Cool. Reminds me of being a kid, eating PB&J with Fritos, watching Wide World of Sports cover the Winternationals in 1970 and being absolutely awestruck. I love the prediction at the end regarding ETs and top speeds...
Mike Thompson was a pioneer and this weeks news about his murder trial makes us realize how much he meant to this sport and the knowledge that he had. What a same and a waste.
Did you hear the prediction "I believe that someday Funny cars will do the quarter mile in 5 seconds at 300 MPH"...... Yeah Mickey, and even faster than that. Too bad he didn't live to see it....
That was a benchmark car. I saw it turn some big numbers one night at Lions. Awesome. Not only was it almost unbeatable, it had several technical features that later became the standard for funny cars. In particular, it was the first to have zoomie headers (with the exit upward) in a funny car, and the first with a really narrow chassis. The practically identical red car was driven by Pat Foster, until it was involved in a major accident (if I recall correctly, a racer died in the crash). MT ran these cars really hard, and Ford would reportedly deliver new cammers regularly to replace the carnage. Bitch'n race car.
The Jalopy Journal
