Westmoreland County Fairgrounds

 

 

What have I been doing for 14 years?  You would never guess…………….more in “The Details”.

 

 

What would Moses do?…………….more in “The Details”.

 

 

It was time to fish or cut bait……………more in “The Details”.

 

 

What if?……this is the stuff that ethical dilemmas are made of…………….more in “The Details”.

 

 

 

Did you know this about the election of Rutherford B. Hayes? ……………more in “The Details”.

 

  

So what were retired trackchaser Andy Sivi’s profound comments? ………..details in “Race Review”.

 

 

My apologies to all women.…………..details in “Race Review”.

 

 

This was the decision of the night!………..details in “Race Review”.

 

 

I have just one photo to substantiate all that has to be substantiated………..details in “Race Review”.

 

 

Should I count this track?  What would Jesus do? ……..details in “Race Review”.

 

 

This was one of the craziest nights I’ve had in a long time.……..details in “Race Review”.

 

 

I’m guessing this young princess doesn’t get this type of feedback that often but maybe she should.……..details in “Race Review”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

14 years in a hotel room?

I woke up this morning in Toledo, Ohio I went to bed in Columbus, Ohio.  However, I spent much of my day outside of the Buckeye state.  It’s always a good idea when I can start my day with a powerwalk.  It’s a great way to see the area.  However, having a powerwalk on 3-5 hours sleep never feels that good.

 

 

This is day 15 day of my 27-day trackchasing trip.  Today, with a 12 noon checkout I could sleep in, exercise for 45-minutes and still make the 5-hour drive down to Woodsfield, Ohio.

 

 

I estimate I have stayed in a hotel room between 4,000 and 5,000 nights.  This is not an exaggeration.  Think about it.  I began traveling on business at age 23.  At 100 nights or more of business and personal travel for 30 years of working “for the man” that’s 3,000 nights.  Then, during the past 12 years of retirement with another 150/nights a year of overnight stays (maybe 1,800 nights) you can see that an estimate of 5,000 nights is not out of the question.

 

 

What would Moses do?

The rain forecast for this evening was not good.  I called the promoter of tonight’s figure 8 racing in southern Ohio.  I wanted him to tell me that they would race even if Moses was waiting in the boat to take two figure 8 cars with them after 40 days and nights of rain.

 

 

Not as committed as I was hoping for.

Unfortunately that was not the response I got. The promoter told me he liked a fast track and was hesitant to say that they would race rain or shine. He simply told me they had a grader and that they would grade the mud off to get a firm racing surface for the figure 8 cars.  What kind of promoter was this?  Figure 8 promoters never care what the racing surface looks like.

 

 

He told me this was the fourth time they had done figure 8 racing at this location. He mentioned the car count had ranged from 6 to 15. That probably means there won’t be that many cars at tonight’s event.  In “promoter talk” 6-15 really means 3-8!  We will see.

 

 

All I need is an opening for a Trackchasing Tourist Attraction.

Despite having a five hour drive to tonight’s track I still had 2-3 hours of “free time”. I promised myself that as soon as I saw a road sign for anything interesting that would become today’s Trackchasing Tourist Attraction. Yes these trips and there activities are often planned on the fly.

 

 

 

How much do you know about Rutherford B. Hayes?

It wasn’t long before I came upon a sign advertising something that sounded entertaining.  What was that?  The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center.  It was located in nearby Fremont Ohio also the home of a well-known dirt race track.

 

 

I have seen 6-8 presidential museums and libraries and loved them all.  Soon I was headed toward Rutherford B. Hayes’ former home and museum.  I’ll tell you more about that in the “Attractions” section.

 

 

After the museum….

 

 

 

It was time to fish or cut bait.

Ya, we used to say that back on the block.  At 5:30 p.m. I was just 90 minutes from my destination in Woodsfield Ohio.  However, the weather forecast and nearby skies looked terrible.  It had been 809 days and some 233 tracks since I was last rained out.  I was going to try anything I could to keep that streak alive.  An executive decision was needed and I was the executive to make it.

 

 

The incoming rain overshadowed the less than convincing words from the track promoter from Ohio.  When I had asked him if they would race in rainy weather in Ohio I didn’t much care for his answer.

 

 

It was a Wednesday; what choices did I have?

It was a Wednesday night.  What were the chances there was another alternative within driving distance when it was already 5:30 p.m.?  The chances were pretty good!  There was another county fair over in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.  They were having a figure 8 race!  If you’re not a figure 8 racing fan would you ever had guessed.

 

 

What did Google say?

While I was driving I did a quick Google search for Greensburg, Pennsylvania.  Google told me I could arrive at this location by 7:35 p.m. from where I was.  Their figure 8 race was scheduled to begin at 7:30. I figure almost all tracks start later than normal.  I would be golden.  We used to say that back on the block (actually the guys I worked with in the Caterpillar factory said that nearly every day) too.

 

 

There was Iiterally no time to waste.

I also knew that at this stage every second counted.  I didn’t know exactly how this was going to work out.  I had no idea this was going to be one of my most unusual trackchasing nights of the year.  I’ll tell you more about it in the “Race Review” section.

 

 

There was one important thing to note.  I was bypassing the Ohio track because of bad weather.  If I bagged Ohio (which I was doing) and then went to Pennsylvania and didn’t see a race then my rain-free streak would be broken.  Or would it?

 

What if….this is the stuff that ethical dilemmas are made of.

What if the Ohio track raced even though I had avoided it at the last minute because of projected bad weather.  Then what if the new track I was heading to in Pennsylvania didn’t race or, more likely, what if I didn’t get there in time to see a race.  Would my lack of seeing a race in either location be because of a rainout?  Yes, it is ethical dilemmas like this that keep my mind fully exercised (some might say not) until I find out if I will see a track or not.  I urge readers to respond below in the “notes” section with your “ruling” on the issue.

 

 

 

TRACKCHASING TOURIST ATTRACTION

I very much enjoy the racing when I go on trackchasing trips.  However, I am not the type of person who would feel the trip was complete if I simply left home, went to the race and came back home.

 

I do a good deal of traveling.  I want to do my best to see the local area when I come for a visit.  There are usually unusual attractions that one area is noted for more than any other locale.  I want to see those places.  I want to touch them and feel them.  When I leave an area, I want to have memories of these special places that I call Trackchasing Tourist Attractions.  I will remember those experiences long after the checkered flag has fallen on whatever race I have seen that day.

 

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center – Fremont, Ohio

 

Did you know this about the election of Rutherford B. Hayes?

Admission for just the museum tour was $6.50. I didn’t have time for the 45-minute tour of the president’s former boyhood home.  It was next door to the Presidential Center.

 

 

I started my visit with a 12 minute video history of President Hayes accomplishments. I was surprised to learn that he ran into some of the same problems that effected the Bush-Gore election.  Hayes’ election took place in November per usual. Final results were not declared until five months later in March!  President Hayes ended up winning the Electoral College by just one vote.  Three states’ results (not one as in the Bush-Gore fiasco) were in contention.  A 15 person panel formed an election commission to decide the results for those three states. Somehow Hayes’ party, the Republicans, got eight people on the 15 member panel.  Wouldn’t you know it the vote was 8-7 giving Hayes the victory in Louisiana Florida and South Carolina.  Can’t those folks from Florida count their votes correctly?  Some things never change.  Remember you won’t see me support any political party in these Trackchaser Reports.  I just report the facts as presented, in this case, at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center.

 

 

Generic political statement.

I will make this generic political comment.  I suspect most supporters of President Hayes would look at the above situation and pronounce it “right as rain” a back on the block expression.  Most detractors of President Hayes would say the entire process of breaking the tie was a sham.  That’s why I hate politics to the core.  Remember, it’s the people not the politicians.  Whatever.  All of the folks who pushed and pulled in this presidential election are dead.  Hayes was president from 1877-1881.

 

 

He was an attorney from Ohio.  He moved from city solicitor in Cincinnati, to being an officer in the Union army (wounded five times) to becoming a U.S. congressman.  From there he was elected governor of Ohio for three terms.

 

 

 

I enjoyed my visit to the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center very much.  I recommend it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Westmoreland County Fairgrounds – Greensburg, Pennsylvania

 

 

And I’m quoting from Andy Sivi.

Retired trackchaser Andy Sivi once said two very profound things.  First, he labeled me the “Bill Gates of trackchasing”.  Secondly, he said that every trackchaser has about 5% of the tracks on their list that they might not be proud of and/or others might not be that proud of.  I always thought Andy was a well-reasoned individual.  I especially liked his brother Tom whom I never met.  Tom was the first person to correctly predict that I would become the “World’s #1 Trackchaser”.  Good pick Tom.

 

 

A stinker in the pile?

I don’t know about the Bill Gates comment.  Bill’s not even the richest American anymore I don’t believe.  I’m probably pretty proud of 99% of the tracks I’ve attended.  However, there have been a couple of “stinkers” in the pile and tonight was probably one of them.

 

 

What would Will White do?

However, as you will see when you finish reading about this situation that I really had no choice.  Former trackchasing commissioner Will White had a very strict policy on the counting of tracks.  If he knew you had seen racing then he was going to assign that track to your lifetime list for, what else, a lifetime.

 

 

I play by the rules.

Trackchasing rules call for counting a track if you have seen “competitive racing”.  What choice did I have?  I had seen competitive racing.  I did not have a choice.  I HAD to count tonight’s figure 8 racing track in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

 

 

Google told me I would get there at 7:35 p.m.  The racing was scheduled to begin five minutes earlier.  I couldn’t count on the program starting late.  It is exactly circumstances like this where the race ALWAYS starts on time.  What could I do?  I could drive a little faster hoping to shave a minute or five off of my ETA.

 

 

I had needs.

However I would need a gasoline stop.  I would also feel more comfortable if I had something to eat.  I hadn’t eaten since noon.  My windshield needed cleaning.  I had to empty the trash from the backseat.  I budgeted five minutes for all of this replenishment activity.

 

 

I turned on my cruise control and put it at 6 M.P.H. above the speed limit.  That’s the maximum speed I felt I could travel without getting a speed ticket.  A speeding ticket would blow the whole deal.  I haven’t had a ticket since 2003 (two in one month) and I wanted to keep that streak alive.

 

 

Greensburg city center vs. the fairgrounds in Greensburg?

I had programmed my GPS to take me to Greensburg, Pennsylvania.  When that is done the GPS will take you to the city’s center.  I really needed to go to the Westmoreland County Fairgrounds in Greensburg.  Was the fairgrounds going to be closer or further away than the center of Greensburg?  My experience is that 95% of the time, in circumstances like this, the location I need to get too is further than the similar location that I DON’T need to get too!

 

 

The ETA for the city was 7:35 p.m.  However, the ETA for the fairgrounds was 7:47 p.m.  Now I was SEVENTEEN minutes behind schedule.  OMG.

 

 

The alternatives I was faced with.

Fuel was tight.  If I didn’t make any stops I might run out of gas and/or pee my pants.  I had to go into emergency conservation mode.  When I drive I drive with the air-conditioning on 100% of the time.  I like to control the humidity.  However, in order to conserve gas I turned the AC off tonight.  It was 84 degrees outside.  It was becoming very uncomfortable inside the car.  I was beginning to sweat for several reasons.

 

 

Oh no!  Pittsburgh’s ahead.

When I changed my plan from traveling to Ohio to Pennsylvania I didn’t realize one important item.  I would have to travel through Pittsburgh.  I HATE traveling through Pittsburgh.  Pittsburgh is the WORST city for getting around in the country.  OMG.

 

 

 

Not only is the city hard to drive in (quickly) the surrounding surface streets are a nightmare as well.  I immediately ran into a mile long traffic jam on Route 376.  Was there a Pirates game?  Was there a Steelers pre-season game?  One overhead highway sign told me traffic was being delayed because of “students checking into college” or some such thing.  However, as soon as we crossed the bridge into Pittsburgh everyone went their separate ways at freeway speeds.  I hate driving in Pittsburgh.

 

 

My apologies to all women.

With the traffic delay my iPhone GPS now told me I would arrive at 7:51 p.m.  When I was within 15 minutes of the fairgrounds I was driving on a four-lane highway.  However, that highway had a stoplight about every four blocks.  It was maddening.

 

 

Nevertheless, I didn’t realize the obstacles I was still to encounter.  I was rushing.  Just at that point a bicyclist rode out in front of me at 3 M.P.H.  I slammed on the brakes and everything in the front seat went flying to the floor.  I wish I was the beneficiary of his life insurance policy.  I wouldn’t have braked.

 

 

After the bicycle accident I was behind a slow driver just as she entered the intersection when the light turned yellow. Any normal well red-blooded American would’ve gone through that light.  However at the last minute she slammed on the brakes.  I hate conservative drivers.  They cause problems for us aggressive drivers.  However, I had already committed mentally that she would go through the light and I would follow closely.  This necessitated my standing on the brakes again.  Everything that didn’t fly into the front seat with the bicycle rider crossed my path now went to the floorboard.  The young woman driver ahead of me deserved a loud horn and she got one. However when I finally did pass this offensive driver “she” turned out to be a little old man.  My apologies to all women.

 

 

 

The last 6 miles to the fairgrounds were along a winding and heavily forested road.  As I rounded one turn a baby deer jumped out at me. I slammed on the brakes for a third time.  This caused that small deer to stop in its tracks, reverse course and run back into the woods just missing my right front fender. What else could happen!

 

 

It was time to take a chance.

This fairgrounds was definitely out in the boonies. When I arrived I saw hundreds of cars. There had to be 45-50 rows of parking with 50-75 cars in each row. If I parked at the back of the lot it would take me 10-15 minutes to get inside the fairgrounds.  I took a chance. I drove all the way down to the very first row of parking next to the entrance gate.  Surely someone would have left the fair early by now clearing up a spot for me.  That strategy worked.  I found a spot.

 

 

 

This was the decision of the night!

Now I had a major decision to make.  I could hear the figure 8 cars racing.  I had two choices.  I could walk 100 yards and potentially see a little bit of the track from over by the pit area.  Alternatively I could walk about 300 yards, pay my admission, and walk another 100 yards to the grandstand.  The extra 300 yards might take me a couple of minutes or so.

 

 

I decided to go with “a bird in the hand” approach.  I walked as fast as I could over to the place where I could hear the cars racing.  From there it looked as if I could see some of the racing. When I arrived there were two young men watching the race from this position.

 

 

I have just one photo.  Please don’t miss it so you can make YOUR judgment.

There was no way to enter the track from this position.  I stood next to these two fellows and watched what I could see, which wasn’t much.  The above photo is the only photo I have of the racing.  My view was through the opening next to the youngster in the red shirt.  I watched just long enough to satisfy my requirement for “seeing” a track.  I took ONE photo of the “action”.  In reality I could see the cars when they came past my narrow viewing opening at two parts of the track.  In reality it wasn’t much different than watching racing on a road course where you can only see 10-20% of the track.  I’ve had my share of those.

 

 

 

This track was ‘in the books’ but there had to be more right?

When the racing was finished I faced an even longer walk to the fairgrounds entrance than from where I had parked.  I hastily moved along.  I bought a senior discount ticket to get me into the fairgrounds for three dollars.  I could sense the man behind me in line who would have to pay the fair’s regular adult admission price of seven dollars was a bit annoyed at the generosity being shown “us seniors”.  Deal with it young man.

 

 

At the entrance to the grandstand where the racing was taking place I paid another five dollars.  Things were quiet now.  The first figure 8 race was finished.  Were there going to be any more F8 races or would they continue the program and finish with only demolition derby?

 

 

I noticed some employees coming out of the V.I.P. tower.  I asked them if there were more figure 8 races coming.  No one seemed to know.  I ended up asking three different employees what was up.  Soon I found the answer to my question.  Tonight’s scheduled called for one figure 8 race and two demolition derby events.

 

That was it!

The figure 8 racing that I had “seen” was it for the night.  Pittsburgh traffic had caused much of this problem.  I hate driving in and around Pittsburgh.

 

 

Should I count this track?  What would Jesus do?

The obvious question was “Should I count this track?” What had I seen?  I had seen a very limited amount of figure 8 racing.  I saw maybe two minutes of racing from a distance of 75-100 yards. I could only see a small portion of the track.  What should I do?  I really had no choice.  Although I am no longer a part of the Guy Smith Pennsylvania-based trackchasing group (thank goodness) I do follow the rules established by the group over the years.

 

 

I will continue to do this until they pass something stupid.  Then I won’t be able to support the trackchasing rules.

 

 

I know this.  Will White, former trackchaser commissioner had a stiff rule that loosely translated said this, “If you see any competitive racing and tell anybody about and he finds out about it the track MUST be counted”.

 

 

Of course I’m bound by my “Truth in Trackchasing” oath to tell you exactly what happens to me in this hobby.  I had seen competitive racing.  I’m telling you about it now.  In order to have comparable results to all chasers who were moderated by Will White I must count this track.  I have no choice.  I’m sure you understand.

 

 

 

I watched some of the demo derby action while I ate an order of the fair’s fresh cut fries.  The fries were excellent.  There were only three cars in the demo derby heat.  That sort of limits each driver’s options on who to hit doesn’t it?  After the DD I walked the fair for a bit.

 

 

 

I came upon a display of boats.  If I was a boat owner I wouldn’t mind having a pontoon boat. Tonight they had one on display that was beautiful at a cost of $40,000.  As a kid my grandparents had a pontoon boat.  Each summer we spent much of our time at their very modest cottage along the Illinois River.

 

 

This was one of the craziest nights I’ve had in a long time.

Next up was a man standing outside of his fair display.  He told me he was running for coroner of West Moreland County.  He stuck his hand out to introduce himself.  Initially I rejected his overtures.  The first words out of my mouth were how much I disliked his political party.  This didn’t seem to phase him in the least.  He soon engaged me in conversation.

 

 

He had me cornered.  I guess I could spend a few minutes finding out what his spiel was.  What was the job of coroner all about?  Why would he want the job?

 

 

He told me that some 1,800 people die every year in the county.  Pennsylvania has one of the oldest, if not the oldest populations of any state in the country.  We had a nice friendly conversation.  I closed our discussion by reminding him that not only did I hate his political party I hated the opposition political party as well.

 

 

I was on a roll now so I saddled up to a booth in the commercial exhibits area.  I was right in front of the Liberty group.  This was not the Libertarian party but something similar. They for smaller government less taxes, yada, yada, yada.

 

 

I fear that I dominated the conversation with this gentleman.  I reminded him that we have a people problem not a politician problem.  He was fascinated with this way of looking at the “problem”.  He didn’t say much even though we were standing in his political booth.  Nevertheless the gentleman I was talking to seem pleased to have someone stopping at his booth even if he didn’t get a chance to do much of the talking.  Yes, this had been a strange day!

 

 

After that I was off to the car for a 10 p.m. departure from the fair.  My car was sitting out of the parking lot just a few drops of gas in the tank.

 

 

Not the brightest decision-making on my part.

I had to be in Cincinnati tomorrow by 12:35 p.m. for a Cincinnati Reds – Arizona Diamondbacks game.  Tonight’s fair was 4 1/2 hours from the Reds ball diamond.  The first item on the agenda was to get some gas.  I set my GPS for Cincinnati.  I figured it would take me past a gas station sooner or later.

 

 

That wasn’t particularly bright decision making.  My gas gauge had been showing the orange “low fuel” light for several miles.  I still had about ten miles to go just to get back to town.  I am fond of saying that Pennsylvania is essentially Pittsburgh and Philadelphia with Kentucky in between. This is no knock on Kentucky.  My kinfolk came from that state. Where I was tonight wasn’t a lot different than the movie set from Deliverance.  It was so backwoodsish that I actually crossed two one lane bridges in the dark getting back to town.  If I ran out of gas here they wouldn’t find me for weeks.

 

 

Soon I saw a sign for Greensburg just five more miles. They had to have gas stations right?  I just didn’t know if they would be open.  I thought I felt the engine stumble at one point but I made it.  I filled up with gas, emptied the car’s interior of trash and wash the windows.  I had only eaten a single order of French fries since noon.  I would treat myself to a snack inside the gas station’s convenient store.

 

 

I’m guessing this young princess doesn’t get this type of feedback that often but maybe she should.

I had one other item on the agenda.  It was simple.  I would use the gas station’s bathroom before I headed out towards Cincinnati.  It was 9:40 p.m.  The bathroom door was locked. I asked the clerk if I could get the key.  “No” was the response.  “We’ve already locked it up for the night.”  What time did they close?  10 p.m.  What time was it?  9:40 p.m.  They wouldn’t be closing for another 20 minutes.  What was the point in having the bathroom closed?

 

 

I asked the young woman what was up with closing the restroom 20 minutes before they closed the store. I could sense that she didn’t get a lot of pushback in her life but I was providing it tonight. She tried to give me several BS answers all of which I rebutted.

 

 

Normally I’m very nice to service people and go out of my way to show them respect. However this girl had an attitude with a capital “A”.  I pushed back pretty hard in a very direct objective fashion. I had a good time doing it and I think it dutifully pissed her off which seemed to please me.  It had been a very long day.

 

 

 

 

 

STATE COMPARISONS

Pennsylvania

 

The Keystone State

This evening I saw my 81st lifetime track in the Keystone state, yes the Keystone state.  I have plans to see a few more Pennsylvania tracks before the year ends.

 

 

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

Pennsylvania sayings:  You’ve got a friend in Pennsylvania

 

 

 

 

 

Please wait for photos to load.

 

 

 

 

QUICK FACTS

 

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Chicago, IL (ORD) – 1,745 miles

Chicago, IL (ORD) – Detroit, MI (DTW) – 234 miles

  

RENTAL CAR #1

Detroit Metro Airport – trip begins

Belleville, MI

Butler, PA

Urbana, OH

Union, KY

East Moline, IL

Marshall, MI

Armada, MI

West Branch, MI

Midland, MI

Detroit Metro Airport – 2,378 miles

 

RENTAL CAR #2

Detroit Metro Airport – trip begins

Greenland, MI

Escanaba, MI

Escanaba, MI (again!)

Hudsonville, MI

Greensburg, PA

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Wayne County Fairgrounds – $10

Butler Farm Show – $12 (not trackchasing expense)

Champaign County Fairgrounds – $12

Florence Speedway – Complimentary admission

Quad Cities Speedway – $8 ($2 senior discount – not trackchasing expense)

Calhoun County Fairgrounds – $10

Armada County Fairgrounds – $8

Ogemaw County Fairgrounds – $8

Midland County Fairgrounds – $10

Adventure Mountain Raceway – $8

Upper Peninsula International Raceway – $8

Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds – $5

Hudsonville County Fairgrounds – $9

Westmoreland County Fairgrounds – $8

 

 

 

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

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,891

 

 

 

Total Trackchasing Countries

There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total.

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 65

 

 

 

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 5.10

 

 

 

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