On this day in 1960, Mickey Thompson takes another shot at the world land-speed record. A few weeks earlier, Thompson had become the first American to travel faster than 400 mph on land when he'd piloted his Challenger I (a car that he designed and built himself) across Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats at 406.6 mph. This drive had made Thompson the fastest man on wheels, but not officially: In order to win a place in the land-speed record books, racers must make a return pass within the hour, and Thompson's car broke down in the middle of his second run, necessitating a follow-up attempt. At the time, the world land-speed record was 394 mph, set at Bonneville in 1947 by the British driver John Cobb. On his first run across the flats (403.135 mph), Cobb became the first man to go faster than 400 mph. (His second run only reached 388.019 mph; the record speed was an average of the two.) To set a world speed record, drivers must make two passes over the same measured mile, one out and one back (to account for wind assistance), and beat the previous average by at least 1 percent. After Thompson's first pass across the Utah flats on September 9, he refueled the 7,000-pound, 2,000 horsepower Challenger and pushed off for the return trip. As the car gathered speed, however, something went wrong. For years, Thompson told people that something was the driveline: It had snapped, he said, forcing him to stop accelerating and coast back across the desert. In fact, one of the car's four supercharged engines blew when Thompson shifted into high gear. ("When you're sponsored by an engine company and you blow an engine," one expert on the Challenger I explained, "you don't say that you blew a Pontiac engine. You say that you broke a driveline.") On September 20, Thompson tried again. This time, he only managed to coax the Challenger up to about 378 mph on his first run and 368 mph on his second. But it hardly mattered: The Challenger's speedy trips across the desert won worldwide fame for the car and its driver, and by the time Thompson retired in 1962, he had set more than 100 speed records. In 1988, two hooded gunmen murdered Thompson and his wife in their driveway and fled the scene on bicycles. Almost 20 years later, one of Thompson's business acquaintances was convicted of the killings; he is serving two life sentences without parole. HRP
When I was about 6-7 I read this really cool little paperback about Micky Thompsons life story up to that point (mid-sixtiesish) discussed the twin-engine bantam and his slingshot, but the main focus was the Challenger. Really cool stuff, really inspiring for a car crazy kid. I seem to recall the cover of the book being predominately blue, I'll see if I can find it on google or something.
My copy was paperback, and had a different cover, but this is it. Looks like hardcover versions are going for $150+, guess I'd better try to find mine!
Been watching Jr. do his thing....... I hope he at least get's 450,but i'de like to see him do way better....History today/Americana. Thanks for the post HRP.
Thanks for that Danny, M/T is one of my racing hero's and remember the day I heard the news of his death, very, very sad. JW
Thanks for the informational post Danny. I remember reading about it in a Hot Rod magazine and being amazed that the 400mph mark was broken. I was sneaking up on my 11th birthday when that happened. Heck; We got excited when one of the "hot" cars reached just 100mph at the local 1/4 mile dragstrip in that era. Mickey Thompson was one of the top automotive innovators and racers of all time. I bought and installed some of his speed goodies on my own car when I got older, like so many of us did. --- Steve ---
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