Marion Lee " Mickey " Thompson (December 7, 1928 - March 16, 1988) is an American auto racing developer and promoter.
Rodder has been hot since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued a land speed record 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 Challenger 1 to a top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record 402 mph.
Thompson then switched to racing, winning many championships tracks and dragsters. In the 1960s he also entered the car at the Indianapolis 500. Then he formed the off-road sanctions body SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG).
In 1988 Thompson and his wife Trudy were mysteriously shot dead at their home in Bradbury, California. The crime remained unsolved until 2007, when a former business partner was convicted of having arranged the murder.
Video Mickey Thompson
Sejarah awal
Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. In his early twenties, he worked as a journalist for the Los Angeles Times while pursuing a lifelong love of a hot stick. He was later involved in a new sport of drag racing. Relentless and innovative, he found success as an instinctive automotive championship and automotive engineer.
During his career, Thompson made a record of speed and endurance more than any other man in automotive history. He was credited with designing and building the first drag race slingshot, in 1954, moving the seat behind the rear axle to increase traction when the existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of an increasingly powerful custom engine. This car, Panorama City Special, debuted at the first NHRA National Nationals at Great Bend Municipal Airport in Great Bend, Kansas in 1955. The car eventually ran at a top speed of 151.26 mph (243.43 km/h). A very important change will not happen again until Don Garlits introduces a rear-engined digger in 1971. Thompson was also listed as the first manager of the Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, California, in 1955.
Thompson collaborated with Fritz Voight on the 1958 twin-engine dragster. The car reached a top speed of 294,117 mph (473,335 km/h). This gives lessons then applied to Challenger I . Determined to set a new ground speed record, Thompson achieved fame as he drove four of his Challenger 1 engines at over 400 mph (640 km/h) in 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, becoming the first American to break the barrier.
Maps Mickey Thompson
Year Indy
1962
In 1962 Thompson incorporated three cars designed by John Crosthwaite at the Indianapolis 500. Unusual, they use the Buick V8 stock engine and on the back unlike the front-engined car, the tuning racing car, the Offenhauser used by most competitors. It was the first stock machine raced on Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, intelligent and hardworking. Working 12-14 hours a day, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For races, engines (enlarged to a capacity of 4.2 liters, the maximum permitted by regulation for "stock block" machines) should be removed as they fear it will not last long. Although more than 70 bhp dropped in another car, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaky oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his racing on lap 94. He was placed in 20th place from 33. The team won the Engineering Achievement Award for the design original, construction and achievement.
1963
Thompson's promotional skills delighted the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the year 1963, the Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed an innovative Special Harvey Aluminum wheel skate car with a smaller profile (12 inches diameter) and wide racing tires (front 7 inches and 9 inches behind) and wheels. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis. Two of the previous year's designs with Chevrolet V8 engines and three wheel-cars. One of the new cars, Harvey Titanium Special, features a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller II ran one of the modified 1962 cars to the ninth spot despite only qualifying at position 31. Duane Carter qualified as one of the 15-wheeler but placed only 23 after the engine failure in the 100th round. The small tire size and low car weight lead to complaints between the hands and the old owners, so for future races, the car is limited to the minimum tire size and minimum car weight.
1962 Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the skates in Indianapolis in 1963, but refused the race to quote bad handling. The recent decision requires 15-inch wheels, but the chassis is designed with smaller wheels. Thompson commented: "Cars will not handle", adding "There are too many body rolls because of the high center of gravity."
In 1963 Thompson traveled to England where, along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated the special Harvey Aluminum Special Harvey Aluminum fuel driven by Ford at Brighton Speed ​​Trials. It was later shown at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964.
1964
Thompson carries three modified 12-inch tire cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but the new regulations require it to use 15-inch tires. The Allstate-sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis should be changed to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualify for the race. Mobil No.84 starts the moon with Masten Gregory as driver but Eddie Johnson in a qualified numbered car 244 and finishes 26. Dave MacDonald in a car that escaped the passing of No.83 and died in a fiery accident on the second lap.
1965-1968
Thompson returned to Indy in 1965 but failed to qualify in an attempt with a front engine roadster. He missed 1966 but tried again in 1967 and 1968, again failing to qualify second year. The 1967 effort used the rear engine design of all the unique rear wheels that directs both front and rear wheels, but Gary Congdon can not qualify any of the three cars.
Post Indy
In 1965 Thompson published "Challenger: Mickey Thompson's story of his fast life." In 1968, he redesigned the funny car, and then won the 1969 NHRA Spring Nationals and NHRA Nationals with driver Danny Ongais. In his long career, Thompson raced from stock cars to off-road vehicles and engineered many competition engines. He entered the performance aftermarket business in the early 1960s and then, in 1963, he created "Mickey Thompson Performance Tyres" which developed a special tire for racing including for the 500 Indianapolis rivals.
Thompson founded SCORE International in 1973, the body responsible for overseeing off-road racing in North America. He and his wife Trudy formed the "Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group" (MTEG) which organized indoor motocross competitions and off-road racing vehicles and competitions that brought the sport from the back-country to the main metropolitan stadium and arena.
Murder
On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were killed by two veiled armed men outside their home in Bradbury, California at the foot of the San Gabriel mountains.
On the morning of the assassination a pair of unknown assailants waited outside Thompson's house for the couple to leave that day. Mickey opened the garage door for his wife to pull out in his vehicle, and as he headed for his own car, the gunmen attacked. He was shot and wounded, then dragged into the driveway while one of the attackers chased after Trudy as he retreated. Killing him, the gunman then returned to the driveway where another gunman was watching Mickey and shot his head fatally. The attackers then escaped on their bikes to Thompson's residence.
Intensive police investigation failed to reveal the identity of mysterious people, or crime motives. It remained a dead end until 2001, when former Thompson business partner Michael Frank Goodwin was charged in Orange County, California with murder. Before the trial can be completed, the case was dropped for jurisdictional reasons by the California Court of Appeals Court. On June 8, 2004, Goodwin was officially charged with murder in Pasadena in Los Angeles County. In October 2006, the Pasadena High Court judge ordered Goodwin to stand trial.
On January 4, 2007, a jury found the defendant guilty of two counts of murder for the death of Thompson and his wife. Goodwin was sentenced twice in a row without parole. The next move for the new trial is rejected. In the verdict of District Court 2 California 2015, it was found that although there is no direct evidence linking Goodwin with the case, the indirect evidence is "very much".
The murder investigation is the subject of an episode of NBC's Unsolved Mysteries and Investigation Discovery's Murder Book . It was also the subject of the April 28, 2007 episode of the CBS 48 Hours Mystery television program. The 2004 CSI episode "Initial Launch" is based on this murder case. TV coverage and its fictionalization via CSI, cited by defense counsel in murder court for creating "folklore" around the case, preventing a fair trial.
Both triggermen have not been found.
Thompson, his wife, and his pet were buried at the Rose Hills Memorial Park, in Whittier, California.
Awards
- Thompson was inaugurated posthumously to the Motorsports of Fame of America Hall and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990.
- Thompson ranked No. 1. 11 at the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000
- Thompson was inaugurated posthumously to the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009.
See also
- Super Trucks Stadium, a racing series inspired by Thompson's off-road racing stadium
- Danny Thompson, son of Thompson, also a racing car driver
References
Source
- Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" at Hot Rod , April 2017, pp.Ã, 30-43.
External links
- News release of documentary killing (dead link)
- Trial Comment
- M/T Authorized Page Ban
- Michael Goodwin's Profile in Most Wanted America
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments