Mickey Thompson

Mickey Thompson offers a now-impossible first-person telling of the legendary racer and motorsport impresario’s high-speed life, from his earliest days through the height of his competition exploits on drag strips, at Bonneville, the Indy 500, Baja, and more—complemented by some 100 rare images culled from family archives, the NHRA museum, and the collections of friends and fellow racers.

Four decades after his tragic death, Mickey Thompson’s name and accomplishments remain legendary among motorsports and automotive enthusiasts. Thompson did it all on four wheels: land-speed racing, drag racing, off-road, NASCAR, Indianapolis…anything involving speed. Armed with a restless mind and a keen business sense, Thompson moved from success to success.

In the early 1970s, motorsports writer (and former drag racer) Tom Madigan and Thompson embarked on a project to write the latter’s autobiography. After two years, extensive interviews, and a near-finished manuscript the whole enterprise fell apart for a number of reasons. Type-written sheets, neatly stacked, were boxed, stored, and mostly forgotten.

Mickey Thompson: The Lost Story of the Original Speed King in His Own Words is that never-published work—an amazing biographical artifact from what many consider the golden age of automotive racing.

Key Selling Points: Historic racing and the racers that competed throughout the 1950s, '60s, and '70s are among the most popular aspects of motorsports enthusiasm. Though many racers of this period have passed on, their legends remain significant and key to the ongoing interest in historic racing events. Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any man in history.  

Key Campaign Activity Big push at all automotive media, especially hot rodding Focus on holiday gift guides Promote at MickeyThompsonTires.com if possible (116,800+ uvpm)   Consumer Marketing Promotions MickeyThompsonTires.com Quarto Drives email campaigns Select targeted online advertising

Publicity/Media: Influential auto media (especially hot rod and muscle car-centric outlets): Automobile, Autoweek, Car & Driver, Motor Trend, Road & Track, Hagerty’s, Hemmings, Sports Car Market, Old Cars Weekly, Sports Car Market, Automotive News, Auto Journal, Auto Beat Daily, Driving Force, Canadian Autoworld, Hot Rod, Rodder’s Journal, Car Craft Reviews and interviews at auto enthusiast podcasts and radio shows Target men-centric, upper-demo and mainstream media, especially for gift guides, print and online: Men’s Journal, GQ, Playboy, Maxim, Esquire, Robb Report, Bloomberg, Bless This Stuff, Gear Patrol, Bloomberg Businessweek, Travel + Leisure, Status Report, Cigar Aficionado, Target newspapers with auto coverage: Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Detroit Free Press, New York Daily News, Detroit News, New York Post, Toronto Globe & Mail, wire/syndication services Key auto blogs & websites: Autoblog, BangShift.com, Art of Gears, CarType, AutoTribute, Automotive Addicts, Car Fanatics, Luxury Fred, Automobile Journal, Car Pages, Auto Insane, My Classic Car, driving.ca, CarBuzz, Autos.ca, Driving Line, Automotive Traveler, GayWheels.com.