The post-war era was British speedway s golden age. Ten million spectators passed through the turnstiles of a record number of tracks at the sport s peak. With league gates as high as 80,000, speedway offered a colorful means of escape from the grim austerity of the times. A determinedly clean image, with no betting and rival fans mingling on the terraces, made speedway the family night-out of choice. The sport thrived despite punitive taxation and government threats to close down the speedways as a threat to industrial productivity. A three-division National League stretched from Exeter to...