On March 28th, at 2pm, the North East Motor Sports Museum will host a special speaker presentation on the Rockingham Boards, which will be presented by Joe Freeman. From 1925 to 1928 the top drivers from across the country came to Salem, New Hampshire’s Rockingham Motor Speedway. The track which was made entirely of lumber was 1.25 miles in length and featured towering turns at 49 degrees, steeper than any track in the world today. The board tracks from across the country were the inspiration for today’s modern day high banked superspeedways.
Learn about the local New England racing heroes who challenged the national auto racing stars in their open-wheeled Duesenberg and Miller racecars, that reached speeds in access of 150 mph. Extraordinary courage was needed to brave the boards at Rockingham. The chances of horrible injury and death were very high. Drivers roared around the track with accelerators nearly full throttle every lap with no roll cages, seat belts or helmets to aid in safety.
Gain insight on the visionary behind the speedway, Jack LeCain and his involvement with other local speedways. Understand the massive undertaking it took to build a board track superspeedway in the 1920’s. Over 450 carpenters were employed to hammer in 53 tons of penny nails into 2.6 million feet of lumber. Also learn how poor construction preparation lead to the tracks short tenure.
For one day only view original programs from all seven board track events from Freeman’s private collection. You will also be able to view rare videos of motorcycle and car board track races on our big screen. On display as well will be board track books, photos and promotional posters from Rockingham.
Join Joe Freeman, Saturday March 28th at 2pm, as he takes us back in time to the roaring twenties to learn and relive the excitement of the Rockingham Boards, New England’s first superspeedway. Tickets for museum members are $10 and all others are $15. Purchase tickets at this link. Seating is limited and pre-ticket purchase is encouraged. Presentation will last approximately one hour. Call 603-783-0183 for more info and tickets.
