Danny Thompson (1 Viewer)

[Nunz]

I think it's been 10 years since Mickey Thompson's son Danny decided to pull his dad's land speed car, Challenger II, out of mothballs and go for the piston engine record at Bonneville. He did it this year, and I think it's just a fantastic way to honor his late father. This in-car footage is really cool, a LOT more steering input than I would've thought for 450MPH. Hats off to Danny for this achievement, and I believe at 69 years old, he's a certified badass!

http://competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/father-son-danny-thompson-achieves-speed-immortality

 

[Jimbo]

I also think he did a super job and what a great way to honor his father racing history!

Jim Hill
www.nostalgicracingdecals.com

 

[Cliff]

He had 2 nitro Chrysler engines in that car. Mickey had 4 Pontiacs the first time he ran, and then 4 supercharged Pontiacs the time he went 406 MPH. He had a bunch of Pontiac cars and set all kinds of records for the mile, etc etc. Mickey was the man!

 

[DrRocket]

The car with the 4 Pontiacs was Challenger I. This car was Challenger II.

After all the hard work and effort, I'm really happy it finally all paid off

I'm sure Micky is proud of Danny.

So, how much do they tip the can for these cars?

 

[stitcherbob]

Not sure......maybe still running this amount

"No one would blame Thompson for hanging up his Nomex; after all, how much frustration can one driver shrug off? Regardless of past misfortune, he remains upbeat, and has used the extra time to better prepare the Challenger II for the upcoming season. Connecting rods in both engines have been swapped for new ones, and Thompson now knows that 11 passes, running 84-percent nitromethane as fuel, is too many between replacements. The car’s bottom aluminum skin, corroded by the salt, has been replaced, as has the driver’s harness system. The Challenger II is as ready for 2018 as it can be, prompting Danny to declare,

We seriously considered retiring the car last year, but it seemed like a shame to miss the anniversary, and the whole team felt that higher speeds were attainable. After ruminating on it, we decided that the C2 probably had one more year in her."​

 

[stitcherbob]

 

[TSK]

What a great accomplishment.
I can’t imagine how two almighty Hemis on 84% sounded at full throttle at 450 mph.
No drug could touch that rush.

 

[vegasnitro]

What a great accomplishment.
I can’t imagine how two almighty Hemis on 84% sounded at full throttle at 450 mph.
No drug could touch that rush.

It. Sounded. Awesome. You definitely knew who was on the salt when that thing was running.

I know I posted in the other thread about it, but I can't recommend Bonneville highly enough as a gearhead experience.

 

[Guy]

Congratulations Danny Thompson and crew!

 

[DixonFan]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=796098073924495