Thursday, February 11, 2010

THE END of BOARD TRACKS

The banking on the corners increased until 60 degrees was common. The effect of the banking was higher cornering speed and higher G-force on the drivers. Fans sat on the top of the track looking down at the races.

When a driver lost control of a racecar in a corner, he could slip up off the track and into the crowd.
On September 8, 1912, Eddie Hasha was killed at New Jersey Motordome near Atlantic City. The accident
also killed 4 boys and injured 10 more people. Four Indianapolis 500 winners Harry Wlicox, Ray Keech, Joe Boyer and Gaston Chevrolet suffered fatal accidents on Board Tracks.

Another contributor to the demise of board tracks was the expensive upkeep. Tracks needed new 2x4 boards every five years.A further factor was that as speeds rose, overtaking became increasingly difficult and almost always the fastest car would win the race.This led spectators to racing taking place on dirt tracks

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