Beverly Hills Speedway

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Beverly Hills Speedway

Beverly Hills Speedway was an American board track

Board track racing

Board track, or motordrome, racing was a type of motorsport, popular in the United States between the 1910s and 1920s decades of the 20th century, where competition was conducted on oval track racing race courses with surfaces composed of lumber....
in Beverly Hills, California

Beverly Hills, California

Beverly Hills is a city in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, California, United States. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood, California are together entirely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, California....
, USA. It was the home to speeding Model Ts and airplanes which cut through the airspace of Beverly Hills during the roaring 20s. Built in 1919 on what is currently Beverly Hills High School

Beverly Hills High School

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Beverly Hills Speedway was an American board track

Board track racing

Beverly Hills, California

Beverly Hills High School

Beverly Hills High School is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. Beverly is part of the Beverly Hills Unified School District and located on on the west side of Beverly Hills, at the border of the Century City, Los Angeles, California area of Los Angeles, California....
, the Regent Beverly Wilshire and many shops and homes on the was then called Beverly Drive West. The track ran south of Wilshire Boulevard, between Lasky Drive and Beverly Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard. At a cost of $500,000, it was completed and ready for inauguration on February 28. The money for this project came from a group of actors and others in the industry. Together they were known as the Beverly Hills Speedway Syndicate and in 1919, they finally had enough money to go ahead with their project. The majority of this money went to buying the land. The lima-bean farmer who sold the Syndicate the land offered it to them for $1,000 per acre. Using 2-by-4 boards since the material was cheap, the speedway was built by Jack Prince -- famous at the time for his speed track constructions. Though not only cheap, the wood was better than the typical dirt race track

Dirt track racing

----Dirt track racing is a type of auto racing performed on Oval racing. It began in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 30s....
since it didn't have the dust flying into driver's faces.

At the time, the wooden raceway was ranked second only to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500 race.It has existed since 1909, and is the original "Speedway," the first racing facility historically to incorporate the word....
. On its first race day, Jimmy Murphy

James Anthony Murphy

James Anthony Murphy was a Auto racing who was the American Championship Car Racing in 1922 and 1924....
, driving car #14, competed in the track's first race and won. After only four years, the 70,000 seat stadium was disassembled to make room for other improvements. The land was deemed more expensive than the track that lay atop it. The last race was held February 24 1924 before a crowd of 85,000. On that day Harlan Fengler

Harlan Fengler

Harlan Fengler was an United States racecar driver. Fengler acted as Chief Steward of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1958 until 1974....
broke the world record for a race. By 1928, the Beverly Wilshire hotel

The Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel

File:Beverly Wilshire Hotel, 1959.pngThe Beverly Wilshire Hotel is at 9500 Wilshire Boulevard on the east side of South Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California....
would be built on the site of the track's north-east turn. The developers of the racetrack would later move it to Culver City

Culver City, California

Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 38,816. The community is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also has a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County....
, just south of MGM studios.

The speedway was built at a time when car races were popular. The Los Angeles Coliseum Motordome

Los Angeles Coliseum Motordome

The Los Angeles Coliseum Motordome was a 1/3 mile long board track racing circle circuit in Los Angeles, California....
was another popular speedway just south in Playa del Rey. There were about six of the wooden tracks -- or "toothpick tracks" -- in California.

Races

Statistics for winners of each race.

Date	Driver	Distance	Car	Average mph
February 28 1920	Jimmy Murphy James Anthony Murphy James Anthony Murphy was a Auto racing who was the American Championship Car Racing in 1922 and 1924....	250	Duesenberg	103.2
March 28 1920	Art Klein Art Klein Art Klein was an United States racecar driver.Indy 500 results...	50	Peugot	110.8
March 28 1920	Jimmy Murphy James Anthony Murphy James Anthony Murphy was a Auto racing who was the American Championship Car Racing in 1922 and 1924....	50	Duesenberg	110.3
March 28 1920	Tommy Milton Tommy Milton Tommy Milton was an United States race car driver best known as the first two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Milton began his career in racing in 1914, competing on dirt tracks in the Midwestern United States....	50	Duesenberg	111.8
November 25 1920¹	Roscoe Sarles Roscoe Sarles Roscoe Sarles was an United States racecar driver active in the formative years of auto racing. Sarles was killed in an Indy car event, when his steering broke....	250	Duesenberg	103.2
February 27 1921	Ralph DePalma Ralph DePalma Ralph DePalma was an Italian-American racecar driving champion, most notably winner of the 1915 Indianapolis 500. His entry at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame estimates that he won about 2000 races, and he is credited with winning 24 American Championship Car Racing races....	25	Ballot	106.46
February 27 1921	Roscoe Sarles Roscoe Sarles Roscoe Sarles was an United States racecar driver active in the formative years of auto racing. Sarles was killed in an Indy car event, when his steering broke....	25	Duesenberg	107.27
February 27 1921	Jimmy Murphy James Anthony Murphy James Anthony Murphy was a Auto racing who was the American Championship Car Racing in 1922 and 1924....	25	Duesenberg	103.75
February 27 1921	Tommy Milton Tommy Milton Tommy Milton was an United States race car driver best known as the first two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Milton began his career in racing in 1914, competing on dirt tracks in the Midwestern United States....	25	Miller	104.30
February 27 1921	Ralph DePalma Ralph DePalma Ralph DePalma was an Italian-American racecar driving champion, most notably winner of the 1915 Indianapolis 500. His entry at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame estimates that he won about 2000 races, and he is credited with winning 24 American Championship Car Racing races....	50	Ballot	107.39
April 10 1921	Ralph DePalma Ralph DePalma Ralph DePalma was an Italian-American racecar driving champion, most notably winner of the 1915 Indianapolis 500. His entry at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame estimates that he won about 2000 races, and he is credited with winning 24 American Championship Car Racing races....	25	Ballot	106.3
April 10 1921	Eddie Pullen	25	Duesenberg	107.9
April 10 1921	Joe Thomas Joe Thomas (driver) Joe Thomas was an United States racecar driver.Indy 500 results...	25	Duesenberg	105.8
April 10 1921	Jimmy Murphy James Anthony Murphy James Anthony Murphy was a Auto racing who was the American Championship Car Racing in 1922 and 1924....	25	Duesenberg	107.3
April 10 1921	Jimmy Murphy James Anthony Murphy James Anthony Murphy was a Auto racing who was the American Championship Car Racing in 1922 and 1924....	50	Duesenberg	109.26
November 24 1921	Eddie Hearne Eddie Hearne Eddie Hearne Indy 500 results...	250	Duesenberg	109.7
March 5 1922	Tommy Milton Tommy Milton Tommy Milton was an United States race car driver best known as the first two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Milton began his career in racing in 1914, competing on dirt tracks in the Midwestern United States....	250	Durant-Miller	110.8
April 2 1922	Pietro Bordino Pietro Bordino Pietro Bordino was an Italian racecar driver.A native of Turin, Bordino won the 1922 Italian Grand Prix and also raced in the 1925 Indianapolis 500, finishing 10th, among his 10 AAA Championship Car starts in the United States....	25	Fiat	114.84
April 2 1922	Tommy Milton Tommy Milton Tommy Milton was an United States race car driver best known as the first two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Milton began his career in racing in 1914, competing on dirt tracks in the Midwestern United States....	25	Durant-Miller	115.17
April 2 1922	Jimmy Murphy James Anthony Murphy James Anthony Murphy was a Auto racing who was the American Championship Car Racing in 1922 and 1924....	25	Duesenberg	114.22
April 2 1922	Frank Elliott Frank Elliott (driver) Frank Elliott was an United States racecar driver active in the 1920's. In addition to six appearances in the Indianapolis 500, Elliot also competed on California's wood plank tracks, such as the Beverly Hills Speedway....	25	Miller	114.52
April 2 1922	Tommy Milton Tommy Milton Tommy Milton was an United States race car driver best known as the first two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Milton began his career in racing in 1914, competing on dirt tracks in the Midwestern United States....	50	Durant-Miller	115.24
December 3 1922	Jimmy Murphy James Anthony Murphy James Anthony Murphy was a Auto racing who was the American Championship Car Racing in 1922 and 1924....	250	Miller	114.6
February 25 1923	Jimmy Murphy James Anthony Murphy James Anthony Murphy was a Auto racing who was the American Championship Car Racing in 1922 and 1924....	250	Miller	115.65
November 29 1923	Bennett Hill Bennett Hill John Bennett Hill was an United States racecar driver active in the 1920's and 1930's. He made 66 American Automobile Association Championship Car starts capturing 5 wins and 7 poles....	250	Miller	112.42
February 24 1924	Harlan Fengler Harlan Fengler Harlan Fengler was an United States racecar driver. Fengler acted as Chief Steward of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1958 until 1974....	250	Miller	116.6

1: Gaston Chevrolet

Gaston Chevrolet

Gaston Chevrolet was a France-born United States racecar champion driver and automobile manufacturer.Born near Beaune, in the C?te-d'Or d?partement of France where his Switzerland parents had emigrated to a few years earlier, he was the younger brother of Louis Chevrolet and Arthur Chevrolet ....
and Eddie O'Donnell

Eddie O'Donnell

Eddie O'Donnell was an United States racecar driver. O'Donnell died of injuries sustained in a crash during practice before an AAA race....
collided and crashed into one another during the Thanksgiving Day Beverly Hills Speedway Classic race. Chevrolet was killed along with O'Donnell, and Lyall Jolls, his riding mechanic, died the next day.

Resources

"BOARD TRACKS: Before Indianapolis, L.A.'s Toothpick Ovals Were King" SHAV GLICK. Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the Western United States. It is the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States and the fourth-most widely distributed newspaper in the United States....
, October 14 1987.
"Column: L.A. Scene / The City Then and Now". CECILIA RASMUSSEN. Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the Western United States. It is the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States and the fourth-most widely distributed newspaper in the United States....
, October 19 1992.