A first-class pilot, who seemed to be unknown to the feeling of self-preservation, a prolific engineer, has repeatedly revolutionized the motor racing and a successful businessman whose talents went far beyond the impregnated strips of burning nitromethane. The head fits with difficulty that the same man could break records in batches on the dried salt lakes and to organize the first ever in stadium off-road show, to build a more than competitive on kvotere fireballs and create a tire brand, had won international fame. Thompson was an incredibly multi-faceted personality, and the only way to bring it out of balance was the phrase, «That's impossible.»
Marion Lee Thompson was born in 1928 in California in an Irish family, and with the filing of a friend of his father behind him almost from birth, stuck the nickname «Mick».
His first car Mickey bought fourteen years in seven and a half dollars.
They became buried in the lawn Chevrolet, and in order to remove the pistons from the block had to pick up a sledgehammer. For eighteen months the guy still managed to put this rattletrap on the course and to push it to a new owner for 125 coins. Subsequently, the young Thompson bought a fully competitive Ford V-8, and, like many of his contemporaries, a passion for racing, which in the early fifties were mostly on the other side of the law.
«No drag strips, then, of course, was not. That is why we were chosen out of the city, blocked highways and staged races — recalls his youth legendary racer. — In those years, I was involved in illegal racing almost on a regular basis, and, notably, the police, which in theory was supposed to prevent such lawlessness in the bud, almost never interfere. The boys in caps preferred the role of spectators. And we have to admit, there was a look on that. „
«No drag strips, then, of course, was not. That is why we were chosen out of the city, blocked highways and staged races — recalls his youth legendary racer. — In those years, I was involved in illegal racing almost on a regular basis, and, notably, the police, which in theory was supposed to prevent such lawlessness in the bud, almost never interfere. The boys in caps preferred the role of spectators. And we have to admit, there was a look on that. „
In 1954, Thompson wrote his name into the history of the races in the Quarter as the creator of the first classical perednemotornogo dregster, radically revising the design of the chassis. Place the pilot in the new configuration was located behind the rear axle, which made it possible to connect directly to the transmission gear and get rid of the propeller shaft, thus shifting the center of gravity to the driving wheels. Many people initially react to this with skepticism, dubbed Monster invention, but, as we know from history, until Don Garlits in 1970 invented an innovative rear-Swamp Rat XIV, slingshot-dregster remained the fastest machines on the Strip America. Also, this scheme allowed the narrow track of the rear wheels, which has a positive impact on the exchange rate stability of the car at high speeds.
Four years later, Thompson and his team on the way to Oklahoma, where one of the major NHRA's Event was held, decided to drop in on the Bonneville Nationals, to test a brand new dregster, equipped with two engines Chrysler. The car is not just fine-proven at the weekend, Mickey came to Oklahoma in the status of the owner of a new record Bonneville, developing 294 mph, which is 25 mph higher than the previous record. And it was the first resounding success twin-engine layout, which has repeatedly proved itself subsequently not only on the dried salt lakes, but also on asphalt drag strip.
Impressed by its success on the Bonneville, Thompson decided to aim a blow at the world speed record on land owned by John Cobb. And in order to surpass the achievement of an Englishman (393.82 mph) and return to their homeland palm, Mickey went on the road, which is elected by a majority of enthusiasts turned on the speed of the time, namely the path of increasing the number of power plants. Pilot with an impeccable reputation easily got the support of rich sponsors and started to build a record system, abandoning the engine Chrysler Hemi in favor of Pontiac big pack that has more compact dimensions while retaining the impressive potential for forcing.
At that time, Thompson was working the night shift in the printing L.A. Times on weekdays, and on weekends in charge of racing on the iconic Lions Drag Strip. And even such a prohibitive time did not prevent him in the creation of four-engine Challenger I, which in 1959, in spite of the fact that some technical problems remained unsolved, rewrote his own record by becoming the fastest American with the result of 362.31 mph. A year later, Mickey returned to the dried-up lake of Utah and was able to overcome the bar at 400 mph, but, as is well known in the standings is the arithmetic mean of two runs in opposite directions, perfect for one hour. Unfortunately, the second attempt had to be canceled because of the broken propeller shaft, and the speed record on land left behind Cobb.
Both the driver says, «conditions inside the cockpit were, to say the least specific. Safety Framework has been designed in such a way that I could not even turn my head because tube snugly to the helmet closely. Add to this the fact that the scene outside on the speed of 400 mph, I watched through the windshield area of four square inches, and it is unlikely you have a desire to take my place. „
Since Mickey decided to devote himself to the pursuit of land records in the competition under the auspices of the FIA. Although the absolute barrier of the star and the pilot did not submit, the rules of the competition meant a huge variety of equipment, divided by an impressive number of different classes. In 1961, Thompson rolled out to the event just four different car.
Four years later, Thompson and his team on the way to Oklahoma, where one of the major NHRA's Event was held, decided to drop in on the Bonneville Nationals, to test a brand new dregster, equipped with two engines Chrysler. The car is not just fine-proven at the weekend, Mickey came to Oklahoma in the status of the owner of a new record Bonneville, developing 294 mph, which is 25 mph higher than the previous record. And it was the first resounding success twin-engine layout, which has repeatedly proved itself subsequently not only on the dried salt lakes, but also on asphalt drag strip.
Impressed by its success on the Bonneville, Thompson decided to aim a blow at the world speed record on land owned by John Cobb. And in order to surpass the achievement of an Englishman (393.82 mph) and return to their homeland palm, Mickey went on the road, which is elected by a majority of enthusiasts turned on the speed of the time, namely the path of increasing the number of power plants. Pilot with an impeccable reputation easily got the support of rich sponsors and started to build a record system, abandoning the engine Chrysler Hemi in favor of Pontiac big pack that has more compact dimensions while retaining the impressive potential for forcing.
At that time, Thompson was working the night shift in the printing L.A. Times on weekdays, and on weekends in charge of racing on the iconic Lions Drag Strip. And even such a prohibitive time did not prevent him in the creation of four-engine Challenger I, which in 1959, in spite of the fact that some technical problems remained unsolved, rewrote his own record by becoming the fastest American with the result of 362.31 mph. A year later, Mickey returned to the dried-up lake of Utah and was able to overcome the bar at 400 mph, but, as is well known in the standings is the arithmetic mean of two runs in opposite directions, perfect for one hour. Unfortunately, the second attempt had to be canceled because of the broken propeller shaft, and the speed record on land left behind Cobb.
Both the driver says, «conditions inside the cockpit were, to say the least specific. Safety Framework has been designed in such a way that I could not even turn my head because tube snugly to the helmet closely. Add to this the fact that the scene outside on the speed of 400 mph, I watched through the windshield area of four square inches, and it is unlikely you have a desire to take my place. „
Since Mickey decided to devote himself to the pursuit of land records in the competition under the auspices of the FIA. Although the absolute barrier of the star and the pilot did not submit, the rules of the competition meant a huge variety of equipment, divided by an impressive number of different classes. In 1961, Thompson rolled out to the event just four different car.
For one day collapsed under the onslaught of his eight international records plus six national.
After that, the Car Life magazine there was a note which read: «The last record Thompson, as well as twenty-eight national and world records set by him in 1959 and 1960, did this person the owner of the largest number of existing achievements in the history of motorsport.»
Naturally, despite an impressive track record, Thompson to the gnashing of teeth is not enough in the bank title of the fastest pilot in the absolute, but due to weather conditions in the next two years fit for races plot Bonneville was reduced from fourteen to nine miles, which was not enough for speeds over 400 mph, and the project was abandoned Challenger.
In 1968, with the support of Ford Motor Company, Thompson returned to his attempts. Equipped with the two most powerful in a line of «Blue Oval» 427 engines SOHC, bore up to 470 cubic meters. inch (7.7 L) 2000-strong Autolite Special was overclocked to an impressive 411 mph during test runs, but when it's time to show the results of the commission USAC (United States Auto Club), the situation repeated itself: the state of the surface once again forced to abandon Mickey from his dream, and this time definitively.
In the sixties, Thompson was productive as ever. In parallel with the vibrant activity in drag racing, in 1962, his team made its debut in the marathon Indianapolis 500 at the first ever mid-engined car, equipped with independent suspension on all four wheels (reduced diameter and increased width) and power plant, which was based on the architecture completely stock Buick engine. The use of civil engines in such events had already been nonsense. Despite the fact that much success in the form of podiums and outstanding high-speed performance on an oval track in Indianapolis Thompson earned, it is designed by him from the beginning to the end of the car with innovative aerodynamic shape, was a harbinger of the sunset era perednemotornyh devices, once unchallenged rights to perhaps the most prestigious annual motorsport event of the New World.
In 1963, Mickey founded production company named after himself racing slicks, which today provides a wide range of tires, from products intended for public roads, and ending with the rubber for extreme off road. Well, talk about the popularity of the brand Mickey Thompson Tires in drag racing is simply unnecessary: on the tires, perhaps every third car on the strip emblazoned logo «M / T».
Directly in races on kvoter, Mickey was noted primarily for his incessant experiments with chassis Funny Car class cars. For example, Thompson, along with well-known mechanic Pat Foster (Pat Foster) fundamentally rethink the basis of body dregster, which was most recently created a separate class. The supporting structure of the first Fanny cars was virtually identical to their civilian counterparts. The basis was created for the 1970 season and Pat Mickey Ford Mustang Mach I «69 lay not usual for those years spar frame and aluminum monocoque with integrated safety cage in it, which is completely repeated cockpit slingshot-dregster. In addition, the new creation Rear Axle tightly fastened to the monocoque, and the exhaust has been implemented in the form of scattered eight nozzles (zoomie headers), by analogy with all the same slingshot-dregster. Such a scheme, despite the outstanding rigidity was output too heavy to remain competitive, although that year brought the Thompson team two wins at the event of the national championship. As a result, the ideal solution was the space frame made of chrome-molybdenum tubing, which is used in all professional classes to this day.
In the second half of the seventies restless businessman turned his attention to a variety of off-road events, and then he came up with a truly brilliant business idea.
„Racing in the desert are perhaps one of the most spectacular disciplines avtoportivnyh: fountains of sand, good speed and amplitude jumps. But all this splendor see the pilots, navigators, but snakes scorpions. Then I decided to squeeze multi-kilometer marathons in a stadium format. Adopt a ton of sand and dirt, to attract the best pilots and put on a show that you can watch from the stands, „- shared later Thompson.
It is expected the new concept came to cheer, platforms were full of spectators, drivers desperately fought for „fat“ fees, and financial well-being of the ideological mastermind of all this off-road madness grew on the eyes. Single pull is so large-scale business has been incredibly hard, and Mickey made which later became fatal agreement with Michael Goodwin, who was one of the leading organizers of supercross motorcycle. On paper it looked great, but in the end the whole event has slipped into the abyss of counter lawsuits and litigation proceedings. As a result, the court sided with Thompson and Goodwin ordered to pay $ 700,000.
March 16, 1988 Mickey Thompson and his wife was shot to death near his house were found. The murder remained unsolved for many nineteen. In 2007, a Los Angeles court found Michael Goodwin guilty of double murder and sentenced to two life sentences without parole. Artists are not found until now.
It is difficult even to imagine how many new peaks could conquer Mickey Thompson, who regularly achieved success in everything he undertook, walked to the end and always played fair. His ingenuity and hard work has repeatedly changed motorsport, and I am sure, would change more than once, if not a former companion who has taken too simple and very sneaky way to settle scores.
Photo: open source
Naturally, despite an impressive track record, Thompson to the gnashing of teeth is not enough in the bank title of the fastest pilot in the absolute, but due to weather conditions in the next two years fit for races plot Bonneville was reduced from fourteen to nine miles, which was not enough for speeds over 400 mph, and the project was abandoned Challenger.
In 1968, with the support of Ford Motor Company, Thompson returned to his attempts. Equipped with the two most powerful in a line of «Blue Oval» 427 engines SOHC, bore up to 470 cubic meters. inch (7.7 L) 2000-strong Autolite Special was overclocked to an impressive 411 mph during test runs, but when it's time to show the results of the commission USAC (United States Auto Club), the situation repeated itself: the state of the surface once again forced to abandon Mickey from his dream, and this time definitively.
In the sixties, Thompson was productive as ever. In parallel with the vibrant activity in drag racing, in 1962, his team made its debut in the marathon Indianapolis 500 at the first ever mid-engined car, equipped with independent suspension on all four wheels (reduced diameter and increased width) and power plant, which was based on the architecture completely stock Buick engine. The use of civil engines in such events had already been nonsense. Despite the fact that much success in the form of podiums and outstanding high-speed performance on an oval track in Indianapolis Thompson earned, it is designed by him from the beginning to the end of the car with innovative aerodynamic shape, was a harbinger of the sunset era perednemotornyh devices, once unchallenged rights to perhaps the most prestigious annual motorsport event of the New World.
In 1963, Mickey founded production company named after himself racing slicks, which today provides a wide range of tires, from products intended for public roads, and ending with the rubber for extreme off road. Well, talk about the popularity of the brand Mickey Thompson Tires in drag racing is simply unnecessary: on the tires, perhaps every third car on the strip emblazoned logo «M / T».
Directly in races on kvoter, Mickey was noted primarily for his incessant experiments with chassis Funny Car class cars. For example, Thompson, along with well-known mechanic Pat Foster (Pat Foster) fundamentally rethink the basis of body dregster, which was most recently created a separate class. The supporting structure of the first Fanny cars was virtually identical to their civilian counterparts. The basis was created for the 1970 season and Pat Mickey Ford Mustang Mach I «69 lay not usual for those years spar frame and aluminum monocoque with integrated safety cage in it, which is completely repeated cockpit slingshot-dregster. In addition, the new creation Rear Axle tightly fastened to the monocoque, and the exhaust has been implemented in the form of scattered eight nozzles (zoomie headers), by analogy with all the same slingshot-dregster. Such a scheme, despite the outstanding rigidity was output too heavy to remain competitive, although that year brought the Thompson team two wins at the event of the national championship. As a result, the ideal solution was the space frame made of chrome-molybdenum tubing, which is used in all professional classes to this day.
In the second half of the seventies restless businessman turned his attention to a variety of off-road events, and then he came up with a truly brilliant business idea.
„Racing in the desert are perhaps one of the most spectacular disciplines avtoportivnyh: fountains of sand, good speed and amplitude jumps. But all this splendor see the pilots, navigators, but snakes scorpions. Then I decided to squeeze multi-kilometer marathons in a stadium format. Adopt a ton of sand and dirt, to attract the best pilots and put on a show that you can watch from the stands, „- shared later Thompson.
It is expected the new concept came to cheer, platforms were full of spectators, drivers desperately fought for „fat“ fees, and financial well-being of the ideological mastermind of all this off-road madness grew on the eyes. Single pull is so large-scale business has been incredibly hard, and Mickey made which later became fatal agreement with Michael Goodwin, who was one of the leading organizers of supercross motorcycle. On paper it looked great, but in the end the whole event has slipped into the abyss of counter lawsuits and litigation proceedings. As a result, the court sided with Thompson and Goodwin ordered to pay $ 700,000.
March 16, 1988 Mickey Thompson and his wife was shot to death near his house were found. The murder remained unsolved for many nineteen. In 2007, a Los Angeles court found Michael Goodwin guilty of double murder and sentenced to two life sentences without parole. Artists are not found until now.
It is difficult even to imagine how many new peaks could conquer Mickey Thompson, who regularly achieved success in everything he undertook, walked to the end and always played fair. His ingenuity and hard work has repeatedly changed motorsport, and I am sure, would change more than once, if not a former companion who has taken too simple and very sneaky way to settle scores.
Photo: open source
