Mickey Thompson did not want his son to die in a race car and would not let him compete as a kid. But it was all Danny wanted to do.Mickey Thompson didn't let a broken back slow down his plan to race another Challenger car into the record books in 1968, but the rain did."Speed King" Mickey Thompson gets a good-luck smooch from his wife, Judy, before going 406.6 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1960.A noxious cloud of methanol and nitro fills the air the first time Danny Thompson starts the engines of Challenger 2.Danny Thompson talked about life, death and unfinished business while shopping for bolts, screws and other car parts with CNN in tow in June, 2014.Danny Thompson is trying to become the fastest driver of a piston-engine car, just like his dad, Mickey Thompson.Racing legend Mickey Thompson built his cars from blueprints laid out on the floor of his garage in Southern California.Judy Thompson Creach, 84, raced Mickey Thompson on the day they met -- and won. She was working on a car when she went into labor with Danny.Danny Thompson's Challenger 2 is just 32 feet long, 34 inches wide and 26 inches tall, but it's built for speed.
Courtesy Danny Thompson
Mickey Thompson did not want his son to die in a race car and would not let him compete as a kid. But it was all Danny wanted to do.
