Mickey Thompson
| Mickey Thompson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Marion Lee Thompson December 7, 1928 Alhambra, California, U.S. |
| Died | March 16, 1988 (aged 59) Bradbury, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Murder |
| Occupation | Race car driver |
| Known for | First American to break the 400 mph barrier |
| Spouse(s) | Judy Thompson Trudy Thompson |
| Children | Danny Thompson |
Marion Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928 – March 16, 1988) was an American off-road racing celebrity.
A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960 when he became the first American to break the 400 mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph.
Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships. Later he formed sanctioning bodies SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG).
In 1988 Thompson and his wife Trudy were mysteriously gunned down at their home in Bradbury, California. The crime remained unsolved until 2007, when a former business partner was convicted of having orchestrated the murders.
Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. In his early twenties, he worked as a pressman for the Los Angeles Times while pursuing a lifelong love of hot rodding. He later became involved in the new sport of drag racing. Tireless and innovative, he found success as a championship driver and instinctive automotive technician.
Over the course of his career, Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any other man in automotive history. He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster, in 1954, moving the seat behind the rear axle to improve traction when existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of increasingly powerful custom engines. A change so momentous would not happen again until Don Garlits introduced the rear-engined digger in 1971. Thompson also was noted for being the first manager of Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, California, in 1955.
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