Greetings from Jackson Hole, Wyoming
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From the travels and adventures of the
“World’s #1 Trackchaser”
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Teton County Fairgrounds
Dirt figure 8
Lifetime Track #1,237
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. Or you can visit me on Facebook. Thanks!
DAY 1 – ROCKY MOUNTAIN SUMMER TRACKCHASING TOUR
TODAY’S HEADLINES
SPECIAL NOTICE
The ongoing series of Trackchaser Reports from Belgium’s Roland Vanden Eynde continues with his fourth report of five. You can read about his adventures at the bottom of this Trackchaser Report.
OTHER HEADLINES
Do you remember when “curbies” came to your car?……………….more in “ROADFOOD Restaurant Review”.
Carol and I had the most fun we’ve ever had at a figure 8 race tonight ………………..details in “Race review”.
RANLAY Racing Trackchaser Report reader wins another fine prize offered to loyal readers. ………………..details in “And the Readers Respond”.
I have a special connection to Wyoming ………………..details in “The People”.
AND THE READERS RESPOND
In my last Trackchaser Report, I wrote:
UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS
I was seriously pondered making this a 12-day “Monster Midwest” tour rather than just 10 days. Toward the end of the trip, I even began wearing some clothing for a second day in a row (but not the shirt I wore to the Windy Hollow Speedway!) in order to have enough clothes to last 12 days. However, good reason came over me. Had I stayed out 12 days, I would have been home only 12 hours before the next trip was to begin!
By the time you read this, Trackchasing’s First Mother and I will be in Wyoming on our next trackchasing trip. By the way, the first person, and only the first person responding, who can tell me what the capital of Wyoming is will receive an In N Out Burgers t-shirt in his/her own personal size choice.
This is the first response I received. This proves you don’t have to always respond (although many times you do!) quickly. Russ’ message came back nearly a day after the Windy Hollow figure 8 Trackchaser Report was sent. Of course, you had to read to the very bottom of the report to find your potential reward.
Randy,
I’m sure someone has beat me to it by now. But just in case they haven’t, the capital of Wyoming is Cheyenne.
Russ
GREETINGS FROM JACKSON, WYOMING.
WE WOKE UP IN SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA THIS MORNING. WE WENT TO SLEEP IN JACKSON, WYOMING. THIS IS WHAT TRANSPIRED TODAY.
PEOPLE/STRATEGY/TRAVEL NEWS
The Strategy
This trackchasing trip’s purpose is one of the following two choices.
- A simple tourist trip where we can visit “Old Faithful” in the Yellowstone National Park, see the Blue Angels perform at an air show in Bozeman, Montana and visit Carol’s sister and family in Saratoga, Wyoming.
OR
- Try to gain at least a tie for first place in trackchasing in both Wyoming and Montana.
You make the call.
The Trip
We began the trip with everything going perfectly for the day. Our flight didn’t leave until 7:50 a.m., which is much later than some of the flights we take. The flight was wide open and we were given exit row seats with extra legroom. We landed on time and picked out a good rental car.
Next up was lunch at a ROADFOOD recommended restaurant. It was noon when we set off on a pleasant 300-mile drive up through Utah, then Idaho and finally into Wyoming. I had the good sense to make our hotel reservations in advance in Jackson, (aka Jackson Hole) Wyoming.
We pulled into the Virginian Lodge at 5 p.m. Jackson looks a lot like Lake Tahoe to me. The scenery has similarities and there’s a good deal of tourist traffic. There are several large hotels (ours has 170 rooms) and many of them are sporting “no vacancy” signs. I don’t normally book a hotel in advance. There’s too much risk that bad weather will alter our evening plan. However, I have absolutely no backup for tonight’s Thursday night county fair race at the Teton County Fairgrounds in Jackson Hole.
By the way, Jackson Hole is located in a valley surrounded by the Grant Teton Mountains that bring the skiers here in wintertime. The valley is 13 miles long and 55 miles wide. The area is located just a few miles south of the Grand Teton National Park and the Yellowstone National Park. To get here we crossed over the Grand Teton Pass at an elevation of 8,429 feet. The elevation of the valley ranges from 6,200-6,800 feet, so the air is thin.
At the hotel, we asked and received a recommendation to the best steakhouse in town. We were hungry. We were in Wyoming. We needed meat. The Gun Barrel Steakhouse within walking distance of our hotel was A+.
The only downside of our entire travel day was the weather. Weather.com called for rain to move into the area in the late afternoon with a 50% chance of precipitation. The skies were cloudy and the rain did come in. Fortunately, a call to the fairgrounds office told us they would race “rain or shine”. That was great news. Had we been coming to see an oval track, tonight’s rain would have surely resulted in a cancellation. July is the second driest month of the year, so today’s rain surprised me. Jackson Hole averages only 1.07 inches of rain each July.
After Carol and I enjoyed our steak dinner with all the trimmings, we waddled out of the Gun Barrel Steakhouse and over to the Teton County Fairgrounds. The fair was less than a mile from our hotel and restaurant. It was pure luck that everything was located so conveniently close to each other. If you’ve read very many of these reports, you know that is usually not how it works out.
Our day finished up with the most fun and entertaining figure 8 racing I’ve seen in 2007. I’ve already seen 11 figure racetracks this year, so tonight’s racing was extra special.
The People
Wyoming is not a frequent stop for most trackchasers. However, Wyoming holds a special place in my heart. Carol graduated from Downers Grove North High School in Downer Grove, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. During the summer following her graduation, Carol’s parents decided to move the family from Illinois to Dayton, Wyoming. Carol had already been accepted at Northern Illinois University near Chicago for the upcoming fall season.
I first met Carol at Northern Illinois University during our sophomore years. We dated steadily from that point on. At the end of each of our last three years of college, Carol would return to Wyoming for the summer. When I finished my college summer job working the graveyard shift in a Caterpillar Tractor Company factory, I would take a week to go visit Carol and her family in Wyoming.
Her family owned the Foothills Motel and Campground in Dayton, Wyoming. This was a small operation with 10 cabins and about 50 campsites. The town of Dayton was a mere 300 people. Dayton sits at the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains in a very picturesque setting. Of course, when I went to visit the Polakovic’s (Carol’s maiden name) I was the “city slicker” even though they had only been in Wyoming a short time. So!! That’s my connection to Wyoming. It was a fun time bringing Carol back to where we first knew each other and had so many fun times.
ROADFOOD RESTAURANT REVIEW
HIRES BIG H
425 S. 700 E
Salt Lake City, UT
801-0364-4582
The Hires Big H drive-in offers curb service! Yep! Just like when my mother would take my sister and me to the A&W Root Beer stand (yes, we called it a “stand”) in Creve Coeur, Illinois back in the mid-late 50s. A few things have changed. Back in the day a small root beer went for a nickel and a large one a dime. Today a root beer at the Hires Big H drive-in sells for $1.95. That’s a 20-fold increase! Can you imagine a glass of root beer going for about $40 in 50 years? That would be a 20-fold increase. I guess I won’t be around to worry about it, but if you’re younger than me you might want to start saving.
Our overall experience at the Hires Big H was wonderful. It couldn’t have been five minutes after I said to Carol, “let’s try to eat a little healthier on this trip,” that I found the Big H listing (page 506) in my ROADFOOD book.
Hires serves drive-in food. They have a long list of hamburgers as well as all the fried stuff (fries, onion rings) that go along. I ended up with a cheeseburger swimming in cheese and chili that filled a large plastic container. Carol went with a bowl of chili that came with a generous slice of garlic bread.
The book recommended the root beer. They also mentioned a marshmallow chocolate malt. However, I had my eye on the cherry limeade drink. It was tasty and tart. I couldn’t tell which competing sugar had the strongest flavor, the sugar that came from the lime side or the cherry side. When I was finished I was surprised to see a lime and a cherry at the bottom of my glass.
When we were finished we did as the restaurant’s sign instructed us, “turn on lights for service”. That’s just the way Mom did it back at the A&W. Our trip could not have gotten off to a better start.
CAROL’S COMMENTS
I loved our server at the Hires Big H. (Editor’s note: I wish you could see the face Carol made when I recommended she try the marshmallow chocolate shake.) Her only verbal comment was, “You have a lot of ways to get me chubby”. I do but none of them seem to work!
Tonight’s racing was mayhem. The crowd loved it and so did I. I never thought I’d get my 12 bucks worth, but I did after the first race. I noticed there were very few overweight people. That’s so different than when we go trackchasing in most other places.
Editor’s comment: I often ask Carol if she would have any interest beginning a trackchasing trip on the evening of Memorial Day and returning home on Labor Day. For non-Americans reading this who might not be familiar with these holidays, that would be about a 100-day trip. I would love to do this. This was Carol’s reply.
“I won’t do it. You can if you want. You can circle around so you end up in California a couple of times so I can do your laundry.”
Editor’s comment: You just gotta love Trackchasing’s First Mother don’t ya?
STATE RANKINGS
This figure 8 track was my seventh lifetime track to see in the Cowboy state. It was my first ever figure 8 track to see in Wyoming. Figure 8 racing is not very popular or prevalent in the 13 far western states. I trail Allan Brown’s eight tracks here for the state lead.
I’m doing well in my quest to be the state leader in all 13 far western states (x California). I currently lead in six of them and that could increase to eight by the end of this trip.
RACE REVIEW – TETON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS (FIGURE 8), JACKSON, WYOMING – TRACK #1,237 (CAROL’S TRACK #331)
Carol and I had the most fun night of figure 8 racing we’ve ever had. Maybe it was the fact we were in Wyoming. Maybe it was the fact that with the rain, any other type of race would have been rained out. Maybe, it was the fact that every aspect of the first day of this trackchasing trip had gone flawlessly.
Actually, it might have been because I wasn’t really expecting much from tonight’s show. I’ve seen so many figure 8 races that have just three or four cars and that’s it.
Let me tell you some specifics about tonight’s program and event that made it so far above average. First, I have never see a figure 8 crowd, or maybe any crowd, that was more “into it” than these folks tonight. We sat in the covered grandstand. It was packed. There was also seating, fully occupied, in five other good-sized aluminum bleacher areas. Every time ANYTHING happened on the track or in the race the crowd cheered, yelled, stood up and/or applauded. It was like taking the wildest fan you’ve ever seen at an event and multiplying that person by just about the number of people who showed up tonight.
This was a four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive figure 8 show. There were 30 cars racing in five heats. Those heats were followed up by a heat for the third place finishers, then the second place finishers and finally a final “heat” not feature for the winners of the first seven heat races.
The start of each race was hilarious. For the first time ever, in figure 8 racing, we saw a Le Mans style start. Each of the cars were parked in front of a bull-riding shoot. The drivers walked across the arena’s dirt floor to the opposite side of where the cars were parked. At the starter’s command, they RAN about 60 yards over to their cars, opened the driver’s door, snapped on their seat belt and drove onto the track to race.
The crowd absolutely went nuts cheering these cowboy-booted and blue-jeaned drivers running to their waiting cars across a very muddy arena area as their helmets bobbed up and down. It was so unusual we laughed our heads off.
I had spent a few moments talking to the driver of the #89 car while we were in the pit area. I was quizzing him on other figure 8 racing in the area. At the end of our conversation, we told him he would be our favorite driver for the night. In his race, he ran across the arena and jumped in his car to start the race. He couldn’t get his shoulder belt to pull across his body. You’ve probably had that experience when, for some unknown reason, you seat and shoulder belt locks up temporarily and won’t allow you to pull it across your body. The crowd could see this big driver pulling frantically on the shoulder belt. It wouldn’t budge. He got out of his car and pulled. No luck. Finally, after his fellow competitors had been racing for about four of the fifteen laps each heat was run, he got his seat belt to work.
He then slammed his passenger door shut and was ready to race. Unfortunately, the door latch on his door wasn’t working. The harder he slammed it, the more it banged away from the car. He wasted another two laps trying to get his door closed until he was finally off. The crowd was going berserk watching this action.
The track’s racing surface was flat and the track was very narrow. The racing area was probably only about two cars widths wide. I feared this would make for bad racing. I was wrong. Most of the crowd’s favorite action at a figure 8 race happens at the “X”. That was not the case tonight.
The action happened going into the turns. Each of the turns of the figure “8” were essentially circles with an interior boundary made up of 24 eight-foot long railroad ties. The outer barrier was simply about three feet of loose dirt. The best way for one car to disable another was to do a “follow-in”. I first learned this term while watching banger racing (one of my favorites) in the United Kingdom.
In a “follow-in” one car gets behind another, and at full speed, pushes the car ahead directly into a barrier of some kind. In the U.K., it is often a fixed steel or concrete wall. Tonight, it was a three feet high dirt berm. The crowd could anticipate when this was going to happen and appreciated every one of them.
From time to time a couple of the cars would get tangled together and couldn’t get untangled. Others would get stuck in the loose dirt of the outer barriers. A red flag would be thrown when this happened and the race would be stopped. At other figure 8 tracks, they would likely bring out a wrecker to fix the problem. Not here.
EVERY time one of these stoppages occurred, they simply brought out 6-8 cowboys. These guys pushed and pulled until the problem was fixed. If looked just like they were out there doing some farm chore. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Due to the rain, one of the turns had a huge mud puddle. This puddle might have been more than a foot deep and ran the width of one turn and was more than 20 feet long. When the cars raced through here, they created huge muddy splashes.
Overall, this was one fun night of figure 8 racing. After the first five heat races, we moved from the covered grandstand to one of the aluminum bleacher section by the mud puddle. When we sat down, a fan that looked to be about 45 years of age, tapped me on the shoulder. “I would like to ask you just one question and then I promise not to bother you anymore. Is that O.K.?”, he asked. I told him it was. “Do you get mistaken for Bill Clinton very often?” I told him “all the time”. I once walked into a restaurant and a woman looked up at me and dropped her fork on the ground. I learned a few moments later she thought I was former President Clinton. Do you see the resemblance?
RENTAL CAR UPDATE
Salt Lake City – Thursday-Tuesday (5-day rental)
The National Rental Car location in Salt Lake is one of their worst in the country. They don’t have full Emerald Aisle or Executive Selection service. This means they pick the car for me and I don’t have any control over the car I get. Their cars don’t have XM satellite radio. That’s especially noteworthy since we will be traveling in some remote areas where AM/FM radio reception is poor. Salt Lake has some of the higher rental car prices as well. Finally, the employees at this location at unconsciously incompetent. That’s means they don’t know they are incompetent. Some folks know they’re doing a poor job and don’t car. They are consciously incompetent. I don’t know which is worse to be consciously incompetent or unconsciously incompetent.
Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,
Randy Lewis
Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser
I live in my own world. People know me here.
AIRPLANE
Orange County, CA – Salt Lake City, UT – 588 miles
TRACK ADMSSION PRICES:
Teton County Fairgrounds – $12
RANKINGS
LIFETIME TRACKCHASER STANDINGS UPDATE:
There are no trackchasers currently within 100 tracks of my lifetime total.
- Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,237
Other notables
These worldwide trackchasers are within 10 tracks (plus or minus) of Carol’s current trackchaser total.
- Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 331
- Tom Schmeh, Knoxville, Iowa – 330
- Dwight Bucks, Topton, Pennsylvania – 325
2007 TRACKCHASER STANDINGS
- Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 99
- Roland Vanden Eynde, Vilvoorde, Belgium – 61
- Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 60
- Mike Knappenberger, Reading, Pennsylvania – 43
- Paul Weisel, Orefield, Pennsylvania – 37
- Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California – 37
- Guy Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 32
- Pam Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 25
- Gordon Killian, Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania – 21
- Roger Ferrell, Majenica, Indiana – 20
Tracks have been reported by 37 different worldwide trackchasers this season.
UPCOMING TRACKCHASING PLANS
We’ll spend the next five days in Wyoming and Montana. This is unusual and beautiful country. I would recommend a visit to this part of the world for each of my Trackchaser Report readers.
RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2007 (** not the first time to visit this track)
1,139. Meremere Dirt Track Club, Meremere, New Zealand – January 1
1,140. Meeanee Speedway, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand – January 1
1,141. Top of the South Speedway, Richmond, New Zealand – January 2
1,142. Woodford Glen Speedway, Christchurch, New Zealand – January 3
1,143. Robertson Holden International Speedway, Palmerston North, New Zealand – January 5
1,144. Taupo Motorsports Park, Taupo, North, New Zealand – January 6
1,145. Waikaraka Park International Speedway, Auckland, New Zealand – January 6
1,146. Angels Stadium of Anaheim (inner oval), Anaheim, California – January 13
1,147. Angels Stadium of Anaheim (outer oval), Anaheim, California – January 13
1,148. West Valley Speedway, Surprise, Arizona – January 14
1,149. Sandia Motorsports Park (road course), Albuquerque, New Mexico – January 28
1,150. Grand Prix De Lanaudiere, Lavaltrie, Quebec, Canada – February 3
1,151. Ste-Eulalie Ice Track, Eulalie, Quebec, Canada – February 4
1,152. St Guillaume, St Guillaume, Quebec, Canada – February 4
1,153. Caldwell Rodeo Arena, Caldwell, Idaho – February 10
1,154. Balsam Lake Ice Track, Balsam Lake, Wisconsin – February 18
1,155. Northeast Pond Ice Track, Milton, New Hampshire – February 24
1,156. Lee Pond Ice Track, Moultonborough, New Hampshire – February 25
1,157. New Hendry Country Speedway, Clewiston, Florida – March 3
1,158. Florida Sports Park, Naples, Florida – March 4
1,159. Honeoye Lake Ice Track – Road Course, Honeoye, New York – March 10
1,160. Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, Texas – March 16
1,161. Houston Motorsports Park, Houston, Texas – March 16
1,162. Dawgwood Speedway, Chatsworth, Georgia – March 17
1,163. Toccoa Speedway, Toccoa, Georgia – March 17
1,164. Tazewell Speedway, Tazewell, Tennessee – March 18
1,165. Malden Speedway, Malden, Missouri, Tennessee – March 23
1,166. Dacosa Speedway, Byhalia, Mississippi – March 24
1,167. Swinging Bridge Raceway, Byram, Mississippi – March 24
1,168. Florence Motor Speedway, Florence, South Carolina – March 25
1,169. Foothills Raceway, Easley, South Carolina – March 30
1,170. Mileback Speedway, Gray Court, South Carolina – March 30
1,171. Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida – April 1
1,172. Vegas Grand Prix, Las Vegas, Nevada – April 8
1,173. Huntsville Speedway, Huntsville, Alabama – April 13
1,174. Low Country Kartway, Aynor, South Carolina – April 14
1,175. Dillon Motor Speedway, Dillon, South Carolina – April 14
1,176. Valley Dirt Riders, Berthoud, Colorado – April 15
1,177. Antelope Valley Fairgrounds, Lancaster, California – April 22
1,178. Sertoma Speedway, Tularosa, New Mexico – April 27
1,179. Sandia Motorsports Park (outer oval), Albuquerque, New Mexico – April 28
1,180. Sandia Motorsports Park (inner oval), Albuquerque, New Mexico – April 28
1,181. Hollywood Hills Speedway, San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico – April 29
1,182. Meridian Speedway, Meridian, Idaho – May 11
1,183. Diamond Mountain Speedway, Vernal, Utah, Idaho – May 12
1,184. Rocky Mountain Raceways (oval), Salt Lake City, Utah – May 12
1,185. Rocky Mountain Raceways (figure 8), Salt Lake City, Utah – May 12
1,186. Modoc Speedway, Modoc, South Carolina – May 18
1,187. Possum Kingdom Super Speedway, Belton, South Carolina – May 19
1,188. Laurens County Speedway, Laurens, South Carolina – May 19
1,189. Fairplex at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, Pomona, California – May 20
1,190. Lowes Motor Speedway (inner oval), Concord, North Carolina – May 24
1,191. Lowes Motor Speedway (road course), Concord, North Carolina – May 24
1,192. Madison International Speedway (inner oval), Oregon, Wisconsin – May 25
** Madison International Speedway (outer oval), Oregon, Wisconsin – May 25
1,193. Thunderbird Stadium (figure 8), Bremerton, Washington – May 26
1,194. Thunderbird Stadium (oval), Bremerton, Washington – May 26
1,195. Whispering Pines Motorsports Park, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada – May 27
1,196. Magic Valley Speedway, Twin Falls, Idaho – May 28
1,197. Owyhee Motorcycle Raceway Park, Boise, Idaho – June 1
1,198. Race City Motorsports Park, Calgary, Alberta, Canada – June 2
1,199. Edmonton International Raceway, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada – June 2
1,200. Castrol Raceway, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – June 2
1,201. Hidden Valley Motorsports Park, Drumheller, Alberta, Canada – June 2
1,202. Boyd’s Speedway, Ringgold, Georgia – June 8
1,203. Fayette County Fairgrounds, Washington Courthouse, Ohio – June 9
1,204. Brush Creek Motorsports Park, Pebbles, Ohio – June 9
1,205. Brown County Speedway, Russellville, Ohio – June 9
1,206. Vinton Speedway, Vinton, Ohio – June 10
1,207. Hilltop Speedway, Millersburg, Ohio – June 10
1,208. I-70 Speedway – dirt (outer oval), Odessa, Missouri – June 13
1,209. L A Raceway, La Monte, Missouri – June 14
1,210. Valley Speedway, Grain Valley, Missouri – June 22
1,211. Jamaica Raceway, Jamaica, Iowa – June 23
1,212. Calhoun County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Rockwell City, Jamaica, Iowa – June 23
** Hamilton County Speedway, Webster City, Iowa – June 23 (new for Carol only)
** Iowa Speedway (outer oval), Newton, Iowa, Iowa – June 24 (new for Carol only)
1,213. Butler Motor Speedway, Butler, Missouri – June 24
** Peoria Speedway, Peoria, Illinois – June 25
1,214. Kart Kanyon Raceway, Aztec, New Mexico – June 30
1,215. Aztec Speedway, Aztec, New Mexico – June 30
1,216. Sunvalley Speedway, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada – July 1
1,217. Georgetown Speedway, Georgetown, Delaware – July 6
1,218. Delmarva Motorsports Park, Middleford, Delaware – July 6
1,219. Hunterstown Speedway, Hunterstown, Pennsylvania – July 7
1,220. Shippensburg Speedway, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania – July 7 (Randy only)
** Hagerstown Speedway, Hagerstown, Maryland – July 7 (new for Carol only)
1,221. Blanket Hill Speedway, Whitesburg, Pennsylvania – July 8
1,222. Lincoln County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Troy, Missouri – July 13
1,223. Pike County Speedway, Pittsfield, Illinois – July 13
1,224. Iowa Speedway (road course), Newton, Iowa – July 14
1,225. Mitchell County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Osage, Iowa – July 14
1,226. Scott County Fairgrounds (oval), Scottsburg, Indiana – July 15
1,227. Barry Expo Center (figure 8), Hastings, Michigan – July 16
1,228. Lycoming County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Hughesville, Pennsylvania, Michigan – July 17
1,229. Delaware County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Muncie, Indiana – July 18
1,230. Delaware County Fairgrounds (oval), Muncie, Indiana – July 18
1,231. Van Buren County Youth Fairgrounds (road course), Hartford, Michigan – July 19
1,232. High Banks Speedway (oval), Philpot, Kentucky – July 20
1,233. High Banks Speedway (figure 8), Philpot, Kentucky – July 20
1,234. SOIL MX, Bone Gap, Illinois – July 21
1,235. Western Kentucky Speedway, Madisonville, Kentucky – July 21
** Windy Hollow Speedway (oval), Owensboro, Kentucky – July 23
1,236. Windy Hollow Speedway (small figure 8), Owensboro, Kentucky – July 21
1,237. Teton County Fairgrounds (figure 8), Jackson, Wyoming – July 26
In the business world, the U.S. is often divided up into geographic areas that are referred to as East, Central and the “eleven Western states plus Alaska and Hawaii.” No, I don’t know why they don’t just say the “thirteen western states.” Those states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming and, of course, Alaska and Hawaii.
The far west probably has the most beautiful scenery per square mile anywhere in the United States. This got me to thinking. Over the next 2-3 years, I’d like to put a “full-court” press on these far west states for trackchasing purposes. I want to establish a goal of becoming the number one trackchaser in each of these states except California by the end of 2009. Becoming #1 in California is not a realistic goal at this time.
Below is a listing of these thirteen Far Western states. The state’s name is followed by my current rank and how many tracks I need to see to gain at least a tie for 1st place. As an example, I’m currently in ninth place in Alaska and trail first place by three tracks. I’m looking forward to spending more time than usual is the Far West, a great part of our country.
Alaska – 9th by 3
Arizona – 1st
California – 2nd by 48
Colorado – 2nd by 1
Hawaii – 3rd by 1
Idaho – 1st
Montana – 2nd by 1
Nevada – 2nd by 2
New Mexico – 1st
Oregon – 1st
Utah – 1st
Washington – 1st
Wyoming – 2nd by 1
June 23, 2005 – Luxemburg, Wisconsin – Carol, Ed, Roland Vanden Eynde visiting from Belgium.
Trackchaser Report (#4 in a 5-part series) from Belgium’s Roland Vanden Eynde
DAY 12: JUNE 25, 2007
I felt rather tired and slept longer than usual at the Harford Super 8. I could afford that, as I only had a five-hour drive to Peoria. I checked in at the Motel 6 at East Peoria on a scorching hot afternoon. I cooled off in my motel room until it was time to head for the Peoria Speedway.
There was a vast crowd and when I was looking for a spot in the grandstand, I heard my name being shouted. It was number one trackchaser and former East Peoria resident Randy Lewis. He asked me if I wasn’t surprised to see him there, but I hardly was, as one can expect to see Randy turn up anywhere any time these days. We were sitting very near the track and Randy feared it was too dry and would be too dusty. He also feared there were too many support races for the UMP Late Models. He needn’t worry at all, the track held up a lot better than most dirt tracks and after a hesitant start (in which no one seemed to know which restart procedure to use for the UMP Modifieds, the rest of the meeting was very well conducted, without any further delays and even without an intermission.
This small bullring type track is basic, but provides great side by side racing. Unfortunately, the UMP racing was rather tame (starting the fastest qualifiers at the front and going for single file restarts is not the best way to produce spectacular races) and the support classes provided for much better racing. Together with Tri-City, Peoria Speedway was the best dirt track visited on this trip. At the very decent hour of 10.30PM, the meeting was finished.
States visited: WI, IL
New states visited: 4
Number of new tracks: 1
Total number of new tracks: 18
Of which in new states: 3
DAY 13: JUNE 26, 2007
I headed south, in order to add Missouri to the list of states in which I saw countable racing. It was still very hot and when I made a little sidestep to visit Abraham Lincoln’s house at Springfield, black clouds were forming. Sure enough, my entry into Missouri was a wet one with a torrential downpour at Saint Louis. When I stopped 20 miles south of town for my daily Subway foot long tuna sub, it was bone dry again. When I started my hire van, the ‘Maintenance required’ light briefly lit up.
After the plains, it was nice to see some gradient when I crossed the Ozarks. When I took on fuel (a very common ritual with this thirsty vehicle requiring between 13 and 14 gallons every 300 miles) I noticed people were speaking with a distinctly southern accent. At Poplar Bluff, I checked in at the Super 8, thinking it was near the track. But this is a very drawn out town and it was still a bit of a drive to the track. When I watched the Weather Channel, I noticed several thunderstorms hovering around the Poplar Bluff area, but they all missed the town itself.
Randy had warned me about the sloppy organisation and the mosquitoes, and as soon as I arrived I felt I would hardly enjoy the evening. My only positive memory about the Poplar Bluff Speedway are the fried green tomatoes. They tasted good. But that’s about all the nice things I can say about this track. When I searched for a convenient grandstand seat, I was already bombarded by dust from the hot lapping. They started half an hour late and made no progress at all. Although the track is almost twice as long as Peoria Speedway, they had less cars in the heats (only 34 UMP’s instead of the over 50 of the night before, but just as many heats). And the dust was just as bad as at North Central Speedway.
I didn’t have mosquito trouble, but I was prepared (jeans, long sleeve shirt). The girl sitting next to me wasn’t, for she wore a sleeveless blouse and shorts. Ten minutes after she took her place in the grandstand, she was permanently scratching her arms and legs.
It was close to 10.45PM when they finally finished the heats and went into intermission. I was in no mood to endure this shambolic meeting any longer as it was obvious Billy Moyer would win, for he stood head and shoulders above the rest of the small and mainly local field. Is this the infamous southern style of racing?
States visited: IL, MO
New states visited: 4
Number of new tracks: 1
Total number of new tracks: 19
Of which in new states: 4
DAY 14: JUNE 27, 2007
Another long drive on a hot day, in order to reach Plymouth Speedway for a major midget meeting. I made swift progress and when I got onto US31 north of Indianapolis, things looked good. It all turned nasty with a heavy thunderstorm at Kokomo. However, in the Plymouth area, the rain had stopped falling and the road looked reasonably dry. Upon arriving, I drove straight to the track and found the paddock full and at least thirty spectator cars in the car park.
I headed for the nearest motel I saw on the way to the track, at Rochester. When I returned to Plymouth 40 minutes later, the sky looked menacing but it was still dry. However, I saw several race car haulers heading in the opposite direction. Sure enough, when I pulled into the Plymouth Speedway parking lot, I learned the meeting was a rainout. Someone said Ken Schrader, scheduled to drive
his Late Model in a support race, was still signing autographs in the paddock. Indeed, apart from one midget car and three other late models, Schrader’s trailer was the only one still in the bone dry paddock.
I used the occasion to have a little chat with him. He’s a very polite and friendly man. He agreed that the rainout was not really necessary and as he liked this track (looking like a poor man’s copy of Slinger), he was sad not to be able to compete tonight. In my opinion, racing was perfectly possible, especially since it didn’t rain at all during the entire evening. More than my other missed opportunities, which I lost
through bad planning or torrential rain, I felt this one was stolen
from me. Indiana sure wasn’t very friendly to me on this trip.
States visited: MO, IL, IN
New states visited: 4
Number of new tracks: 0
Total number of new tracks: 19
Of which in new states: 4
DAY 15: JUNE 28, 2007
After the thunderstorms of the day before, the day dawned cold and with a dark grey sky. As the drive to Fremont was a short one, I could take things leisurely. Not far from the Ohio state line, I saw a sign for the Mid-America Windmill Museum. As I had time on my hands, I went for a visit. It’s a nice family owned museum and well worth the $4 entrance fee.
Because the ‘Maintenance required’ light had been permanently on for the last 500 miles and I didn’t want this gas guzzler to fail on me,
I pulled into a service station. They checked the oil level and colour and found it to be in perfect condition, so they advised me to just ignore the warning light. I sat out another downpour while lunching on my customary Subway tuna sub, but in the afternoon the weather got a tad brighter and it would be the last drops of rain I would experience on American soil. I chose a more upmarket place to stay this time, the Comfort Inn at Fremont, where I had access to a desk top and I could do some research on a few alternative options for my last three days of American trackchasing.
It was only a short drive to the fairgrounds, where the Fremont Speedway was situated. The car parks were very full for this Ohio sprint week meeting and it was a bit of a walk to the track entrance. Very nice was that the walk circled the spacious paddock and enabled me to take quite a lot of pictures. The vast grandstands were filled to capacity and I only found a spot at a rather low level. The track looked very dry. That didn’t bode well and sure enough, as soon as the sprint car heats started, the bombardment of dust did
likewise. There were five Australian drivers participating, but they were also rans. With every heat, the dust problem increased. When at the end of the first feature for the local 308 Sprint class, I was hit in the forehead by a rather sharp little stone, resulting in a cut, I called it a day.
In my 36 years of going to races, this was my first injury. It was not the thing to make me like these third worldish dirt tracks any better. And the often heard argument that they provide better wheel to wheel racing than paved tracks is not one I subscribe. The best racing I saw was on this trip was on the two paved Wisconsin tracks.
States visited: IN, OH
New states visited: 4
Number of new tracks: 1
Total number of new tracks: 20
Of which in new states: 4
DAY 16: JUNE 29, 2007
When I missed the opportunity to go to Spartan and I90, my first
reaction was to try again for that combination the Friday after.
However, the schedules of both tracks didn’t give enough guarantees all track combinations were going to be used. Moreover, since the evening before I had it with these crude dirt tracks, so I opted for a possible three track combination at the paved Toledo Speedway instead. That allowed me to take it easy, visit Sandusky and Port Clinton as a tourist and change my daily lunch routine by having a nice steak lunch at a Ponderosa.
As the Toledo Speedway is very near the state line, I ended up in Michigan, where I found refuge at the Luna Pier Super 8. My love of civilised paved tracks was more than paid back by the Toledo Speedway, which made my wildest trackchasing dreams come true.
They only charged $8, the lowest admission fee for any meeting on this trip. They only had three classes, Figure 8, Street stock and Late Models, yet drove on three different tracks. And they did it a little different by starting with a Figure 8 heat, followed by the Street stocks on the 1/5 mile and the Late Models on the 1/2 mile.
The musical choice was a bit different as well. It’s not every day one hears George Harrison, Three Doors Down, War and the Dave Matthews Band as track music. Here, here. They also ran a slick programme and when during the Late Model feature two cars
damaged the wall protection, they red flagged the cars on the 1/2 mile and ran the Street stock feature on the small track while repairs were being done. Great stuff, and this time there were no hits during the Figure 8 races.
As it was kids night, the winner drove his car into a kids enclosure, where they could chat with him and ask for autographs. Just after 9.30PM, the programme was finished. Excellent value for money and so nice to leave the vast and well looked after grandstands with clothes still as clean as when I came in.
States visited: OH, MI
New states visited: 4
Number of new tracks: 3
Total number of new tracks: 23
Of which in new states: 4
DAY 17: JUNE 30, 2007
As this was a Saturday and the start of the holiday period, I
encountered quite a bit of traffic on my way from Toledo to the Buffalo area. I also found the road toll for the rickety New York Thruway somewhat expensive. As I feared not to find motel accommodation along the SR400, I got off the Thruway at Hamburg and checked into the local Red Roof Inn. It was a rip off. The smallest and least well equipped room on my journey for $108. Luckily the exchange rate is in favour of the EUR, otherwise it would be a hard hit at my travel budget.
Anyway, I had no choice, for when I returned from Holland International Speedway, the motel was full to the brim. Once off the SR400, the road to the track was the most beautiful of the entire trip. Holland is a charming village in a lush and green environment. The excellently signposted track in a vast park on the edge of the village was the most upmarket oval one on this trip. I could imagine seeing a Bush grand National or an IRL race on this one. The June 30 was a notch down on this, although it still was a fairly big meeting. The vast grandstands carried a capacity crowd. The meeting was features only, except for the Late Model 100 lapper, for which three preliminary heat races took place.
The meeting finished with a well disputed but accident free Figure 8 race on a very special track, for part of the track was on a sort of inner track, completely inside the large oval. Another slick run meeting with some nice racing and lots of different classes (o.a. Legend and Hornets), again proving asphalt is not hostile to exciting wheel to wheel racing.
States visited: OH, PA, NY
New states visited: 4
Number of new tracks: 2
Total number of new tracks: 25
Of which in new states: 4
DAY 18: JULY 1, 2007
I was scheduled to go to Utica-Rome Speedway for my last trackchasing day, but you suggested the Wyoming County International Speedway at Perry as a possible alternative. I looked into that at Fremont and decided it was the better option, because it was very near Holland, it was a paved track and its programme started at 2.30PM, leaving me more time to drive a little further towards NYC.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t notify Bruce and Pat Eckel, who were planning to meet me at the Vernon track, because the desktop at the Fremont Comfort Inn didn’t allow me to send any e-mails. Sorry, Pat and Bruce. My last entire day in the USA started with another bout of tourism and the cheapest foot long tuna sub ever at the Warsaw Subway ($4.95, a medium drink included).
Unlike most smaller oval tracks, the WCIS was very well signposted and the meeting headlined Vintage Mods. The fields were small, but they raced fiercely (at one time four abreast), unlike the three other classes. The organisation also left a lot to be desired and when two street stocks had a coming together, they needed 18 minutes to clear the track.
On the other hand, they had a very good yellow flag policy, only throwing it when a car was stalled in a dangerous position. As this was a meeting based around old style Mods, there was an interesting side attraction behind the grandstand: several nicely restored cars of the fifties and sixties. And the bar played sixties music during the entire meeting as well. But when at 4.30PM, they planned to have an intermission for a children’s hoola-hoop contest, then one Mini stock feature and then another intermission, it was high time to get on the long road to NYC. I ended up at the Holiday Inn Express at Owego. It was only $5 more expensive than the Red Roof Inn from the day before, but in a totally different comfort range. I ended my American stay in style.
States visited: NY, PA
New states visited: 4
Number of new tracks: 1
Total number of new tracks: 26
Of which in new states: 4
DAY 19: JULY 2, 2007
I started quite early and without breakfast, as I feared the dreadful NYC traffic would play dirty tricks on me. I was lucky, for until the NYC suburbs, I made good progress, the huge traffic jams all being in the opposite direction. Once I entered NYC however, traffic became more stop than go. I missed a very badly signposted exit (not announced, one could one see it when it was too late to take it) and had to be inventive to rectify this error, for NYC signposting is erratic, if at all, and was of absolutely no help. Using my navigational skills I managed to get onto the correct road to Kennedy Airport again.
NYC must be the only city I ever visited where the airport is not signposted at all, until you’re on the correct road to it. When I handed in my car at Budget, with 6145 miles on the clock for the trip, the attendant asked me if I had driven it to California and back. Boy, did he roll his eyes when I gave him a brief account of my itinerary. I got on the air train and by the time I arrived at Terminal 9 it was almost time to check in. I was surprised by the very superficial security checks and after a nice, but very expensive, sandwich and a last black cup of Starbucks, I got on the plane.
Not a nice flight: the catering was appalling, the sound for the (low quality) films was garbled, but we arrived well ahead of schedule at a cold and damp Brussels airport. Baggage reclaim was swifter than usual and I caught a bus home after a mere five minute wait. Unfortunately, when I got off it for the last 250 yards to home, it began to rain heavily. I opened my front door at 8.05AM local time. Home, sweet home.
States visited: NY, PA, NJ
New states visited: 4
Number of new tracks: 0
Total number of new tracks: 26
Of which in new states: 4
Roland
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.
Figure 8 racing from Jackson Hole, Wyoming