Uniontown Speedway was a wooden board track in Hopwood, near Uniontown, Pennsylvania. The track was built in 1916, after the Summit Mountain Hill Climbs were outlawed, and held its final race in June 1922. The May/June race was known as the Universal Trophy, so named because Carl Laemmle, president of Universal Films, had sponsored the $3,000, solid silver trophy. Laemmle's company filmed each race, playing them at local theaters. Two National Championship races were held at Uniontown, in 1921 and 1922.
Construction of the Uniontown Speedway in 1916
Board track racing was a type of motorsport popular in the United States during the 1910s and 1920s. Competition was conducted on circular or oval race courses with surfaces composed of wooden planks. This type of track was first used for motorcycle competition, wherein they were called motordromes, before being adapted for use by various different types of racing cars. The majority of the American national championship races were contested at such venues during the 1920s.
Race teams grid-up for the start of a race at Baltimore-Washington Speedway in 1925.
Construction of a board track at Uniontown, Pennsylvania in 1916
1912 Indian Board Track Racer, on display at the California Automobile Museum
Motorcycles racing on a board track in 1911
