Danny Thompson (racing driver)

Danny P. Thompson (born October 28, 1948) is an American race car driver and the son of the late entrepreneur and motorsports innovator Mickey Thompson.

He began his career at age 9, winning his first quarter-midget championship one year later. He moved on to motocross and Formula Atlantic cars in his teens, before graduating to sprint cars and stadium trucks later in life. He took control of the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group after the death of his father. He left the industry in 1996 following the company's bankruptcy.

In 2003 Thompson succeeded in joining his father in the Bonneville 200 MPH Club.[1] He became the driver of the world's fastest production Ford Mustang in 2008, and has restored his father's 1968 prototype streamliner the Challenger II. He ran it at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2014, reaching a top speed of 419 miles per hour.[2]

Thompson is responsible for the restoration and exhibition of many historically significant racing vehicles.[3]

References

  1. ↑ http://bonneville200mph.org/images/bonneville%20200%20mph%20club%20roster%20alpha.pdf
  2. ↑ http://thompsonlsr.com/news/2014/9/14/the-challenger-ii-will-run-at-bonneville-world-finals
  3. ↑ http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/honoring-mickey-thompson-first-american-to-400-m-p-h/?_r=0
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