Who Was Mickey Thompson? The Story Behind The Top Speed Records

"Please don't kill my wife," Mickey Thompson begged on the morning of March 16, 1988, as a gunman stood over his wife, Trudy, in the driveway of their Bradbury, California home. After the gunman shot Trudy, his accomplice turned to Mickey, who was already wounded, and fatally shot him in the torso.

The assassins' identities remain unknown to this day. The man who ordered and orchestrated the killings, motocross promoter Michael Goodwin, was found guilty of two counts of murder in 2007. The motive was clear: Goodwin and Thompson had worked closely together for a few months in 1984, but the partnership ended with Thompson suing and winning hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. Goodwin filed for bankruptcy in 1986, and apparently never forgave Thompson for the perceived infraction.

Mickey and Trudy Thompson's violent deaths have been the subject of several documentaries and extensive media coverage, perhaps overshadowing Thompson's accomplishments as a motorsports pioneer. But the story behind his career and top speed records deserves as much attention as the tragedies that colored his life.

Marion Lee Thompson was born in 1928, in Alhambra, California. He developed an interest in cars early on, buying his first vehicle before he was even legally able to get a driver's license, at the age of 14 — it was a 1927 Chevrolet, and it cost $7.50.

Growing up with a strict policeman father, Thompson graduated from high school and began working as a pressman for the Los Angeles Times. He kept that job for 10 years, but his interest in automobiles never waned.

Thompson competed in both drag and open-road races whenever he could. Notably, he participated in La Carrera Panamericana in Mexico in 1953. The race, a long-distance sedan rally, was marked with a tragedy Thompson played a role in. As he tried to avoid a child who had wandered onto the racecourse, his car swerved and rolled, killing several other people gathered close to the track. La Carrera Panamericana was canceled the following year and revived in 1988 — the year Thompson was murdered.

Over the course of his career, Thompson drove over a million race miles and participated in more than 10,000 races. What's even more impressive is that he won championships in six different categories: off-road vehicles, midgets, sprint cars, sports cars, stock cars, and drag racing.

Thompson broke many records. In 1955, he became the first drag racer to reach a speed of over 120 mph. He broke his own record that same year, by 30 mph. In 1958, he set another new record, reaching a top speed of 194 mph and getting the nickname "The Fastest American on Wheels."

Thompson made his first appearance at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1950, driving a flathead-powered 1936 Ford Coupe. In 1951 and 1952, he returned to Bonneville with two flathead engines installed in a Bantam car, then made another return with a four-cylinder Pontiac dragster.

Thompson achieved arguably the biggest feat of his career at Bonneville in 1960, when he was crowned the fastest man in the world. With his Challenger 1 racing car powered by four supercharged Pontiac engines, he reached a top speed of 406.6 mph, breaking John Cobb's previous record of 394.19. Thompson set 295 records at Bonneville in total.

Mickey Thompson was an accomplished entrepreneur, too. As he was gearing up to break the 400 mph barrier, he struggled to find a tire company willing to produce tires capable of withstanding that extreme speed, so he partnered with engineer Gene McMannis to establish Mickey Thompson Tires.

As the company evolved over the years, Mickey Thompson Tires became a huge success and had a massive impact on the automotive industry, especially on off-road racing. In fact, Thompson's tires were so superior to competitors' that the U.S. Navy ended up using them during the Gulf War for their SEAL Fast Attack vehicles — keep that in mind if you ever want to take your truck off-road and need reliable tires.

In the early 1960s, Thompson founded Mickey Thompson Enterprises, a company built around selling Pontiac speed equipment. Together with Trudy, he also founded the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group, which organized indoor off-road vehicle racing events in major stadiums.

In addition, Thompson was the founder of Southern California Off Road Enthusiasts International, an off-road racing organization best known for its SCORE Baja event.

Mickey Thompson's impact on motorsports and the automotive industry in general cannot be overstated. He was a pioneer, an innovator, a businessman, and a visionary. The impact of his work can still be felt today, in areas of motorsports from tire technology to off-road racing, drag racing and vehicle design. He even made an appearance in a 1964 racing movie, "The Lively Set," playing himself.

Thompson was inducted posthumously into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, both in 1990. He also became a member of the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009. 

Mickey Thompson Tires is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Goodyear, while SCORE International is currently owned by racing driver Roger Norman. The Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group went bankrupt in 1996.

Mickey Thompson had two children from his first marriage, to Judy Thompson: a daughter named Lindy, and a son named Danny. Lindy has stayed away from the spotlight. Danny is a race car driver and remains actively involved in the motorsports community.

And the man who ordered Mickey Thompson's killing? Michael Goodwin is serving two consecutive life sentences at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.