Oldham County Fairgrounds

 

 

 

THE EVENT

 

Today’s undertaking was just one of more than 2,000 trips that have taken me up, down and around the 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.  I’ll try my best to respond.  Thanks!

 

 

I sometimes see two or more tracks in a single day. When I do I will commonly combine my observations from both tracks into a single Trackchaser Report. That is the case today.

 

 

 

 

ON THE WAY TO THE RACES

 

 

Understanding Priceline.com

I woke up this morning in my sister and brother-in-law’s home in DeKalb, Illinois. Becky, my sister, had already left for an all day women’s club meeting.

 

 

That left Bob and I some time to spend at the kitchen table. He wanted to know how he could effectively use Priceline.com. As a University of Illinois engineering graduate he was interested in expanding his knowledge. He wanted to know how he could get the same savings that I tell you about in virtually every report. I was happy to oblige.

 

 

It’s like anything. The more you know the better you do.

We talked about the strategy for bidding with Priceline.com. I told him he would need to change either the hotel’s location, it’s star rating and/or the planned travel dates if his bid was rejected. We also talked about Express Deals strategy that can get a very good price with that special Priceline program. This is not easy information to pick up on the first go around. I hope Bob hangs in there with it and can realize savings of 50% or more on he and Becky’s future vacation travels.

 

 

Theory meets reality.

In the Priceline example I was using with Bob today I was searching for a hotel for this evening for my own use. I ended up with a one star property in Champaign, Illinois.

 

 

My bid got me an Extended Stay America property for just $42 plus tax. When I checked the hotel’s website it told me told there were no rooms available. That made it extra special that I could score a Priceline.com Extended Stay America hotel on a night when the public was being denied any more access at all.

 

 

With Hotel being sold out for tonight I couldn’t check the going price for this evening. Therefore I took a look at what the rate would be NEXT Saturday. That rate was $85 plus tax. I paid just $42. If you need help with Priceline let me know.

 

 

Better get going.

Today was going to be a big driving day. It would be a 4-hour drive to my first track from DeKalb to down by Terre Haute, Indiana. Then it would be an additional two hours from Terre Haute over toward Louisville, Kentucky. Finally, after the second track of the day I would have a four-hour late night trip from Louisville up to Champaign, Illinois.

 

 

Today is day #27 of my 56-day “Long and Arduous Mega Trackchasing Summer Tour of 2015”. I’m almost halfway!

 

 

It should be noted that I may EXTEND my 56-day trip by another week or so. I know this information strikes fear into the hearts and splines of my fellow competitors. I don’t know what to say about that.

 

 

That’s a lot of doubles.

Today I would be seeing my 23rd trackchasing double of the 2015 season. It’s pretty simple. The trackchasing double simply means I will be seeing two tracks in one day.

 

 

At this stage in my trackchasing career it’s hard enough, one would think, to find just one track every day to see. However on 23 occasions out of the 65 total days that I have trackchased this year I have somehow found two tracks to see in a single day.

 

 

The ever-popular day/nighter.

My most popular trackchasing double has always been the “day/night” double. Trackchasing is a rather simple hobby. The terms used in trackchasing are simple as well.

 

 

What is a “day/night” trackchasing double? Generally it means I will see one track during the daylight hours and one during the nighttime hours. I told you trackchasing was fairly simple. If it wasn’t how could some of my fellow competitors figure it out? Of course I say that with a smile in my heart and my fingers crossed.

 

 

 

 

THE RACING

 

 

Staunton MX – Brazil, Indiana

 

 

Mainly ATVs but not all ATVs.

This afternoon I am seeing a Midwest Cross Country sanctioned event in Brazil, Indiana. This group primarily focuses on ATV racing machines. However ATVs are not a countable class of racer in the trackchasing hobby. Why? I don’t really know. They weren’t popular in Pennsylvania?

 

 

I guess the primary thing that knocks ATVs out of the countability running is the machines do not have a steering wheel. They are steered by holding onto a handlebar similar to motorcycles. Everyone knows that motorcycles have not and do not count in trackchasing.

 

 

Then what does count?

However UTV racers also known as “side-by-sides” DO count. They seem to have all the ingredients that a normal racing car might have. I guess I’m talking about four wheels and steering wheel.

 

 

With my West Coast desert off-road racing background I was the first to discover UTV racing as a countable form within the trackchasing hobby. That was bad news for my fellow competitors.

 

 

Up to this point my unofficial track count, just in 2015, where UTV racers were the lead class is fourteen. No other trackchasers have one third of that total with UTV racetracks.

 

 

This has got to be giving my fellow competitors and the Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers a considerable case of heartburn. Can a rules proposal banning any and all UTV racing be far behind? Likely not.

 

 

I like the Midwest Cross Country group.

This would be my second track of the season with the Midwest Cross Country racing group. They run two classes of UTVs. However today’s two classes seemed to be a bit different than my previous visits. I can’t explain it I can only report it.

 

 

I arrived at about 3:30 p.m. ahead of the 4 p.m. starting time. I paid my $15 general admission ticket fee. This also included full run of the paddock area.

 

A nice family run track.

The ticket seller was a gregarious fellow. This young man was the twin brother of another man handling the sign-in process. He was the son of the head honcho at check-in a lovely young blonde woman. This family owned the Staunton MX track. They were happy to see that the World’s #1 Trackchaser had decided to stop by their pride and joy this afternoon, the Staunton MX track. They asked me if it would be OK for them to share whatever I post on my website on their Facebook page. As always, in cases like this, I gave them for approval.

 

 

Erica. Erica?

I took a few minutes to seek out a woman by the name of Erica. Erica has been my texting buddy regarding this group’s racing. She’s one of the most prompt texters of information I’ve ever seen coming from a racetrack or race organization. Quite often folks in her position don’t do a very good job of follow up with communication. She is a notable exception on the good side.

 

 

Let’s have a Philly steak sandwich.

I hadn’t eaten anything since this morning’s pork chop leftovers from last night’s county fair in Illinois. I noticed that the local track canteen advertised prominently a chicken Philly sandwich for six bucks.

 

 

No, let’s not.

If they were advertising it it must be good or so I thought. I would have one. No, I wouldn’t have one. They were out of them! Maybe when they sell out they should take their sign down?

 

 

I went with the cheeseburger instead. That was all washed down with a Diet Mountain Dew or as some friends call it a “DMD”. However my young server first gave me the fully sugared Mountain Dew. That might have kept me awake until 4 a.m. I had struck out with the sandwich and now I was being served the wrong drink. However we got it all straightened out. I was soon munching and drinking in anticipation of today’s race event.

 

 

UTVs; two classes.

There were two classes of UTVs racing today. The “1000s” had only one racer. He went off by himself as the first class to get going. With only one racer that class would not be a countable class today.

 

 

Luckily the “800” group had about 8 competitors. When the green flag dropped on their event this track would be lifetime track #2,139.

 

 

Eerily similar.

The event was eerily similar to the race I had seen this group post two weeks ago. Each time when I arrived at the track several ATVs were being hauled away from the facility. Why? The ATVs race just before the UTVs. The ATV racing was finished when I approached these tracks. They were all headed home by the time I was just arriving. Just like two weeks ago a prayer and the national anthem preceded the UTV race over a solid PA system.

 

 

Green flag. Dust. Out of sight.

When the green flag was raised the 800 group raced off in a cloud of dust. In 10 or 15 seconds they were entering the woods and leaving my viewing point. I had been told that today’s course was about 2 miles long.

 

 

I was able to get a large number of photos and video clips for your viewing enjoyment. Please don’t miss that if you want to see what some off-road endurance racing looks like from Indiana.

 

 

Thanks.

By the way I want to give a shout out to the track’s admissions staff. They were more than willing to break my $100 bill. Yesterday I had gotten cash from a Citibank ATM. I went for the maximum of $400.

 

 

Much to my surprise I was given two $100 bills and ten $20 bills. I don’t like holding hundreds. They’re just too difficult to break. However I now had one down and one to go so maybe it won’t be as bad after all.

 

 

 

 

Oldham County Fairgrounds – La Grange, Illinois

 

 

Top Dog Promotions.

Next up I was headed over to La Grange, Kentucky for a Top Dog Promotions event. I would be visiting the Oldham County Fairgrounds for some circle track racing.

 

 

This would be my fourth Top Dog Promotions event of this particular trip. On one visit no countable cars showed up. However on the other three tries “circle track” racing was a featured item on the race itinerary.

 

 

Nope. They were just getting started.

I arrived at the fairgrounds a little bit past 8 PM. However I had not missed anything. I could hear the announcer telling the crowd all about the upcoming hot wheels demolition derby. This is where kids aged about 4-8 drive their plastic battery powered hot wheels around in a demo derby type activity. I’m not a big fan of this activity so missing it was no big deal to me.

 

 

However I am gaining some experience with the Top Dog Promotions racing environment. Following the hot wheels demo the drivers meeting was held.

 

 

The driver’s meeting.

I very much enjoy attending driver’s meetings. As a fan I get so much background information about how the program is going to run. This increases my enjoyment a good deal.

 

 

I was simply standing over to the side waiting for the meeting to begin. That’s when John the owner and operator of Top Dog Promotions noticed my presence. He came over to shake my hand.

 

 

“I figured you had”.

I hadn’t seen him since the second or third day of my trip. Today was day #27 of my adventure so far. I told John I had been traveling nonstop since I last saw him. He said, “I figured you had”. John told me that after tonight’s event he would be able to take the next month off from racing. He has a tough job keeping all the “balls in the air”.

 

 

A very diverse racing program.

There were essentially four different groups racing tonight. There was a lawnmower (pictured above) demolition derby. There were two classes of automobile demo derby. Finally they would have circle track racing. There were 12 circle track competitors racing tonight. John told me that last night they had 16 circle trackers at this same county fair.

 

 

So how does circle track racing work?

Tonight’s circle track racing program would work like this. There will be three racers in each of four heat races. The winners of each heat transferred to the main event. Second-place finishers in the heat race would move up to the consolation event. However, none of the consolation competitors would transfer to the A main event. Later after all the demolition derbies had been run the cars that finished last in their heat race would run in a feature race. I think I heard John say that race pay $10 winner take all! Obviously these racers come out just for the fun of it.

 

 

400 every 27.

Following tonight’s racing I had a four-hour up to Champaign, Illinois. That would make the entire day’s driving time about 10 hours. I have averaged nearly 400 miles a day of driving for each and every day of the trip so far. That’s 400 miles every day….for 27 days.

 

 

I don’t bring anyone else along on a trackchasing trip so they can do the driving. I don’t share gasoline expenses with anybody. I don’t count on anyone else to support my trackchasing hobby. I’m fairly unique in that regard amongst the hobbies leading chasers.

 

 

No! No demo derbies.

You should know by now the demolition derbies do not count in trackchasing. Racing on an oval track like the circle trackers were doing tonight does count. I enjoy a little demo derby racing when it is combined with any type of racing that counts within my trackchasing hobby.

 

 

I was most pleased to learn that all of the circle track racing would take place before the demo derby events. That meant the four qualifying heat races, the consolation event and the main event would be run first. These circle track races would be followed by the lawn more demolition derby, two classes of automobile demo derby and the hooligan’s circle track race.

 

 

They started late but then got a move on.

They didn’t start racing until 9 p.m. However once they got going they ran the events quickly. The circle track feature race was completed by 9:45 p.m.

 

 

One of the drivers I had spoken to at some length at my first Top Dog Promotion race visit had a bad wreck tonight. He ran headlong into a wall in his Toyota Camry. I think the impact stunned him. The race was stopped. Emergency personnel came to his aid. Luckily he was OK.

 

 

They were also two flips during tonight’s racing. The drivers were racing over a flat dirt oval that measured an estimated 1/12-mile in length. The track wasn’t very large. It was definitely a paperclip configuration. Nevertheless the drivers got around the track in really good shape. I was surprised at how fast they ran down the straights and through the turns.

 

 

You will see that I took video of each of the races from a different point on the track. I thought you might find that most entertaining and enjoyable.

 

 

There’s always something….that I have never seen before.

It seems like I see something at every event I attend that I’ve never seen before despite having seen racing at more than 2,100 venues. What was that most unusual item tonight?

 

 

One of the commercial buildings was set up for a county fair queen contest. Most of the spectators would be sitting in a large group of wooden church pews. I can’t recall ever seeing church pews at a county fair in the past.

 

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

 

 

No rest for the weary.

I was very happy with the idea of getting out of the fairgrounds by about 10 p.m. Eastern time. I would gain an hour driving over to Champaign. With the four-hour drive I expected to arrive at 1 a.m. or a little bit later. I have to be on the road tomorrow by 9 a.m. in order to get up to tomorrow’s county fair racing in northern Illinois.

 

After that event I will immediately begin driving towards Sturgis, South Dakota. That’s going to be a 13-hour one-way drive from my location in Illinois. When that race is finished I will head eight hours back to Minneapolis. From Minneapolis I’ll fly over to Washington D.C. Once there I’ll do 7-8 days of trackchasing in the Eastern region of the United States.

 

 

Carol is back and raring to go.

Recall that when Carol was sidelined with a bout of pneumonia earlier this month it knocked her out of about 10 days of trackchasing with me. This overall trip was originally scheduled for Carol to come out about every other week. However when pneumonia slowed her down that part of the plan was aborted.

 

 

When I finally see her it will have been about a month since we were last together rather than about 10 days as was originally planned. However that amount of time with only make our getting together that much sweeter.

 

 

I hope you are enjoying reading about my trackchasing exploits as I traverse our beautiful country over a period of 56 days. I can say with 100% certainty that I am enjoying each and every day.

 

 

 

Good night.

 

 

 

 

Indiana

 

 

The Hoosier state

This afternoon I was seeing my 85^th lifetime track in the Hoosier state, yes the Hoosier state. Native son Roger Ferrell has seen the most tracks in Indiana. I have seen 85 or more tracks in six states.

 

 

 

 

Kentucky

 

 

The Bluegrass state

This evening I was seeing my 38^th lifetime track in the Bluegrass state, yes the Bluegrass state. I have seen 38 or more tracks in sixteen states.

 

 

 

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

Indiana sayings: It’s easier to find a church than a Starbucks

 

 

Kentucky sayings: All summer long she was a sweet southern lady…then basketball started

 

 

 

 

QUICK FACTS

 

 

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Chicago, IL (ORD) – 1,745 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR #1

O’Hare International Airport – trip begins

London, KY

Indianapolis International Airport – trip ends – 766 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR #2

Indianapolis International Airport – trip begins

Bedford, KY

Indianapolis International Airport – trip ends – 603 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR #3

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – trip begins

Aitken, MN

Morten, Manitoba, Canada

LaGrange, IN

Manchester, IA

Oskaloosa, IA

Bowling Green, IN

Buncombe, IL

Ionia, MI

Osgood, IN

Hemlock, NY

Taylorville, IL

Cambridge, MN

Mora, MN

Urbana, IL

Bedford, KY

Owenton, KY

LeMars, IA

Belleville, KS

Grayslake, IL

Brazil, IN

La Grange, KY

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Laurel County Fairgrounds – $10 (not a trackchasing expense)

Trimble County Recreational Facility – $10

Aitken County Fairgrounds (oval) – complimentary admission

Aitken County Fairgrounds (RC) – $8

ALH Motor Speedway – complimentary admission

LaGrange County Fairgrounds – $10

Delaware County Fairgrounds – $10

Mahaska County Fairgrounds – $5

Sandstone – $15 (include pits)

HBR Raceway – $10 (included pits)

Ionia Free Fair – $13

Ripley County Fairgrounds – complimentary admission

Hemlock County Fairgrounds – complimentary admission

Christian County Fairgrounds – $8

Isanti County Fairgrounds – $12

Kanabec County Fairgrounds – $10

Champaign County Fairgrounds – $6

Dirty Turtle Off-Road Park – complimentary admission

Owenton County Fairgrounds – $10

Plymouth County Fairgrounds – complimentary admission

Belleville High Banks – $20

Lake County Fairgrounds – $8

Staunton MX – $15

Oldham County Fairgrounds – $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 500 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me.

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2,141

 

 

 

Total Trackchasing Countries

There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total.

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 70

 

 

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 4.88

 

 

 

That’s all folks! Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report

 

 

 

 

Click on the link below to see the “Video Lite” production from first the Staunton MX off-road dirt track and then the Oldham County Fairgrounds for “Circle Track” racing.

 

Staunton MX

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Oldham County Fairgrounds

 

 

 

 

 

Click on the link below for a photo album from today’s trackchasing day.  Double click on a photo to begin the slide show or watch the photos at your own pace.  Hover over a photo to read the caption.

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Staunton MX – Photo Album

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Oldham County Fairgrounds – Photo Album