kinda cool clip

[jumbo]

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/tsgtv/index.h...;link=TSGTVeflk

[Nathan]

thats a cool clip

[mfbarnes]

Yep that's the original Devil's Bowl it was down on South Buckner behind the Drive in. It was built in an old rock pit and had White Caliche Rock walls, when you hit them it was a done deal. Before that everyone raced down at the Fairgrounds.

[txtom]

That clip is also on the Devil's Bowl website under the history section.

 

I showed it to my dad without the title or sound, and he immediately recognized it. He spent a lot of time there in the 50's.

 

The track was located on John West Road just west of Buckner Blvd (Loop 12). Just west of the track was the Buckner Drive-in, and just west of that was the old White Rock Airport. The east side of the Airport property was about a half-mile from Buckner Blvd. The Airport was on the South side of John West, and the Drive-in and the Racetrack were on the North side.

 

If you look at a map, the Airport was due South of where John West Road angles Northwest and becomes Lakeland Drive.

The Drive-in and the Track were in the vicinity of Dilido and Peavy Roads where they cross John West Road.

[97car]

Sad to say the winner was killed in a accident in the 60's.

[mfbarnes]

TXTom you are exactly right on with the description of the old Bowl. My Dad ran David Ivey's car down there for many years. Ivey owned a big lumber yard there in Dallas off of Peavy road. Dad drove jalopies out at the fairgrounds for years also. My Dad was Al "Slick" Barnes. Dad wrenched for a fellow redneck in 1945 that thought he wanted to own a few dump trucks, and then after losing his butt in the chicken farming business in 1949 they went racing cars. They opened a shop at 5611 Yale Blvd, over behind the old Dr. Pepper Plant where him and Dad built a few race cars and won a few races. In 1960 they moved out to California and did quite a bit better. In 1973 Dad opened a machine shop in Torrence and starting selling a few oil pumps.

[97car]

Ok from a program that I have that must have been from 1958, that was the last year of the 4 in a row championships. AD retired in 1959. He must have his fatal accident in 1963, the year he came out of retirement.

[txtom]

Dad drove jalopies out at the fairgrounds for years also. My Dad was Al "Slick" Barnes.

 

My Dad spent many a night at the Fairgrounds track with his father when they ran Midgets on Wednesday night.

Dad was classmates a couple years at Dallas Hillcrest with a guy named Elton Chester, whose Dad Elton SR owned an Offy Midget that was driven very often by Jud Larson. The car was the "Chester Offy", have only seen one picture of the car, and it was posted here some time back by Pat St Cricq.

The Fairgrounds track location is under one of the livestock barns.

 

On a side note, The State Fairgrounds complex also had a 1 mile dirt track from 1914 to about 1929, and also a 1/2 mile dirt oval for a year in 1938. The 1/2 mile is under the Cotton Bowl. There was also a 1/10 mile for a couple years in the 30's in the old livestock arena.

This area also had a road course in the 80's, but only for a couple races. The roadcourse is where they raced Fornula 1. Keke Rosberg won a F1 race there in 1984.

[mfbarnes]

Actually the track under the Cotton Bowl was closed in 1930 they played football in the CB in 1932. The mile you spoke of was the old horse and surrey track that was built in the late 1880's. That midget track actually ran up until '46, but never survived after the war.

 

Here is a Photo of the Old Devil's Bowl on S. Buckner.

 

 

 

Loaded up in 1949 headed to the Bowl

 

[mfbarnes]

Here's another Old Bowl Regular

 

[attachmentid=6330

[jakdad]

Fantastic pics!! Please post more.

[mfbarnes]

Fairgrounds 1942

 

I believe this was an old track out at Cedar Hill in the early 40's

 

 

 

[quadsquad]

This is from a Fair Park Speedway program in 1950. Pretty tough crowd to try racing for a living against.

 

[mfbarnes]

That's interesting, it's definately a midget standing listed there. Wish my father was still around to get a definate year they quit racing at the Fairgrounds. I need to call my uncle and see if he can remember. I have no memory of any races at the fairgrounds other than photos. I have dug out some that are still in fair shape I will be scanning. I am waiting on a box of photos my step-mother dug up out of my fathers junk, she is suppose to show up at a family gathering on the 30th. We'll have to see about that. I may have to go out to Califormia to get them myself if she doesn't show.

 

I have memory of the Circle Raceway out on Harry Hines Blvd, in the vicinity of where Northwest Hwy Crosses Harry Hines now. We use to call that the Circle. There was a movie theater, and a motel and Bowling Alley near the track.

[Budman]

That list definitely is ONE TOUGH FIELD of drivers. At least a third of them would eventually make it, at one time or another, into the Indy 500!

[TXSSM68]

does anyone know who the driver was of the 8 ball car (the last pic) ? My dad flipped at one of the bowl locations, dont know which one.

[97car]

My dad said #8 probably was Jerry Crocker, and it was at the current Devils Bowl location that the race winner was killed at.