|
I Remember
Mickey
By Judy Thompson
PHOTOS COURTESY OF JUDY THOMPSON & DON GILLESPIE
Ed Note:
Ocassional(very occasional)contributor and
friend of Drag Racing Online Dave Wallace has
his own publication named Hot Rod Nostalgia
and he calls a Magalog. It is full of neat nostalgia
stuff from photos to shirts to pewter mugs.
If your into nostalgia you have to have this.
You can order one by calling 209-293-2114 or
email them at hotrodnostalgia.com, At any rate
his current magalog had this story about Mickey
Thompson by his wife Judy. Judy and Dave Wallace
agreed to let us reprint this story. Hope you
enjoy it.
"My
parents thought I had lost my mind,
but I loved every minute of it."
|
| Mickeyıs multiple
talents as innovator, builder and
promoter are all evident in this shot
from the mid-1950s. Widely considered
to be the first successful slingshot
dragster (relocating the driver behind
the rear axle), this Thompson creation
featured dual slicks and a fully streamlined
body, complete with canopy. The dude
in the coat and tie is the late William
Hannon, who oversaw the vast real-estate
holdings of San Fernando Valley (Calif.)
developer Fritz Burns. Among other
things, Burns owned San Fernando Drag
Strip and much of Panorama City, which
sponsored one of Mickeyıs trips to
the NHRA Nationals. |
|
Hot Rod Nostalgia! Just hearing the words brings
out "nitro bumps." (Some people have goose bumps;
not racers!) After the HRN staffers heard some
of my stories about life with Mickey Thompson,
they asked me to write about some of the special
events. There are so many memories; itıs so
hard to narrow them down. Actually, each and
every nostalgic moment in my life regarding
racing is a special event, and brings up many
different emotions.
Hold on, now, weıre talking 50 years ago! Our
youngest readers might question whether or not
cars were in existence then, let alone "hot
rods." Let me assure you that they were, big
time - but not like we see today. Actually,
in my humble opinion, they were even more important
to us individually, because it was your car,
top to bottom; your sweat; your dreams; and
your money - if you were lucky enough to have
any for incidentals such as gas, alcohol (if
you were bucks up), maybe even tires.
I guess my first recollections, at age 16,
were racing through the orange groves in West
Covina (southern California, of course). We
would usually meet at a drive-in, choose off
some guys, whomever was available, and head
out. Mickey was in the habit of winning. When
tempers flew, he would tell them that he would
put his girl in the car and sheıd beat them,
too! Those days were unbearably exciting until
the time the red lights came in sight and the
sirens wailed; then the excitement turned to
fear.
|
| Thanks to
his homebuilt Challenger I, Thompson
was about to become the first world-famous
hot rodder. |
|
At that time, the only other places we raced
were either Muroc or El Mirage Dry Lakes. Mickey
was an original member of the Russetta Timing
Association, and we seldom missed a meet. It
was almost a sure thing that we would be protested
at those meets. In fact, we began to rely on
the $25 protest fee to go into Adalanto for
tacos.
We didnıt have trailers in those days, so we
would drive to the lakes, switch carburetors,
run all day, switch back to gas and drive home,
tired and dirty but happy. My parents thought
I had lost my mind, but I loved every minute
of it. Mickey lived in Alhambra, and our favorite
haunt was the discard bins in back of Elico
Ford, where we rummaged, fervently looking for
used parts to take home and salvage or weld
together.
That was the beginning, at least for me, of
a long, long road of adventures the likes of
which I could never have dreamed. As I said,
it started on the streets, went to the lakes,
and then to organized drag racing.
There was also the Mexican Road Race, which
was Mickeyıs dream. Imagine running in a race
with the famed road racer "Fangio"; he couldnıt
wait!
NEXT
PAGE >>
|
