Gopher State Timing Association - GSTA

By 1953 there was an attempt to get the various clubs (Cogs, Combustion Cousins, Rod Nuts, etc) organized into a master group. The first group that I am aware of was the Gofur Timing Association. This group organized, and held, drag races on an abandoned stretch of road south of Highway 10, between Elk River and Big Lake. This was a very narrow piece of road with a curve in the shutdown portion. Timing was primitive, using a stopwatch (at the finish line) that was started by hand when the starter’s flag dropped. Races were conducted fairly regularly during 1953, but were stopped when a fast ’36 Ford coupe rolled while trying to stop. Another factor in ending the races was the Highway Patrol objecting to the cars parked on the overpass to watch the races. The drag racing moved to the old University of Minnesota airport, which was across Highway 8 from Twin City Speedway in Lexington. Racing continued there until the ‘U’ found out what was going on and sent the ‘U’ police to end it. There was speculation that the owner of the speedway may have alerted the ‘U’. The group that followed the Gofur Timing Association was the Twin City Timing Association, which started with 15 clubs. Little is known about this organization other than an article in the June 1953 issue of “Racing Wheels” magazine. Most clubs of the era were interested in improving the public image of hot rodders.