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Even after FoMoCo pulled the plug on its worldwide racing program, M/T stuck with Ford powerplants and body styles. Don Gillespie captured this wild wheelie at Lions, the legendary drag strip that Mickey and Judy Thompson and their friends built in 1955.

We can¹t forget Indianapolis in this short rundown. We had always been proud of our "roots," never wanting to forget where we came from. In Indianapolis, it was a little tough; a drag-racer-turned-champ-car builder wasn¹t exactly praised. Of course, that only pushed Mickey farther forward in his endeavors.

In 1950, the year after we were married, the Santa Ana Drag Strip was opened and Mickey broke 96 m.p.h. in his ¹36 coupe. This was fabulous - and it was legal. Then, in October of 1955, we opened Lions with all the gusto and enthusiasm with which Mickey had done everything in his life to date. We tried very hard to come up with new ideas to bring top racers in the country to "The Beach."

Thompson¹s last dominant drag-racing season was 1969, which saw him field red and blue Mustangs for fulltime-drivers Pat Foster and Danny Ongais, respectively. Both were powered by Ford¹s radical SOHC 427. Ongais was so successful that this Mustang became known - and feared -nationwide as simply "the blue car." In his first season driving a Funny Car, "Danny O" won Bakersfield, Indy, the NHRA Springnationals, OCIR¹s Manufacturers Meet and other major titles.

The big deal in the beginning was a trophy for Top Eliminator; then we advanced to a case of oil; then to a whopping $100 savings bond. (Wow, think of that; a deal if there ever was one!) It¹s hard to believe that this was 45 years ago. How can so much change? Progress is the word, but sometimes I wish they would put a "governor" on it and slow down. On the other hand, the big companies that have gotten involved with motorsports must be happy as clams, and the manufacturers are thrilled with what the racers have come up with. As for me, I live with the nostalgia.

After 26 years of being so totally involved in every aspect of racing, my life changed: Mickey and I went our separate ways. It was time for both of us to move on. Mickey, of course, continued promoting, racing and living his dream. I went back to school for five years and became a teacher. I took a completely different path, but always followed auto racing. In fact, when I did my "student teaching," I took several boys in my class to the drags, where Tom McEwen and Don Prudhomme were having a big match race. I contacted Tom - after not having talked to him in 25 or so years - and told him about my assignment. When we got to the races, he had T-shirts for all my students. So, you see, I carried my love of racing on into my new field.

One of the saddest days in hot-rodding history was March 21, 1988. More than 1000 mourners overflowed the memorial service for murder-victims Mickey Thompson, 59, and his wifeTrudy, 42.

I always cared about all those people who played such a large part in my early life, wondering if I would ever see them again. Along came the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion, and I thought I¹d been born again. (I missed the first one only because I didn¹t know about it, but I haven¹t missed one since.) Most of the wonderful people were still around. Even after all these years, they remembered me, as I did them. I was thrilled.

I remember seeing Jim Deist. We reminisced about patching the salt on our hands and knees at Bonneville. Then Jim Nelson and I relived the Mobil Gas Economy Run (among many other events). Jim and Dot McLennan talked about fun times we had had together with Mickey. Sid Waterman reminded me of some great stories. I can¹t forget seeing Bob Muravez and kidding him about all the girls in the tower at Lions singing, "I wanna be Bobby¹s girl" when he would come to the line to run.

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