Russetta Timing Association

Plate, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

In the earliest days of hot rodding, guys would form clubs, partially to have a group of like-minded buddies to go to events with, and partially to gain acceptance to a timing association. One of the most famous (if not the most famous) is the Southern California Timing Association, which would sanction speed events at places like Muroc Dry Lake and Bonneville.

However, the SCTA would only accept open cars, and plenty of rodders owned and wanted to race closed cars. The Russetta Timing Association was formed in part to cater to this group, and proved popular enough to be around into the sixties. It was also not uncommon for drivers and clubs to be members of both the SCTA and Russetta, so all members could race their cars.

Club and timing association plaques were a popular accessory back in the day, and remain so today.