Local Dirt Track - WOW!

[Mike Bell]

Well, I finally got off my rear and took the wife/son out to the local Saturday night dirt track. All I can say is "Wow, just wow". For the $10 dollar entry fee per adult ($6 for the youngster) it was well worth it - the entertainment value alone far surpassed anything I've witnessed lately. The sight of 9 cars beating and banging so that 4 can transfer to the main event was, well, fun! I've never seen so many yellow flags in a 15-20 lap race lol.

We watched two classes have last chance qualifiers, "Hobby Stock" which looked like cars from Mad Max movie where you knock the windows out and weld in a cage and go racing to the Limited Modifieds where it's all tube frame and they lift the left front on corner exit everytime. In the feature races, 24 cars lined up on a little 1/4th mile dirt oval and went at
it, great stuff. Actually, it was more like chaos in a circle. :wink:

www.gatormotorplex.net

To give you an indication of the entertainment level, my 9 yr old son said "Dad, this is 100 times better than going to watch a NASCAR race!".

Yes, son, it is - and about 100 times cheaper too! :lol:

[chicane23]

Yes, that is some serious entertainment!

Wayne, Sylvia, my wife and kids went to Devils Bowl in Mesquite, Tx two weeks ago and had a blast! We all pick a car and the who ever picked the best finisher gets a dollar from the others. ;-)
We had a blast. You may pick the fastest car, but that doesn’t mean he will finish the race. ;-) You get big wrecks which means big excitement. ;-)

The winner of a race can make some serious money, with a $20 entry fee.

[Mike Bell]

Hey, good idea John. Next time I'll bring some friends and a bigger cooler and some one dollar bills lol. :lol:

I have no idea what it's like in the pits but we felt like the fans were well-behaved and I never heard a curse-word or saw anyone who had too much alcohol, contrary to all the stereotypical warnings we had received in advance.

Next time I may plunk down the $25 for a pit pass and go check out the cars and between race action. Like a moth to the flame..............

[Lewis Tanner]

Believe it or not, one of the best dates I ever went on was to a dirt track race in Tulsa. Damn I miss that girl... ;)

[Mike Bell]

LT, maybe you should call her up since ur going to be in town next weekend?? 8)

See you in a few days!

[chicane23]

The pits are fun, we have a few friends that run a car and and I have been trying to talk Wayne into buying a car and I would help work on it and be his pit B.... ;-)

He has gotten pricing and all.

[CMC17]

Dangit. I live about 5 miles from the Gator track and have never attended the racing on Saturday night. Sounds like it's a lot of fun to watch and will definitely make it out there!

I've always wondered what it was like out there. :D

[Mike Bell]

I almost gave u a call EV but thought better of it since it was about 7:30pm when we headed out. We had been warned to let the sun go down before getting out there since the stands at Gator face west and are concrete.

We got there right at twilight and the concrete seats were still hot! Next time we'll know to bring seat cushions or chairs lol. You and LZ would have enjoyed it, I also think Kari and Tyler would have had a blast!

[mitchntx]

I raced a 69 Chevelle in Econo Late model class at Rose Bowl in Tyler and Devil's Bowls in Mesquite back in the mid 80s.

It's a lot of fun to watch for sure.

But it can be a real grind competing week in and week out.

James (AllZWay) raced dirt tracks up until the local tracks whipped him with rules

[Mike Bell]

Yeah, I figured there was another side to the story. The way these guys (and gals) were beatin and bangin in the "Hobby Stock" class was fun to WATCH but may be a bit more than I would be willing to TAKE as a driver/owner lol.

The modifieds were faster and cleaner but their racing was still full of potential disaster too. Sideways in 3 with the full field coming around fast looked scary but there must have been some sort of race receiver system in place as the leaders all got whoa'd down very quickly as the yellow light system was activated.

We even saw a red light condition when one of the modifieds in the LCQ got up onto the concrete wall and flipped over one time. Sparks flew, and the right rear wheel left the axle tube with the axle attached. Still, it was a great show and my first visit to that form of racing. Ten miles from the house and I'd never bothered to go watch, now I'm glad I made the trip.

[jeffburch]

Me and my Dad raced street stocks.

The newest thing is to have 2 drivers in the car at once.
One driver has the wheel only. The 2nd driver has the pedals!

What a hoot.

jb

[mitchntx]

Ten miles from the house and I'd never bothered to go watch, now I'm glad I made the trip.

There is a little track just outside of Boyd, near Jacksboro. They have a class called mini-stock.

Pintos, Vegas, 4 cyl Mustangs and Capris ... they are relatively slow, but have really close competition.

They are a blast to watch.

Jeff ... Speed has a 30 minute show on saturday night that spotlights niche racing like that. Racing trailering boats, racing shool busses. 3 cars chained to gether ... it's crazy!

[David Love AI27]

Hey, good idea John. Next time I'll bring some friends and a bigger cooler and some one dollar bills lol. :lol:

I have no idea what it's like in the pits but we felt like the fans were well-behaved and I never heard a curse-word or saw anyone who had too much alcohol, contrary to all the stereotypical warnings we had received in advance.

Next time I may plunk down the $25 for a pit pass and go check out the cars and between race action. Like a moth to the flame..............


Our lake house is on Calvery road which is just north of Gator and we can hear the cars at the house. The last time Jason and I went David Starr a Nascar Truck Series driver was there and Jay got his autograph.

[cmarvel]

One of the Driver's Edge instructors races a dirt car at Cowtown Speedway near Ft. Worth. I have always loved a short track show, and this one was no exception. The thing that really got me was the Junior class. Mostly Pintos and 4 cyl Fox Mustangs (including the winner. It was a good race with interesting tactics and some decent driving. Then the winner got out. When the crowd around the car finally parted, the 11 year old (?!?!?!?) driver was barely taller than the door!!!!!!!

I bet that kid can drive when he gets older!

[chicane23]

Chris,

I believe you forgot it was a girl as well. ;-)

If you remember right Wayne and I were with you at the last event. ;-)

[Boudy]

I've raced Street Stocks, Hot Stocks, and IMCA Modifieds. It's much more fun from the stands, by far. I think the Modified was the most weekly work. Between cleaning the car, lubing hiems, flipping tires, fixing bent wheels, fixing bent panels, fixing bent bumpers, running valves, checking plugs, checking timing, and changing fluids, I think I averaged 2-3 nights of work per week.

I like CMC much better!!!

If anyone is interested, I've got a friend who will allow you to show up with your gear and drive an IMCA Street Stock for $300 for the night. Same price for his Limited Modified if he knows you can drive.

Boudy

[AllZWay]

I raced IMCA Stock cars for a few years.

It is big time fun, but does require a considerable amout of time and it definitely is not cheap.

The best I can figure is that my yearly cost are going to be similiar in CMC versus my stock car.

I would still be racing the stock cars had our track not made a bunch of changes and dropped the sanctioning and then running off a lot of cars in the process. Without a good set of rules.... the cost escalates drastically.

I miss it a ton already, but my local track just doesn't have a class that interest me. I like full body race cars and the beating and banging that came with it. :twisted:

James

[cmarvel]

Chris,

I believe you forgot it was a girl as well. ;-)

If you remember right Wayne and I were with you at the last event. ;-)

I thought the girl got passed on the last lap because of a backmarker ?!?

Anyway it was a great race!

[chicane23]

Actually, you are right! ;-) She got hit my the back marker, but she had a great lead on the 2nd place car.

That was fun to watch.

[dirwin]

I help out several of the guys in the shop that run dirt out here in the east Texas area, Dirt Motorplex (the old rose bowl) mainly. The stands are fun, the pits are a riot. They drive like a mix of demolition derby and figure 8 drivers out here so the pits get fun.

Last year a guy got punted right off the back of the track, came into the pits wide open and slammed into the car that pushed him off the track (with the driver still in the car). Made for a heck of a brawl. Cops, ambulances, wreckers, fights, who needs television :D

[mitchntx]

I was in attendance at opening night at Lonestar by Kilgore.

After running at the Rosebowl and 85 Speedway, the light was blinding!

[Todd Covini]

www.gatormotorplex.net
:lol:

Thanks for the review, Mike! Looks like a family road trip is in order.
I've always been cautiously aware of that track!

-=- Todd