North Texas Local Race Track Guide

1. 85 SPEEDWAY
Track: Quarter-mile dirt oval built in 1985. Roger Archer will be operating the track for the third season.
Location: Ennis
Directions: I-45 south, east six miles on U.S. 85
Racing season: First night of racing will be March 21, with the season ending in mid-September.
Weekly racing: Regular classes are UMP modifieds, trucks, hot stocks, street stocks and figure-eight bombers. Regular races are held on Saturdays, with gates opening at 6 p.m. and races beginning at 8 p.m. $8 adults, $6 senior citizens, under 12 free. 972-875-8500.
New in '98: The mini-stock class has been dropped, replaced with the trucks class. The figure-eight bombers will race just once a month instead of every week, but the purses will be much bigger.

2. BLACKLAND SPEEDWAY
Track: A dirt oval opened in 1994, it is owned and operated by Sherry and Rick Zimmerman.
Location: Royse City, 42400 Poetry Rd.
Directions: I-30 east to FM 205 (Rockwall). South on FM 205 for one block. Turn left on FM 276 and head east for 6.5 miles. Take a right on FM 548, then two miles ahead veer left onto Poetry Road.
Racing season: Year-round go-kart racing, sanctioned by KART. Beginners classes are also held every weekend.
Weekly racing: Racing on Sunday afternoons through mid-March, when racing switches to Saturday nights. Sometime in November, races will switch back to Sundays for a winter points series. 972-636-0801.
New in '98: Sanctioning has been switched to KART, while motorcycle and quad races have been dropped. Participants continue to grow, with more than 200 families registered with the track. The number of divisions are up to 17, with nine junior classes.

3. BOYD RACEWAY
Track: Quarter-mile dirt oval built in 1985.
Location: Boyd
Directions: .S. 114 west, south on FM 730, then a right on FM 2048.
Racing season: First night of racing is March 13, with the points program ending in mid-September. Boyd will hold a major show on Memorial Day weekend and a Southern Midget Racing Association event on the afternoon of June 6.
Weekly racing: Regular classes are IMCA sprint cars, IMCA modifieds, bombers, street stocks and mod-fours. Regular races are held on Fridays, with gates opening at 6 p.m. and races starting at 8 p.m. $8 adults, $3 6-11, under six free. 940-433-5587.
New in '98: Linda and David Plato, in their second year of owning the track, have dropped their NASCAR sanctioning and the hot stock class. They have added a Kids Night promotion on the second Friday of each month, starting in April. The staging and exit lanes for the tracks have been moved to the backside, a safety move after adding the sprint cars in 1997.

4. COWTOWN SPEEDWAY
Track: Quarter-mile high-banked dirt oval in its 35th year
Location: Kennedale
Directions: I-20 west to exit 442. Take the Mansfield Highway south to New Hope Road. Go west on New Hope for two miles. Located across the street from Texas Raceway.
Racing season: First night of racing is March 14, with the points season lasting through September. The track will end its season with the Lone Star Shootout and the Fall Classic the first two weekends in October.
Weekly racing: Regular classes are Texas All-Star modifieds, NASCAR Grand American modifieds, hot stocks, street stocks and bombers. Regular races are held on Saturdays, with gates opening at 6 p.m. and races starting at 8 p.m. $9 adults, $1 6-11, under 6 free. 817-478-9952.
New in '98: The track will not hold any racing events on the Fourth of July. The SUPR Late Models will visit on April 4, while the ASCS Sprint Cars will race four times at Cowtown in 1998.

5. DEVIL'S BOWL SPEEDWAY
Track: Half-mile banked dirt oval. Track opened in 1949 in Dallas but moved to Mesquite in 1967. Beverly and Lanny Edwards have owned and operated the track since 1972.
Location: Mesquite
Directions: U.S. 80 east from I-635 to Lawson exit, south three miles.
Racing season: Opens with the 25th annual Spring Nationals, a World of Outlaws race on March 20-21. The Outlaws will also visit in October. SUPR Late Models will race at the track on April 3, while the ASCS will make seven visits in 1998.
Weekly racing: Weekly races will be held on Saturday nights, with the program including UMP sprint cars, UMP modifieds, street stocks and late models. Gates open at 6 p.m., with races starting at 8:30 p.m. $10 for adults, $5 12-15, $2 6-11, under 6 free. 972-222-2421.
New in '98: For the third time since buying the track in 1972, the Edwards raced regular programs on both Friday and Saturday nights in 1997. For the third time, they have decided that two nights of racing isn't feasible. But for the first time in 25 years of owning the track, the Devil's Bowl's one night of racing will be on Saturday. The track has a new racing surface in 1998, with Lanny Edwards bringing in truck loads of clay to rebuild the track.

6. LONE STAR SPEEDWAY
Track: Three-eighths-mile dirt, high-banked oval. Built in 1984, with P&D Promotions of Gilmer taking over track in 1997.
Location: Kilgore
Directions: Located on I-20 between Kilgore and Longview. I-20 east, then U.S. 135 north. Right on FM 1252.
Racing season: Starts March 7 and lasts through September. Will hold Armadillo Nationals on Aug. 14-15.
Weekly racing: Classes are IMCA modifieds, limited late models, hot stocks, pure street and mini-modifieds. Racing is on Saturdays, with gates opening at 5 p.m. and races starting at 7:30 p.m. $6 for adults, under 10 free. 903-984-7406.
New in '98: Open late models will run at the track five times in 1998.

7. NORTH TEXAS DRAGWAY
Track: Eighth-mile asphalt and concrete drag strip, which opened in June 1996. The track was built and is operated by Deborah and Hank Weil.
Location: Denton
Directions: North of Denton on I-35. Exit 474, with track on the east side of the I-35.
Racing season: Drag races held year-round, weather permitting.
Weekly racing: Time trials are held from 7 p.m. to midnight Fridays and 6 p.m. to midnight Saturdays. On Sundays, the track is open from noon to 6 p.m., with eliminations for junior dragsters and index racing. 940-482-6989.
New in '98: Hank Weil says the track is still very much of a work in progress, with rains keeping him from developing the track as he would like. He's already widened part of the return road and built a longer shut-down area. His next goal is to asphalt the entire pit area.

8. NORTH TEXAS KARTWAY
Track: Half-mile asphalt, competition sprint track with nine turns. Owned and operated the past decade by North Texas Karters, an association founded in 1958.
Location: Denton
Directions: Five miles north of Denton on I-35. Exit 473 to northbound service road, which loops under I-35 and heads back south. Track is first right after crossing under freeway.
Racing season: Go-kart racing, with races on Sunday afternoon in the spring and fall and Saturday evenings during the summer.
Weekly racing: Free admission. North Texas Karters Hotline, 972-488-8224.
New in '98: KART regional races will be held May 2-3 and Oct. 3-4. The 1998 KART Sprint Two-Cycle Nationals will be held at the track on June 11-14. Turn 7 was recently repaired.

9. NORTH TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Track: Quarter-mile banked oval with more than 5,000 seats. The track opened in April 1987 and has been owned for four years by Clyde White. Mark Chewning will be the promoter.
Location: Royse City
Directions: I-30 east past Royse City to the FM 2642 exit. Track is just east of the exit.
Racing season: First race of the year will be the four-day Longhorn Roundup for IMCA modifieds on Feb. 18-22. Points season begins in March and ends in October.
Weekly program: Regular classes include TMSA sprinters, IMCA sprint cars, IMCA modifieds, hot stocks, street stocks and mini-stocks. Races start at 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, with gates opening at 6 p.m. $8 adults, $4 senior citizens, $3 7-11, 6 and under free. 972-636-4400.
New in '98: The track has a new staging lane in the pits and additional lighting.

10. OUTLAW SPEEDWAY
Track: Quarter-mile dirt oval formerly called DFW Speedway. The track was built in 1980 by owner-operator Glenn Stubblefield, who sold it two years ago to Merle Watson.
Location: Grand Prairie
Directions: Located on U.S. 180, half-mile west of Loop 12.
Racing season: Points races start March 13, with the season ending with an endurance race Sept. 20. The track will host three 200-lap enduros on May 17, Aug. 2 and Sept. 11. Special races will include powder puff derbies, a demolition derby on June 5 and a two-day show on July 3-4.
Weekly racing: Regular classes are hot stocks, street stocks, mini-stocks, pure stocks, modifieds and T-four modifieds. Racing is held on Fridays. Gates open at 6 p.m., with races beginning at 8 p.m. $8 adults. 972-264-5800.
New in '98: Watson continues to make improvements to the track. He's enlarged the pit area, put up new guard rails, added boxes in the grandstands and added lighting.

11. SUPER BOWL SPEEDWAY
Track: Quarter-mile dirt oval built in 1968.
Location: Greenville
Directions: I-30 east to Greenville, FM 1903 six miles southeast to track.
Racing season: Season opened this weekend with the South Central Shootout for modified cars. Racing continues through October.
Weekly racing: The weekly Friday night program consists of outlaw modifieds, hot stocks, street stocks and jumbo jalopies. Gates open at 5 p.m.; racing starts at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $8 adults, $5 senior citizens, $5 children, 6 and under free. 903-883-2504.
New in '98: The track has dropped its IMCA sanctioning and its mini-stocks and four-cylinder sprint classes. The track will have special shows featuring the ASCS sprinters and dwarf cars in 1998.

12. TEXAS MOTORPLEX
Track: Quarter-mile concrete dragstrip built in 1986 by Billy Meyer.
Location: Ennis
Directions: Located on U.S. 287 between I-35 and I-45.
Racing season: Season opens Feb. 21-22 with Sunoco Season Kick-Off and ends with the 13th annual NHRA Revell Nationals on Oct. 22-25. The 13th annual Dr Pepper NHRA Divisional Dash for Cash will be Feb. 26-March 1. The second annual Lone Star Nationals, an NHRA national event, will be April 30-May 3. The NHRA Division 4 Bracket Finals will be Oct. 2-4.
Weekly racing: The weekly points program, with most races scheduled Saturday but a few on Sunday, includes super pro, pro, no electronics, junior dragsters, motorcycles and Quick 16 classes. From April through September, the track is also open on Friday nights from 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., with any street-legal car eligible to make runs. 972-878-2641.
New in '98: All the seats for the NHRA national events will be reserved in 1998 as the Motorplex drops general admission seating. NHRA's new Pro Stock Trucks division will make its Motorplex debut at the Revell Nationals. In addition, country singer Travis Tritt will make one of his NHRA event concerts in conjunction with the Revell Nationals. The Tritt concert won't be at the Motorplex, but tickets to the NHRA event are good for a discount on the price of the concert.

13. TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Track: The superspeedway debuted in 1997. The facilities include a 1.5-mile oval with dual-banked turns and a quarter-mile oval used for Legends cars.
Location: Fort Worth.
Directions: Located at the intersection of I-35W and Highway 114. For big events, public transportation from Fort Worth available.
Racing season: Three big events are on the 1998 schedule: the Texas 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race on April 5 and Indy Racing League races on June 6 and Sept. 20. A NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race will be held June 5, and an ARCA stock car race will be run Sept. 19.
Weekly racing: Legends cars will race on the quarter-mile oval on Thursday nights from June 18 to Aug. 20. The series is called the Thursday Night Stampede Summer Auto Racing Series.
New in '98: Lone Star Tower, with 76 condominiums, is finished while construction continues on the eight-story Speedway Club Tower. Turn 4 is being reworked to give the drivers more opportunity for side-by-side racing. Construction at the facilities continues as TMS adds roads, parking spaces and seats.

14. TEXAS RACEWAY
Track: Eighth-mile asphalt drag strip built in 1961. Robert Hutchinson has owned and operated it for the past 16 years.
Location: Kennedale
Directions: I-20 west to exit 442. Take the Mansfield Highway south to New Hope Road. Go west on New Hope for two miles. Located across the street from Cowtown Speedway.
Racing season: First points weekend will be March 7, with racing through October.
Weekly racing: The track is sanctioned by the NHRA and races in Division 4. Classes include Quick 32, super pro, pro, no-electronics, trophy and junior dragsters. Texas Raceway will hold testing sessions Wednesdays and street races Fridays. The weekly racing program is held Saturdays, with times switching during the season depending on the weather. $10 adults, $12 pit passes on Saturdays. 817-483-0356.
New in '98: The track completed a new building during the 1997 season, complete with offices, snack bar, concession stand and spectator suites. While the track ran several versions of its Quick series in 1997, it will run just a Quick 32 class in 1998.

15. THUNDERBIRD SPEEDWAY
Track: Quarter-mile high-banked dirt oval opened in 1959.
Location: Crandall
Directions: U..S. 175 east to Crandall exit. Track located within a mile of exit.
Racing season: The season begins March 7 and runs through Oct. 10, when the Short Track Championships will be held.
Weekly racing: Regular classes are street stocks, mini stocks, trucks, bombers and IMCA modifieds. Races are Saturdays, with gates open at 6 p.m. and races starting at 7:30 p.m. $8 adults, $4 senior citizens, $3 7-11, 6 and under free. 972-287-5574.
New in '98: Kenneth Yates takes over as track manager, helping out promoter Mark Chewning, who will also be running races at North Texas Motor Speedway on Saturdays. Chewning has rebuilt the race track, using 600 loads of dirt. The truck class is new.