The First American to 400 MPH: Mickey Thompson

Marion Lee “Mickey” Thompson was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s.

Marion Lee “Mickey” Thompson was arguably the greatest hot-rodder who ever lived and was the first American to reach 400 miles per hour in a car.

He achieved international fame in 1960, when he became the first American to break the 400-mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats — surpassing John Cobb’s one-way world record mark of 402 mph.

Roadkill’s David Freiburger tells us how it happened…