Husband and wife team, Matt and Brittney Olsen, are dedicated to promoting board track racing in the US. From their facility in South Dakota, the couple build, race, and sponsor board track racers. This year, the team will be racing a 1923 Harley Davidson board track racer (built by Matt and Brittney) and supplying a 165cc machine for the lightweight class.

Getting into board track racing was not something that either of them did overnight, but rather something based on an interest of racing in general from an early age.

For Brittney, her interest in motorsport began after hearing about drag racer Shirley Muldowney (someone she sites as a role model). She gained some mechanical knowledge from her father with whom she would work on hot rods. "It was mostly clean the floor and grab me this tool and that wrench,"  she said of her days in training.

She began racing on four wheelers with a 200-cc Yamaha Blaster at the age of eleven, before moving up to a 250-cc flat track Yamaha Blaster in 2001. At fourteen she followed in the footsteps of her role model when she campaigned a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro with a 408 small block, which regularly produced eleven second passes.  "I was known as the fast girl in the high school races," Olsen recalled.

At 17, Brittney began to build motorized bicycles and gain a love for antique board trackers. But it wasn't until she met future husband Matt that she realized she could not only build a board track racer, she could race it too!

In 2011 Matt asked her to marry him, not with a ring, but with a 1923 J model Harley Davidson motor to build a board track racer around!

By 2013 they had built the racer and Brittney spent all winter training on slippery snow, getting ready for the race season. She also spent some valuable track time with 10-time board track class champion Jim Wall.

Her first race on the Harley netted a 7th place  from 16 starters. "I was not quite prepared for the rolling starts and pea gravel track," she noted.

Brittney sites the Davenport board track as her favorite venue: "I absolutely love the Davenport Speedway. It is a half mile dirt oval track that has an amazing back straight. It is a really long track so you can get going pretty fast!"

Brittney's future plans include a trip to the UK to attempt a land speed record on a 1943 BSA 750-cc side valve single. Apparently, the bike was last clocked at 128 mph and is thought to be one of the fastest bikes of its kind. Once that is accomplished, Brittney and Matt hope to bring the bike to America and attempt a world land speed record at Bonneville.

 Matt Olsen

For Matt, the interest in motorcycles and racing started at an early age when he worked alongside his father in their garage, where keeping old motorcycles alive became his dream and passion. In particular, Matt wanted to keep "the legacy of Harley-Davidson’s true American history alive."

Besides racing their own 1923 board track racer (read the full story of building this bike here), Matt and Brittney wanted to promote vintage board track racing. As with all forms of motorsport, they knew how important it is to encourage younger riders into the junior classes. With this in mind, an idea was formulated after a conversation with Bike Days race promoter Scotty Brown.

Brown expressed concern that the 165-cc Vintage lightweight class was down to just three racers and was destined to disappear altogether. In Brittney's words: "It just broke my heart because this is a great class for youngsters to get in and get their feet wet, especially when it comes to racing old bikes."

Matt and Brittney realized that a starter class for young antique motorcycle enthusiasts is essential for all concerned, and besides writing an article in the Antique Motorcycle Magazine which generated interest in the class, they decided to supply a bike to a young novice rider. 

Sponsorship

The bike in question is a 1948 Harley Davidson Hummer which was the first bike Matt built with the help of his father. The bike had been in Matt's shed "rotting away in the corner for 15 years," but was an ideal basis for a lightweight class machine. Now, 20th Century Racing is providing the bike to a 14 year old Ohio resident, Megan Brown, along with some budget and parts to upgrade the old Hummer. Megan will race the Hummer at vintage flat track races in the165cc Lightweight Class in the 2014.

Final word from Brittney about the Hummer: " We are really excited to see it get put to use again, especially for a good cause, RACING!"

Foot note: 20th Century Racing is also hosting an international sweepstakes called the Cannonball Golden Ticket where one lucky winner will win a guaranteed, fully paid entry in the sold-out 2014 Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run, a 16-day, 4,150-mile coast-to-coast ride for motorcycles made before 1937. 

Further reading:

Building a Board Track Racer

Excelsior Board Track Racer Replica

Excelsior Motorcycles, USA