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Topic: Devil's Bowl First Visit
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Page 1 of 2 of 22 replies
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February 20, 2022 at
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Hello Hoser's, making first ever trip to Devil's Bowl for the April 2 WoO race, does anyone have any advice or suggestions on unique track info, recommended track food or local/nearby racing related stops? Thanks for any ideas.
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February 20, 2022 at
12:00:59 PM
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Fairly nice facility, but if you sit in towards turn 4 sit at least 10 rows high. Also, don't walk in front of the stands while sprints are on the track. Cars have gone over the fence before and the fence still is inadequate. Expect single file freight train heat races with little passing while the track is tacky. If the track dries out and slows down you may see some good racing in the feature.
The food is pretty good at the concession stands at the Bowl. I recommend the Mexican food in particular, which has always been good.
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February 20, 2022 at
01:42:41 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: Dryslick Willie on February 20 2022 at 12:00:59 PM
Fairly nice facility, but if you sit in towards turn 4 sit at least 10 rows high. Also, don't walk in front of the stands while sprints are on the track. Cars have gone over the fence before and the fence still is inadequate. Expect single file freight train heat races with little passing while the track is tacky. If the track dries out and slows down you may see some good racing in the feature.
The food is pretty good at the concession stands at the Bowl. I recommend the Mexican food in particular, which has always been good.
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You said it bud!!
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February 21, 2022 at
08:59:10 PM
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Unique Track Info: The back straight away is 8' higher than the front straight away. The track food is great. The center reserved section has backs on all seats, General Admission seats are to the left and right of the concession stands. They have a lot of track specific T-shirts and other souvenirs. Lanny Ross Edwards is one of the best track prep guys anywhere so you can expect to see a smooth track with NO dust.
Race Related Stops: Smiley's Racing Products - 103 Gross Rd. Mesquite, TX
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February 22, 2022 at
03:50:47 AM
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Get a reserved seat ahead of time. As high as possible. I personally prefer going into corner #1. Get there early - the World of Outlaws really pulls a crowd and the parking lot fills up soon. Usually great racing by feature time. I personally don't like the way the WoO lines up their races so - as previously stated - not a lot of racing during the heats but the features can be really great. Walk the track after the race to see what it's like going from corner #3 to 4 and the front straight. Quite a downhill excursion.
Enjoy the hopefully good weather and the Southern hospitality and food.
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February 22, 2022 at
07:49:41 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: BDNPQ on February 21 2022 at 08:59:10 PM
Unique Track Info: The back straight away is 8' higher than the front straight away. The track food is great. The center reserved section has backs on all seats, General Admission seats are to the left and right of the concession stands. They have a lot of track specific T-shirts and other souvenirs. Lanny Ross Edwards is one of the best track prep guys anywhere so you can expect to see a smooth track with NO dust.
Race Related Stops: Smiley's Racing Products - 103 Gross Rd. Mesquite, TX
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Good points there, and I agree on Lanny Ross. The track is almost always smooth and dust free as you say. My comments on the heat racing are more about track configuration and not track prep. And many WoO shows have little or no passing in the heats anyway.
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February 22, 2022 at
08:18:05 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: Dryslick Willie on February 22 2022 at 07:49:41 AM
Good points there, and I agree on Lanny Ross. The track is almost always smooth and dust free as you say. My comments on the heat racing are more about track configuration and not track prep. And many WoO shows have little or no passing in the heats anyway.
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The way the outlaws line up for heat racing is less than ideal. Probably the worst format of all.....
Let's go Sprint Car Racing!
Knoxville - Best Track In the USA!
Eldora - 2nd Best Track in the USA!
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February 22, 2022 at
10:18:27 AM
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You're going to have lousy heats anyway on any track bigger than a 1/4 mile for 410s, might as well make it fair and not penalize someone for being fast.
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February 22, 2022 at
11:24:38 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: carol14 on February 22 2022 at 03:50:47 AM
Get a reserved seat ahead of time. As high as possible. I personally prefer going into corner #1. Get there early - the World of Outlaws really pulls a crowd and the parking lot fills up soon. Usually great racing by feature time. I personally don't like the way the WoO lines up their races so - as previously stated - not a lot of racing during the heats but the features can be really great. Walk the track after the race to see what it's like going from corner #3 to 4 and the front straight. Quite a downhill excursion.
Enjoy the hopefully good weather and the Southern hospitality and food.
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Good point on the parking. They have a large parking lot, but they get a ton of people there. They pack the cars in like sardenes. Get there early as to not to deal with the hassle. Also, plan on going to the pits afterwards. Getting out of the parking lot is also a task.
As you walk into the track, you will notice the older stands and the newer stands. The newer stands are much higher. I always enjoyed sitting up high in the new stands.
Finally, pay attention to the weather. If the wind starts to blowing, it can be bruttally cold. Be sure to have some layers to protect you from the wind.
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February 22, 2022 at
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If you pass a Buccee's it's worth your time to check it out.. Breakfast sandwiches/burritos or their BBQ sandwiches are some our's favorites.. It's been years since I visited DB but their Burritos & Nachos is our favorite speedway food of any track..
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February 22, 2022 at
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Reply to:
Posted By: JonR on February 22 2022 at 11:24:38 AM
Good point on the parking. They have a large parking lot, but they get a ton of people there. They pack the cars in like sardenes. Get there early as to not to deal with the hassle. Also, plan on going to the pits afterwards. Getting out of the parking lot is also a task.
As you walk into the track, you will notice the older stands and the newer stands. The newer stands are much higher. I always enjoyed sitting up high in the new stands.
Finally, pay attention to the weather. If the wind starts to blowing, it can be bruttally cold. Be sure to have some layers to protect you from the wind.
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Another good point about the stands. If you're sitting on a cushion or stadium chair then no big deal, but if you sit on the older stands without a cushion you'll probably have rust stains all over your pants when you leave. The newer stands don't do that though.
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March 30, 2022 at
07:45:54 PM
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All, thank you for all of the suggestions, greatly appreciated. Can't wait to check out a new and historical track.
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March 31, 2022 at
07:48:22 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: cvmercer on March 30 2022 at 07:45:54 PM
All, thank you for all of the suggestions, greatly appreciated. Can't wait to check out a new and historical track.
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It is a historical track, no doubt and it's a really cool layout, a must see. But, the race surface is shit, it's not just the heat races that doesn't have a lot of passing, it's the whole show. I'm really not trying to ruin it for you by any means. At the end of the night at any track, we go for one reason and that's in hopes of seeing a race, not a glorified case of follow the leader. Unfortunately, the Devils Bowl is well know for such racing. I live in SE Texas about 5 1/2 hours away from the DB, am I going ? You bet your wife's sweet ass I am !! Even though the race surface sucks, it's the closest the WoO get to me and I'm not going to miss it. I always have hopes of the track crew pulling off a halfway decent race surface and make me eat my words. Even with my complaining, you'll still have a great time, as will I.
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April 03, 2022 at
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Very good crowd, great weather, boring hammer down racing.
Heats are always single file at Devils Bowl
The Pill Draw was the high point as to whom would finish where at the end.
Other than watching Marks impressively carve through traffic and building an almost half lap lead is was pretty bad racing.
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April 03, 2022 at
11:32:28 AM
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As I approach retirement and am somewhat close to the day when I could go to most any track I want to, why would I want to drive 800 miles for such lame racing?
Per usual the time trials and the intermission draw had more bearing on who won the feature then what actually happens on the track and this is ass backwards.
As fans, should we expect better or are we just lemmings that will stumble in and drop 50 bucks for anything?
Bristol feature was slightly better but again definitely not worth the trip.
The worst president of my lifetime:
Ronald Reagan
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April 03, 2022 at
11:34:08 AM
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BTW I left out at least Marks, someone different won, which was the highlight of the event.
The worst president of my lifetime:
Ronald Reagan
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April 03, 2022 at
05:24:55 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: newbeevur on April 03 2022 at 11:32:28 AM
As I approach retirement and am somewhat close to the day when I could go to most any track I want to, why would I want to drive 800 miles for such lame racing?
Per usual the time trials and the intermission draw had more bearing on who won the feature then what actually happens on the track and this is ass backwards.
As fans, should we expect better or are we just lemmings that will stumble in and drop 50 bucks for anything?
Bristol feature was slightly better but again definitely not worth the trip.
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We're just lemmings that will stumble in and drop 50 bucks for anything....
I quit going to WoO shows at the Bowl back in the day. 410 racing died out in Texas and the car count at WoO got down to 20 or less back then. Then you had to sit there and watch Steve or Sammy run off and leave everybody with no challenge for the lead. Not exactly what you wanna pay $30 for. They reshaped turn two several years ago and I think they did something to turn three as well. That's when the WoO said the configuration went from .44 to .425 where it is now. The racing still largely sucks though.
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April 03, 2022 at
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Reply to:
Posted By: newbeevur on April 03 2022 at 11:34:08 AM
BTW I left out at least Marks, someone different won, which was the highlight of the event.
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I had a hard time telling when hot laps ended and races began, Races seemed like a second session of hot laps. Track was to moist.
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April 03, 2022 at
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I will admit that I have been to some shows at Devils Bowl that were stinkers. However, I have been to many more show that were stinkers where the track was dry slick. Just because it slicks off does not mean that there will be great racing. Many times it is just a freight train around the pole. Same crappy racing but know you have a ton of dust to deal with.
I will always prefer a race night on a heavy track than a race on a dry slick track. I don't know when it became the norm to attend a race that was a dust storm, but that appears to be the case more and more. Give me a hammer down track every time.
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April 04, 2022 at
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Reply to:
Posted By: JonR on April 03 2022 at 08:04:02 PM
I will admit that I have been to some shows at Devils Bowl that were stinkers. However, I have been to many more show that were stinkers where the track was dry slick. Just because it slicks off does not mean that there will be great racing. Many times it is just a freight train around the pole. Same crappy racing but know you have a ton of dust to deal with.
I will always prefer a race night on a heavy track than a race on a dry slick track. I don't know when it became the norm to attend a race that was a dust storm, but that appears to be the case more and more. Give me a hammer down track every time.
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You are right, the racing at the Bowl can definetly suck when it's slick too. My original post was that you "may" see some good racing in the feature if it slicks. I remember a limited modified driver years ago commenting about how big and wide the track is, and yet you only race on about 5 feet of it. Truth be told, if you want to see a really good race at the Bowl then the best option is taking the wings off.
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