MEXICO

 

 

We live in San Clemente, California.  We are just 74 miles north of the Mexican border city of Tijuana.  Nevertheless, it took me until 2007 to see my very first race in Mexico.  It always seemed as if it was difficult to get racing information from south of the border.  Following my initial Mexican trackchasing conquest I went back for more in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 and now in 2017.

 

Despite the reported dangers of visiting Mexico we’ve never had a problem when visiting these Mexican tracks.  The people and food are wonderful.  NASCAR has a major racing series in the country.  That series can provide several future trackchasing trips to Mexico.

 

In the meantime you can check on the six tracks I HAVE seen in Mexico to date.  In those few visits, we’ve seen lots of the country and eaten some outstanding Mexican food.  We even stop at roadside “restaurants” when we come south of the border.  

 

 

As you read along you might find some information that reminds you of a similar experience you have had or provides some stimulus for you to take a trip to these parts of the world.  I think you will find the scenery interesting and the people most friendly.

 

 

Mexico was the 10th different country where I have had the opportunity to see racing.  

RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Lifetime Trackchasing Countries

 

# 1 – UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – Peoria Speedway (Mt. Hawley, oval)   

# 2 – CANADA – Cayuga Speedway (oval) – Track #174, Nelles Corner, Ontario, Canada 

# 3 – AUSTRALIA – Parramatta City Raceway (oval) – Track #180, Granville, New South Wales, Australia

# 4 – UNITED KINGDOM – Northhampton International Raceway (oval) – Track #378, Northhampton

# 5 – NETHERLANDS – Driesum Racetrack (oval) – Track #839, Driesum

# 6 – BELGIUM – Bellekouter oval (oval) – Track #841, Affligem

# 7 – FRANCE – Circuit de Croix en Ternois (road course) – Track #843, Saint-Pol sur-Ternoise

# 8 – GERMANY – Nurburgring (road course) – Track #844, Nurburg

# 9 – NEW ZEALAND – Western Springs Speedway (oval) – Track #1,134, Western Springs

# 10 – MEXICO – Triovalo Bernardo Obregon (oval) – Track #1,281, Tiajamulco de Zuniga, Jalisco

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings from Tecate, Baja California, Mexico

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From the travels and adventures of the 

“World’s #1 Trackchaser”

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Streets of Tecate

Street road course

Lifetime Track #2,312

 

 

 

 

 

THE EVENT

 

I have had the opportunity to follow my trackchasing hobby all over the world. As this is written I have seen racing in 74 countries. My lifetime track total exceeds 2,300. Each and every year I will trackchase in 25-30 states. At track #1,040 I moved into the “World’s #1 Trackchasing” spot.

 

 

Today I was making my seventh trip to Mexico for trackchasing. We live just 74 miles from the Mexican border so maybe that’s not a big surprise. The Mexican people are great and I love their food.

 

 

My hobby is not only about racing. Trackchasing for me centers around three things. The racing part is pretty obvious. However, of equal importance is the logistics of trackchasing and the opportunity to see the world.

 

 

I live in Southern California. The vast majority of tracks are located in the Midwest and East. It takes a good deal of logistical planning to get from where I live to where the tracks are. For the past 15 years, I have traveled about 175 nights each and every year. Surprisingly to some, more than half of those overnights were not part of trackchasing.

 

 

Then there’s the travel just for the fun of seeing new things. You won’t want to miss my “Trackchasing Tourist Attractions” page or my “Sports Spectating Resume” page on my website at www.randylewis.org. That will give you some understanding of how important seeing the world is with my hobby.

 

 

Today’s adventure was one more of the 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.  Or you can visit me on Facebook.  Thanks!

 

 

Randy on Facebook

 

 

 

 

FOREWORD

 

 

I must tell you that there is something very surprising to me about my foreign trackchasing visits. By the way, I’ve seen nearly 350 racetracks outside of the United States.

 

 

As you know I post complete reviews called Trackchaser Reports on my website at www.randy lewis.org after every new track I add to my list. I almost always post a YouTube video as well.

 

 

Here is what surprises me. The website hits and video views for foreign racetracks are commonly only about half as many as the loneliest little county fair figure 8 track I might go to.

 

 

I do suspect that the vast majority of the people that follow my hobby live in the United States. Maybe that’s the reason that foreign racetracks generate less interest. However, for me, the intrigue and experience of any type of foreign visit normally trumps what I would encounter in the United States. That’s not always true but it’s commonly true.

 

 

 

ON THE WAY TO THE RACES

 

 

Whatever! Carol and I woke up in the Holiday Inn in La Mesa, California early on Sunday morning. Priceline.com has been a long-time sponsor of my trackchasing efforts. They got us a room for pretty much half price compared to the hotel’s very best online right. You can’t be Priceline for stays like this.

 

 

Before I go any further I’ve got to give a major shout out to my buddy Carlos Perdoma. I’ve known Carlos for nearly 10 years ago. He has helped me with Baja, California races in Mexico many times.

 

 

Just a couple of weeks ago Carlos sent me a message. He was telling me about a race in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico. Until I heard from him I didn’t know a thing about that race.

 

 

Then Carlos got me hooked up with the promoter, a man named Arturo Cabrera. Carlos recommended I give Arturo a call. Of course, I did.

 

 

Arturo was most gracious. At the end of our phone conversation, he offered to have me picked up at the United States/Mexico border crossing. There his driver would transport me to the track in Tecate. How’s that for service!

 

 

Tecate, Mexico is only 40 miles from San Diego, California. However, the road from San Diego to Tecate covers some winding mountainous roads. It reminded me of crossing the famous Ortega Highway near where we live. Tecate is also home to the to Tecate Brewery.

 

 

Tecate is a relatively small city with a population of about 65,000 people. The city’s average high temperature ranges from 66 to 93°. It can get warm there in the summertime. The average high for this month, April was only 73°. By way of comparison, our ocean located city of San Clemente has an average high temperature all year from 67 to 77°. I find that ideal.

 

 

Today’s race was going to be on the street course. Every street course I have ever seen is also a road course. That would be the case today.

 

 

Arturo had told me that the racing would begin at about 10 a.m. He recommended I come to the border crossing an hour earlier so he could pick us up. We would do as instructed. I would come to find out that I must have misunderstood the actual race starting time. I’ll tell you more about that as we go along.

 

 

Most people think that you need a passport in order to enter a foreign country from the United States. I’m here to tell you that that is not the case. You do NOT need a U.S. passport to enter into Mexico from the U.S. Is that surprising to anyone?

 

 

However, people who have never gotten a passport should not go strolling into Mexico. This is especially true if they have hopes of getting some street tacos and listening to some mariachi music. If they think they will stroll back into the U.S., again without a passport, they are sadly mistaken. This is an important point.

 

 

It is true that you can go from the U.S. to Mexico without a passport. However, to get back into the United States from Mexico you WILL need a U.S. passport. I don’t know why they do it this way but they do.

 

 

Carol and I parked our car about a block from the border crossing. It was a dusty lot with lots of potholes but the parking charge was a reasonable five dollars U.S. for the entire day. The lot had 100 cars or more in it and looked like it would be a safe alternative to driving into Mexico. For sure it would be cheaper than buying Mexican auto insurance. That might have cost about $50 for the day.

 

 

With my AT&T cellular service plan, I can use my phone in both Canada and Mexico just as if I were in the United States. Once we walked into Mexico I gave Arturo a call. He soon dispatched his son, also named Arturo, to come pick us up.

 

 

 

 

THE RACING

 

 

Streets of Tecate – Tecate, Baja California, Mexico

 

 

Carol and I really enjoyed meeting today’s track promoter, Arturo Cabrera. He couldn’t have been a nicer guy. We were given complimentary wristbands, which allowed us to go anywhere at the track today including full access to the paddock area.

 

 

We also met a young woman named Graciella. She was the daughter of one of the promoter’s best friends. Graciella had lived in Chicago for 10 years and recently moved back to Mexico. She was a knowledgable and beautiful young lady who gave us the lay of the land throughout the day.

 

 

It was now 10 a.m. Carol and I took a brief tour of the paddock area. Arturo had explained there weren’t all that many cars racing today. I counted about fifteen. Yesterday was for practice only. Today would be for the actual racing.

 

 

Directly adjacent to the paddock area was the Centro Estatal De Las Artes. For you gringos this was the city’s art museum.

 

 

The building looked to be nearly brand-new. However, from what we could tell the facility was closed on the Domingo or Sunday.

 

 

Just as we are beginning to walk away a young Mexican man approached. His name is Carlos. Carlos worked at the art museum. They were having a special event for some schoolchildren today.

 

 

Nevertheless, he offered to open up at the building and let us browse the art galleries to our heart’s content. Carlos, as well as every one of the Mexican people we met today, could not have been nicer. You won’t want to miss the photos I took at the art museum.

 

 

There wasn’t much going on at the racetrack at this moment. That gave Carol and I and opportunity to take a walk around the entire L-shaped track. You can imagine what driving around a track like this was like. Simply draw an “L” and then drive your imaginary car around that L.

 

 

A couple of the town’s city streets have been blocked off for racing this weekend. The actual track was away from the city by a mile or so. It was actually in what was primarily a residential area with a gleaming new art museum on one side of the road and some of the most dilapidated shacks you’ll ever see on the other side. The racing surface was concrete.

 

 

It was a peaceful and sunny clear sky day where the temperature was going to reach a high of about 80°. We walked around the entire course to check things out. At the end of the day, my iPhone pedometer showed that I had walked 5.8 miles.

 

 

Here is something that everyone should consider. In Mexico, there is not enough demand or money to build permanent speedways like what you might see in the United States. This is especially true when it comes to smaller cities like Tecate.

 

 

Nevertheless, the interest in Mexico for auto racing is high. The people want to race and people want to see the racing. That’s how street courses get created.

 

 

I’m not exactly sure how today’s racing economic model worked. It appeared as if quite a few of the spectators, if not almost all, got to watch the racing for free. I don’t know if the city puts up money to support the show and/or the racers pay a large share of the expenses.

 

 

I will say this. The safety features offered at these tracks is very limited. Honestly, it wouldn’t take much for a major catastrophe to happen because the safety barriers in some locations are nonexistent. At the same time, the fans are not very smart about where they want to watch the racing. When you go through my photo album and some of the video I provide you’ll see fans standing next to the track where the race cars are zooming by at 60-100 miles an hour. The fans are 10-20 feet from the racecars with essentially no barriers between them and the cars whatsoever. To their credit, the race organizers try hard to keep the fans back. But, that’s very difficult to do.

 

 

At about noon I sat in on the driver’s meeting. In many ways, it was like a typical driver’s meeting that I have attended hundreds if not thousands of times. However, there was one major difference. All of the communication was in Spanish. I did take two years of high school Spanish but only passed because I was a basketball player.

 

 

We have been at the track since roughly 9 a.m. The driver’s meeting wrapped up at about noon. With all of the PA announcements being in Spanish we really had very little idea what the plan was. We were at the mercy of our vision without much feedback coming from our hearing.

 

 

We decided it was time for lunch. Lunch was a little bit unusual. I had to resort to using my iPhone translator. The server did the same thing with his phone as well so we could properly communicate that I wanted “solo carne”.  Right now I’m on a low-carb eating plan. I was trying to tell the guy that I wanted meat only.

 

 

The food and drink concession prices were absurdly low. They even made the very cheap Eldora Speedway concession prices seem like a rip-off. Today a 12-ounce canned soft drink was $.50. A can of Tecate Beer was only a dollar. Our lunch of a pretty good-sized piece of steak for me and a carne asada (steak) burrito along with beans and potatoes for Carol as well as two beers was only seven bucks.

 

 

By the way, Carol had raided her stash of international currency to come up with a supply of Mexican pesos. We paid for everything in pesos today. Over the course of the day, we went back for more bottled water and soda but no more beer.

 

 

I had expected we would be out of the track, if racing had started at 10 a.m., by 2 p.m. As it turned out we hung out in the warm sun with a nice breeze until about 3:30 p.m. That’s when the first race hit the track.

 

 

We had wrangled some of the very best seats for viewing today. We were on top of a riser that lifted us about 10 feet off the ground. Carol timed some of the practice laps at about 58 seconds apiece.

 

 

The first race started about 10 cars. I think there might have been nearly 20 in the paddock by race time. I couldn’t tell for sure with all of the announcements being in Spanish but it appeared they had divided the cars into two race groups. I don’t know if those were two different classes or if they simply divided one class into two races.

 

 

The entire racing program today would include three races. At the driver’s meeting, one of the participants told me in English that each race would be 20 laps long. That seemed about right as we watched the racing.

 

 

Carol had already toured the entire racetrack on foot earlier this morning. That being the case she declined to follow me as I took video of the racing from all over the course that was reachable by walking.

 

 

Many of the locals had staked out a position on a tall sandy hillside early this morning. They would have a very good view of the racing action. They could probably see a little bit more than half the track.

 

 

I have now seen racing at seven Mexican tracks. Carol’s been able to join me for six of those trips. We were able to drive to four of the tracks. Over the years we have commonly driven our own vehicle into Mexico. For our other three south of the border adventures, we flew into cities like Guadalajara and Mexico City.

 

 

During the second race today there was a major accident. From my vantage point, I couldn’t see it. However, when I heard a huge gasp from a majority of the crowd I knew something significant had happened. Carol told me she had seen it all from her high-rise position. She described the accident as one car flying a long way through the air.

 

 

It was now for 4 p.m. We have been at the track since 9 a.m. It looked like they were going to take a long time to clean up the most recent accident. Fire engines were on the scene. I took this opportunity to both think and bid farewell to the track promoter Arturo Cabrera.

 

 

I promised him that I would share my Trackchaser Report, SmugMug photo album and YouTube video with him and his group. I also told him I was looking forward to coming to more of his events. One of which is in the city that I have never visited for racing yet. We’ll see if all of that comes about.

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

 

 

With that Carol and I are headed out for dinner at a local restaurant. We were only going to be in Tecate for about nine hours. However, we had already seen the local art museum, visited every nook and cranny of today’s racetrack and probably talked to a dozen people at the races today.

 

 

We wanted to experience even more of the Mexican culture. I checked Yelp. I always check Yelp when it’s time to eat. I found a highly recommended upscale restaurant. It was named Asao. 

 

 

It looked like it was about a mile and a half from the track’s location. After being out in the sun all day we certainly weren’t going to walk that distance. We would grab a Mexican taxi.

 

 

I asked a Mexican policeman where would be the best place to grab a taxi. He indicated the right spot was down about two blocks. We started walking and probably ended up walking more than a half-mile before we found a more citified location. That’s where we found several taxis.

 

 

I showed the taxi driver a screenshot of my Yelp page for Asao. Before we departed we agreed that the transportation price would be 50 pesos or about $2.50 U.S.

 

 

When we ride in taxis I usually grab the front passenger seat and Carol goes in the back. This way I can take photographs of whatever we might be seeing. It was relaxing to be in the inside of a car after standing a good deal of the day up to this point.

 

 

I was thinking we might be going to a traditional Mexican restaurant very much like you might find in the United States. I was wrong on that one. The Asao restaurant is part of a five-star, 24-room hotel in Tecate.

 

 

I thought we had hit the jackpot. Carol, on the other hand, was a little concerned about our appearance. Yes, we were in racetrack attire. Yes, we had been out in the sun and wind virtually all day. I didn’t care about that. I was looking forward to our upscale meal. I figured the Asao restaurant personnel would look more closing at our credit card than our personal appearance.

 

 

We were not disappointed with Asao.  It was an opulent and magnificent place. Although we could have dined in their super impressive dining room we chose to eat out on the patio. The weather was cooling off a bit but still, absolutely drop-dead gorgeous.

 

 

We ordered wine and margaritas from the bar. Then we had some of the most ornate and delicious food I can recall having in a long time. The service was impeccable.

 

 

I went with the melted cheese starter also known as appetizer. This was a cast iron pot of melted cheese over a bed of peppers. I broke my low-carb eating plan just a bit by using the provided bread to go with the melted cheese, peppers and sauce. Absolutely delicious!

 

 

For our main dishes, Carol chose the grilled salmon. I went with the octopus. I commonly order squid also called calamari. Our server told me that octopus is not the same as squid.

 

 

I don’t know if the photographs of our food will give you an indication of the beauty of the preparation or not. However, it was one of the best culinary experiences we’ve had in a very very long time.

 

 

Mexico is a tremendous value for the money for Americans. Today Carol had a glass of red wine. I had a margarita and two diet Cokes. We both had starters and then we both had the tremendous entrées, which are pictured. What would something like cost in the United States? I don’t know for sure. Tonight in Mexico the bill came to just $55 U.S. In a restaurant of this magnitude in the U.S. the bill might have been as much as three times that. We’ve got to get down here more often.

 

 

Following dinner, the restaurant staff called for a cab to take us back to the U.S. border. We waited out in the parking lot but the cab never came. Finally, our server picked up one of the hotel cars and drove us to the border himself. How’s that for service!

 

 

The Carol Lewis owned and MFunds sponsored Lexus RX 350 was right where we left it. We hopped in to make the nearly one hundred-mile drive back to our home in San Clemente.

 

 

The traffic coming down to this area on Saturday afternoon had been brutal. Sometimes the traffic coming back into Orange County on Sunday evenings can be tough as well. You have everyone who went out to the desert, visited Mexico or San Diego and the like coming back from their weekend into the more populated Orange County and Los Angeles areas.

 

 

However tonight we had a nonstop drive all the way back to our house. We arrived at about 9 p.m. It had been a wonderful day. It had been a wonderful international trackchasing day.

 

 

I had lots of people to think. Of course, I had to thank Carlos Perdoma for giving me the heads up on this race, to begin with. Then I had to offer my appreciation for Carlos the young man who would open up the art museum just for Carol and me.

 

 

Arturo Cabrera, the track promoter, had been great. When was the last time you heard of any trackchaser being picked up at an international border crossing and driven to the racetrack itself? Of course, Graciella was a magnificent host for us as well. I can’t thank the lady enough who offered up her chair for Carol to sit in the viewing area today. Finally, our dinner server took the time off from his shift to drive us from the hotel back to the border crossing. He didn’t have to do that but it was much appreciated.

 

 

After seeing now 2,312 race tracks in 74 countries I can think back on so many memorable days that have made this hobby special. Certainly visiting Tecate added to all of those memories.

 

 

Trackchasing for me has never been only about the racing. It’s about the logistics and the meeting of people and seeing the sights. All of those experiences are heightened when doing so in a foreign country.

 

 

 

Good day from Tecate, Baja California, Mexico.

 

 

 

Baja California

 

 

The El Acuario Del Mundo (The aquarium of the world) state

This afternoon I saw my 4th-lifetime track in the El Acuario Del Mundo state, yes the El Acuario Del Mundo state. Did you know that Baja California is the second smallest Mexican state and the last state admitted to Mexico? I hold the #1 trackchasing spot in Baja California, Mexico.

 

 

 

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

Baja California sayings: Choyero – A person native to the Mexican state of Baja California Sur.

 

 

 

 

QUICK 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 580 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me.

 

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2,312

 

 

Total Trackchasing Countries

There are no trackchasers currently within 20 countries of my lifetime total.

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 74

 

 

 

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 4.37

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click on the links below to see the video production from the racing action today.

 

 

Tecate – Streets of Tecate – Baja Motor Fest racing

 

 

 

Click on the links below to see a photo album from each of my trackchasing trips to Mexico.  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.

 

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Tecate

It was a great day of racing, sightseeing and dining in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico

 

Streets of Tecate racing, sightseeing and dining…a great day with the people of Mexico