Sunday 14th December 1924

The Culver City (California) Board Speedway staged its first event, with more than 70,000 visitors in attendance. Board track specialist Bennett Hill won the 250-mile opening race in a supercharged Miller at the phenomenal average speed of 127 mph. The inaugural meet went so smoothly that the Culver City Council adopted a resolution that commended “the officers of the Culver City Police Department for the efficient manner at which crowds at auto races held December 14 were handled.” For the 1925 season, Culver City simply took the place of Beverly Hills on the AAA schedule. The first two-time winner of the Indianapolis “500,” Tommy Milton won the season-opener while the inaugural winner Bennett Hill finished last, out after just three laps with engine failure. There were also a series of non-championship races held at Culver City in April 1925, with Leon Duray and Peter DePaolo winning 25-mile heat races and Harry Hartz winning the 40-lap feature. 35-year old board track veteran Frank Elliott won the AAA season-ending 250-mile race on November 29 1925 by 32 seconds over Harry Hartz. Culver City saw just a single race in 1926, won by Bennett Hill, and in qualifying for the final AAA race held on March 6, 1927, Frank Lockhart set a world speed record of 144 MPH in an intercooled 91 cubic inch Miller. For comparison, the 144 MPH speed barrier was not exceeded at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway until 1956. Maintenance of board tracks was a real problem and while the Culver City board track outlasted the horse-racing track, the track disintegrated while land values skyrocketed. On August 8, 1927, the Culver City Council passed a resolution that platted the Speedway property for housing and reserved a portion bounded by Braddock Street, between Le Bourget and Motor Avenue, as the first public park in Culver City.