Danny P. Thompson (born October 28, 1948) is an American
race car
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organi ...
driver and the son of the late motorsports entrepreneur
Mickey Thompson.
He began his career at age 9, winning his first
quarter-midget
Quarter midget racing is a form of automobile racing. The cars are approximately one-quarter (1/4) the size of a full-size midget car. The adult-size midget being raced during the start of quarter midget racing used an oval track of one-fifth of a ...
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 murders of his step-mother and 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. He became the driver of the world's fastest production
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...
in 2008, and in 2016 used a restored and updated version of Mickey's 1968 prototype streamliner the ''Challenger 2'' to capture the SCTA unblown fuel streamliner record with an average speed of 406.7 mph.
Thompson is responsible for the restoration and exhibition of many historically significant racing vehicles.
On August 12, 2018, he broke the overall piston-driven land speed record with a speed of 448.75 mph, also in ''Challenger 2''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Danny
1948 births
Living people
American racing drivers
Atlantic Championship drivers