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 second and third decades of the 20th century. Competition was conducted on oval race courses with surfaces composed of wooden planks...

 in Beverly Hills, California

Beverly Hills, California

Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...

, 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 the site of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and many shops and homes on the 275 acres (1.1 km²) 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 1000 $/acre. Using 2 by boards since the material was cheap, the 1 miles (1.6 km) 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 tracks. It began in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 30s. Two different types of racecars predominated—open wheel racers in the Northeast and West and stock cars in the South...

 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-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....

. On its first race day, Jimmy Murphy

James Anthony Murphy

James Anthony Murphy was a race car driver who was the American Racing Champion in 1922 and 1924.-Background:...

, driving car #14, competed in the track's first 250 miles (402.3 km) 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 valuable 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 American racecar driver. Fengler acted as Chief Steward of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1958 until 1974.-Indy 500 results:...

 broke the world record for a 250 miles (402.3 km) race. By 1928, the Beverly Wilshire hotel

The Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel

The Beverly Wilshire Hotel is an historic hotel located at 9500 Wilshire Boulevard on the east side of South Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California. It was constructed by real estate developer Walter G. McCarty on the site of the former Beverly Hills Speedway...

 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 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...

, just south of MGM

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...

 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.-History:...

 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 (miles)1	Car	Average speed
				mph	km/h
February 28, 1920	Jimmy Murphy James Anthony Murphy James Anthony Murphy was a race car driver who was the American Racing Champion in 1922 and 1924.-Background:...	250	Duesenberg	103.2	166.1
March 28, 1920	Art Klein Art Klein Art Klein was an American racecar driver.-Indy 500 results:...	50	Peugot	110.8	178.3
March 28, 1920	Jimmy Murphy	50	Duesenberg	110.3	177.5
March 28, 1920	Tommy Milton Tommy Milton Tommy Milton was an American race car driver best known as the first two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. He was notable for having only one functional eye -- a disability that would have disqualified him from competing in modern motorsports.Born in St...	50	Duesenberg	111.8	179.9
November 25, 19202	Roscoe Sarles Roscoe Sarles Roscoe Sarles was an American racecar driver active in the formative years of auto racing. Sarles was killed in an Indy car event, when his steering broke.-Indy 500 results:...	250	Duesenberg	103.2	166.1
February 27, 1921	Ralph DePalma Ralph DePalma Ralph De Palma 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...	25	Ballot	106.46	171.3
February 27, 1921	Roscoe Sarles	25	Duesenberg	107.27	172.6
February 27, 1921	Jimmy Murphy	25	Duesenberg	103.75	167
February 27, 1921	Tommy Milton	25	Miller	104.3	167.9
February 27, 1921	Ralph DePalma	50	Ballot	107.39	172.8
April 10, 1921	Ralph DePalma	25	Ballot	106.3	171.1
April 10, 1921	Eddie Pullen	25	Duesenberg	107.9	173.6
April 10, 1921	Joe Thomas Joe Thomas (driver) Joe Thomas was an American racecar driver.-Indy 500 results:...	25	Duesenberg	105.8	170.3
April 10, 1921	Jimmy Murphy	25	Duesenberg	107.3	172.7
April 10, 1921	Jimmy Murphy	50	Duesenberg	109.26	175.8
November 24, 1921	Eddie Hearne Eddie Hearne Eddie Hearne Eddie Hearne Eddie Hearne (March 1, 1887 - February 9, 1955 was an American racecar driver from Kansas City, Kansas who was active in the formative years of auto racing. He participated in the inaugural Indianapolis 500. He later was a long-time Duesenberg factory-backed driver...	250	Duesenberg	109.7	176.5
March 5, 1922	Tommy Milton	250	Durant-Miller	110.8	178.3
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	184.8
April 2, 1922	Tommy Milton	25	Durant-Miller	115.17	185.3
April 2, 1922	Jimmy Murphy	25	Duesenberg	114.22	183.8
April 2, 1922	Frank Elliott Frank Elliott (driver) Frank Elliott was an American racecar driver active in the 1920s. 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	184.3
April 2, 1922	Tommy Milton	50	Durant-Miller	115.24	185.5
December 3, 1922	Jimmy Murphy	250	Miller	114.6	184.4
February 25, 1923	Jimmy Murphy	250	Miller	115.65	186.1
November 29, 1923	Bennett Hill Bennett Hill John Bennett Hill was an American racecar driver active in the 1920s and 1930s. He made 66 AAA Championship Car starts capturing 5 wins and 7 poles. He was particularly a specialist at board track racing where all his wins and poles came...	250	Miller	112.42	180.9
February 24, 1924	Harlan Fengler Harlan Fengler Harlan Fengler was an American racecar driver. Fengler acted as Chief Steward of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1958 until 1974.-Indy 500 results:...	250	Miller	116.6	187.6

1. , and
2. Gaston Chevrolet
   Gaston Chevrolet
   Gaston Chevrolet was a French-born American racecar champion driver and automobile manufacturer.-Early life:...
   
    and Eddie O'Donnell
   Eddie O'Donnell
   Eddie O'Donnell was an American racecar driver. O'Donnell died of injuries sustained in a crash during a BAA race.-Death:...
   
    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, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
  
  , 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, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
  
  , October 19, 1992.