Beverly hills race track...

Early 20's

 

Thanks for posting, lots of board tracks in the '20s, and unfortunately lots of fatalities...wonder what sits at the board track today?

 

Cool - where pics from - web site or ?

 

I heard there was a track there so I went to yahoo photos and typed in beverly hills
race track.

 

If I remember my history correctly, the next building on the sight was the Pan Pacific auditorium.

 

I even found a film made back then...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IxDNA5Gnrc&feature=player_embedded#!

 

And the whole thing burned to the ground a couple years later....

 

Board tracks were fairly popular in the 1920's. And they attracted huge crowds... a heavy ghoul factor for certain. Wipeouts were often fatal. Check the link below, they were far more popular than I thought. I had read a book about them years ago, would love to find it again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_track_racing

 

can only describe that with one word. Balls!!!

Bob

 

hardcore.

 

When I think of board tracks I don't think as Wikipedia does and talk about all of the fatalities. After spending 30 years researching early auto racing I can point to numerous fatalities on all sorts of tracks.

Board tracks were very fast and when you go fast things happen, but if I could find a way back machine I would gladly go back and be one of the railbirds. The sounds,smell and visuals had to have been incredible. Imagine 2 mile tracks at average speeds of 115mph in the teens, let alone with the superchargers and other go-fast goodies of the twenties.

Here are a couple of pics of the 2 mile board track at Sheepshead Bay, not far from Coney Island in NY.-Jim

 

Death racing! Crazy old bastards lol