Friday 24th October 1924
More than 50,000 people pack the grandstands and infield for the inaugural race at the first Charlotte Speedway (north Carolina, US). The 250-mile contest featured the same drivers who competed in the Indianapolis 500, was won by Tommy Milton in a Miller. The track, a daringly-banked mile oval, is built of two-by-four wooden boards. The cars, one-seat ancestors of modern-day Indy racers, reach speeds of 130 mph. The speedway was part of a national circuit of board tracks that lifted racing from its dirt-track origins. But the Charlotte Speedway closed in 1927, victim of a dangerously-deteriorating surface — boards popped out and stood upright — and shrinking crowds.
