Verse 1 Way up in Pennsylvania, near a town called Tipton, they built a track out of pine planks in nineteen twenty-three... George Long had a vision, said "We'll rival Indianapolis town" Brought in millions of board feet, nailed 'em down on the ground One and a quarter miles of white pine, banked thirty-two degrees so steep Cars flying 'round the turns with fans cheering on their feet Verse 2 They came from Detroit and L.A., Miller engines roarin' like lions Duesenbergs straight-eight strong, supercharged and defyin' Open wheels, open cockpits, no fenders to hide the fire Jimmy Murphy, Tommy Milton, boys chasin' glory and desire Two hundred fifty miles on Flag Day, again come Labor Day eve Crowds more than seventy thousand, wavin' flags in the breeze Chorus Wood and steel and gasoline, prayin’ to make the turn, White-pine walls and open wheels, every mile you earn. They ran for flags and glory, paid the price when angels moaned, Fastest track God ever saw, built of boards and bones. Verse 3 Speeds climbin' past one-thirty, lap after lap without cease Carpenters hammerin' underneath while the racers never found peace But the boards they wore weary, splinters flew like angry bees Tire blows and you climb the wall, no mercy in them degrees Verse 4 Howdy Wilcox in twenty-three, Indy king just four years before Blew a tire on the backstretch, crashed hard and raced no more Then Joe Boyer in twenty-four, shared the brick with Lora Corum that May Came to Altoona seekin' more gold, but the planks took him away Ray Keech won at Indy in twenty-nine, seventeen days of sweet champagne Back to Tipton in June, one wrong move and he joined the slain Chorus Wood and steel and gasoline, prayin’ to make the turn, White-pine walls and open wheels, every mile you earn. They ran for flags and glory, paid the price when angels moaned, Fastest track God ever saw, built of boards and bones. Verse 5 Three Indy winners claimed by the wood, in that Pennsylvania bowl The fastest track in the land, but it claimed a heavy toll By thirty-one the Depression hit, repairs too dear to pay The crowds stopped comin', the races faded, the grandstands turned gray Left to rot in the fields till thirty-six, when fire came in the night Burned that speedway to ashes, took the thunder from sight Bridge Time rolled on, the crowds grew thin, the Depression stole the show Grandstands empty, planks decayed, the fire took the glow But echoes of the engines roar, still haunt the summer skies Legends ride where wood once burned, beneath the eagle’s eyes Verse 6 / Outro Now the site's just memories, whispers on the wind Of Millers and Duesenbergs, and brave men who raced with a grin So raise a glass to Altoona, to the kings of the board track game They flew too close to the sun, but Lord, how they burned that flame The planks are gone forever, but the story still rolls on Like a supercharged straight-eight, echoin' in this song... Chorus (Repeat / Fade Out) Wood and steel and gasoline, prayin’ to make the turn, White-pine walls and open wheels, every mile you earn. They ran for flags and glory, paid the price when angels moaned, Fastest track God ever saw, built of boards and bones.
