Greetings from Oxford, Maine
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From the travels and adventures of the “World’s #1 Trackchaser”
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Oxford Plains Speedway #161
My “first” ever trackchasing visit to Maine – 1986. I will be the first to admit that my trackchasing history with the Oxford Plains Speedway has been a bit “confusing”. Let me explain. Before I ever joined the trackchasing group, of which I am no longer a part of, I had my own way to counting track visits. That’s not unusual. Most trackchasers counted their tracks in “their own way” before becoming a part of the larger trackchasing group. There is one main advantage of adhering to the official rules of the trackchasing hobby. That advantage is this. It allows everyone to compare his or her trackchasing totals, using the same criteria, with other trackchasers. Trackchasing for many is a “counting” hobby. If it counts then the trackchaser is happy and will move on. If a track does not “count” the trackchaser will likely never darken the door of the venue to begin with. I first showed up at the Oxford Plains Speedway on July 13, 1986. It was the weekend of the big “Oxford 250”. I was really looking forward to this race. It had lots of racing’s biggest names at the track to race including Bobby Allison and Harry Gant. I had been given press credentials to the event. That doesn’t happen often. One of the highlights is that each member of the racing press received a little “swag”. That came in the form of a small tool kit with the appropriate Oxford Plains Speedway logos. Very nice. However, there was a major problem with the weekend. It seems to rain in Maine a lot. The racing weekend was plagued with rain. Ultimately, after seeing a good deal of hot laps and time trials the rest of the racing weekend was canceled by the wet weather. Back in 1986 I was not yet a member of the trackchasing group. I had never submitted my list to anyone at the time. By my “rules” at the time my visit to the Oxford Plains Speedway was good for me. My idea of counting a track was really rather simple. If I entered the front gate for the races then that track was “in the books”. Even if something happened, like a weather cancellation, electrical failure or whatever, I had entered the track property. I looked at it this way. If someone had asked me what I had done up in Maine, even if I were rained out I would simply say, “I went to the races”. I figured if someone “went to the races” then that was good enough to count the track. Therefore, even though I had badly wanted to see the racing on this July, 1986 weekend, the track visit was counted despite having only seen time trials. The Oxford Plains Speedway was recorded as my lifetime track #161. Many years later when I submitted my trackchasing list to commissioner Will White the Oxford Plains Speedway was part of my track list….even though it did not meet trackchasing’s rules. This was a simple omission in a list of 400-500 tracks that I had seen at the time of my becoming an active member of the trackchasing hobby. Later, in 2009, I would return to the Oxford Plains Speedway with Carol to see some of their stock car racing action. Rather than re-number all of the tracks that followed Oxford Plains Speedway as track #161 I chose to keep the Oxford Plains Speedway in that position. So that’s the “story” behind my initial history with the Oxford Plains Speedway. However, this track property was not finished “messing” with me. In 2010 I returned to see racing on the inner oval track of the Oxford Plains Speedway. I was there to see caged kart racing. On August 27, 2010 I submitted the Oxford Plains Speedway inner oval as my 1,584th lifetime track. As the story below will tell you there was a good field of caged karts on that race night. However, trackchasing is nothing if not a VERY competitive hobby. I don’t even want to go into the time Guy Smith accused P.J. Hollebrand of dishonest/unethical/cheating trackchasing behavior. In this case none other than the commissioner of trackchasing, the aforementioned Will White, was challenging my caged kart race viewing. Mr. White took his responsibilities seriously. There’s nothing wrong with that. He was “challenging” the countability of the caged kart racing I had seen. This was the first time I would come to learn that “flat karts with cages” do NOT count by trackchasing rule. To be honest, when I saw the caged kart racers (above left) at the Oxford Plains Speedway I didn’t even notice these were FLAT karts with a cage. To my eye there is a very fine line between a flat kart with a cage and a senior champ kart (above right), which is not a flat kart, with a cage. Would you agree? For just about ever I have been the ONLY trackchaser to share photos and videos of the track visits I make. Yes, Guy Smith TAKES photos and videos but he has never really SHARED them. I once asked him if he even looks at the videos of the racing he videoed. His answer was a simple, “No”. The plus of my photography, other than being pretty much the only trackchaser to share the event in pictorial form, is that when something comes into question I can simply “go to the video or photo album” to check things out. As it turned out commissioner White was correct. What I had seen were flat karts with cages racing. Essentially a flat kart doesn’t count AT ALL. Folks, I can’t really explain to you why flat karts don’t count. I would direct you to a trackchasing founding father for a further explanation on that one. Since Mr. White was able to present his challenge in a timely manner I could remove the now disallowed track #1,584 from my list. Instead the track I saw the next night with Maine resident John Sullivan would become track #1,584. That track was the Mechanical Park @ Piscataquis Valley Fairgrounds located in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. I didn’t give up with the Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine. On June 6, 2009 I returned with Carol to see racing on the big track. Even though my first “official” trackchasing visit to Oxford Plains came 23 years after my first “Randy’s official” trackchasing visit in 1986, the Oxford Plains Speedway will forever be known at track #161. DAY 3 – “LAST TRIP BEFORE LABOR DAY” TRACKCHASING TOUR GREETINGS FROM OXFORD, MAINE TODAY’S HEADLINES Change is the sign of the trackchasing times …………..details in “The Objective”. Today there was time to explore Maine………………more in “The Trip and Trackchasing Tourist Attraction sections”. I don’t have the pulse on the people of Maine, but I like the place …………..details in “The People”. THE OBJECTIVE, THE TRIP, THE PEOPLE…AND A WHOLE LOT MORE The Objective Change is here. Change will continue. Friday night tracks are hard to come by. I’ve seen most of them. I have approximately 28 tracks that race regularly on a Friday night in all of the United States and Canada remaining to be seen! Can you imagine that? Trackchasing has been changing for me in recent years. I grew up with dirt oval racing. It’s still my favorite. Here’s an example on how the types of tracks I see have ALREADY changed. With my last 17 tracks, only one has been a dirt oval. During that time I’ve seen seven figure 8 tracks, six road courses, two asphalt ovals and a kart track. Yes tracks types have changed. The most popular racing days of the week. The days of the week I go trackchasing have and will continue to change. Racing is most popular on Saturdays, then Fridays and then Sundays. The other days of the week will throw a show up during the summer months only. A few years ago, I pretty much wiped out Sunday night tracks. Now Fridays are fast approaching extinction. Remember, I’m not talking about a single regional area. This situation covers the ENTIRE United States and Canada. What will I do in the next few years? The brightest minds in trackchasing are mulling this opportunity over in the small but cramped offices of Randy Lewis Racing in the sleepy little seaside village of San Clemente, California. The Trip Finally, a full night’s sleep. For the first time in a few nights I got a complete night’s sleep. Surprisingly, I found a Motel 6 in Maine. Yes, the luxury hotels of last week’s trip with Carol in El Salvador are a fading memory for me. Motel 6 isn’t very well represented in New England. Hotel prices are usually quite high here. Whenever I can stay in a decent place in NE for less than 50 bucks I consider that a major success. My labor of love. I spent the entire morning working on Trackchaser Reports and uploading photos to Picasa and YouTube. A complete Trackchaser Report takes some 15-25 hours of “production time” before it ever reaches www.randylewis.org and/or your individual email box. However it’s a labor of love, which is why I do it. The weather is New England this weekend is absolutely gorgeous. It couldn’t be any better. We’re talking cloudless skis, no rain in the forecast and temps in the 70s with no humidity. Yes, I’ve just described the weathers conditions I am faced with every day at home in California. Let’s explore Maine. I did some “Googling” to find some interesting things to do for the afternoon. My driving distance to tonight’s track was only about 50 miles. I came up with the “Maine State Museum” in Augusta, Maine. I also did some touring of Bath, Maine and the Wiscasset Raceway. I’ll tell you all about that in the “Trackchasing Tourist Attraction” section. The People Maniacs – I’m not sure I understand them. I’m not sure I have the “pulse” of the people from Maine. They’re not “NIMS” people that’s for sure. Please don’t miss understand. That doesn’t make them bad. I think they’re just a little more reserved than folks in some areas I travel. They might be affected by that “East coast skepticism” but it doesn’t manifest itself in the aggressive behaviors of their “southern East coast” cousins. Of course, it’s never a good idea to generalize. When you do people think the comments are meant about EVERYONE. Of course, that is never the case. I had only good encounters with the folks I ran into even if they did think I was a tourist! TRACKCHASING TOURIST ATTRACTION I very much enjoy the racing when I go on trackchasing trips. However, I am not the type of person who would feel the trip was complete if I simply left home, went to the race and came back home. I do a good deal of traveling. I want to do my best to see the local area when I come for a visit. There are usually unusual attractions that one area is noted for more than any other locale. I want to see those places. I want to touch them and feel them. When I leave an area, I want to have memories of these special places that I call Trackchasing Tourist Attractions. I will remember those experiences long after the checkered flag has fallen on whatever race I have seen that day. Maine State House – Augusta, Maine Maine State Museum – Augusta, Maine Wiscasset Speedway – Wiscasset, Maine tour Augusta, Maine city tour It was a glorious day to tour Maine. The weather was absolutely perfect. I didn’t have to be anywhere til the end of the day. A little Google searching turned me onto some fun, interesting and beautiful spots up in one of my favorites areas of our country. Maine State House – Augusta, Maine Of course, Augusta is the state capital of Maine. I was able to get some great pictures of the majestic state capital building. Maine State Museum – Augusta, Maine This was the highlight of my touring for the day. The museum is very detailed. It takes visitors through the lives of early residents of Maine. There are some great films to watch including one on the logging industry. I sat down with that film for several minutes and gained a great insight on how important logging has been to this region. The museum also offers a few automobiles from manufacturers that long ago bitten the dust. The museum provided lots of interesting information on other local industries that included sardine canning and maple syrup production. I was particularly interested in the background of various state and national flags. Any American should know what the stars and stripes represent on the most beautiful flag in the world. I give a “two thumbs” up to this museum. Wiscasset Speedway – Wiscasset, Maine Back on June 13, 2003 the Wiscasset Speedway was my 640th lifetime track. Carol sat beside me that day. This was just two days before we joined Trackchasing Commissioner Will White for my first ever “R” rated racing program at the Muddy Acres facility in Mecklenburg, New York. I can’t recall if that was the day we introduced (re-introduced?) Will to Margaritas or not. I think it was. Nevertheless, it was nice to take another look at the Wiscasset Speedway today. The track gates were open so I was able to get some photos of this grand old track. As I see more and more tracks my direct recollection of many of them begins to fade. Although the Wiscasset Speedway was seen just seven years before, that was almost 1,000 tracks ago! Bath, Maine – City Tour I wanted to visit a town in Maine that was “on the water”. Water views are a key ingredient to where I live. My realtor says “all money flows to the sea”. What he means by that is people keep trading up until they get a home on the water. That’s the way it worked for us. Bath looks a bit touristy. Nevertheless, I did get several “lobster net” shots. I’m not sure what your favorite method is for seeing my photos from these trips. You now have three main options. You can use my Picasa link to see the individual photos on a one by one basis (where you control the timing), or you can watch the slideshow as a YouTube movie where you hit one key and sit back with a beverage of your choice and “go trackchasing”. Now you can also see a movie of what I saw at and around the racetrack. Of course, if that weren’t enough options you can choose to watch much of this in standard or high definition. I will tell you this. The “high definition” viewing is just about as good as being there. Years from now when “I’m in the home” I will be able to re-experience all of these wonderful trips just by looking at the pictures. Heck, if you’re in the home with me you can look over my shoulder. We might be at a point in our lives where all of what we’re seeing will be brand new. Won’t that be grand? Where’s the best place to eat? RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Money Back Guarantee The Lost Gull – Oxford, Maine I am always intrigued by the “clam shacks” I see scattered all over New England. However, I am yet to be very impressed with the taste and quality of meals I’ve had in these places. They also seem much overpriced. I have learned to stay away from the “lobster roll”. Those things are like eating gold. I am always disappointed in the quantity of lobster served. I find it equally disgusting when the bill comes my way. Today’s restaurant advertised “Fresh fried clams”. Somehow that seemed like an oxymoron. I used to love fried foods. Now, for the most part, they don’t taste very good to me. I do a fairly good job of staying away from fried anything. I try, whenever I can, to replace fried foods with a strong dose of “sweet stuff”. I never said I was perfect. Today I promised myself not to order a lobster roll! Instead I had a big bowl of New England clam chowder, some clam cakes and a baked potato. I thought of this as the “healthy option”. The food was O.K. but I don’t think I would recommend this place. However, if you visit the Oxford Plains Speedway you won’t have much choice. At least the “Lost Gull” is near the track. RACE REVIEW OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY (INNER OVAL) – OXFORD, MAINE The odds and ends? At this stage of my trackchasing career in New England I’m picking off what I would call “odds and ends” tracks. I don’t think there’s a single MAJOR facility in the New England region I haven’t seen. I’ve been to the Oxford Plains Speedway three times now. The first two visits were to see racing on their ultra-competitive 1/3-mile asphalt oval. Tonight I was seeing racing on the “Plains” inner oval. This is a flat 1/8-mile asphalt oval. The backstretch on the outer oval is the front stretch on the inner oval. They use the backstretch grandstands as the front stretch seating area for the smaller track. They started racing early, 6:30 p.m. That was good for me. I had about 100 miles of driving after the races to complete on winding two lane highways. Fortunately, the entire program was wrapped up by 8 p.m. Fall is in the air. Tonight was the last race of 2010 for this group. They race weekly here on Fridays. I always find it surprising that a track would finish their season in August. However, I can already feel that “fall is the air”. Tonight’s low temperature up near the Canadian border will be in the 40s. A class for 95 year olds? This evening there were five classes racing. I think only one of them was “trackchasing countable”. All of the cars were “countable”. However, all but one (I think) limited the driver’s age to something less than 18 years old. The unrestricted class had no upper end on the acceptable age for their drivers. I suspect that if a 95-year old wanted to race that theory might be tested. The unrestricted class had 13 racers. They raced only features tonight. Each of the five races was for 40 laps. Since a racing lap only took about 9 seconds on the small track, it didn’t take that long to get everything finished. They made announcements over a stout P.A. system. However, the “announcer” didn’t say anything else about the program. There was no explanation about what the racing program would be. There was no information. There was basically “no nothing”. I don’t know why kart tracks and road courses misuse this resource, but they do. Auto racing little league. Most of this racing is for kids. It’s sort of like “auto racing little league”. I saw a few parents who seemed to be reliving their childhoods through their children. I heard one mother bemoaning the fact, to another mother, that her son hadn’t tried hard enough to win the race. Oh, my. Drags tonight too. The Oxford Dragway is situated behind the grandstands of tonight’s track. They were racing this evening. This allowed me to stand on the top row of the grandstands and see two types of racing. Alas, drag racing does not count in trackchasing. Sorry. That’s just how the “founding fathers” decided to do things. I didn’t make the rules, I just go out of my way to abide by them. STATE COMPARISONS Maine This evening I saw my 12th lifetime track in the Pine Tree state, yes, the Pine Tree state. This moves me out of a tie for fourth place with Will White. I’m just one track behind third place chaser Pam Smith. Guy Smith leads up here with 25 tracks. Who would have ever thought I would have a 4th place ranking in Maine! I still have some 10 tracks to be seen in Maine although only one races on a regularly scheduled basis. I also maintain a four-track advantage over anyone who might try to knock me out of the top ten. In Maine, that is a significant advantage. Coming Soon – RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Exclusive Features! I’ve added YouTube slide shows and movies with actual racing footage of the tracks I visit. This is all in the name of “trackchasing promotion”. I’ve got one more promotional idea in the “pipeline”. Soon you’ll see what I’ve got up my sleeve. Thanks for reading about my trackchasing, Randy Lewis World’s #1 Trackchaser Maine sayings: Numma than a hake (really, really stupid) TRAVEL DETAILS AIRPLANE Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Chicago, IL (ORD) – 2,210 miles RENTAL CAR #1 O’Hare International Airport – trip begins Joliet, IL – 59 miles O’Hare International Airport – 123 miles – trip ends AIRPLANE Chicago, IL (ORD) – Boston, MA (BOS) – 863 miles RENTAL CAR #2 Logan International Airport – trip begins Dover-Foxcroft, ME – 272 miles Oxford, ME – 444 miles TRACK ADMISSION PRICES: Route 66 Raceway – Joliet, Illinois – $20 Mechanical Park @ Piscataquis Valley Fairgrounds – $6 Oxford Plains Speedway – $5 COMPARISONS LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS There are no trackchasers currently within 200 tracks of my lifetime total. You might have remembrances about the Oxford Plains Speedway. 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. Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report DAY 3 – “MAINE IS FUN WHEN IT DOESN’T RAIN” TRACKCHASING TOUR GREETINGS FROM SKOWHEGAN, MAINE AND THEN ST. ALBANS, MAINE AND FINALLY OXFORD, MAINE TODAY’S HEADLINES This week Maine was the place to gather those valuable lifetime NGD points …………..details in “The Objective”. Everyone likes a “yard sale”……………….more in “The Trip”. The Get-Er-Done Raceway is a great family-built racetrack.…………..details in “The People”. THINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE NOTICED HAD YOU BEEN PAYING MORE ATTENTION IN SCHOOL I will maintain my policy of affording anonymity to readers, when it makes sense, when they send in interesting bits of information or who provide cutting edge analysis. FROM THE BEST READERS IN RACING Carol and I received a wonderful surprise from Sweden this week. Recall we went trackchasing there in May, 2008. Our on the ground contact was Par-Olof Hakansson. Par-Olof was kind enough to send a copy of his Swedish racing club’s newsletter for 2008. We were more than shocked to see that my Trackchaser Report was featured in the publication along with a photo of Trackchasing’s First Mother and me. Thank you, Par-Olof for thinking of us. This will be a great souvenir of our trackchasing travels. The East Coast is taking a pounding. That’s right. This is my third consecutive weekend of trackchasing in New England. After this trip, there won’t be many more tracks up here to get. This is what transpired on day #3 of my 16th trackchasing flying trip of the 2009 season. THE OBJECTIVE, THE TRIP, THE PEOPLE…AND A WHOLE LOT MORE The Objective Why Maine? Why are we trackchasing in Maine? First, the weather is good. They get a good deal of rain up here, so just having good weather is a major plus. However, the real reason we came to Maine was for the National Geographic Diversity (NGD) points. If I am ever going to effectively compete with those mega heavily resourced Eastern trackchasing teams, I need to improve my scores in the Eastern and New England states. As you may know, all trackchasers who don’t have a top ten ranking in an individual state are saddled with five NGD “penalty” points. I have learned than I can’t compete at a championship level with too many penalty points. Going into this year, I have more than ten states where I was receiving NGD “penalty” points. One of my goals for the 2009 season was to improve: “Lifetime National Geographic Diversity results (reduce my number of “15” point states by at least one). I currently have 12 “15” point states.” Editor’s note: Actually, the above goal may have been in error. I believe I only had eleven states (not 12) where I was receiving penalty points. Granted, that may not have been a very aggressive goal. However, considering my east coast competition I had to be realistic. Actually, I plan to reduce my penalty point states in several locations, not just one. However, that is the very last thing the “mega heavily resourced Eastern trackchasing teams” wants me to do. I just hope they don’t resort to pulling their people off their jobs and making them leave their families on weekends in order to fend me off. If you’re going to compete just get out and do it yourself. That’s how I do it. I’m making some progress in the lifetime NGD results. Entering the 2009 season, I was ranked outside the top ten in eleven states. That’s 55 penalty points! So far, in 2009, I have removed ten of those penalty points. I’m up to ninth in Connecticut and fourth in New Hampshire. I’ve also improved my NGD score in Rhode Island from seven to one. If the weather continues to cooperate, I will leave Maine in ninth place. These four states account for a 29-point reduction in my total lifetime NGD score. Late night strategic meetings? This creates a major problem for my fellow eastern-based lifetime NGD competitors. What are they going to do? They don’t have the “penalty point” reduction opportunities that I do. They’ve already tried the “stealth” approach of not reporting their tracks on a timely basis in hopes of “staying under the radar”. I can only imagine the late-night strategic meetings that are going on as they try to remedy their seemingly hopeless situation. I, for one, worry about the safety of our unofficial trackchasing commissioner in all of this. He reports all of the track results, which support the NGD database. Will the Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers (DECTs) try to “get to him”? Editor’s note: I asked Carol if the above was fairly reported. Here reply, “Ya…..with a slight twist”. The Trip It rains in Maine but not this weekend. To visitors from sunny SoCal, we find Maine to be a lot like Alaska….without the mountains. The weather seems to change quickly and they get a good deal of rain. I was surprised to learn there is not really a “rainy” season. In Bangor, as an example, the driest month is February with 2.54 inches of rainfall. The wettest month is November with 3.69 inches of rain. All of the other months fall within this rather narrow range. One winter I ventured to Maine for an ice race. Most of you know that ice racing takes place in the U.S. on frozen lakes. What happened? I was RAINED out of an ice race. The rain was so heavy it left large puddles on the frozen lake that had not had time to freeze. It was a rainout. Nevertheless, the rain creates a good deal of beautiful greenery everywhere you go in Maine. We’re tourists at heart. We drove on a number of side roads during our trip. This is really the best way to see the countryside compared to interstate travel. It might also be the best way to hit a moose. There are “moose” warning signs everywhere. Many of these side roads are not in the best of condition as “Tonto” might tell you as he bounced around all over the dashboard. As most of my U.S., based readers should know, the United States began as a country in 1776. In less than a month that will be some 233 years ago. I don’t know if any Maine housing is that old, but much of it comes close. I have never seen more houses in a state of disrepair (mainly because they are so old) than what we found up here. I don’t think the houses are protected from change by any government historical requirements. They just look to be neglected due to what is probably the gigantic cost of fixing them up. Carol thinks they should be torn down. I think it’s part of the overall quaintness of the region. Have you been to a “Yard Sale” lately? Where I grew up in Illinois, we had garage sales. We tried a “garage sale” when we lived in Laguna Niguel, California. I was against this plan 100%. I didn’t like the idea of having people traipsing all over are property with our end benefit being a revenue stream of a couple hundred dollars. I told Carol I could get as much or more money by taking a tax deduction and GIVING all of the stuff to charity. She was set on having a garage sale. After we had all of our garage sale stuff neatly displayed on our driveway, a passing shower forced us to take evasive action and put all of our stuff, where it had been originally, in the garage! Suffice it to say, that was the first and last garage sale we ever had. Well, in Maine, they don’t have garage sales; they have “Yard” sales. It seemed like just about anyone who had a yard was having a “yard sale” this weekend. I think some people leave their entire yard sale inventory outside in their yards even when a sale is not going on. Come to think of it, that’s a very efficient way to do things. I don’t think they should have warning signs for moose, but for yard sales. The stopped traffic along narrow two-lane roads can be hazardous. The economy looks bad up here. Yes, the economy looks bad up here. Heck, it looks bad everywhere. People just are not spending money. If everyone spent discretionary monies as we do, the economy would be the best it’s ever been. Come on people lighten up. You can’t take the money with you. Help a brother out; spend some of that cash. Maine people were great. Everywhere we went we found the people of Maine to be great. This was especially true at the racetracks where we had more interactions with “Maniacs”. That’s what my stepfather calls the residents of Maine who live in his Florida housing area for the winter. People in the stores and on the streets were equally as nice. Today was Saturday. Our first race would not begin until 1 p.m. This gave us Saturday morning for a Trackchasing Tourist Activity (TTA). I asked our hotel clerk where we could go to see some traditional New England small town shopping areas. She recommended two such towns, both located on the waterfront. That would be great. I love water view property. She recommended Belfast and Camden. We didn’t have time to visit both places. We headed to Belfast because it took us out of our way a shorter distance. Later, local folks told us Camden might have been the better choice. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our morning in Belfast. By the way, my trackchasing travels have taken me to Belfast, Northern Ireland when I went to the Ballymena Raceway. I’ll tell you more about Belfast, Maine in the Trackchasing Tourist Attraction section of this report. The People Is it really better? I trackchase a little differently that my fellow competitors. Do I consider it “better” in this regard than how others do it? To be honest, yes I do. However, I must remind myself that just because it’s good for me doesn’t mean it would be just as beneficial for others. Carol says I should have worded the above as “everyone has a different personality and it doesn’t make it good or bad. It would be dull if everyone was the same”. Yes, she likes to “play it safe”. However…..I did not achieve an on-line readership of more than 1,000 people by making any milquetoast statements. I standby by my words in the beginning of this paragraph. I enjoy meeting the local people wherever I go. Today Carol and I moseyed over to the small wood board grandstand at the Get-Er-Done Raceway. It was only 5 rows high and about 12 feet wide. The weeds were as high as the third bleacher board. There was another couple already sitting there. They were the only people anywhere near this grandstand. I walked up to them holding our race tickets in hand, and said, “I think you’re in our seats”. This was my way of saying “hello” and evoked the laughter I was expecting. This is a family run racetrack. We struck up a conversation with these folks. It didn’t take long to discover we were talking with “June” whose nephew owned, promoted, flagged and announced at the Get-Er-Done Speedway. June was happy to have us at the track. I mentioned why we were here. She decided this might be newsworthy and tried to find the newspaper’s local reporter to no avail. Soon June and her husband headed over to the concession stand for a bite to eat. Junes’ sister cooks in the concession stand. The sister’s able partner in culinary delight is the track promoter’s dad. Yes, in Maine it all comes full circle. Soon Carol and I decided to have lunch. However, our money wasn’t any good at the concession. These folks were treating us to lunch. Carol had a hamburger and I had a cheesesteak without the cheese but with grilled onions. The food was delicious. The Get-Er-Done Raceway owner gave us the lowdown. At intermission, we spent time talking with Butch the track’s owner. He told us the history of the track. It’s located on his 169-acre property. It so far out in the middle of nowhere that “Tonto” my faithful GPS partner does not have any mapping for the local road. I can’t ever recall that happening in the U.S. before. I used www.autoracingrecords.com to get the longitude/latitude coordinates for the track. When Tonto said we “were there” we weren’t quite there. However, I drove another quarter-mile or so and saw the track’s sign. Several other friendly “Maniacs,” came over to meet us as well. We enjoyed talking with everyone. I hope they get a chance to see the pictures I took of their speedway and the local surroundings. TRACKCHASING TOURIST ATTRACTION I very much enjoy the racing when I go on trackchasing trips. However, I am not the type of person who would feel the trip was complete if I simply left home, went to the race and came back home. I do a good deal of traveling. I want to do my best to see the local area when I come for a visit. There are usually unusual attractions that one area is noted for more than any other locale. I want to see those places. I want to touch them and feel them. When I leave an area, I want to have memories of these special places that I call Trackchasing Tourist Attractions. I will remember those experiences long after the checkered flag has fallen on whatever race I have seen that day. Belfast, Maine – Historic Seaside Village Belfast is a little town of just more than 6,000 people. It’s located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River on Penobscot Bay. It was about a one-hour drive from our hotel to Belfast. During that drive, we had some gorgeous water views. We began our tour with a short drive around the town and it’s nearby neighborhoods. We only had two hours to spend here so we figured we would get an overall “lay of the land” so we could pinpoint our walks and not waste time. Everything is a “strategic adventure” isn’t it? Our first walk took us down to the waterfront. This area was home to a small marina that housed several pleasure boats and some very large sailboats. I’ve never wanted a boat of my own, but always enjoyed the chance to enjoy others’. From there we went window-shopping and exploring in the several small stores in town. I like Army Surplus stores. However, I fear that if I bought my first ever camouflage shirt, I might put it in the closet and never be able to find it (ba-da-bing!). After walking into several stores, many with old creaking wooden floors, we grabbed a bite to eat. We stopped at Alexia’s Pizza (338-9776) in Belfast for “a slice”. Yes, even though I have lost a good deal of weight on Weightwatchers I still abide by the WW slogan. “You can eat anything you want; you just can’t eat as much as you want”. Carol and I each had a delicious slice of cheese pizza and a non-caloric drink. You may see photos of unhealthy and high-calorie foods as examples of what I eat on the road. Don’t worry. I try to eat small amounts of these foods and cut back on other meals to help accommodate my penchant for eating tasty but less than nutritious food. Our drive from Belfast back up to Skowhegan was again along “country roads”. We saw lots of beautiful New England scenery. You won’t want to miss it. Maine is rustic and I think it’s cool. RACE REVIEW GET-ER-DONE RACEWAY, SKOWHEGON, MAINE What a great racetrack name! This track has to have just about the coolest name ever. There is a track in Oklahoma with a similar name, GIT-R-Done Raceway. I wonder if “Larry the Cable Guy” has ever been here. Today’s track is “out in the boonies” and offers “red neck” racing. Neither one of those descriptions is mine. The “out in the boonies” comment was offered by the track owner’s aunt. One of the long-term fans used the “red neck” descriptor. A one-man band. The track is just three years old. However, it took the owner, Butch, six years to build it. This is a quarter-mile, mostly flat, dirt (more sand, it seemed) oval. There are no lights. The P.A. is stout. Today the owner/ promoter was a “one man band”. He handled the flagging chores in one hand and the announcing microphone in the other. He still had time to spend chatting with Carol and me at intermission. Today’s car count was down. The Maine economy is hurting and that makes racing a luxury that some drivers can no longer afford. There were five classes racing today, including one youth class. I think I counted 14 racing machines in total. Most classes had two cars and a couple had four. I was told they sometimes get twice as many competitors. Today was a mostly sunny day with the temperature in the low 70s and no humidity. It was a San Clemente day!! At the beginning, the track was very dusty even with few cars racing. However, 3-4 laps from the water truck kept the dust down to an acceptable level. The pit area sits beyond the backstretch. There is a small five-row grandstand, but most people watch from their cars. There is also a concession stand that serves up some remarkably good grub considering how rural of a location that is home to the Get-Er-Done Speedway. Long after I have forgotten the details about the racing at this track, I will remember its people. I think you will get more out of looking at the photos of the Get-Er-Done Raceway than having me tell you about it. Does that sound good to you? THUNDERING VALLEY SPEEDWAY, ST. ALBANS, MAINE Would this be a wasted trip? My initial concern when I planned to attend this track was whether they would have any countable classes or not. This is nearly always a concern when visiting “kart” tracks. As you know, we don’t count “flat” or “open” karts. Essentially, we only count caged karts with adult drivers. What constitutes an adult? I have long lobbied for an exact definition of what an “adult” driver is. Recently, trackchasing’s unofficial (he’s official in my book) commissioner has agreed that any class that allows drivers at least 18 years of age to race is catering to the “adult” crowd. That’s good enough for me. The Thundering Valley Speedway had a “champ animal” division that allowed drivers from age 13-18 to race. Before I committed to the long tow up to St. Albans, Maine, I cleared this age range with the commissioner. The track’s website also said they raced a senior champ kart division (with no top age limit). However, in the events already run at the track in 2009, there had been no senior champs. I was banking on the champ animals to save our day. We arrived early and napped in the track’s parking area. Tonight’s racing program was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. We arrived early at 3:45 p.m. We were the first of only two vehicles that would park in the spectator parking lot. The karts were on the track practicing. At kart tracks, they do a lot of practicing. The lady on the P.A. system told us the driver’s meeting would be at 4:30 p.m. I made a mental note to attend that meeting and Carol and I both nodded off to sleep. I awoke at 4:45 p.m. just to see the driver’s meeting breaking up. I asked Carol why she didn’t awaken me for the meeting. Then I remembered she had not taken me to raise! The track started the first race promptly at 5 p.m. Most every one of the eastern tracks that I have visited over the past three trackchasing weekends has been prompt. Good for them. Alas, there were no “champ animals” on the card tonight. That could have been disastrous, but it was not. There were four senior champs racing. When they contested a 15-lap heat race, the track was in the books. Regardless of what regular competitors showed up at the Thundering Valley Speedway, we had an “ace up our sleeve”. Tonight the mid-coast mini-cups sanctioning group was making a guest appearance at the track. “Mini-Cups” look like NASCAR Sprint Cup cars but are about 1/2 as big. However, after watching so many little karts race, the mini-cups looked like racing limousines. They brought nine cars to the track. However, they were too big for this little track. They kept sliding off the racing surface. In their 15-lap heat race, they must have had nearly ten yellow flags. Tonight’s track is another quality “small track” in New England. The Thundering Valley Speedway is a spotless little gem of a track. If I had not already seen two of the very best kart tracks, Route 106 Speed Park and Sugar Hill Speedway last week, Thundering Valley might have been in consideration for the top spot. The track is a nearly ¼-mile long flat asphalt oval with four corners ala Flemington Speedway. There isn’t a blade of grass out of place at this facility. I would have liked the announcer to do more than ask the drivers to get ready for the next race. However, in kart racing and sports car racing there isn’t much announcer information and/or entertainment to be offered. The track had a nice little concession booth. We had a coffee, Diet Coke, ice cream bar, pack of peanut butter cookies (supporting the Girl Scouts) and a cup of 3-bean chili. The price? Just $4.50. This was a trackchasing double. Overall, our visit to the Thundering Valley Speedway was enjoyable. This was the back half of a trackchasing double. It doesn’t fit any of the formal definitions of a trackchasing double perfectly. It could be a “blended double without a feature on the back end”. However, we had seen the full program through the final feature event at the Get-Er-Done Speedway. No, it wasn’t a blended double. I think it came closest to a “day/night” double. Granted, Thundering Valley began at 5 p.m. and I don’t consider “night” to start until 6 p.m. However, most of the program at Thundering Valley would be run at night. Therefore, I will classify this trackchasing double as a “day/night” double. I just wanted you to know the rationale for this decision. OXFORD PLAINS SPEEDWAY, OXFORD, MAINE It’s fun to go where the racing is well above average. When given the choice I prefer action packed side-by-side racing to the alternative. However, in the realm of world-class trackchasing I have come to expect the racing mundane. With many of the tracks, not all, that I visit in order to remain competitive in the world trackchaser standings, the racing isn’t much. Often it is non-existent. That is why, when faced with these evening’s racing choices, my selection was easy. It was 6 p.m. We had already seen all 7-8 racing classes at the Thundering Valley Speedway. No class had more than four cars and several had only two, except the visiting mini-cups who came with nine. Except for the mini-cups there wasn’t much racing action. A top 40 track is always worth attending. Just down the road was one of my “top 40” U.S. tracks. I refer to the Oxford Plains Speedway. I had been here in 1986 for their famous “Oxford 250” race. They were having several long distance stock car racing feature events tonight. Yes, if we went there it would add 3.5 hours of additional driving to our itinerary. What should we do? Stay and watch a series of 2-4 kart feature events or nearly 200 laps of high-speed, side-by-side stock car racing. To top it off Carol had never been to the Oxford Plains track. That broke the tie that did not exist. We headed for Oxford, Maine. We arrived at the Oxford Plains Speedway at 8:05 p.m. There was still enough light to take a few pictures. The Oxford program had begun at 6:30 p.m. When we got there, the track was having its intermission, the interlude that separates the heat racing preliminary stuff from the feature events. Perfect! Tonight, for us, Oxford Plains was running a features only program. The Oxford Plains Speedway is a 1/3-mile slightly banked wide asphalt oval. They have grandstand seating for thousands. This is one of the biggest grandstands at any short track I have ever visited. The P.A. is stout with a knowledgeable and entertaining young announcer. In this big grandstand, tonight’s crowd of just over 1,000 looked small. We had the pick of just about any good seat in the house. Consistent with most other bigger east coast tracks, Oxford Plains offers a wide selection of mostly unhealthy but tasty treats. However, their prices are ridiculous for a short track. A standard bottle of water, that many places sell for $1.00-1.50 was being offered for $3.25. Even though I was dying of thirst, I resisted this rip-off. I don’t mind (well, I really do) higher prices at major venues of sport, but at least I have come to expect it there. Nearly 200 laps of feature racing made the trip worthwhile. We watched all four features offered upon our arrival. These included various forms of stock cars with full fields of mostly 20 cars each. We saw races of 20, 30, 40 and then 100 laps. That came to 190 laps of quality feature racing for just eight bucks each. The last race would be a 100-lapper for the strictly stock division. It was getting late and we had a 1.5-hour drive back to the hotel. Then the next morning we would have eight hours of round-trip driving to get to Sunday’s track. I told Carol that we would watch the last feature until the first yellow flag and then head out. She agreed with that plan. I figured that first yellow would come in the opening three laps. Wrong! The 14-car starting field went a full 86 laps under green before seeing a yellow flag. At that point, we had to stay until the end. Yellow flag laps counted so the restart came on lap 92. Oxford Plains…..at the top of the list. As I look back on my 2009 season, the Oxford Plains racing was at the top of the list. Several other eastern U.S. tracks were near the top as well. This review reminded me of how little “real” racing I have seen in 43 new track visits this year. In the 100-lapper there was a battle for positions three, four and five that had the cars racing nose-to-tail or two abreast or three abreast for nearly the entire 100 laps. This was my best race of the season. It was a perfect end to a lovely sightseeing and trackchasing day in Maine. Is Carol now a “fellow competitor?” However, doesn’t the saying go, “During every sunny day, there will always be a rain cloud?” That was the case with our outing today. Yes, it had been my idea to take Carol to the Oxford Plains Speedway so she could add a new track to her resume. However, now she has seen every track that I have in Maine. We both have eight tracks here. What if she sneaks out in the middle of the night and flies to Maine. She could get an extra track without me. Then she would push me down a notch in the Maine NGD rankings. I guess I will have to sleep with one-eye open for the rest of the season. STATE COMPARISONS Maine Today I saw my seventh and eighth lifetime tracks in Maine. This moves me into a tie with John Osowski for 10th place in the Pine Tree state. By the way, I have only met Mr. Osowski one time. That was back at the Jacksonville Speedway (IL) in 1998. It was a purely chance meeting. John and his wife were sitting next to my stepfather. I arrived late only to find my stepfather already conversing with the friendly Osowski’s. As you have come to know, a 10th place ranking doesn’t come with any lifetime NGD penalty points. That meant that today my NGD score improved in Maine from 15 points to just ten. Carol, with eight Maine tracks, is tied for 10th with me. As mentioned, I’m keeping an eye on her. Guy Smith leads by ten with 24 tracks in the northernmost of all New England states. RENTAL CAR UPDATE Boston, MA – Friday/Monday Our Hyundai Sonata is chauffeuring us around the less than smooth rural Maine roads very well. Coming soon! What’s my NGD strategy with regards to my fellow competitors? (Coming in Trackchaser Report #1,444) 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) Thanks for reading about my trackchasing, Randy Lewis Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser I’m still trackchasing out of a tiny three-car garage in the faraway but sunny seaside village of San Clemente, California. TRAVEL DETAILS AIRPLANE Orange County, CA – Salt Lake City, UT – 588 miles Salt Lake City, UT – Boston, MA – 2,106 miles RENTAL CAR Logan (Boston) International Airport – trip begins Unity, ME – 246 miles Skowheagon, ME – 362 miles St. Albans, ME – 383 miles Oxford, ME – 462 miles TRACK ADMSSION PRICES: Unity Raceway – $10 (no senior discount) Get-Er-Done Raceway – $5 (no senior discount) Thundering Valley Speedway – $5 (no senior discount) Oxford Plains Speedway – $8 ($2 senior discount) 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. 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” below, 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 = 5.45 (tracks posted thru June 7) 2009 changes Connecticut -6 Maine -5 New Hampshire -11 Rhode Island – 8 Texas +1 Net changes -28 Gordon Killian – current score = 5.84 (tracks posted thru May 15) 2009 changes Georgia -6 New Jersey +1 Ohio -1 Rhode Island -1 South Carolina +2 Net changes -5 LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS UPDATE: There are no trackchasers currently within 200 tracks of my lifetime total. Other notables These worldwide trackchasers are within 10 tracks (plus or minus or more) of Carol’s current trackchaser total. 2009 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS Lifetime track totals in ( ). Our Maine trip is going very well. Have you noticed how close Carol is getting to the coveted 400-track number? Maybe there is time for one more Maine trackchasing visit. 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), Skowheagon, 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) Official end of RANLAY Racing Trackchaser Report The little track at Oxford Plains….that didn’t count . . Racing at the big track at Oxford Plains . . Get-Er-Done Raceway….way out in the boonies . . Thundering Valley Raceway….a sharp looking little kart track . . Racing on the little track at the Oxford Plains Speedway . . The entire day of sightseeing/racing on the little track at the Oxford Plains Speedway
UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS
RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2009