Greetings from Rochester, New Hampshire
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From the travels and adventures of the
“World’s #1 Trackchaser”
Rochester Fairgrounds Dirt oval Lifetime Track #2,684 THE EVENT Editor’s note: For trackchasing purposes, I break the world out into five “regions”. Those would be west, south, midwest, east and foreign. I keep a lot of stats about my trackchasing. Why? I just like numbers. Here’s a breakout by “region” that shows how many tracks I’ve seen in each of my five trackchasing geographical areas. West Region – 453 Midwest Region – 950 South Region – 544 East Region – 313 Foreign Region – 420 Today I was trackchasing in the East Region. As you can see I’ve seen fewer racetracks in the Eastern Region than anywhere else. Why is that? The East Region doesn’t have all that many permanent racetracks compared to the rest of the country. For the most part, they don’t have nearly the amount of “one-off” races, i.e. county fairs and the like as the Midwest Region does. Nevertheless, I always enjoy trackchasing in the east. I AM A TRACKCHASER. My name is Randy Lewis (above with Karla one of my race contacts at the Autodromo de Yucatan Emerson Fittipaldi in Yucatan, Mexico). I live out in San Clemente, California. We’re only 74 miles north of the Mexican border. I’m not sure a person could pick a more inconvenient location in the continental United States if they wanted to be a world-class trackchaser. My residential location virtually assures the idea that I must fly to virtually every track I visit. I am a “trackchaser”. I trackchase. Have you ever in your life heard of “trackchasing”? I didn’t think so. Trackchasing for me is all about three things. First, I enjoy auto racing. Secondly, my hobby requires a good deal of overnight travel. When I venture out to see a race at a track I’ve never seen before I do not want my trip limited to racing only. The very last thing I want when I’m done trackchasing is to have memories of only racing. I want to take some time to see the local attractions of wherever I might be visiting. Those visits in many cases will provide more long-lasting memories than whatever I saw on the track. Finally, I want to create a logistical plan that allows me to accomplish the two points mentioned above without depleting my retirement account. That’s trackchasing for me. Hundreds of trackchasers have stopped for a moment to create their own personal trackchasing list. I think that is great. However, I will tell you that no one has ever taken trackchasing more seriously than I have. Do I have any data to back up that assertion? I do. To date, I have seen auto racing in 85 countries at more than 2,680 different tracks. Does that sound serious to you? I’ve been able to see the world doing this. If you’re interested in exactly what I’ve been able to experience all around the U.S. and the world I recommend you click on this link. Trackchasing Tourist Attractions After each and every event that I attend I post a YouTube video, a SmugMug photo album and a very detailed Trackchaser Report about the experience on my website at www.randylewis.org. My trackchasing contributions generate a good deal of interest in what I am doing. My YouTube channel (ranlay) has more than 1.3 million views. My website gets more than 20,000 views every month. Because I have seen racing in 85 countries at this point I am considered the World’s #1 Trackchaser. That’s good enough for me. Now I encourage you to drop down a few spaces and read about today’s trackchasing adventure. As you discover what went on at this track just think about the idea that I’ve done this nearly 2,700 times. I don’t mind admitting I am addicted to the hobby of trackchasing. It’s just fun! If you’re interested in looking back and seeing where I’ve been the following link is for you. 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, March 6, 2021. It is true. I had an aggressive trackchasing plan for this weekend. I was going to fly for a total of 13 hours and drive for another 12 or 13 hours in order to first see a race up in Rochester, New Hampshire and then see racing at a new track in San Tan, Arizona. I was pretty sure no trackchaser had ever seen a new track in New Hampshire on one day and on the very next day track chased in Arizona. My trip would begin with a five-hour airplane ride from Los Angeles to Boston. I would have to make that trip on Friday even though the race wasn’t scheduled until Saturday. Why? Because the race in Rochester, NH was beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Part of the “California trackchasing penalty” is the idea that I can’t get to the Midwest or east in time for a race by leaving my home in the morning and getting east for a race on the same day. I will either lose two or three hours entering different time zone changes. The flight time will also add an additional 3-5 hours of travel time. Net…I have to leave home a day in advance. By the way, my hometown airport, LAX, is under heavy-duty construction (above). It’s interesting to observe their progress. It always surprises me how the little things often don’t go well on these trips. Sometimes just because of my own mistakes and sometimes it because of general system failures. Let me give you a few examples. When I picked up my National Car Rental Racing Chrysler 300 I noticed, just before checkout, that the gas tank was only 3/4 full. Of course, I had to bring this to the attention of the rental agent. Normally I could take a situation like this and turn it into an advantage for me which I did at the end of the trip. However, it requires constant vigilance on my part to make sure that I get the advantage and the rental car company doesn’t. I will tell you this. I drove my rental car 171 miles in total. I bought $29 worth of gas to fill the tank. Then I convinced the rental car agent, when I returned the car, to give me a $25 gas credit. I thought paying a net of four bucks to drive my rental car 171 miles was more than fair. What do you think? I simply considered this my “payment” for having to deal with a rental car that didn’t come with a full tank. Is “clue-less” one word or two? When I was leaving the airport the young agent was willing to credit me with taking the car out with only half a tank of gas rather than its true level of three-quarters of a tank. That was to my advantage. She told me that she would mark down on my receipt that the car had only 4 quarts of gas and not 8 quarts. I wasn’t sure where she had learned her mathematics. It didn’t seem appropriate at the time to bring up her unit of measurement miscalculations. Quarts? Really? I would hate to be the guy who marries this gal when it comes to her measuring recipes. I had made a Priceline hotel reservation in Woburn, Massachusetts just north of Boston for this evening. From there it would be an easy drive up to Rochester on Saturday morning. I thought I was staying at the Fairfield Inn and used the Fairfield Inn address with my GPS system. That was an error on my part. I pulled into the Fairfield Inn, got all of my gear out of the car in some pretty cold weather and marched into the lobby. That’s when I found out I wasn’t staying at the Fairfield Inn but at a nearby Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Woburn. My bad. I did an about-face, put all my gear back in the car, and drove a few more miles over the Courtyard with no problem. I had stayed at this location in the past at a greatly reduced price via Priceline. The Courtyard is a good hotel for several reasons. However, when I checked in tonight there were more minor problems. For some reason, the hotel’s electronic card key system wasn’t working. The desk clerk couldn’t give me a room key. She had to escort me up to the fifth floor and used her house key to let me into my room. Not sure that’s ever happened before and I’ve stayed in hotel rooms for more than 5,000 nights of my life. Travel is a lot like sports. I consider it a competition. When you’re playing sports the objective is to beat your opponent into the ground right? When your opponent is down you kick ‘em right? The hotel’s key problem was making my stay a little more inconvenient. That coupled with the fact that I am a titanium elite member of the Marriott frequent stay program I was looking for an advantage. What kind of advantage could I get? I asked the clerk if I could go into their food and beverage gift shop and pick out a few items…on a complimentary basis of course. The clerk was already embarrassed by her inability to give me a simple room key. As a titanium elite member, I am normally allowed “one or two” items from the gift shop. Tonight I took a handful of items including Pringles, M&Ms and Hershey chocolate bars. These were my “trophies” from our sporting competition. The goods were probably valued at about $15 at the Marriott retail price. I consider that a worthwhile trade-off for the minor inconvenience with the key situation. SATURDAY Back in 2006 Carol and I went trackchasing up at the White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, New Hampshire. At the time White Mountain was my 1,206th-lifetime track where I had seen racing. It was at White Mountain that we first met New Hampshire’s own Bruce Spencer. That was fifteen years ago. I can’t remember if we simply met Bruce while sitting in the stands or if we had contacted each other in advance and simply met up with Bruce at the track. I guess my fading memory comes from the fact that I have seen more than 1,500 tracks since that night at the White Mountain Motorsports Park. Over the years Bruce and I have stayed in touch. We have gone to several races together in his part of the country. Today we will be matching up one more time for the race at the Rochester Fairgrounds in Rochester, New Hampshire In the past couple of years, Bruce has morphed from being a race fan into being a racing driver. He competes in the New Hampshire Enduro Series on a professional basis. The Enduro Series races in New Hampshire and Maine. Bruce runs in the low-dollar four-cylinder-powered stock car class. I have yet to see Bruce race but can’t wait until I get the chance. Bruce had elected not to compete in today’s “non-points” Enduro Series race. He had concluded the event might be a wreck fest which would not be worth his time and effort. After seeing today’s relatively contract-free racing I think Bruce wished he had decided to compete. Next time, Bruce. I often say that you cannot consider someone a friend unless you have had a meal with them or played a round of golf with them. Bruce and I have shared several meals over the years. We would do so again today for lunch. I took the opportunity to check Yelp for culinary options in Rochester. There were several that sounded interesting. We ended up eating at the Wild Willie’s Burgers location in Rochester. Wild Willie’s does gourmet burgers, one of which today came with blueberry jam. That’s an unusual combination. We also enjoyed their fresh-cut fries. Thinking ahead, I grabbed an absolutely huge Whoopie pie for the road. I would consume on the way back to Boston airport tonight. Even heard of a “whoopie pie”? Yes, it’s a thing. It’s such a thing that Wikipedia has a page devoted to the whoopie pie. Whoopie pie The whoopie pie (alternatively called a black moon, gob [term indigenous to the Pittsburgh region], black-and-white, bob, or “BFO” for Big Fat Oreo (also recorded as “Devil Dogs” and “Twins” in 1835) is an American baked product that may be considered either a cookie, pie, sandwich, or cake. It is made of two round mound-shaped pieces of usually chocolate cake, or sometimes pumpkin, gingerbread or other flavored cakes, with a sweet, creamy filling or frosting sandwiched between them. While considered a New England classic and a Pennsylvania Amish tradition, they are increasingly sold throughout the United States. The whoopie pie is the official state treat of Maine (not to be confused with the official state dessert, which is blueberry pie). Editor’s note: I had some of Maine’s famous blueberry pie just a few months ago up in York, Maine. Gob [the term indigenous to the Pittsburgh region] has been trademarked by the Dutch Maid Bakery in Johnstown. The owner, Tim Yost, bought the rights to the name and the process in 1980. The world’s largest whoopie pie was created in South Portland, Maine, on March 26, 2011, weighing in at 1,062 lb (481.7 kg). Pieces of the giant whoopie pie were sold and the money was used to send Maine-made whoopie pies to soldiers serving overseas. The previous record-holder, from Pennsylvania, weighed 200 lb (90.7 kg). The town of Dover-Foxcroft, in Piscataquis County, Maine, has hosted the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival since 2009. In 2014, more than 7,500 people attended the festival. The 2013 festival had eight different whoopie pie vendors in attendance. Bakers from across Maine compete for top whoopie pie in a number of categories. Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, Virginia and New Hampshire all claim to be the birthplace of the whoopie pie. The Pennsylvania Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau notes that the whoopie pie recipe comes from the area’s Amish and Pennsylvania German culture—origins that are unlikely to leave an official paper trail—and has been handed down through generations. Labadie’s Bakery in Lewiston, Maine has been making the confection since 1925. The now-defunct Berwick Cake Company of Roxbury, Massachusetts was selling “Whoopee Pies” as early as the 1920s, but officially branded the Whoopee Pie in 1928 to great success. Various claims suggest that the whoopie pie originated in Massachusetts and spread both north and south, or that German immigrants in Pennsylvania brought the predecessor of the whoopie pie to communities throughout the northeast. A clue into how the possibly Amish dessert got to be so popular in New England can be found in a 1930s cookbook called Yummy Book by the Durkee Mower Company, the manufacturer of Marshmallow Fluff. In this New England cookbook, a recipe for “Amish Whoopie Pie” was featured using Marshmallow Fluff in the filling. In 2011, the Maine State Legislature considered naming the whoopie pie the official state pie. The proposal received bipartisan support. L.D. 71, officially known as “An Act to Designate the Whoopie Pie as the State Dessert”, read “The whoopie pie, a baked good made of two chocolate cakes with a creamy frosting between them, is the official state dessert”. The Maine Legislature eventually decided to declare the whoopie pie the official state treat, and chose blueberry pie (made with wild Maine blueberries) as the official state dessert. From lunch, we drove a couple of miles over to the Rochester fairgrounds. This is a fairground with an old covered grandstand. These types of grandstands are becoming fewer and farther in between. The roof portion of the covered grandstand was supported by a large number of poles. You’ll see those in my video of today’s racing. Bruce treated me to a complimentary admission. Today they were charging 10 bucks for spectators and $30 for a pit pass. Rochester is a pretty good-sized city of just over 30,000 people. The Rochester City Hall was built back in 1908. We drove past their city hall (above) on the way to the track. The town even has an opera house. Rochester has had its share of natural disasters. In 1947 after a severe drought the town has a major fire. More than 30 homes were destroyed. Then in 1954 Hurricane Carol struck. Additionally, a category 5 hurricane known as the “Hurricane of ’38” was the most deadly in the history of New Hampshire. I had no idea that hurricanes visited the Granite State. The weather was going to be chilly today. We would be sitting in the grandstands in a covered grandstand which meant we were sitting in the shade on this 28° day. We both wore our long underwear. By the end of the day we were starting to get cold. Based upon the travel plan that I was locked into following today’s races I figured I could spend a maximum of 3 1/2 hours at the Rochester Fairgrounds. I didn’t know for sure if they were going to be able to complete the program in that amount of time. I’m happy to report they ran a very efficient program. I was able to see all of the heats, semi features, last chance qualifier and ultimately the feature event in their entirety. Today about 80 or 90 inexpensive mostly four-cylinder-powered enduro cars raced. These cars were racing on a very slimy dirt oval, about a fifth of a mile in length. I had read on Facebook where they thought the first inch or two of the track’s surface would be muddy. Below that the ground was frozen. That made sense since the temperatures in this area haven’t been above freezing for a few days. Nevertheless the top part of the track was very muddy, wet and slimy. I’ve seen programs like this end up taking a lot of time. The folks who organized the racing did an outstanding job of keeping things moving. First, they had all the cars lined up in race order before the first green flag of the day flew at 1 p.m. They started about 10 cars in each race. Invariably two or three or more in each race would end up disabled when the checkered flag was displayed ending each race. They were very quick to move these disabled racers back into the pit area which really helped to keep the program going. Today they ran eight or nine heat races. The heat racing was followed by four or five semi-feature events. They had a last chance qualifier. The final main event of the day was the feature event for about 25 cars. This race was advertised to be 40 laps. If I had to guess the race didn’t run that long. There wasn’t a single yellow or red flag until the feature race. Then during the feature they had one red flag stoppage. That happened when I was in the porta-potty! It’s very unusual in today’s racing world not to see a multitude of yellow and red flags. The definition of an “enduro” means no stopping unless a car is flipped over or on fire. No the photo of the above is not from today’s racing but from a visit to the country of Norway. However with today’s litigious society in the U.S. yellow and red flags often dominate and delay race events. That was definitely not the case today. Today I was seeing racing at my 25th-lifetime track in New Hampshire. Somewhat incredibly, given the dominance of trackchasing by folks located in eastern-based states, I hold a #4 trackchasing ranking in New Hampshire. I think that’s pretty good. I would consider the New Hampshire race a significant trackchasing success. I traveled nearly 3,000 miles to get here. I met up with a good buddy and we enjoyed lunch and the race together. I saw 80-90 cars race on a very muddy surface with a grand total of ZERO yellow flags and only one red. The show wrapped up in just a little more than three hours. I would not have been shocked if today’s event had taken twice that amount of time. The guys and gals running the show did a great job under some challenging weather conditions. A crowd of about 1,000 people enjoyed the racing in 28-degree temps. I guess the fans been cooped up with Covid all winter and wanted to get out and stretch their legs today. A lively and entertaining announcer kept the show fun and interesting. When the checkered flag flew on the feature race it was time for Bruce and me to head back to our parked cars. From there I would drive back to Boston and catch a flight to Florida this evening. Then early on Sunday (5:54 a.m.) I will fly from Florida over to Arizona for a race in the Grand Canyon State Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. Yes, trackchasing on Saturday in New Hampshire and Sunday morning in Arizona was an unusual combination…but then again somebody has to do it right? So long from the Rochester Fairgrounds in Rochester, New Hampshire. Randy Lewis – 85 countries – 2,683 tracks. New Hampshire The Granite State This afternoon I saw racing at my 25th lifetime track in the Granite, yes, the Granite State. I hold the #4 trackchasing ranking in New Hampshire. New Hampshire ranks #27, amongst all the states, in tracks seen for me in the U.S. Here’s a link to my all-time New Hampshire state trackchasing list. I have made 16 separate trips to New Hampshire seeing these tracks. New Hampshire state track list 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 New Hampshire sayings: “What’s for dinner?” “American chop suey!” You won’t find this regional delicacy outside New England, but we can bet that if you grew up in the Granite State this was a staple meal of your childhood. No one seems to know where that name came from! JUST THE FACTS 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 795 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me. Total Trackchasing Countries My nearest trackchasing competitor, a native of Belgium, has seen racing in more than 30 fewer countries compared to my lifetime total. Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results 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. 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. The big trip to New Hampshire for whoopie pies and enduro racing! 
Whoopie pie
Alternative names
Black moon, gob, black-and-white, bob, BFO, Big Fat Oreo
Type
Cookie, pie, sandwich, or cake
Place of origin
United States
Region or state
Maine
Main ingredients
Cake (usually chocolate); icing or Marshmallow creme
History
Origin controversy
