Rodman Plantation

 

 

 

THE EVENT

 

 

Yes, 2,000.

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!

 

 

Two in one.

I often see two or more tracks in a single day or in a single weekend. Sometimes when that happens I will combine my observations from multiple tracks into a single Trackchaser Report. That is the case today.

 

 

This was a return visit to Lake City (Ellisville)

By the way this was not my first trackchasing visit to the property now occupied by the All-Tech Raceway. Back in 1995 I saw racing at the Columbia Motorsports Park. CMP was an asphalt oval. That “tar” track was lifetime track #248.

 

 

Not much memory of 1995.

I didn’t begin writing my famous Trackchaser Reports until I had seen about 430 tracks. Therefore my memories of that visit more than 20 years ago and nearly TWO THOUSAND tracks ago is nearly non-existent.

 

 

How do the trackchasing rules see this?

Trackchasing rules allow a trackchaser to count a track a second time if it changes “surfaces” from dirt or anything like dirt to asphalt or anything like asphalt or vice versa. Please don’t blame me. I’m only the messenger. If I had set up the rules I would not have made such an allowance. Nevertheless, I am happy to follow the current trackchasing rules as they are.

 

 

To be honest.

To be honest I couldn’t remember if I had seen racing in Lake City, Florida on an asphalt or dirt track back in 1995. If I had seen dirt track racing on this property then I couldn’t count seeing another dirt track in 2012. However, if I had seen racing on an asphalt oval in 1995 then I COULD count tonight’s racing as a new track. I couldn’t just “guess” what I had seen in 1995. I had to have some definitive reference to support my counting a new track today.

 

 

Three pieces of evidence.

I actually had three points of reference. First, I checked the “History of American Speedways” written by Allan E. Brown. This is probably the most definitive work on the subject. I have the 2003 printing of Mr. Brown’s book.

 

 

Allan’s research told me the Columbia Motorsports Park raced as a dirt track from 1974-1987. Then it opened as an asphalt oval in 1988 and from 1990 to the “present”, which I assume to be 2003, the track continued to race on asphalt. This pretty much confirmed I had seen racing on an asphalt oval in 1995.

 

 

Additionally I had seen Jack Boggs Sr. win a feature event in 1991 at the Lake City Speedway, also in Lake City, Florida on a dirt track. The Lake City Speedway and the Columbia Motorsports Park were both located in Lake City, Florida or within a mile or two of the city limit. If the Lake City Speedway was dirt then the Columbia Motorsports Park likely would have been an asphalt oval during the 90s. They wouldn’t have two dirt tracks racing within such a short distance of each other.

 

 

Finally, I maintain a complete track list for all major trackchasers. The genesis of this list came from former trackchasing commissioner Will White. This list shows that Guy Smith made a visit to CMP in 1999. Jack Erdmann went there in 1991. Both listings state racing was done on a “paved oval”.

 

 

All of the above definitively points to my having seen racing on an asphalt oval at the Columbia Motorsports Park in 1995. Yes, I follow the rules of trackchasing to the letter. If anything is in question I always do the right thing. I don’t want any track on my list to be “fudged”. If something wasn’t right what fun would it be to count a fantasy track like that?

 

 

 

 

ON THE WAY TO THE RACES

 

 

WEDNESDAY

 

 

I keep busy.

I have a very busy lifestyle in retirement. What makes things so busy is my trackchasing hobby.

 

 

Here’s how that works. I probably go trackchasing from Thursday or Friday through Sunday or Monday 30 times a year or so. That’s just the right amount of time spent traveling for trackchasing. Then there is the additional travel for our other recreational and vacation activities. This gives me a busy lifestyle.

 

 

Four days to do seven days worth of activities.

My home time is roughly Monday through Friday and often times a little less. The activities that some people would cover in seven days must now be covered in three, four or five days for me. That puts just enough “stress” into the system to like make life fun and interesting.

 

 

UCLA Sports.

For several years Carol and I were season-ticket holders to both UCLA football and basketball. As you know UCLA has a very successful big-time athletic program. They play and beat the biggest powers in the country.

 

 

We are no longer season ticket holders. Our schedules are simply too busy to commit to that many games. UCLA plays their football games in the famous Rose Bowl. They play basketball games in the nearly equally famous Pauley Pavilion. Both of those locations are a 1 1/2–2 1/2 hour one-way drive from our house. It’s a pretty good hike to make a 4-5 hour round-trip drive to see 20-25 athletic events every year. Nevertheless, we did that for years.

 

 

On this past Wednesday night, Carol and I joined son J.J. for dinner and a basketball game in Westwood, California. Westwood is an area within Los Angeles. Westwood is the place when UCLA basketball coach got his nickname, the “Wizard of Westwood”.

 

 

With our daughter Kristy living in Texas and our youngest son Jim living in Hawaii we don’t get to see them nearly as often as we would like. It’s also a rare treat to see our globetrotting son J.J. even though he lives in SoCal. Whenever we get the chance to visit with any of our children we don’t miss it.

 

 

The House of Meatballs.

Tonight we ate at the Yelp! recommended “House of Meatballs” in downtown Westwood. Westwood is a very cool college town. It has all kinds of restaurants and unique venues. It was sad to learn that our long time Mongolian BBQ “go to” place Mongol’s has closed. The rumor has it the rent was becoming too high for Mongol’s open since 1995.

 

 

I strongly prefer good seats no matter the cost.

We had great seats for the UCLA game against the ninth-ranked Oregon ducks. Our tickets were electronic and stored on my iPhone. That’s a pretty cool way to handle things. UCLA led by as much as 11 points during the first half. Want to know who won that game? Google it.

 

 

UCLA’s storied basketball venue, Pauley Pavilion, is a short drive from the Los Angeles International Airport. The game was Wednesday night and my plan was to leave on this trackchasing trip on Thursday morning. I very easily could have had Carol drop me off at LAX on the way back from the game.

 

 

Bypassing logistical inconveniences.

However that would create some logistical inconveniences. We ended up driving past LAX at about 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday night. About 10 hours later I was arriving back at LAX to begin this trip.

 

 

THURSDAY

 

 

The plan was simple….at least to begin with.

This trip started out originally as being a rather simple travel itinerary. Of course simple in one person’s world may not be simple in another person’s.

 

 

Let’s go to Florida.

I would leave the house early on Thursday morning at 6:30 a.m. I was bound for Atlanta today. My trackchasing plan had me seeing races in Florida on Friday night and late Saturday afternoon. I would drive back to Atlanta Saturday night. Then on an early Sunday morning flight I would return to Los Angeles. If all of that worked I would be back in San Clemente to join Carol for Sunday evening dinner.  There was one funny thing about the trip.  I was ultimately going to sunny Florida.  However, to get there I flew over some beautiful snow-capped mountains.

 

 

I pay a penalty for living where I live.

I pay a bit of a “trackchasing penalty” by living in San Clemente, California. Why is that? Because most of the tracks I see are located in the central and eastern time zones.

 

 

I pulled out of my driveway at 6:30 a.m. in San Clemente. I didn’t arrive into Atlanta, Georgia and my Thursday night hotel until nearly midnight eastern time. That’s a pretty long day just getting from point A to point B.

 

 

My Friday night destination was Lake City, Florida. It’s not all that easy to get from San Clemente to Lake City in one travel day. It’s not just GETTING to Lake City but getting there in time to see the race program. That’s why I chose to come in on Thursday night.

 

 

This was a major complicating factor.

There was one other complicating logistical factor before even more complications entered the plan. Next Tuesday I would be having a colonoscopy. If you are 50 years and older you probably know how much fun that can be. If you’ve never had this procedure and are over fifty you better call your doctor tomorrow morning!

 

 

No more waffles even though I was in Waffle House country.

This meant that on Friday I would begin with a restricted diet of foods and drinks that were complementary to an upcoming colonoscopy. These dietary requirements were overlaid with my current Atkins Diet eating plan. This make for a rather bland culinary weekend. This was especially true since I was going to be spending my time “Waffle House” country. Nevertheless a stitch in time saves nine. If you are over 50 and have never had a colonoscopy what are you waiting for?

 

 

Two tracks isn’t the best plan.

I expected this weekend would add two new tracks to my lifetime total. However the Saturday afternoon’s track was a little tentative based upon the UTV starting procedures. I was passing up other known Saturday trackchasing opportunities in the hopes of getting a rare Florida once a year racing location.

 

 

I really don’t like to leave California on a cross-country trip that gives me only two tracks. I had my eye on a third track. It was not geographically proximate to Florida. Where was it? The third track opportunity was up near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

 

 

It was time to sit back and think about things.

This morning I had a three-hour layover over in Seattle. As I always do I stopped in the Alaska Airlines Board Room airport lounge. There I would have a few minutes to sit down and think about the idea of going to Canada from Florida.

 

 

No one in the 50-year history of trackchasing had ever seen a race in Florida and then trackchased the next day in Manitoba. Did I really want to go to Canada for an ice race with that kind of travel schedule? Did I want to risk not getting back in time for my colonoscopy? I had those questions to answer and many others. 

 

 

Rental car strategic magic.

The only way I could make it was to have an extensive rental car plan. That plan would consist of multiple one-way rentals. I would have to fly standby on airlines that are not my primary carriers. With those airlines I would be traveling “semi–blind” without knowing the exact load factors.

 

 

To top it off I was flying standby over spring break. Spring break is a period of 6 -7 weeks where kids are off from school. During that time families are traveling all over the country and the world.

 

 

Planes are the fullest during Thanksgiving, Christmas and …..spring break. The significant aspect of spring break standby flying is not only are the planes crowded. Spring break lasts six weeks or more. Thanksgiving and Christmas are much shorter time periods of business.

 

I am a risk-oriented traveler.

I was virtually certain of making it to Atlanta today. However once I was in Florida the idea of getting up to Canada became much more difficult. Nevertheless I am a “risk-oriented” traveler. Another way of saying it is I have a high “tolerance for ambiguity”.

 

 

I decided to risk it and give Canada a chance. So what did “risking it” mean? I’ll tell you.

 

 

Plan B.

There were going to be several new elements and changes to the original plan. The original plan called for me to land in Atlanta, drive down to Florida and visit two tracks. Then I would drive back to Atlanta and fly home to California. In my world that’s about as simple as it gets.

 

 

The new plan called for me to rent my first car in Atlanta and drop it in Jacksonville, Florida. Then I would rent a second car in Jacksonville and return it to the same location. Later in this proposed trip I would rent a third car in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I would drop that car in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Still with me?

 

 

I know!

This trip would also have me flying standby from Los Angeles to Seattle to Atlanta. After renting two cars I would fly standby from Jacksonville to Atlanta. Then I would fly from Atlanta to Minneapolis. This is where the trip got a little crazy. I know! You thought this trip had already gotten crazy.

 

 

If I made my standby flights I would be landing Saturday night into Minneapolis at 11 p.m. Just 11 hours later the ice races were scheduled to begin in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada. What was the issue with that? The drive from Minneapolis to Gimli would be eight hours including a border crossing into Canada.

 

 

That’s right. I would have 11 hours to drive eight hours to get to the race on time. Of course there would be stops for comfort needs. gasoline and sustenance. Essentially what it meant was that I would be driving through the night to Canada.

 

 

I didn’t want to do this.

I had an option to return my rental car to Minneapolis after the ice races were finished in Manitoba. However if I did that it would be most challenging. I would want to complete my rental in 24 hours to avoid additional charges. I would have to drive a minimum of 16 hours in that 24-hour period. Of course there would be time spent at the track as well as crossing the international border twice. The sounded a little bit like I might be trying to put 10 pounds of potatoes in a 5-pound bag. Normally I don’t mind doing that. However there were extenuating circumstances.

 

 

I would be cutting it close.

This new Canadian plan had me returning to California on Monday. My colonoscopy was scheduled for Tuesday. On Monday I’m not allowed to eat any solid foods. Traveling through one airport after another and completing a nearly twenty-four hour period without any solid foods was going to be taxing.

 

 

By 5 p.m. Monday night I was scheduled to begin drinking the first round of “laxatives”. Too much information? If you are old and want to try to live as long as you possibly can you are going to have to make some sacrifices. I figured if everything went really well I could get home just before it was time to start taking the “magic potion”.

 

 

The new plan.

So here was the new plan. I would fly all day on Thursday from San Clemente to Atlanta after connecting in Seattle. On Friday I would grab a rental car in Atlanta and drive four hours down to the racetrack in Lake City, Florida. Then after the races I would drive another hour over toward Jacksonville. I would stay the night in the River City.

 

 

On Saturday I would have a leisurely sleep in. I would need to return my rental car to the Jacksonville International Airport by 2 p.m. Then I would re-rent the same car under a one-day contract returning it to Jacksonville. By 4 p.m. I needed to be in Palatka, Florida for their UTV racing. When that race was completed I hoped to catch a 7:10 p.m. flight from Jacksonville to Atlanta. I had a 40-minute layover in Atlanta before my next standby flight to Minneapolis.

 

 

If I didn’t make the first standby flight I would rent a car in Jacksonville and drive it to Atlanta. Then I would sleep overnight in the Atlanta airport and fly home on Sunday morning. If I made the first standby flight (JAX-ATL) but didn’t make the second standby flight (ATL-MSP) I would sleep overnight in the Atlanta airport and fly home on Sunday morning.

 

 

If I made both of those flights I would get a MSP rental car at about midnight. I would drive that car overnight to Gimli, Manitoba. Gimli is an eight-hour drive from Minneapolis. It’s about an hours drive north of Winnipeg.

 

 

Then on Sunday I would watch the ice races in Gimli beginning at 10 a.m. After the races I would return my Minneapolis originated rental car to the Winnipeg airport. There I hoped to fly standby on a 5:30 p.m. flight from Winnipeg to Minneapolis. Once in Minneapolis I would sleep overnight on Sunday night in the airport. On Monday I would grab a 7 a.m. flight from Minneapolis to Seattle. That would be followed by a flight from Seattle to Los Angeles.

 

 

If all of that went well I would land in Los Angeles by about 2 p.m. I’d be back in San Clemente by about 4 p.m. Just an hour later I would begin my first laxative drinks in preparation for Tuesday’s colonoscopy. Whew!

 

 

This was no longer a simple plan.

I’m thinking that pretty much all of this fell into the category of “On the way to the races”. If you have the time you might want to review what I’ve written above. When was the last time a trip you took involved such shenanigans?

 

 

FRIDAY

 

 

Trying not to waste money.

I woke up this morning at a Day’s Inn in College Park, Georgia. I selected this hotel on Priceline because it had a complementary airport shuttle. Why was a shuttle important?

 

 

My plan was to ride the shuttle from the airport to the hotel last night. Then I took that same shuttle this morning back to the airport. That saved a day’s worth of rental car expense. When you’re retired and living on a small fixed income every $40-$50 U.S. helps. However, if I never ever run out of money the entire exercise was a waste of time.

 

 

Breakfast. Exercise. Let’s get on with the day.

Despite my hotel room being directly under the Atlanta International Airport flight path I slept reasonably well. Nevertheless my alarm aroused me at 8:15 a.m., that’s 5:15 a.m. San Clemente time. Why was I up so early? I needed to take advantage of the hotel’s complementary hot breakfast before it closed at 9 a.m. For me, under my current dietary guidelines (Atkins and colonoscopy prep) that meant I focused on the cheese omelets.

 

 

Next on the agenda was my 45-minute power walk. I’m proud to say that for the past five months or so I’ve been able to add an aerobic exercise event virtually every day. An “event” is a 45-60 minute aerobic exercise period. When you get into a habit that helps things a lot.

 

 

My power walk was done in a t-shirt and shorts despite the high 40° weather with a slight wind. It was a little coolish but once I got going it felt good. The walk was over asphalt padded side streets with little traffic in a dilapidated industrial area.  Frank, I did see some CHEP pallets!

 

 

Sometimes later is better.

The later I picked up my rental car day in Atlanta the better. That meant I would be able to drop it off later in Jacksonville tomorrow afternoon. At every turn when I’m on the trackchasing trail I am seeking a small advantage. A large number of small advantages creates significant overall advantages. Make sense?

 

 

The hotel shuttle driver took me to the airport at about 12 noon. It was nice to be able to relax in the airport while everyone else stressed with extremely long lines as they passed through security. They were flying today. I wasn’t. Atlanta is one of the few airports that offer a large number of fast food/casual restaurants outside of the secured area of the airport.

 

 

I wrapped up a little administrative paperwork on my computer as I waited. During that time a local dance club strutted their stuff with girls in the age range of 7-12. They did a nice job and were compensated by a large round of applause from the onlookers.

 

 

At about 2 p.m. I soldiered over to the executive area of the National Car Rental location. Atlanta has a nice rental car complex that can be accessed by the air train. It’s about a five-minute ride once you leave the terminal.

 

 

Hard to believe but true.

Do you believe the National Car Rental Company might be more accommodating and supportive than your very best friend? They might be. Would your best friend let you pick up and use his/her brand-new car and then drop it off somewhere 400 miles away? The National Car Rental Company would.

 

 

Today they let me pick out a brand new Toyota Camry with just 389 miles on the odometer. I would drive that car from Atlanta down to northern Florida. Then I would drop it off tomorrow in Jacksonville for a cost of just seven dollars. Yes that’s right seven bucks! The National Car Rental Company has been a long time trackchasing sponsor of mine. I appreciate them very much.

 

 

As a trackchaser it is important to be entertained on some of the long drives that are required for me as I travel to the tracks I visit. A few months ago National joined other rental car companies in charging a daily fee for satellite radio usage. National charges $5.95 a day if you want to use their satellite radio capability.

 

 

Just in time.

However, about two months ago we switched over to an unlimited data plan with our cellular carrier AT&T. Now this allows me to listen to unlimited satellite radio on my iPhone as a motor down the long and dusty trackchasing trail. What timing! AT&T came through just as the rental car company was instituting additional charges.

 

 

No waffles!

Right at the Florida/Georgia I made a Waffle House stop. No waffles today. That doesn’t fit the eating plan. However I did enjoy my scrambled eggs, large side of bacon order and country ham. Fortunately I’ve always had low cholesterol and low blood pressure!

 

 

My Waffle House stop was followed by a brief visit to Publix Super Markets. Publix is headquartered in Florida. They are the dominant southeastern grocery chain.

 

 

Just a six-pack.

There I picked up a six-pack. That’s right a six-pack of Vienna sausages. I’ll bet you didn’t know they sold six packs did you? Also on my shopping list was some mild cheddar cheese, Skippy creamy peanut butter, Diet Mountain Dew and bottled water. I was going to have to take some of that stuff to Canada with me if I made it that far. I figured the Vienna sausages would travel well. That was not exactly the case.

 

 

All during the drive I was keeping an eye on my ETA to tonight’s racetrack in Lake City, Florida. The drive from the Atlanta airport to the racetrack was going to be about four hours. With the various stops I made along the way I would arrive at the track at 7:40 p.m. Racing was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. on this Friday night. I was on time. Would they be?

 

 

 

THE RACING

 

 

All Tech Raceway – Lake City, Florida

 

 

 

Where have I seen the coldest “on land” racing?

I had a sense I was going to freeze my butt off tonight. The temperature was expected to be 54° at 8 p.m. and just 49° at 11 p.m. Those are cold temperatures when you’re sitting in one place on a board in a rural racetrack’s grandstand.

 

 

Some people think that ice racing can be cold. For the most part they are right. However, I am always willing to tell people that some of the coldest nights I’ve spent watching racing have been in Florida.

 

 

Most of the racing I’ve seen in the Sunshine State has been seen during the winter months. Of course Florida is one of the few states that will be holding racing outdoors of any kind, other than ice tracks, during the winter. When the wind picks up it gets downright frigid in the mostly flatlands of Florida.

 

 

 

Calls from everywhere.

On the ride down to the track I returned a phone call to a fellow who contacted me after looking at my website. I get a lot of feedback and contacts from folks who find something they’ve enjoyed at www.randylewis.org.

 

 

 

This guy was calling me about the El Toro Speedway, a small dirt track in Southern California that closed in the late 1970s. Because of the large demand for land in Southern California for residential and commercial building many California racetracks have gone by the wayside.

 

 

There was some symbolism associated with this phone call. Today a Courtyard by Marriott sits atop what used to be the El Toro speedway. Tonight I would be staying in a Courtyard by Marriott in Jacksonville, Florida. Weird Huh?

 

 

Send ‘em.

This El Toro fan wanted to send me some photographs that were taken more than 40 years ago. I will scan and attach them to the El Toro Speedway page on my site. If you’re interested in seeing those pictures you can check out the El Toro Speedway page. I’ll try to let you know when they’re on there. Thanks very much to Gene for providing the content.

 

 

 

Getting shortchanged?

Sometimes when I see side-by-side races or maybe senior champ karts I think I am shortchanging myself. I’m comparing those types of racing to the great bullring stock car racing I’ve seen over the many years.

 

 

However, I am reminded, that racing on traditional oval dirt tracks is not always that great either. Tonight’s experience was questionable at best. After you hear me tell the story you’re probably going to say it was worse than questionable.

 

 

I arrived into the sandy parking lot of the All-Tech Raceway at 7:40 p.m. I was early. According to the track’s website racing was to begin at 8 p.m.

 

 

General admission tonight was $15 per adult. I paid just $12 by getting the senior rate. Military people paid the senior rate.

 

 

Stock cars on dirt.

Four classes of stock cars were racing tonight. This included the late models, E modifieds, hobby stocks and pure stocks. Quite a few tracks run more than four classes. I was happy that’s all that were racing tonight.

 

 

The track’s PA system was very good. They employed two entertaining announcers. However the announcers, who are paid by the track, couldn’t be fully honest with the crowd about the tardiness of the program. To put it simple it was tardy!

 

 

What would happen at the movies?

I have long mentioned that if you go to the movies and the film is expected to begin at 8 p.m. at least they start showing previews by that time. Normally the actual movie will start 15-20 minutes later. At our movie theatre folks will get more than restless if the proceedings start just 2-3 minutes late.

 

 

I would have been thrilled if tonight’s racing had begun by 8:20 p.m. just like a movie would. When did the first green flag fly? I’m a bit ashamed to tell you the first green flag wasn’t shown until 9:06 p.m.

 

 

When was the last time you went to a high school, college, or professional sporting match, that wasn’t delayed by weather in anyway, and they started more than an hour past the scheduled start time? Never? I can’t believe how backward the short track racing industry can be.

 

 

This is not a way to run a railroad.

The announcers were generally good. However it was also their responsibility to tell the racers to line up for their next race over the PA system. The racers were in the pit area obviously. Why not have a separate speaker system for the pits?

 

 

It’s never a good thing for the spectators to have just one PA system for the stands and the pits. The announcers, as is often the case with dirt track racing, pleaded and pleaded for the competitors to get lined up for the next event. I’ve seen this happen a million times.

 

 

I didn’t try any of the concessions. For most of the evening the two concession lines were 20-25 people deep. The most unusual named item on the menu was the “redneck nachos” at six dollars per.

 

 

Tonight’s racing was the first race of the track’s “regular” race program for the year. They did run a winter series earlier in the year. Considering this was a Friday night there crowd was huge.

 

 

Good car counts.

The late models division brought nearly 20 cars. The other divisions had about 15 each. There were nine heat races on the race itinerary with four features to follow. There were no semi-main events.

 

 

Probably the best thing about the entire race lineup was the late models raced their heat races first. Their feature event was the first feature tonight as well. Tonight’s late-model feature would pay $3,000 and run for 35 laps.

 

 

I was talking to myself.

Before I entered the front gate I told myself I would give the program a maximum of three hours. The temperature was about 50°. However I had a ski jacket. It’s very effective so the cold didn’t bother me. Nevertheless, I thought three hours for a program of this nature was the max amount I would want to commit too.

 

 

Kenny Wallace knows how to do this.

Earlier this week I was listening to NASCAR driver and short track racer Kenny Wallace talk about short track dirt racing on satellite radio. Kenny owns a portion of the Macon speedway a very popular track in Illinois.

 

 

He told the SiriusXM radio listening audience they almost always hit their goal of having the crowd out of the track by 9:30 or 10 p.m. Tonight’s HEAT races didn’t end until 10:35 p.m.!!

 

 

O.K., I’ll stay a little longer.

Under normal circumstances, with them running so far behind schedule, I probably would have left when the heat races were finished. Being at the track for three hours to see nine heats just makes me mad. However with the late-model feature being the next race I wanted to see if they were going to take an intermission of any kind. They didn’t. That was good. With such an inefficient operation I couldn’t believe they would bypass the opportunity for an intermission.

 

 

Nevertheless they did get the late-model feature on the track at about 10:55 p.m. I broke my promise to myself and watched the entire feature. There were several yellow flag interruptions.   The first feature race of the night took the checkered flag at 11:28 p.m.

 

 

This ain’t a good idea either.

The late models ran three heat races. The winners of each of those races started on the front of the future. That’s never a good idea. To someone’s credit the heat race lineups were drawn by a pill draw (random).

 

 

To look at the starting lineup and the final finish you might think the race was a snoozer. In reality there were several lead changes. The driver who led most of the last half of the race slowed during the last couple of laps. One of the front row starters, who had dropped back as far as fifth-place caught up to the leader. These drivers crossed the finish line side-by-side with the driver who would been running in fifth place winning by less than half a car length. I have the finish on video. You might want to check that out.

 

 

Pretty good and also unremarkable.

Other than seeing one decent feature the other racing was unremarkable. I must tell you my opinion may have been clouded by the fact they started more than an hour late under perfectly clear weather conditions.

 

 

When I was a racechaser….

When I was a “racechaser” I went back to the same track 50 times or more. I have several tracks where I’ve seen more than 50 races at a particular venue that I really enjoyed.

 

 

However somewhere along the line I became a trackchaser. I decided I liked going somewhere for the first time more than I like going somewhere for the tenth time.

 

 

A major advantage of being a trackchaser?

There is one major advantage of being a trackchaser compared to being a racechaser. If you don’t like the experience as a trackchaser you don’t have to go back. I probably wouldn’t go back to more than 20% of the nearly 2,200 tracks I have seen. That doesn’t say much about the other 1,700-1,800 tracks I’ve seen does it? They were all fun once but might not have been as much fun a second time.

 

 

I left after the late model feature. It ended at 11:30 p.m. I can only guess the three remaining features went on until 1 a.m. or so. That’s just terrible. There were quite a few kids in the group of oldsters as well. I saw a large number of people who were not in very good physical condition.

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

 

 

I needed some sleep.

I arrived into my Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Jacksonville at 1 a.m. I really needed to get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, if all goes according to plan I will land in Minneapolis at 11 p.m. Then I will begin an eight hour drive. It’s definitely going to be a 5-Hour Energy night.

 

 

Good night.

 

 

 

 

SATURDAY

 

 

 

ON THE WAY TO THE RACES

 

 

I don’t have the big trackchasing budgets the DECTs do.

I woke up this morning in a Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Jacksonville, Florida. Again Priceline.com came to my financial rescue.

 

 

In its class I think a Courtyard by Marriott is one of the very best hotels going. However they can be pricey. Last night the least expensive room in this hotel was being sold to the general public for $129 plus tax.

 

 

As you know, I don’t have the big trackchasing budgets of the Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers. I retired more than 14 years ago. I have to make the money I earned during my 30-year business career last for the rest of my life and for the rest of Carol’s life. I can’t be paying $129 a night for a room when I’m on a trackchasing trip.

 

 

I can usually afford fifty bucks.

However I can afford $50 a night. That’s what I paid for tonight’s Courtyard by Marriott. Now is it becoming clear how I’ve been able to stay out on the long and dusty trackchasing trail for so long?

 

 

I retired in 2002. By some seemingly random coincidence I was rewarded with platinum lifetime status by both American Airlines and Marriott at that time. However when they gave me that status I don’t think they knew I was about to retire!

 

 

Having “status” is important in anything you do in life. It’s specially valuable when traveling on airplanes or staying in hotels.

 

 

At 1 a.m. I was still on my game.

I didn’t reach my hotel, because of All-Tech Raceway’s extreme tardiness, until 1 a.m. Despite the late hour I was still on my game. When I approached the hotel’s front desk I casually said, “I know I paid for this room on Priceline but I am a platinum member of the Marriott frequent stay program. I was hoping that might help me out a little bit.”

 

 

Just like meeting a stranger from Omaha.

Folks, this is not all that different from meeting a stranger from Omaha. How is that? If you met someone from Omaha you might likely say something like, “My brother-in-law is from Omaha”. Of course you would only likely say that IF you had a brother-in-law in Omaha.

 

 

Why would you say such a thing to a complete stranger? Because you are trying to form a bond. If you have something in common that bond will be formed quicker. THAT’S why I said what I said to the hotel clerk.

 

 

You are family.

With my comments the clerk looked up from her keyboard and pleasantly smiled as if to say, “Yes, you are part of the family and I’m here to help you.” What did help look like?

 

 

First I would be rewarded with hotel points for my stay. Points typically are not given on third-party Priceline.com reservations. Then I was allowed to select a “market item” from the hotel’s snack shop. I picked up a four-dollar package of “Muddy Buddies” for when I’m NOT on a low-carb diet. Then I asked for and was given a late checkout of 1 p.m. Finally, the fee for high-speed Internet, a five dollar value, was waived.

 

 

Now let me ask you a simple question. Can you see why the “Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers” don’t really have a chance? I thought you could.

 

 

Folks, I was paying well less than half of what the general public was paying to stay at this Courtyard by Marriott. The desk clerk was making sure that every aspect of my stay at their hotel was going to be perfect. If you’re going to be out on the road as much as I am you would best be traveling like I do. I share this so that you might be able to pick up a travel tip or two. Maybe it will help you down your own personal long and dusty trackchasing trail.

 

 

Two of four.

I am on day number two of my four-day colonoscopy prep weekend. As you can imagine that’s a good deal of fun. I was sticking to lean meats. cheese and creamy peanut butter. I love those foods anyway so it wasn’t much of a sacrifice on my part.

 

 

Showing respect?

On Saturday morning I was still paying for the extreme tardiness at the All-Tech Raceway. A few years ago the well-known racetrack follower, Allan Brown, said something to the affect that “fans should stay to the very last race to show respect for the drivers”. I like Allan. I love his passion for the sport.

 

 

However, I do not agree with him on this particular point. What respect is being shown to the fans when a track starts racing ONE HOUR AND SEVEN MINUTES after their advertised start time? My answer is none! Respect is earned not given.

 

 

Who could have imagined that nine heat races for a program expected to start at 8 p.m. would finish at 10:40 p.m.? I wasn’t all that happy with the folks at All-Tech Raceway in that regard. Nevertheless, they did provide a good feature from the late models.

 

 

I set my alarm for 10 a.m. this morning. That would give me enough time for a 45-minute power walk and maybe some breakfast. I also needed enough time to go back to the Jacksonville airport and exchange rental car contracts.

 

 

I couldn’t answer the bell.

However when my 10 a.m. wake-up call came, 7 a.m. California time, I couldn’t answer the bell. I had to extend my alarm a couple of times but still made my power walk.

 

 

It was Saturday morning. I had to get especially cleaned up for what was coming my way. I didn’t expect to see a shower or anything resembling a shower until Monday afternoon or possibly Monday evening.

 

 

I did have time for a brief stop at a nearby Waffle House for a late morning breakfast. The colonoscopy police told me I could eat as many waffles, butter and syrup as I wanted. However Dr. Atkins was against that. I settled for three scrambled eggs and the country ham selection. The country ham came with a bone in it. Everything was good but a little bit on the bland side. My waitress was extra nice and received a four dollar tip for her graciousness.

 

 

No, this wasn’t California.

Just before I got to the airport it was time to gas up my National Car Rental Racing Toyota Camry. I love the Camry. It’s an even more solid car than the Hyundai Sonata, which I rave about all the time.

 

 

I pay just a $1.79 a gallon for gas. That’s about $0.70 or $0.80 cheaper than what fuel is selling for in California right now. Florida doesn’t have a state income tax either. You don’t even want to know how much state income tax I paid in California this year. I had covered 384 miles on my drive down from Atlanta. My gas bill was only 18 bucks. You can’t beat that.

 

 

Saving time and money while doing fun stuff all over the country.

My trackchasing lifestyle is filled with one time efficiency or cost-effectiveness strategy after another. I was now going to the Jacksonville airport to close out the contract on my one-day one-way rental from ATL to JAX. That rental cost me only seven dollars through sponsorship from National.

 

 

Once back at the airport I would simply close out the contract on this car. I would then reopen a new contract on the very same automobile. That way I wouldn’t have to move all of my gear from one car to the next. Additionally I really liked this brand-new Toyota Camry.

 

 

Please just listen to the customer.

It is absolutely amazing how an individual working for one particular company, in this case National, in the very same position, in this case check-in clerk, can handle their job really well or not so well. Today’s young woman had a hard time with the concept of my closing out the contract on my existing car and re-opening a new contract on the very same car. No, she is not ready to implement this strategy on her next vacation. However, when I called in her supervisor the issues were resolved.

 

 

When I return to the airport in only about four hours time was going to be of the essence. Later tonight I was flying standby on an airline from Jacksonville to Atlanta and then hopefully from Atlanta to Minneapolis.

 

 

I wouldn’t have time to waste getting my boarding pass later today. I also had to confirm my TSA PreCheck number was in the reservation. Later that might save me 5-30 minutes in a long security line.

 

 

My “re-contracted” rental car was temporarily parked in the National rental car garage. Now I rushed over to the airport terminal, about a five-minute walk. Recall I had already covered three miles in this morning’s power walk. I do a lot of walking in this hobby.

 

 

At the airline counter I gave them all the appropriate information. Soon I had a boarding pass on a standby basis with my TSA PreCheck number clearly marked on my boarding pass. This should allow me to clear airport security in one-two minutes compared to a much longer time without it.

 

 

Have you ever made this mistake? No, I didn’t think you had.

I was rushing now. I find that when I rush sometimes things go wrong. A quick stop in the men’s washroom had me dropping my boarding pass in the urinal. That’s never a good thing.

 

 

I looked down. It wasn’t all THAT wet. However putting your hand into the bottom of the urinal to retrieve anything is never a good thing.

 

 

I figured if they had an air dryer I might be able to dry the boarding pass and return it to its original condition. However what I thought was a hand air dryer turned out to be a soap dispenser. Now my boarding pass was soaked in urine with a dollop of fresh soap on top. That’s never a good thing either.

 

 

I would have to make another stop back to the Southwest Airlines counter. I said somewhat impishly, “I dropped my boarding pass in a pool of water can I get a new one?” Technically this was for the most part correct. The agent obliged, without having to touch my old board pass. I soon had a urine free boarding pass, which is the way things should be.

 

 

Time to go to the racetrack.

The next stop on my busy Saturday agenda was to get to the racetrack in Palatka, Florida. Racing was scheduled to begin for the UTV class at 4 p.m. It would be a 77-mile drive down to Palatka from JAX. My Waze GPS system told me I would arrive at 3:09 p.m. That was cutting it a bit close. However if I wanted to do all of the things that I had already done today that’s the way it was going to be. I certainly wouldn’t have time to get lost on the drive to Palatka.

 

 

Then following the racing down in Palatka I would immediately make a U-turn with the National Car Rental Racing Toyota Camry. I would be pointed in the direction of the Jacksonville airport. If all of that went well I would hop on a jet airplane from Jacksonville to Atlanta and then another plane from Atlanta to Minneapolis.

 

 

It was going to be a long day and an even longer night.

I would arrive in Minneapolis at 11 p.m. By that time a very busy day would be in my rearview mirror. However in some ways my day would just be beginning at 11 p.m. tonight. You won’t want to miss how all of that came down if I do make it to Minneapolis on a standby basis.

 

 

Today’s racing was nothing like what got me interested in the sport to begin with.

I grew up watching stock cars on a dirt oval. Today’s UTV racing happens on a road course. Most of the racing cannot be seen by the spectators. This is about as far from what I grew up on as it can possibly get.

 

 

Sometimes different is good. Sometimes it isn’t. I must be honest with you. UTV racing on these types of courses is not really what I signed up for as a trackchaser. However one can never overlook the primary purpose of the trackchasing hobby. It is really all about counting. Anyone in the hobby who says different is either miss-leading themselves or the people they are talking too or they are lying.

 

 

 

THE RACING

 

 

Rodman Plantation – Palatka, Florida

 

 

What is GNCC?

Let me tell you what the racing situation was today. The activity was promoted by the GNCC Racing group. What is GNCC? Good question.

 

 

I just discovered these folks a couple of years ago. I saw them race for the first time last year. The event was located at a place called “Marvin’s Mountaintop” in Mason, West Virginia.

 

 

GNCC began back in the mid-1970s in Davis, West Virginia. A fellow that went by “Big Dave” was a motorcycle promoter. He wanted to hold a race that would challenge the durability of man and machine over rugged terrain. The Blackwater 100 was born.

 

 

Then in 1983 three-wheeler ATVs were added to the racing agenda. A few years later 4-wheel ATVs joined in on the fun. However, the courses were too tough. Not that many competitors were showing up.

 

 

Big Dave passed away in 1998. His family was more than willing to take over running the series. The group kept growing and adding new classes.

 

 

In 2008 the SXS (Side by Sides) were added. This is the only trackchasing countable class offered by GNCC. GNCC continues to grow and is featured on the NBC Sports Channel as part of the 52-week “Racer Package”.

 

 

SXS racing machines are also called UTVs, short for Utility Terrain Vehicle. The SXSs only appear at about half of all GNCC shows. As a matter of fact today was the first time ever that the UTV’s had been part of the group’s first program of the year. How did the UTV participants respond? Pretty well I would say. Some 83 of them showed up to race today.

 

 

 

Late again.

Last night’s racing was supposed to begin at 8 p.m. The first green flag didn’t fall until 9:07 p.m. Today racing was supposed to begin at 4 p.m. They didn’t start racing until about 4:45 p.m. Where I grew up and went to work the phrase, “If you’re not early you’re late” was used all the time.

 

 

Today I arrived at the Rodman Plantation in Palatka, Florida at 3:30 p.m. I had rushed all morning to get here for the 4 p.m. start. I am almost always early for these events. Being early allows me to explore and be entertained by the ambience of the event.

 

 

Time to confirm.

Today’s admission charge was a reasonably stout $20 US. When I entered I wanted to confirm a couple of things. First I asked if the UTV Racing was still on for 4 p.m. It was. Secondly I asked where the race would start from on this huge property. The race official pointed me to the far end of the parking/camping ground. He said, “It’s way over there at the far end of things. Drive as far as you can and walk from there”.

 

 

The Rodman Plantation.

The race would take place on the Rodman Plantation. No other trackchaser has ever set foot on this place. The Rodman Plantation has a long and storied history. Since the mid-1990s the property has been a working cattle ranch covering 6,000 acres.

 

 

Florida is pretty much one big sandbar. It is also a relatively flat state compared to most. Everywhere I drove and walked today was pure sand.

 

 

The place was packed with campers, race haulers and racing machines. To automobile focused racechasers and trackchasers this type of racing would be considered a niche hobby. However to the folks racing today every other aspect of motorsports is a niche form of racing.

 

 

I drove as far as I could and then parked my car. I still had a long way to walk. Along the way I asked people if I was walking in the right direction of the track. These things were not obvious today.

 

 

It was hard to get accurate information.

From time to time I encountered a UTV racer. I tried to get information on the number of classes, the starting procedure etc. It seemed like everyone I talked to had different answers to my common questions. That was both confusing and concerning.

 

 

I would soon learn there were 83 competitors. They were being divided into six separate classes. The starting grid consisted of 17 rows. That’s right! Seventeen rows! Each row had 4-7 competitors in that particular row.

 

 

Getting this information was key.

Fortunately I was able to corral a race official. He let me take a photograph of today’s race lineup and grid. Check out the names of these classes. If you follow any kind of automobile racing I don’t think you’ll recognize any of these class names.

 

 

XC 1 Pro

XC 2 Pro Sport

XC 3 Pro Am

Lites

Am. (Amateur) Mod

Am. (Amateur) Lim (Limited)

 

 

Nope. There wasn’t a street stock or winged sprinter among ‘em. The width of the starting grid only allowed seven cars in each particular row. UTV racing is different than most car racing. Most car racing has two or three cars per row. A car race might start as many as 10-20 rows all at the same time. In a car race every competitor begins his race at the drop of one green flag.

 

 

In UTV racing the number of competitors in a single row is greater. Today it was seven. However in this form of racing only one row of competitors leaves the starting line at a time. Then some 10–30 seconds later the next row leaves until all rows have started their race. Every racer is racing against the clock.

 

 

That’s right. Essentially this type of racing is a timed event. Today the XC 1 Pro group had about 35 racers. That meant the racers in that class started over a span of six rows.

 

 

Any class that brings a lot of competitors is not going to count for the bright eyed and bushy tailed trackchaser. If one class needs to start in more than one row, and each row starts separately, that won’t meet the requirements of the trackchasing rulebook. Trackchaser rules require that all competitors in an individual race start at the very same time.

 

 

I was looking for the class with a small amount of competitors.

The only way I can count a new track at an event of this type is if one class or another brings a small amount of competitors. The quantity has to fit into one row. In that case when that row leaves the starting line that particular class has started all of their competitors at the same time. That is countable within trackchasing rules.

 

 

Here I was getting the GNCC race line-up straightened out!

As you can see from the above photo the grid listed three “lites” racing today in row #12. However when I noticed one of these three competitors was in the row ahead compared to what the grid stated I asked him what was up. He had been registered incorrectly. His machine was not really a “lite”. In reality he was in the X3 Pro-Am class. That meant there were just two lites racing today. I wonder how many other trackchasers would have been walking within the starting grid and interviewing drivers to find out this information?

 

 

The grid showed six racers in the XC 3 Pro Am group. However with the addition of the competitor who would been mistakenly placed in the lite class that made seven. All seven of those racers would leave the starting line at the same time. This all meant that two individual classes came with only enough competitors to fill one row or less. Two classes, the XC 3 Pro-Ams and the lites group were “trackchasing countable”.

 

 

Confusing.

I know this probably sounds confusing to you. However as I have explained previously the whole idea of “competitors being required to start the race at exactly the same time” was an effort to stop me from counting desert off-road racing. Now I have been able to reverse that trackchasing intention. I am able to count the very racing that trackchasing’s hierarchy wanted to ban. Do I feel good about that? Well, ya.

 

 

UTV racing is not much of a spectator sport.

Most of this type of UTV racing is conducted out in the middle of the woods. This is not much of a spectator sport. The highlight of the race for the spectators is really the start. It’s kind of wild as you will see in the video I produced from today’s action.

 

 

UTV machines can be purchased for about $20-$25,000 each from local retail dealers. They can even be financed. I’ve heard of racers wrecking their machines on race day and showing up at the dealer on Monday morning to get a warranty repair from the race damage!

 

 

This type of racing is getting more and more popular every year. I know of a good 20–25 or more UTV sanctioning groups. I’m sure there are more. Every time I do a Google search I discover more people doing this type of racing.

 

 

Confirmation is key.

The main drawback from a trackchasing perspective is to confirm the starting procedure. Sometimes even when I call or contact the groups this information is not forthcoming. There was a more than likely chance that I would have been shut out today. That would have been the case if more than seven competitors had shown up in each of the six UTV racing classes.

 

 

Some say this uncertainty adds to the thrill of trackchasing. I disagree. Time and money is too valuable to be chasing tracks down a rabbit hole.

 

 

As it was I rented a car for this event. I drove it about 170 miles round-trip. I pay $20 to get in. Then I almost missed my flight later in the evening because of their tardy start.

 

 

 

#2,198.

Nevertheless my 2,198th lifetime track was in the books. I was happy about that. I don’t come all the way to Florida from California and expect to be shut out.

 

 

There are obstacles to overcome.

There are really a lot of things that can happen to race plans that can totally screw up a long-distance trackchaser like myself. With ice racing the weather can get warm and melt the ice. Sometimes in extreme cases the ice racing weather can actually be too cold. With traditional oval racing rain is always a problem. In go-kart racing often times the countable class, normally senior champ karts, doesn’t show up. In UTV racing the starting procedure can put a kink in the process. The bottom line is that there are lots of things that can derail the trackchasing counting agenda.

 

 

I filmed the start of the race. Then I walked out into the woods and filmed some of the racing action out there. Honestly there just wasn’t much more to see or I would have seen it.

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

 

 

Keep calm and keep driving.

With the group’s late start I was now in serious jeopardy of missing my flight from Jacksonville to Atlanta tonight. The driving time from Palatka up to the Jacksonville airport was about an hour and twenty minutes. My Waze GPS told me my arrival time at JAX was going to be just 34 minutes before the airplane departure time. I wonder if they call “JAX” Jay-a-x?

 

 

How comfortable would you be arriving into the rental car parking lot just 34 minutes before flight time? Not very? I wasn’t all that comfortable either.

 

 

I was happy I had stopped here earlier in the day to get my boarding pass. I also confirmed that my TSA PreCheck number was in the system. All of that advance preparation probably saved me tonight.

 

 

On the one hand I was surprised that flights were leaving Jacksonville as late as they were on a Saturday night. Saturday after about 6 p.m. is the least busy time during the entire week for flying. I could see that when I arrived at the airport. There weren’t very many people traveling tonight.

 

 

As I began to clear security I looked at my watch. The flight was departing in 20 minutes. It looked as if everything was going to work out for me.

 

 

Just when I did not need a delay.

However just at that point the TSA security personnel told me they were going to have to give my bag extra inspection. This would cause a delay. I asked if I could run ahead and tell the gate agent that I was here. The TSA agent told me I couldn’t leave my bag while he inspected it.

 

 

What could be the problem with my bag? It turned out that a plastic jar of peanut butter was the offending item. I would not be allowed to go on the plane with it. I asked what forbidden category it fell into. It wasn’t a “gel or liquid”.

 

 

The TSA agent told me it was a “paste”. No pastes! There would be no creamy peanut butter for Randy for the rest of the trip.

 

 

I still made my flight from Jacksonville to Atlanta and then from Atlanta to Minneapolis. I landed in terminal 2, the Humphrey terminal, at MSP at 11 p.m.

 

 

A 100% success.

My trackchasing adventure in Florida was complete. It was a 100% success. Now I was headed for the “trackchasing triple” for the weekend. Where was that? I was going to try for an ice race north of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. More on that in the next report.

 

 

 

Florida

 

 

The Gator state

Last night and this afternoon I made it to my 62^nd and 63rd lifetime tracks in the Gator state, yes the Gator state. I’ve seen 63 or more tracks in 12 different states. I’m just four Florida tracks short of Ed Esser’s state leading total of 67 Gator visits.

 

 

 

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

Florida sayings: It’s great to be a Florida Gator.

 

 

 

 

QUICK FACTS

 

 

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Seattle, WA (SEA) – 958 miles

Seattle, WA (SEA) – Atlanta, GA (ATL) – 2,201 miles

 

 

RENTAL CAR #1

Hartsfield-Atlanta International Airport – trip begins

Lake City, FL

Jacksonville International Airport – trip ends – 384 miles

 

RENTAL CAR #2

Jacksonville International Airport – trip begins

Palatka, FL

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

All Tech Raceway – $12

Rodman Plantation – $20

 

 

 

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 525 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me.

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2,198

 

 

 

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 – 4.47

 

 

 

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

 

 

Click on the link below to see the “Video Plus” production from the racing action today.

 

 

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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.

 

Racing from the All-Tech Raceway and more

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UTV off-road racing from the Rodman Plantation in Palatka, Florida