Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I know that Cowtown Speedway in Kennedale has been closed for many seasons.   Has anyone been at the track lately to offer what it looks like?   Any Pics?  Has mother nature taken over the speedway?   It was always one of my favorite tracks/   It was a definition of a go-fast track.  Any good rumors lately? 

Yeah, it's been closed for roughly five years now.   There were two different problems that contributed to it closing.   One was an electrical problem that was discovered when the electric company came by to change out the meter.   That was going to cost around $50k to fix.   There was also an environmental concern with some material that was laid down to improve the parking lot, and that was going to cost $125K.   So that would have been a total of $175K that had to be spent.   The little old lady that owned the track said she would not spend the money to fix it and told the promoter that he would have to front the money himself if he wanted the track to continue.   He refused, and probably should have refused.    So the track closed at that point and will not reopen.    Yes, mother nature is slowly reclaiming it.   I believe the grandstands have been taken down too.   Not sure if the fences are still up or any of the buildings are still up.   I haven't been by there in awhile.    

Another factor with all of this is that the city of Kennedale does not want any race tracks there any longer.   The drag racing track has also shut down, or is shutting down shortly.  Kennedale Speedway Park, the 1/4 mile next door to Cowtown, is still there and doing pretty well.   The city does want it gone though, so it's future is probably questionable to say the least.    If anyone knows more about that situation they can correct me, but I believe that is correct.  

I remember those stories, but the environmental repair never made sense to me.   If the roof shingles were an environmental issue it seems that it would have had to be cleaned up regardless.   

I don't know the whole scope of it, but it had something to do with drainage issues due to the roofing material washing downhill during heavy rains.   You make a good point though, it would have to be fixed anyway.   IMO the owner should have been willing to do that, especially given that it was her son-in-law that put the material down to begin with.   

Yeah, Cowtown was an awesome place for sure.   ASCS sprints really flew around that place.    I spent many Saturday nights there over the years.   My nephew won a track championship in the bombers there, and won quite a few features after moving up to street stock and later limited mod.   Those were really awesome times.   Too bad things worked out that way.  Cowtown and Devils Bowl were about the only tracks I liked.   The other 1/4 mile tracks in the area make you sit through seven or eight classes and I just won't do that.  

Cowtown was my favorite track in the area - and I only live 8 miles from the Devil's Bowl.  It's hard to beat short track racing on a racey 1/4 mile like Cowtown.  I haven't been there but I've heard that now power lines run through the track now.  My drag racing friends say that the drag strip is definitely closed now.  I like the Bowl - it's just a little too big to be "racey", in my opinion.  I hope it is able to stick around for a long time.   It's amazing to me that people build expensive houses near a race track and airport and then complain about the noise.

Yeah, one of my co-workers years ago was complaining about noise after buying a house right by D/FW Airport.   I had to ask him "you didn't know there would be noise from jets flying over when you bought the house?".   He wasn't happy with me for saying that!   I wonder how much longer KSP will be able to continue there in Kennedale.   The fate of Devils Bowl will more likely depend on what happens with next extension of the George Bush toll road.    One proposed path would wipe out the track.  Another path would leave the track intact but the service road would take away most of the parking lot, but the track could use the south end of the property towards Berry Rd for parking.   I haven't heard if there has been any announcement on that or if they have decided.   I can agree with you on the "racy" thing too.   They reshaped the Bowl a couple of years ago and it's improved a little, but not enough.   You really need the Bowl slick to get decent racing there.    I don't think it's because of the size myself.   Eldora is the same size and has good racing when track conditions are right.   Knoxville is way bigger than both of them and has pretty good racing, at least during the Nationals anyway.