Thanksgiving Day, 1920, Gaston Chevrolet, the winner of the Indianapolis 500 that year, entered a race at the Beverly Hills Speedway. The Speedway was a board track and board tracks were notoriously dangerous places for cars and motorcycles. Joe Thomas was racing low on the track and Chevrolet tried to pass him on the high side when he struck Eddie O'Donnell's car. The crash killed Chevrolet, O'Donnell, and Lyall Jolls, his riding mechanic. John Bresnahan, Chevrolet’s riding mechanic, survived but was seriously injured.
