great seats

When my grandfather was growing up in Columbus one of his best friends was a fellow by the name of Jim Davis.

Jim Davis went on to become a member of the Harley Davidson wrecking crew and to race on board tracks.He set records in the 1920's that still stand today.

Jim lived into his 100's so I had a chance to get to know him pretty well.

In the 20's board track racing was very popular. A promoter could build a big oval pretty cheaply and hold an event that would attract many thousands of people.

A board track was only good for a few years. They got little if any maintenance. Jim was at a race one year when he saw something that puzzeled him. On every lap, coming out of a turn, he and the other racers saw a dark
object on the track ahead of them. When they got closer the object disappeared.

The mystery was solved for them after the race. Turns out there was a hole in the lower part of the track and some boys were getting exciting views of the race by sticking their heads up through the hole!