MICKEY THOMPSON MURDER VERDICT
|
|
|
|
Gary Evans,
Friday, March 02 2007
|
Page 2 of 2  Thompson’s life in the fast lane provides ample material for the filmmakers. From the drag strips, to desert racing to land speed record challenges, to car building, designing and race promotion Thompson earned his place as a certified automotive icon. He started calling himself the Fastest American on Wheels in 1958 after setting a record of 194 miles per hour. His goal was to break the world record of 394.2 miles per hour set in 1947. He began to build a world land speed record car -- the Challenger 1. Thompson took his new car out to the Bonneville Salt Flats on October 6, 1959 and piloted it to a World Speed Record of 363.48 miles per hour. He also set a world speed record in A/BFS Class that remained unbeaten until1990 when Al Teague broke it at 389.372 miles per hour in his streamliner. In1960, Thompson returned to the Bonneville Salt Flats with a modified Challenger 1 for another record attempt. Its four 410 cubic-inch engines secured his title when he set a new American record at 330.51 miles per hour. He bested the world speed with a run at 407 miles per hour (which was faster than any man had drive a car before) but crashed before he could make a second run and thus secure the official record. The Challenger 1 had its last record run two year later on July 24, 1962. The poor conditions of the salt flats halted the first attempt because he couldn’t get any traction as the car bounced on the salt bed. He found a smoother part of the Flats for another run and turned in a speed of 357 mph. But he announced that the Challenger’s days on the Salt Flats were over.  Thompson tried the Indianapolis 500 several times running cars he designed. The best his cars ever did was a ninth-place finish in 1963. But his racing and business skills led to many other successes as a parts maker and racing promoter. It’s said that his hard driving nature alienated many people around him, including the former business partner who was eventually convicted of arranging his execution style death. His sister, Collene Campbell, never let the unsolved case die. She pressed prosecutors for years to reopen it. She was as relentless about avenging his death and he’d been in winning races. Like a good pit crew chief she never gave up and was always there to make sure her brother’s case saw the checkered flag.
Related Items:
<< Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>
|
