Greetings from Edgar, California
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From the travels and adventures of the
“World’s #1 Trackchaser”
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Superstition Mountain OHV Open Area
Dirt road course
Lifetime Track #2,186
THE EVENT Today’s undertaking was just one of more than 2,000 trips that have taken me up, down and around the long and dusty trackchasing trail. If you would like to see where I’ve been and experience those adventures here’s the link: 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! ON THE WAY TO THE RACES Birthdays and Christmas. There was just more track to see in 2015. UTV racing has entered my trackchasing picture big time. The more I see of it and the more people I talk to about UTV racing the more I like it. Some six of my last nine new tracks have featured UTV racing. Of my entire 134-track 2015 season twenty-four had UTVs as the countable trackchasing class. How do I find these places in the desert? The Randy Lewis Racing Research Department did some digging around. It wasn’t long before they came up with information from the “AMA District 38 Off-Road Division”. I would come to meet several folks from “District 38” and the clubs that race with District 38. Don’t forget; I’m still a UTV rookie. I am a “UTV racing rookie”. I’m still learning. That being the case, when I tell you about my observations and interviews at UTV tracks, I may have heard something wrong or misunderstood what I was being told. If I did I hope you will give me a pass. Now let’s get on with it. Getting the right information from the right people is important. Most races last for just a few hours. Most races I attend are hundreds or thousands of miles away from my home. I can’t be late. With UTV racing the questions I need to answer are even more important. So what is the REAL background when it comes to desert off-road racing and trackchasing? The desert course is marked but it is not “prepared”. Today I learned the course was surveyed with more than 11,000 GPS locations! Today’s course sits within the “Superstition Mountain OHV Open Area” in Edgar, California. The open area is managed by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). The BLM? What the heck is the BLM? Not everybody who runs trackchasing is all that wild about desert off-road racing. This was a huge event. There were over 100 competitors racing all kinds of trucks, dune buggies, motorcycles and the like. I can’t recall if UTVs were racing that day or not. The track that day was a loop nearly 50 miles in length. The entire racing surface was desert dirt, sand and rocks. We had a great time watching the racing. As I recall after reading my Trackchaser Report from the Anderson Dry Lake my main concern was driving my 2000 Ford Taurus company car out into the desert. Now that I have been retired for 14 years and have only one more stock option to exercise I can admit. I did it! I drove my company car out into the desert and nearly got run over my a desert off-road racing truck! The Anderson Dry Lake racetrack was my 487th lifetime track. Carol and I went there on June 23, 2001. Later that evening we stopped by the Perris Auto Speedway to see racing for the first time on their figure 8 course. Here’s the link to my Trackchaser Report from that day. Anderson Dry Lake – Lifetime track #487 My dealings with the world headquarters of trackchasing. Hey Randy…..about that off-road desert track. The word from Quakertown was that there was a “problem”. It seemed some trackchasers were questioning the countability of what I had seen that sunny afternoon in Lucerne Valley. What could be questioned? Why would anything be questioned? Geography and competitive greed. Despite what current trackchasing czar Guy Smith will tell you trackchasing is a very competitive hobby. His group keeps stats and rankings. Guy has even been know to call out fellow trackchasers for being dishonest. Yep. Cheating. Ask P.J. Hollebrand, a very docile individual, how he felt when he was linked to a trackchasing cheating scandal. Yes, trackchasing is a very competitive endeavor. The entire hobby revolves around whether or not a track will “count”. Why was geography important? Most of the leading trackchasers, back in 2001 and really today as well, live in Pennsylvania or a state that borders Pennsylvania. Folks there isn’t a lot of desert in and around Pennsylvania. The BLM staff that manages government land there isn’t real busy right? This didn’t look good for my eastern-based trackchasing brothers and sisters. Do something Mr. Commissioner. But what? This would be the legal loophole. Desert off-road racing attracts a large number of competitors. It would be difficult to have 25-30 off-road racing trucks or buggies take the green flag and head into a one-lane wide racing groove to begin their desert trek. The folks who run desert off-road racing solved that problem. If they had 100 competitors racing in the same event for the next four hours there would be a staggered start. What was a staggered start like? A small number of competitors, often one or two, would start racing every 15-30 seconds. Over a period of minutes ALL of the competitors would be on the track and racing their guts out. Once all of the racers got going it was a wild sight. Desert off-racing is one of the most professional and technical race offerings you will see. The competitors often come to the track in NASCAR style haulers. Some racers even have their own helicopter that “chases” their racer all over the course. The helicopter is the “spotter” for the driver below. Desert off-road racing is a very professional racing activity with national TV support. Contrast desert off-road professionalism and sophistication with the “junk car” events that dominate the trackchasing landscape today. County fair figure 8 and enduro stock car racing is now the bread and butter of many veteran trackchasers myself included. These cars can be bought for less than the cost of your cellphone. They often times race at speeds of 20-30 M.P.H. on a muddy dirt track. This is about the most unsophisticated, although often entertaining, auto racing there is. The commissioner was being pressured heavily. One of many “Randy Rules” added to the trackchasing rulebook. Permit me to explain what “racing against the clock” means. If two competitors start a race every 15 seconds and there are 100 racers the folks at the back of the line would be at a major disadvantage. To eliminate that issue the clock for each individual competitor would begin when the green flag fell for that racer regardless of whether he or she started at 1 p.m. or 1:26 p.m. Get it? This was the “loophole” the eastern dominated trackchasing group would go with. Can you imagine telling Walker Evans, Mickey Thompson or Ivan Stewart they weren’t really RACING but a 16 year old who picked up a 1980 Dodge Neon for 50 bucks to race at the county fair was? Who voted? I have often referred to these types of rules as “Randy Rules”. They were put in place to stop the progress of “The World’s #1 Trackchaser Living West of the Mississippi”. Unfortunately, their plan did not work. I am not a member of the Pennsylvania based trackchasing group and have not been since Guy Smith took 100% control of every aspect of the “Trackchasers”. I am proud to be an independent trackchaser. A few days after the proposal to effectively eliminate desert off-road racing was approved commissioner Will White asked me to voluntarily remove the Anderson Dry Lake from my trackchasing list. What was my response? Pound salt. The trackchasing commissioner had been forced to cave to the pressures of the political elite of trackchasing. Later Mr. White would write he wished he had stood his ground more firmly when pressured by his “friends” in the Pennsylvania trackchasing community. I wish he had as well. Of course, Mr White DID stand his ground on some issues later in his trackchasing commissioner tenure. What happened? Ultimately he was “encouraged” to resign. Is someone tells you there is no politics or competitive greed in trackchasing…..run. The ‘Randy Rule’ about desert off-road starting procedures is still in place. However, did you know the racer with the lowest elapsed time in a NASCAR race wins? Let’s say a desert off-road race will be for a distance of four 50-mile laps. That’s right a 200-mile event. The racer who can compete 200 miles with the lowest elapsed time in the winner. The Daytona 500 and every other NASCAR race as well as IMCA, ARCA, Indy Car….everybody has the very SAME rule. The Daytona 500 winner must complete 500 miles faster than anybody else does. The winner of the Daytona 500 has the lowest elapsed time of all the racers that completed 500 miles…..just as the winner of a 200-mile desert off-road race goes to the racer with the lowest elapsed time. So there you have it folks. Nearly 15 years have passed since the “Randy Rule” regarding starting procedures was passed. Did that rule slow me down? Not in the least. I adhere to trackchasing rules in full. As this is written I have seen racing at 2,186 racetracks in 70 different countries. I am approaching a 600 track lead on my nearest fellow competitor. Despite competing with the limitations of “Randy Rules” I maintain my position as the World’s #1 Trackchaser. THE RACING Superstition Mountain OHV Open Area – Edgar, California Edgar….really? A big sumbitch. Dan was the “referee” for today’s racing event. I figured that was about like being the competition director at the Irwindale Speedway. I gave Dan a few details about my trackchasing quest and the rules I needed to meet regarding “mass starts”. To save Dan some time and to cement our friendship I didn’t take him through the entire “Randy Rules” and Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers quagmire. I’m sure he was grateful for that. Then….Dan called back. Dan told me he was more of a “motorcycle guy”. He had checked with the folks running the UTV part of the program. They had some different information regarding the starting procedure for the UTVs. Not ALL of the UTVs would necessarily start the race at the same time. That got my attention. However each CLASS of UTVs would begin their race at the same time. There would be three classes of UTVs. It’s acceptable and within the trackchasing rules if each class starts their race all at once. In point of fact eight UTVs showed up today. They were spread over the three classes as expected. All eight racers started when the banner (green flag) fell. This track was countable. Dan had a surprise for me….and Carol. Dan was bringing his UTV, a Polaris 900, to the track today. He offered it up for Carol and I to take a pre-run of the 11-mile course. Wow! What an offer. He didn’t have to ask twice. Of course we would want to do that I told him. Secretly, I began planning a strategy to clue Carol in on this idea so that SHE thought it was a good idea too. We were all set. Race time was 1 p.m. We needed to get to the track by about 10 a.m. to get all set for our UTV drive. We left our modest seaside cottage bound for the California desert at 7:30 a.m. How would I find Dan Barker in 13,000 acres of California desert? I am not a city slicker. Dan had asked in advance if we had our own helmets. We did not. I must tell you I did own a Ducati 250 motorcycle back in college. However, I didn’t keep it long. I was scared. I wasn’t so scared of what I might do to get hurt. I was scared of what other drivers would do to hurt me. That was nearly 50 years ago. As far as I can remember I never rode with a helmet. Desert ‘whoops’. Folks, from a distance the desert’s surface may look somewhat soft and sandy and for the most part smooth. Wrong! That’s where the “desert whoops” come into play. Wind and rain erosion and people playing in the desert with their off-road machines have created these whoops. A “whoop” is somewhat like a mogul in snow skiing. About every couple of feet there is a depression of 6-12 inches or more. Have you ever driven on a “washboard” road? This takes a washboard road to a whole new level. This is how we do it. I could see the significant depressions ahead. If I were driving my Lexus RX350 SUV over this terrain I would be going about 10 FEET per minute. I was really beginning to question our not wearing seat belts. Dan assured me we were O.K. He also pointed out he could go a lot faster if need be. I believed he could but hoped he wouldn’t. I was surprised at how rough the desert surface was. I was surprised that the UTV suspension made the rough surface a much smoother ride. Nevertheless at these speeds over these surfaces it was still a very jarring experience. Now let’s scare the p#$% out of Carol. Dan helped Carol and I into our four-point airline quality safety harnesses. We were now heading out on this 11-mile desert off-road racing experience. You will really need to see the video on this one! . . That was fun! Now it was time to think about today’s racing. The Christmas Classic. It was interesting to see that participants, for just $55 a year, would have the full services of an air ambulance (helicopter) to get them out of the desert in an emergency. That would likely be $55 well spent. So what’s a European Scramble? Today’s race was being sanctioned by the Roadrunner Off-Road Racing Club under the banner of the AMA District 38 Off-Road Club. The AMA does sanction motorcycle and quad racing. However, it does not sanction UTV racing. Other clubs that race with District 38 are the Full Throttle Motorcycle Club, Over the Belt Racing Club, I-8 Dezert Racers, Pay it Forward Club, Top Notch Racing, Racers for Christ, San Diego Off-Road Coalition and the AMA National Hare & Hound Racing Series. I should be able to find a few more tracks to attend with all of these organizations! There is a lot of work to do to put on one of these races. Today I met the fellow who had mapped the entire course. Mapping had to take place with the approval of the BLM. Of course that was after the racing club paid the BLM a fee for their approval and services. Apparently there are several sacred spots out in the California dessert. Those and other locations cannot be raced upon. The organizers “shot” an 11-mile course with 11,000 GPS points that didn’t run over any area the BLM wouldn’t allow. Dan Barker came out three days early to help with marking the course. Folks we’re talking about a desert made of sand. There are no trees, no buildings just shifting sand. About every 100 yards or so there was a three-foot high stake sporting a pink fluorescent sign. The sign was small only a few inches square. The sign had a black arrow indicating the direction to keep racing….until another pink sign was visible. Carol and I got lost a few times on our pre-run. UTV racing is new for District 38. To add to the complexity of getting the event going there’s the insurance to buy and the sponsors to get. I didn’t even ask what happens when the weather is bad. I suppose I will find out. They have events scheduled for this winter and with El Nino we are supposed to get more wet weather than normal. Get in. Let’s go out and watch the racing. It’s important to get to know people. It was a beautiful December weather day. Temps were in the high 60s with nary a cloud in the sky. Winds blew steadily at 10-15 M.P.H. This is not really a spectator sport. Remember Cajon Speedway? By the way the Cajon Speedway is officially my 64th lifetime track. I first went there in the 70s and returned a few times over the years. The Superstition Mountain off-road track was my 2,186th lifetime track to visit. I’m sure I never could have imagined following a 1970s visit to Cajon Speedway that I would end up seeing racing at an additional 2,000 tracks. Here’s a link to my Cajon Speedway Trackchaser Report: Cajon Speedway – Lifetime track #64 Getting to know the District 38 president. From time to time Rob got a call over his racing radio or cellphone with a question or comment about the race program. There was a period of time when Rob and I were standing outside his Jeep talking about our racing experiences. It must have been during this time that folks in race control near the starting line were trying to get in touch with Rob. When we returned to the area we soon found that Rob’s involvement as the club’s president and BLM contact was needed. Apparently a civilian “fun driver” had gotten his UTV out on the track by mistake. Civilians can take their licensed vehicles out into the desert to ride just about anywhere and anytime they want. Today’s fun driver just about got run over by one of the UTV racers. They did make contact. Apparently this caused quite a disturbance that I didn’t see. However, the police were called to right the situation. The last I heard the fun driver was getting a ticket! Checkered flag. AFTER THE RACES One more special treat. How the heck does one LEAVE the dessert? A step back in time. Camacho’s opened their doors in 1946. As a matter of fact, today, December 12 was the 69th anniversary of the restaurant. Camacho’s has been owned by the same family all this time. They are working on their third generation now. There’s a bit of dispute going on within the family. Two of the remaining six children want to keep operating it as a restaurant. The other four want to sell and count the money. We’ll see how it all turns out. There hasn’t been a big redecorating budget. I could eat their thick tortilla chips until I exploded. They are made on site. Camacho’s Place has served some of the most famous people in the world. Former president Ronald Reagan ate here when he was governor of California. Prince Harry (yes, THAT Prince Harry) came with his military training buddies to dine about four years ago. Tonight Carol had the Menudo (tripe) soup. I went with the Chorizo dinner. I like quesadillas. I had never had a fried quesadilla until tonight. It’s one of their specialties. Finally we ended our evening with a special dessert, Bunelo. What is Bunelo? In Mexico that term would likely get you a fried dough ball. However, at Camacho’s “Bunelo” is a fried tortilla shell. Our server recommended the small size portion over their bigger version. That was a good choice on his part. We had already eaten two bowls of chips, our dinner entrees, soup and a large fried quesadilla. I drowned it all down with three Diet Cokes. I had an excuse. I always do. They didn’t serve any food at the races! The fried tortilla had a layer of cinnamon sugar, a heavy coating of honey syrup and then it was smothered in vanilla ice cream. I hated giving Carol her share but she demanded it. The overall experience is what will bring me back to Camacho’s Place. I can’t wait for the next visit. It was dark when we left Camacho’s. There is NOTHING around the place but farm fields. It’s out in the middle of nowhere. Not much lighting anywhere. However, my Waze GPS system was telling me we would be back in cozy San Clemente is about three hours. That sounded good to me. The last of the year. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Good night. California The Golden state Thanks for reading about my trackchasing, Randy Lewis QUICK FACTS AIRPLANE RENTAL CAR #1 PERSONAL CAR Total air miles – 0 (0 flights) Total miles traveled on this trip – 361 miles TRACK ADMISSION PRICES: Total racetrack admissions for the trip – zero LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS Total lifetime tracks seen Total Lifetime Tracks 1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2,186 Total Trackchasing Countries 1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 70 Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results 1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 4.88 That’s all folks! Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report . Randy & Carol in the ride of their life! . Racing action from the UTV Christmas Classic at Superstition Mountain . . Randy & Carol UTV riding in the California desert 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. A week’s worth of California. Yes!
It’s Christmas time. Earlier in the week we celebrated Carol’s birthday by going on a Newport Beach Christmas Lights cruise. We’ve done this for a few years running now. All the rich folks who have homes along Newport Bay decorate them brightly for the season. Homes START at about five million dollars here and go up to more than 25 million. We cruised aboard the Ocean Explorer. Seeing the lights is a wonderful experience. In this genre it can only be beaten by the Newport Beach Boat Parade. That spectacle occurs during the five nights just before Christmas. THEN all of the rich people take their yacht’s out and join a parade of the world’s most successful people driving their beautiful and huge well-lit for the Christmas season toys around Newport Bay. Yep. It’s a California thing.
However, even as I cruised along with Carol by my side, I never lost sight of our next trackchasing adventure. I had just one more track to visit in 2015. It was going to be a most unusual track with a most unusual activity. As you read these pages you will see that I have a lot of trackchasing firsts. One more was added today.
A couple of years ago I discovered UTV/SXS (side by side) racing as a trackchasing “countable” class. UTV racing has now become a trackchasing staple for me.
There’s a lot of desert in the west especially in California and Arizona. There’s a lot less desert in Illinois and New York! While figure 8 racing has been big in the Midwest and East UTV racing is more popular in the West. However, UTV racing is growing quickly everywhere.
I have been interviewed by well over 100 publications about my trackchasing hobby. I would tell you that just about every one of those articles had something that wasn’t exactly correct about what the interview discussed. I chalk that up to the reporter not really knowing very much about trackchasing.
When I go trackchasing I need to establish a contact or two. I need a person who can answer my questions. When’s the race? Where’s the race? What kind of racing is it? These are important questions.
With UTV racing there is a special line of questioning that needs to take place. Why would that be? It’s all about the starting procedure. Let me give you some background.
Most oval track enthusiasts don’t know much about desert off-road racing. I know I didn’t. Desert off-road racing takes place…..wait for it….in the desert! That’s right. I’m taking it slowly for my oval racing readers.
The BLM is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior. They “administer” more than 247 million acres of land within the U.S. That’s about 1/8 of all the land in the country! President Harry Truman created the BLM in 1946. By the way that’s the same year tonight’s eatery, Camacho’s Place, opened! Most of the land managed by the BLM is located in 12 western states. I guess that means I’m going to have to be buddies with the BLM in my trackchasing future.
But wait. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There is an “issue” with the hobby of trackchasing regarding the starting procedure for UTV racing and desert off-road racing. The “situation” goes all the way back to 2001. Carol and I went to a desert off-road racing event at the “Anderson Dry Lake” in Lucerne Valley, California.
As I did back in those days when I was a member of the Pennsylvania based group known at “Trackchasers” I submitted my results to commissioner Will White. Will was the organizer of everyone’s trackchasing lists. Everything about my Anderson Dry Lake trackchasing visit was accepted and approved. I headed on down the road.
It wasn’t too long after that I received a communiqué from trackchasing’s corporate offices in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. By the way trackchasing originated in Pennsylvania. Most of trackchasing’s founding fathers have a strong link to the Keystone state.
What was behind the Quakertown inquiry? I believe I can help the reader out here. It was really all about geography and competitiveness. Those were the issues.
So how does “geography” play into all of this? Here’s your answer. I live in California. California has a lot of desert. The BLM manages 247 million acres. Most of it is located in the 12 western states.
The Pennsylvania based trackchasers could see the handwriting on the wall. Randy – Desert – BLM Land. This did not paint a pretty word picture for them. They could see, even back in 2001, that I was climbing fast in the lifetime trackchasing rankings. If they didn’t stop this west coast trackchaser now then the desert trackchasing options would totally obliterate the east coast trackchasing elite.
Soon Will White was inundated with requests while sitting in trackchasing’s “corner office” to do something about this rogue west coast trackchaser. But what could be done? Where there is a will there is a way.
In much of desert off-road racing the starting procedure must adhere to the lay of the land. Yes, a racing loop aka “lap” might be 50 miles long. However, the width of the “racing groove” might be only a car width or two wide.
The eastern based trackchasers HAD to do something about desert off-road racing. They could not allow this western-located desert racing to count when I was the only mainstream western based trackchaser living on the good side of the Mississippi River.
A rule was proposed that required all competitors to begin the race at the same time. Racing where the drivers competed “against the clock” would not count.
At the time only trackchasers who had seen 400 or more tracks could vote on a proposal. Some of those trackchasers were deceased. Others decided not to vote. A simple majority of the people who did vote was needed to pass a new rule. The backroom politics “pushed and shoved” folks and the proposal passed.
I told him and the group he was representing to “pound salt”. Nope. There was no way I was removing that track from my list. I hadn’t done anything wrong. I had spent good money on gasoline to get there. I had submitted the track to be added to my list. The trackchasing commissioner had added the track to my list. Done.
One more point about not allowing racers competing against the clock to count in the trackchasing hobby. No, to this day, desert off-road racing where racers compete for the lowest elapsed time does not count.
I will begin by telling you that I don’t know if the Superstition Mountain OHV Open Area is truly in Edgar, California or not. Using Google Maps I determined that Edgar was the last town we were in before we got to the “open area”. Every track I visit has to have a town location so I’m going with Edgar!
My first contact would be Dan Barker. I called him about three weeks ago. He was a congenial fellow and was happy to answer my questions. I don’t think he had ever heard of the trackchasing hobby.
After contacting Dan a few weeks ago I called back a couple of days before today’s race. Yes, the race was still on. Yes, they were having a mass start. All was set….and then Dan called me back.
Dan Barker had another surprise for me. This was a big one. He asked if I had ever driven a UTV racer before. I had not.
The District 38 website provided some good directions to the track. How was I going to find Dan Barker out in 13,000 acres of California desert? He told me, “I’m a big sumbitch. I’m 6’4”, 300 pounds with long hair”. It didn’t sound as if I could miss Dan. To be honest he’s going to have to eat a few more In N Out Burgers to get up to 300 pounds but his description allowed us to find his quickly.
Folks, I must tell you I am not a city slicker. However, I am a suburban slicker. I haven’t spent much time in the desert. I had never driven a UTV before. Heck, I didn’t even know how to open the door to one!
Carol and I were about to discover “desert whoops”. While Carol tried on her helmet for style Dan said, “Hop in I’ll take you for a ride to show you where the course begins. We won’t need our seatbelts. We aren’t going far.” Before I had a chance to question the use of seatbelts we were off.
Nevertheless, Dan was going to show me “how to take the whoops”. Off we went at about 30 M.P.H. On this terrain that speed seemed like about ninety.
We soon returned to base camp. Carol was waiting like any nice wife would with her helmet already in place. From watching Dan I knew the UTV had an automatic transmission. It was pretty much just gas, brake and put it in drive.
It is at this point that I implore you to view the video of this adventure. The video may look a little rough. That’s because the course was rough. You will see the camera bobbing and our head’s bobbing. Carol had to hold onto her helmet with two hands just to keep the weight of the helmet from taking her head off! Despite what you might see in the video it was a LOT rougher!! Here’s the link to the YouTube video of our ride:
Whew! Yes, we lead an active retirement lifestyle! We had Dan Barker to thank for his generosity in letting us play with his UTV. If I didn’t travel away from home so much I would be down at the dealership buying one on Monday morning.
Now it was time to think about track #2,186. Following our ride we relaxed in Dan’s RV. He brought in all the movers and shakers from District 38 and the Roadrunner Off-Road Racing group. We met lots of nice folks. They were amazed at the amount of travel my trackchasing hobby required. I asked them all kinds of questions about their racing and future track locations.
Today’s event was called the “Christmas Classic European Scrambles”. The District 38 AMA website provided all the details. UTV racers would pay a $150 entry fee. There would be a 33% payback to the top three in each class. The UTV classes were Pro-Production, Pro Stock and Unlimited. The class separation was mainly based upon changes to the chassis and engines.
This is what their website had to say about the “European Scramble” format, “A European Scramble event is a marked course that is run over natural desert terrain. It consists of one loop of between 6 miles and sixteen miles. All riders run the same loop over and over for the duration of the event, which lasts between 45 minutes and 1 hour and 15 minutes, depending on the start. The European Scramble format is a great race to get your feet wet, and see what desert racing is about!” Today’s race was scheduled for two hours.
I don’t think the casual observer can fully appreciate what it takes to build a track and run one of these shows. I know that I didn’t understand what it took.
This is the first year the AMA District 38 group has hosted UTVs. Up to that point their group focused on motorcycles and quads aka ATVs. As you know in trackchasing a vehicle must have a steering wheel and not a set of handlebars. O.K., I’m loosely translating the trackchasing rules here.
They started their race on time after a brief driver’s meeting. It was at this point that Rob Niemela, president of the District 38 group invited me to ride along in his Jeep. We would go out on the course during the two-hour run and observe the action.
Folks I can just imagine if Carol and I had just shown up without contacting anyone in advance. We would not have known anybody. There would have been no UTV driving experience, no out on the course watching experience or anything. What have I learned from this over time? It pays to meet the right people. Often it really IS who you know.
Desert off-road UTV racing is not much of a spectator sport. With eight racers spread over an 11-mile course their isn’t going to be a lot of side by side racing action. That’s O.K. It’s what I have come to expect from off-road UTV racing.
Many of the people I was meeting today had grown up and lived in and around the San Diego area. They were familiar with the old Cajon Speedway. The Cajon Speedway closed at the end of the 2004 racing season. Their 50-year lease on the county-owned property expired. The greater San Diego area has never had a nearby replacement for that track. Many of today’s desert racing enthusiasts had grown up with the Cajon Speedway.
Rob and I enjoyed our time together out on the course. He had lots of stories to tell about his pro motorcycle racing career and more. Rob has had his share of racing injuries as you might expect. Along those lines we spent some time talking to the EMTs out on the course.
I was at the finish line for the checkered flag. It had been quite a day. The District 38 people and the Road Runner Off-Road Club are top notch folks. I’m glad they have gotten into UTV racing. They hope to continue to build it to bigger and bigger levels. I think they will and wish them all the best.
When the races were wrapped up it was time for a special event I had planned for Carol. Some might rightly say the special event was for me. Whatever.
However, before we could leave the racing area to get back to the first dirt road I needed to find a way OUT of the desert. When everything looks the same that isn’t easy. However, some local racers and members of the EMT group got the Carol Lewis owned and MFunds sponsored Lexus RX 350 headed in the right direction.
Perfect. Now Carol and I were going to “Camacho’s Place”. I first discovered this El Centro, California located Mexican restaurant after last month’s trackchasing visit to first Gila Bend, Arizona and then El Centro. Yelp! turned me onto Camacho’s Place.
The décor of Camacho’s is pure “1946”. Don’t know what that is? Go to Camacho’s. I will tell you this. I’ve had better Mexican food because I search out the very best Mexican eateries all over the country. However, I have never had better Mexican food served in an authentic 1946 atmosphere.
Today was my last planned trackchasing day of 2015. I ended up trackchasing some 104 days and seeing 134 new tracks. Neither of those are records for me but I consider 2015 to be a very good year.
I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, a Happy Holiday and a most prosperous New Year. Enjoy it!
This afternoon I saw my 145th lifetime track in the Golden state, yes the Golden state. I’ve seen more tracks in California, where I have lived for more than 35 years, than in any other state. Nevertheless, racechaser Gary Jacob leads the list in California with 149 tracks.
World’s #1 Trackchaser
Peoria Old Timers Racing Club (P.O.R.C.) Hall of Fame Member
California sayings: They write songs about California girls for a reason.
No airplanes.
No rental cars.
San Clemente, CA
Edgar, CA
San Clemente, CA
Total rental car miles – 0 (0 cars)
Total personal car miles – 361
Superstition Mountain OHV Open Area – No charge
The three most important trackchasing comparisons to me are:
Total “trackchasing countries” seen
Lifetime National Geographic Diversity results
There are no trackchasers currently within 525 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me.
There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total.
Click on the link below to see the “Video Plus” production from the racing action today.
Click on the link below to see the one-minute “Video Lite” production from today’s racetrack.
2 comments
Oops. I didn’t think I KNEW anybody who drove a Dodge Neon! I suspect it is quite the chick magnet. Randy
O.K. Randy, I’m tired of you bashing Dodge Neons. Mine, as you might recall, is equipped with a Lamborghini emblem decal on the front of the hood, not your average P.O.S. Just the other day, a nice, well-dressed woman in her 60s asked if my car was really a Lamborghini. I explained mine was the ‘urban version’, not the full-blown sports car, but added it was certainly capable of throwing you back into the seat. I considered asking her to dinner, but when she nodded knowingly after my ridiculous explanation, I just passed on dinner.