Before modern asphalt speedways and sophisticated racing motorcycles, some of America’s fastest competitors battled for speed on enormous wooden ovals. Known as board track racing, the sport became one of the most spectacular forms of motorsport during the 1910s and 1920s.
Board track racing was exactly what its name suggested. Instead of racing on dirt, concrete, or asphalt, motorcycles competed on tracks constructed from thousands of wooden boards. The enormous circuits featured steeply banked corners that allowed riders to maintain tremendous speeds as they circled the oval.
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The tracks became known as “Motordromes,” and for a brief period they represented the cutting edge of American motorsport. Crowds gathered to watch riders push early motorcycles to speeds that seemed almost unimaginable at the time.
Building a Speedway Out of Wood
Constructing a board track was a remarkable engineering undertaking. Large wooden structures had to be assembled into sweeping oval circuits, with the corners dramatically raised above the straight sections.
The steep banking was one of the defining features of the sport. Rather than simply turning around a flat track, riders could climb high onto the banking and use the angle of the surface to carry speed through the corners.
Some of these tracks were enormous, creating a spectacular sight for spectators. From the grandstands, motorcycles could appear to race around the walls of the circuit rather than simply around a conventional flat oval.
Primitive Machines, Incredible Speeds
The motorcycles competing on these tracks were dramatically different from modern racing machines. They were mechanically simple, lightweight, and built primarily for speed rather than comfort or safety.
Many racing motorcycles used direct-drive systems and lacked the sophisticated braking equipment found on modern motorcycles. In some cases, the machines had no conventional brakes at all.
Riders therefore depended heavily on throttle control, racing lines, and the banking of the track. At extremely high speeds, there was very little room for error.
A Spectacle That Drew Huge Crowds
Despite the dangers, board track racing became a major attraction. Promoters recognized that the combination of speed, massive wooden structures, and daring riders made the events highly entertaining for large crowds.
The sport also benefited from the rapid growth of the American motorcycle industry. Motorcycle manufacturers could use racing victories to demonstrate the performance of their machines, while successful riders became important figures in the emerging motorsport culture.
Racing was no longer simply a demonstration of mechanical reliability. It had become entertainment, competition, and a powerful form of advertising for motorcycle companies.
The Terrible Price of Speed
The same characteristics that made board track racing spectacular also made it extraordinarily dangerous.
Wooden boards could deteriorate rapidly under the punishment of repeated high-speed racing. Splintered or damaged sections of the track created hazards for riders traveling at tremendous speeds.
Engine oil presented another serious problem. Early racing motorcycles could leak or throw oil onto the wooden surface, making portions of the track increasingly slippery.
A rider who lost control could be thrown into the path of other competitors or into the surrounding structure. Because the motorcycles lacked many of the safety features associated with modern racing, crashes could have devastating consequences.
Danger Beyond the Racing Surface
The risks were not limited to the competitors. Spectators gathered close to the action, and the open construction of many early board tracks offered considerably less protection than spectators would expect at a modern motorsport venue.
A crash could therefore affect riders, mechanics, officials, and people watching from the surrounding areas. As awareness of the sport’s risks increased, the enormous crowds that once viewed the danger as part of the spectacle began to face a different reality.
The combination of mechanical failures, deteriorating track surfaces, high speeds, and limited protective measures made serious accidents an unavoidable part of the sport’s history.
Why the Board Track Era Ended
By the late 1920s, several factors were working against board track racing. Safety concerns became increasingly difficult to ignore, while maintaining enormous wooden speedways was expensive and labor-intensive.
Wooden tracks required constant attention because the racing surface could deteriorate quickly. Replacing damaged boards and maintaining the massive structures added significant operating costs.
At the same time, motorsport was developing in other directions. Dirt tracks and other racing surfaces offered alternatives that could be less expensive to construct and maintain.
As the economics of board track racing became more difficult and the sport’s safety problems became increasingly apparent, the great wooden Motordromes gradually disappeared.
The Legacy of the Motordromes
The board track era was relatively brief, but its influence can still be seen in the history of motorcycle and automobile racing. These wooden speedways demonstrated how far early racers were willing to push mechanical technology in pursuit of greater speed.
They also represented an important transitional period in American motorsport. Racing was evolving from informal contests into organized professional entertainment, with manufacturers, promoters, riders, and large audiences all becoming part of the industry.
The tracks themselves eventually vanished, but photographs and surviving historical records provide a glimpse into just how extraordinary these structures were.
A Forgotten Chapter of American Racing
Today, modern racing motorcycles compete on carefully engineered circuits equipped with advanced safety barriers, protective equipment, electronic systems, and highly developed racing technology.
The early board track racers had almost none of those advantages. They climbed onto steep wooden walls on machines built with relatively primitive technology and competed at speeds that left almost no margin for mistakes.
For a short period during the early 20th century, however, these wooden arenas represented the future of speed. The Motordromes captured the imagination of American audiences and helped establish motorcycle racing as a major form of motorsport.
Their rise and disappearance serve as a reminder of how quickly racing technology can evolve. What was once considered the ultimate expression of speed eventually became a fascinating, and often dangerous, chapter in the history of motorsport.
