunity to see one of these. As we were leaving the track, we ran into two couples chatting in the parking lot. They recognized us and conversed for a few moments. “It’s ten-eighty-five, right?” one guy yelled over to me. I looked at my watch. It was nine-thirty. “No, your tracks!” he said. Yes, that’s right. This was my 1,085th-lifetime track. I’ll long remember it not for the racing but for the people. RACE TRACK STATS: MISSION VALLEY SPEEDWAY, POLSON, MONTANA – TRACK #1,085 – 8/5/06 This was my sixth-lifetime track to see in the Grizzly state. It was also my third-lifetime trackchasing trip to Montana. My six tracks move me from a 4th place state ranking into a tie for second. This adds two NGD points. Actually trackchasing in Montana is very near and dear to my heart. You see my first ever airplane ride took me into Billings, Montana when I was 21 years old. Doesn’t that seem odd that a person would not take an airplane ride until that age? It does in today’s world. This was back in 1970. I was on my way to visit a young woman named Carol Polakovic who will living for the summer in Dayton, Wyoming. She was a hot little babe. Dayton is just a few miles south of the Montana/Wyoming border. My stepfather Bill and mother Betty on our wedding day in 1972. Even though the main purpose of my trip was to visit a woman, I also took the time to visit a new track. I guess that documents that I’ve been trackchasing for a minimum of 36 years! During that trip, I saw racing at the Belaro Speedway in Billings, Montana. I estimate that the Belaro Speedway was my 14th-lifetime track. The track had four classes and four cars in each class. I guess even back in the day, some tracks did not have a large car count. By the way, thinking about that woman I met in Wyoming…I married her. This was Carol’s first-ever track to see in Montana. Even though she has just one track in the state, she is now tied with 17 other trackchasers for a 10th place state rank. Carol has now seen racing in 43 states, with one more scheduled within the next week. This also gives her 270-lifetime tracks and a 36th world trackchasing rank. RACE TRACK NEWS: MISSION VALLEY SPEEDWAY The track website told us we would be seeing both oval racing as well as a demolition derby. They were planning “Twin bomber 30s.” I didn’t know what else would be on the card. Time trials were supposed to begin at 6 p.m. with racing to follow at 7 p.m. As mentioned all of the cars in attendance took a slow lap or two for the crowd’s enjoyment before any of the official racing started. I told Carol that it didn’t look like there were very many racecars. Part of the pre-race festivities included two legend cars coming out for a special demonstration. We were just getting settled into our seats and I missed the significance of the presentation. When it was all over one of the legends did a series of donuts on the front stretch and these two were never heard from again. There were also a few old-time super modifieds driving in the parade lap. I was really looking forward to seeing them race. Unfortunately, they never made another appearance either. The program started with two “Dashes” for the bomber class. Each race featured four cars. One of the cars crashed into the dirt berm on the outside of turn two sending up an atomic bomb like a cloud of dust. It took them a long time to get the track clean. During this stoppage, the announcer told the crowd that the “Red Flag Beer Special” would be in effect until the race started again. During the special, fans could buy six beers for ten bucks. The bomber dashes were followed by two demo derby heats. A squared-off section of the dirt infield was reserved for the demo derby competition. The dirt square was about 40 yards on each side and heavily watered. There were ten demo derby entrants. Six cars were in the first heat and four were in the second. I’m thinking that maybe the track organizer forgot to bring his calculator. You never know. The heats were run until just three cars were still moving. Those three cars would then advance to the feature event. With the demo derby racing area being so muddy, it took a while for the cars to get up enough speed to make any real damage to their fellow competitors. The demo derby heats were followed by an eight-car, thirty-lap bomber main event. Actually only seven cars started and one joined them during the race. Following this event, the track went to intermission. Following intermission, the eight bombers, or however many were still capable of racing would contest another 30 lap feature. The final event of the night would be the six-car demo derby main event. It was 9:30 p.m. We had already seen two four-car bomber dashes, two demo derby heats and a 30-lap bomber feature event. We were looking at a 541-mile drive to a 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon start time in Southern Idaho. It was time to hit the road. For all of those who complain about tracks having too many classes (including me), be careful what you wish for, you might get it! I suspect I caught the Mission Valley Speedway on an off racing night. Nevertheless, the grandstand was nearly sold out and I didn’t hear one complaint from anyone in the crowd. CAROL’S COMMENTS The track was high banked. It was unusual the way the grandstand sat back from the track by 30 yards or so. I’ve never been in a handicap porta-potty until tonight. It was huge! They put too much water in the demo derby square. I was surprised the crowd was so large. Everyone looked like they were having a good time even though there wasn’t much racing. After each of the races, the race winner pulled his car up to the flag stand for pictures. At that point, more than 50 small children would run more than 30 yards from the grandstand to the parked racecar. It looked like the Oklahoma land rush each time they did this. I thought I was with a male model doing a photoshoot at the beginning of the night. WEATHER CONDITIONS This was one of the most pleasant weather nights of my 69-day trackchasing season. It didn’t cool off nearly as much as it did in Idaho last night. However, as we drove home we saw temperature readings in the 50s as the time neared midnight. RENTAL CAR UPDATE: There are not many radio stations that can be heard in these rural mountainous parts. The GM cars I rent don’t seem to have strong radio reception. We went with XM radio and Carol was nice enough to let me listen to the Buick Open, where Tiger Woods finished the third round with a two shot lead. Friday total driving miles – 309 miles Saturday total driving miles – 506 miles Yes, we do a good bit of driving on trips like this. LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE: These worldwide trackchasers are within 100 tracks (plus or minus) of my current trackchaser total. * Warning, you are within 50 tracks of being removed from this list. ** Special exemption. Other notables These worldwide trackchasers are within 10 tracks (plus or minus) of Carol’s current trackchaser total. 2006 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS Thanks for reading about my trackchasing, Randy Lewis #1 Trackchaser Living West of the Mississippi I should never care to argue for anything that would lessen the difficulty of the game because the difficulty is its greatest charm. CUMULATIVE TRAVEL DISTANCES: AIRPLANE Long Beach, CA – Salt Lake City, UT – 589 miles RENTAL CAR Salt Lake City International Airport – trip begins Tooele, UT – 29 miles Atomic City, ID – 276 miles Polson, MT – 702 miles TRACK ADMISSION PRICES: Miller Motorsports Park – $20 Atomic Motor Raceway – $15 Mission Valley Speedway – $8 ($2.00 senior discount) It’s taken Carol more than 50 years to see her very first Idaho track. It will take her only two days to see her second. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA 1,000. Auburndale Kartway, Auburndale, Florida – February 10 1,001. Ocala Speedway (asphalt oval), Ocala, Florida – February 12 1,002. Speedworld Speedway, Surprise, Arizona – February 19 1,003. Lowe’s Motor Speedway (1/5 mile asphalt oval), Concord, North Carolina – February 25 1,004. Concord Raceway, Concord, North Carolina – February 25 1,005. Antioch Speedway, Antioch, North Carolina – February 25 1,006. Green Valley Speedway, Gadsden, Alabama – February 26 1,007. East Bay Raceway (inner oval), Gibsonton, Florida – March 17 1,008. Volusia Speedway Park West (1/6M oval), Barberville, Florida – March 18 1,009. Speedway Park, Fruitland Park, Florida – March 18 1,010. Sand Mountain Speedway (road course), Fort Meade, Florida – March 19 1,011. Anderson Motor Speedway, Anderson, South Carolina – March 31 1,012. Westminster Speedway, Westminster, South Carolina – March 31 1,013. East Lincoln Motor Speedway, Stanley, North Carolina – April 1 1,014. Margarettsville Speedway, Margarettsville, North Carolina – April 2 1,015. Sunny South Raceway, Grand Bay, Alabama – April 7 1,016. Barber Motorsports Park, Leeds, Alabama – April 8 1,017. Coldwater Raceway, Coldwater, Alabama – April 8 1,018. Talladega Short Track, Talladega, Alabama – April 8 1,019. Ballymena Raceway, Ballymena, Northern Ireland – April 14 1,020. Oulton Park, Little Budworth, England – April 15 1,021. Somerset Rebels Banger Raceway, Rooks Bridge, England – April 16 1,022. Mendips Raceway, Shipham, England – April 16 1,023. Oval Raceway, Angmering, England – April 17 1,024. Arlington Stadium, Eastbourne, England – April 17 1,025. Southside Speedway, Midlothian, Virginia – April 28 1,026. Motor Mile Speedway, Radford, Virginia – April 29 1,027. Wythe Speedway, Wytheville, Virginia – April 29 1,028. Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point Circuit, Summit Point, West Virginia – April 30 1,029. Old Dominion Speedway – inner inner oval, Manassas, Virginia – April 30 1,030. Shenandoah Speedway, Shenandoah, Virginia – May 4 1,031. Bridgeport Speedway (inner oval – front), Bridgeport, New Jersey – May 5 1,032. Empty Jug, Hawley, Pennsylvania – May 6 1,033. Oakland Valley Race Park, Cuddebackville, New York – May 6 1,034. Thunder Mountain Speedway, Center Isle, New York – May 6 1,035. Motocross 338, Southwick, Massachusetts – May 7 1,036. Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, Fultonville, New York – May 7 1,037. Calumet County Speedway, Chilton, Wisconsin – May 19 1,038. Grant County Speedway, Lancaster, Wisconsin – May 20 1,039. Blackhawk Farms Raceway, Rockton, Illinois – May 21 1,040. The Milwaukee Mile (Road course), West Allis, Wisconsin – May 21 ** Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin – May 21 (new track Carol only) 1,041. Park Jefferson Speedway, Jefferson, South Dakota – May 25 1,042. Superior Speedway, Superior, Wisconsin – May 26 1,043. Brainerd International Raceway, Brainerd, Minnesota – May 27 1,044. Canby Speedway, Canby, Minnesota – May 27 1,045. Crawford County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Denison, Iowa – May 28 1,046. Tri-State Speedway, Sisseton, South Dakota – May 29 1,047. Sheyenne River Speedway, Lisbon, North Dakota – May 29 1,048. Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, Pahrump, Nevada – June 3 1,049. The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada – June 3 1,050. Hibbing Raceway, Hibbing, Minnesota – June 6 1,051. Buena Vista Raceway, Alta, Iowa – June 7 1,052. Lebanon Midway Speedway, Lebanon, Missouri – June 8 1,053. Rocky Top Raceway, Coal Grove, Ohio – June 9 1,054. Midvale Speedway (oval), Midvale, Ohio – June 10 1,055. Midvale Speedway (figure 8), Midvale, Ohio – June 10 1,056. Spring Valley Raceway, Millport, Ohio – June 11 1,057. Rialto Airport Speedway, Rialto, California – June 17 1,058. Lawrenceburg Speedway (figure 8), Lawrenceburg, Indiana – June 20 1,059. Lawrenceburg Speedway (temporary oval), Lawrenceburg, Indiana – June 20 1,060. Thunder Mountain Speedway, Knox Dale, Pennsylvania – June 21 1,061. State Park Speedway, Wausau, Wisconsin – June 22 1,062. Dodge County Fairgrounds Speedway, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin – June 23 1,063. Lucas Oil Speedway (oval), Wheatland, Missouri – June 24 1,064. Lucas Oil Speedway (figure 8), Wheatland, Missouri – June 24 1,065. Tri-City Speedway, Pontoon Beach, Illinois – June 25 1,066. Lake Ozark Speedway, Eldon, Missouri – June 29 1,067. Poplar Bluff Speedway, Poplar Bluff, Missouri – June 30 1,068. Indianapolis Motor Speedway (road course), Indianapolis, Indiana – July 1 1,069. Rush County Fairgrounds, Rushville, Indiana – July 1 1,070. Rock Castle Speedway, Mount Vernon, Kentucky – July 2 ** Windy Hollow Speedway (oval), Owensboro, Kentucky – July 2 1,071. Heartland Park Topeka (dirt oval), Topeka, Kansas – July 3 1,072. Thunderhill Speedway, Mayetta, Kansas – July 3 1,073. Little Valley Speedway, Little Valley, New York – July 13 ** Twin State Speedway (oval), Claremont, New Hampshire – July 14 1,074. Twin State Speedway (figure 8), Claremont, New Hampshire – July 14 1,075. Canaan Speedway (asphalt oval), Canaan, New Hampshire – July 14 ** New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire – July 15 1,076. White Mountain Motorsports Park, North Woodstock, New Hampshire – July 15 1,077. Legion Speedway, Wentworth, New Hampshire – July 15 1,078. Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Fair Haven, Vermont – July 16 1,079. Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford Springs, Connecticut – July 17 1,080. Little Log House Speedway, Hastings, Minnesota – July 28 ** Elko Speedway (outer oval), Elko, Minnesota – July 28 ** Elko Speedway (inner oval), Elko, Minnesota – July 28 ** Elko Speedway (figure 8), Elko, Minnesota – July 28 1,081. Chickasaw Big Four County Fairgrounds, Nashua, Iowa – July 29 1,082. Buffalo River Speedway, Glyndon, Minnesota – July 30 1,083. Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, Utah, – August 4 1,084. Atomic Motor Raceway, Atomic City, Idaho – August 4 1,085. Mission Valley Speedway, Polson, Montana – August 5 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. That’s all folks! Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report Click on the link below to see the video production from the racing action today. I didn’t produce this video but I thought you would like to see what racing looks like at the Mission Valley Speedway. 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. A trip through the beautiful and rugged Far West scenery PLUS racing from Montana
UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS
RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2006
(** not the first time to visit this track)
