I made it to 30 races at 25 tracks in 8 states. That is up from 26/20/6 in 2016. I visited 16 tracks for the first time:

Du Quoin (indoor), US24, West Liberty (IA), Lincoln (IL), Springfield (IL) outdoor arena, Eriez (PA), Tri-City (PA), New Egypt (NJ), Farmer City (IL), Tri-City (IL) quarter midgets, Gateway (IL) oval, Wayne County (OH), Little Eldora, Sandusky (OH), Blackhawk Farms road course (IL), and Lake Cumberland (KY). I also attended an IndyCar 2018 aerokit test at Iowa Speedway.

That brings my lifetime total to 135 tracks - mostly dirt ovals, but also some paved tracks and a handful of drag strips. If the weather cooperates, I will add three new tracks in February while on a vacation to Florida (Bubba, East Bay, and Daytona).

I only attended two races in my home state of Wisconsin all year as I prefer to travel. Rain claimed three planned Indiana visits in May - Terre Haute, Hoosier Hundred, and Kokomo, however, I stumbled across a dry US24 race on my way home from a soggy Kokomo.

I made my annual trips to the Indy 500, Little 500, and the Knoxville Nationals - all of them worthwhile! Among my favorites were All Star races at Macon (IL) and Wayne County (OH), and the IndyCars at Gateway. Justin Peck winning an All Star heat race at Macon without a front wing was the most incredible moment of the year - restarted at the back and smoked by Smoke. Chad Boat's 100 yard tumble at Lincoln was the craziest thing I saw all year.

In my 40 years of going to races, I never witnessed a fatal accident until this year. Paul Graybrook passed away after an accident at Springfield, a memory that will stick with me forever. I hope to go another 40 without experiencing that again.

For 2018, my aim is to tackle a few bucket list tracks, notably Lawrenceburg, Tri-City (IL), and Atomic (OH), as well as more USAC sprint races.

Happy New Year everybody. Let's enjoy every lap of '18!