# @speedyoulater on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CjLZrJ5jc1o
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/13202741-speedyoulater-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/7db673c482.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-10-01T16:40:15.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Speed You Later | INDYCAR (@speedyoulater) — https://gondola.cc/speedyoulater

## Caption

Altoona Speedway is one of the most recognizable racing tracks of the InterWar period. Today here lies an industrial site, but one century ago motors used to roar on the wooden surface of Altoona.

Originally opened in 1923 as a board track, as a 1.25-mile oval with a banking of 32 degrees on the turns, and it was in operation until 1931. Board track was a type of circuit popular in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s. Competitions took place on circular or oval courses with wooden planks surfaces. This kind of track originally hosted motorcycle races, but then cars made their way to board tracks. The Indycar ancestor AAA abused of these autodromes. In particular, Altoona has been in the AAA National Championship from its opening to its closure.

Board tracks made their fortune thanks to low costs, but they required a great deal of maintenance. Many of the tracks survived for less than three years. After the Black Tuesday of 1929, board track racing disappeared rapidly. Altoona was among the tracks that couldn’t stand the Great Depression.

Racing then returned in 1935 when a 1.12-mile track was built inside the old board track. It was a dirt oval, but AAA returned only once, that very same year. After World War II, the circuit was shortened to ¼ mile and the Tyrone Airport was built on the grounds of the old board track. Both weren’t very lucky, as the track closed permanently after 1952 and the airport had the same bad ending in 1955. 

The airport reopened in the 1960s, and the owners decided to host drag races there until the 1980s, although the structure closed to airplanes in 1976. 

This story of changes and various fates finds an end in the 1990s, when all the structures were demolished to leave space for an industrial site. Nothing remains today of the old glory, if not memories and some satellite photos.
 
Written by _kubernetes 
Graphics catemasettizannini 

#speedyoulater #motorsport #indycar #indycarseries #indycars #nttindycarseries #racing #americanracing #fallclassic #altoona #speedway #1924 #championship #national

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 39
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- **Comments:** 5

## Tags

speedway, racing, fallclassic, championship, indycar, speedyoulater, nttindycarseries, national, 1924, indycarseries, altoona, indycars, motorsport, americanracing

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