Today I was seeing a race in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.  I had never done that before.  Neither had any of the other active trackchasers.  That’s why so many trackchasers were in attendance today.  It was almost a once in a lifetime chance to see a race in Washington, D.C.  As this is added to www.randylewis.org in 2014 there has been no more racing activity in the capital since my visit on July 20, 2002.



The National Grand Prix was my 597th lifetime track.  It now goes with my trackchasing visits to all 50 states in our great country.  Only a handful or so of chasers have seen racing in all 50 states AND the District of Columbia.  I’m one of them!  Carol chose not to attend and rues her omission to this day.


Don’t miss my Trackchaser Report written back in 2002 behind the “National Grand Prix” tab.  As you can see I was sharing race dates with my fellow competitors back then.  I soon stopped that when I noticed my fellow competitors didn’t share any track dates themselves!  It was sometime during this period that I learned that trackchasing is a “dog eat dog competition” and that my fellow competitors care about one thing, “counting the track”.  If it doesn’t count they won’t go as evidenced by their near lack of race viewing at any location more than 100 miles from home.

I saw the preliminary racing on Saturday of this two-day racing weekend.  I probably did that because the tickets were cheaper and I had nearly zero interest in seeing a race on a street circuit.  Sunday’s main event went for 140 laps or 232.54 miles.  Frank Biela was the fastest qualifier with a speed of 94.48 M.P.H.  The winners were co-drivers Jan Magnussen from Georgia and David Brabham from England.  The total purse for the race was $71,300.

According to Wikipedia, 

“The 2002 Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. was the fifth round of the 2002 American Le Mans Series Season.  It took place in a temporary street circuit set around the streets and parking lot adjacent to Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., on July 21, 2002.

The venue was not renewed for another season due to complaints from neighbors about noise and the race was the only event of its kind held in Washington.  The event was supposed to be a recurring event, as the planners entered into a 10-year contract with the city.  Before the 2002 Grand Prix, Washington had not been home to an auto racing event for 80 years.  However, nine years later in 2011, nearby Baltimore hosted an American Le Mans Series grand prix event, the Baltimore Grand Prix, which took place in the Inner Harbor area of the city along the waterfront, which would be renewed as a site of future events.”

Editor’s note:  I attended the Baltimore event in 2012.

You might have remembrances about the racing in at the National Grand Prix in Washington, D.C..  If so, please feel free to share 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.

Greetings from Washington, District of Columbia,

PEOPLE/TRAVEL NEWS

Today is going to be a big day in the hobby of trackchasing for me and all of the other top ranked trackchasers.  Washington D.C. will be hosting their first major race in more than 80 years.  That being the case there is no current ranked trackchaser who has seen a race in D.C.  I suspect virtually all of the top 10 chasers will be at the National Grand Prix road course next to RFK Stadium.

The day started for me in Woburn, Massachusetts.  Fortunately, due to the rainout on Friday night in New Hampshire my original plan to sleep in the Boston airport was aborted.  Instead, I took a somewhat leisurely flight from Boston to the Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington, D.C. 

Their were several unusual things that occurred on my flight.  First, one of the overhead bins would not close.  This delayed our scheduled 10:40 a.m. departure by 45 minutes.  During the delay, I napped in my exit row seat.  Just before take off the flight attendant felt compelled to wake me to ask if I would be willing to assist others in the event of an emergency.  This is somewhat like the nurse waking you in a hospital to give you a sleeping pill.  Also just before take off we heard a loud pounding sound coming from the lavatory.  The pounding was accompanied by several quick flight attendant bells.  It turned out a lady was stuck in the bathroom.  When the pilot announced we were taking off, she began to panic.  The last unusual item was an announcement by the flight attendant that no one could get out of their seats once we got within 30 minutes of the Washington airport.  Of course, this is part of our heightened security.  It was also reinforced to me that the first or nearly the first person to board the plane gets the “extra security”.  If you do not want this extra attention I recommend you board the plane right AFTER another passenger has been selected to have every one of their personal belongings searched.

Trackchaser Andy Sivi had given us the heads up that the best place to park was the U.S. Airways Arena (formerly the Capital Centre) and take a shuttle to the track.  That is exactly what I did.  Parking cost $10, which included the round trip shuttle.  There were plenty of buses waiting to shuttle us on this 90 degree with heavy humidity day.  The ride took about 20 minutes.

Given the location of the track there is more ethnic diversity that what you would normally see at a racetrack.  I met a black fellow named Shelton on the bus.  He was wearing a Dale Earnhardt Jr. racing cap.  We talked the entire ride.  He was very pleased the race was coming to Washington, D.C.  He thought it was good for the community.  I ended up negotiating a ticket deal for Shelton and me for just $10 apiece.

RACING NEWS 

The National Grand Prix is my 597^th track to attend.  I have now seen races in all 50 states AND the District of Columbia.  The racing surface is an asphalt 2.0-mile street circuit in a road course layout.  The track is in the parking lot and the shadow of RFK Stadium.  As I mentioned above I was able to buy two tickets for $10 each from a young woman who was standing near the ticket window.  The ticket got me in the gate and I was allowed to sit in the grandstand.  I sat in section 12.  I did not see any other trackchasers.

I arrived at 2:30 p.m. just as the 61-lap Trans Am feature event was starting.  It took these cars about 75 seconds to complete one circuit.  From my position in grandstand #12 I could see the cars for 8 seconds!  As you’ve heard me say before I don’t like road racing.  This was my fourth full sized road course of the season which is four too many.

I did have a large TV screen in front of my position that allowed me to see the same view that someone sitting in their living room could see.  The screen was large, probably about 30 feet square.  I also tuned my scanner to the TV broadcast so it was really like I was sitting in my living room.  Of course, the living room I was really in had the heat turned up to 90 degrees with matching humidity.

There were four feature events scheduled for the day.  After the first event I had seen enough.  I decided to walk a complete circuit around the perimeter of the track.  This took me about 20 minutes.  During the walk I noticed there were very few souvenir opportunities and almost no food choices.  They were selling beer, water and lemonade.  This was not a well-merchandised event.

There was a huge crush of people leaving after the first race.  The opening to leave was about 10 feet wide.  The crowd was backed up for 50 yards for those wanting to leave after just the first race.  As I was leaving I got my ticket stamped for re-entry.  I entertained the thought of selling my ticket to the fans at the ticket window that were late arriving.  I was sure I could get my $10 purchase price back.  Then I got sentimental and decided I’d better keep my souvenir Washington, D.C. ticket, which is what I did.

TRACK FOOD:    Thinking the food choices might be limited and expensive at the track I stopped at Subway along the way.  Even though I was running a bit late I chose to eat.  You can only die of hunger once, but you can always go to another racetrack.  I remember when I insisted we stop at a Subway in Quebec on a racing trip with Guy and Will.  We were short on time and I got the feeling they really didn’t want to stop.  In the end it all worked out although I believe Guy had trouble with the Canadian exchange rate.  When I stop at Subway I always want more than a 6-inch sub but don’t feel like eating a 12-inch sandwich.  I usually end up ordering the 12-inch sub and having it cut in thirds and then I eat the whole thing!  That didn’t happen today.  I did order the 12-incher but a panic stop put one-third of the sandwich to the dirty floorboard.  This must have been God’s way of saying, “Randy, try the 8-inch sub!”

RENTAL CAR UPDATE:    The Boston National Rental Car racing Toyota Corolla was turned in with just 216 miles on it.  In Washington D.C. I’ll be wheeling the National Rental Car Dodge Strata.  There were also a couple of unusual things with this rental.  When I was leaving the parking lot I stopped to ask for directions at the same time a fellow next to me was doing the same thing.  The attendant had my license.  After he gave me directions he handed me a driver’s license that turned out to be the guy’s next to me.  I didn’t look at the license and just slipped it in my pocket.  When I began to drive away the agent caught his mistake.  The license he had given me was a black guy’s from Illinois.  Also, on the right front passenger window written in fading soap letters is the word “engine?”  That can’t be good!

TRACK RADIO FREQUENCY:     The radio probably saved the day for me.  I was able to pickup the TV feed as well as here what the competitors were up too.

Planned upcoming races