Mickey always had a strong...
Mickey always had a strong relationship with top automakers in Detroit, including heavy-hitter John DeLorean, left.
Mickey The Business Man
"Mickey was real good at throwing flowers at the right time," Voigt added. "Winston Churchill once said something like, `The sound of the horn travels the furthest when someone else blows it.' Mickey knew how to play the game."
"When he became associated with the folks at Pontiac, he realized that he couldn't just walk in (to potential sponsors) in a dirty pair of sneakers and a greasy T-shirt," said former Mickey Thompson publicist Don Gillespie. "Once he realized that, he got his haircut and wore a good suit and smiled and charmed folks . . . a different Mickey came out. He could become this different, polished, corporate guy when he needed to. He went a lot further because of that. The hair was slicked back . . . he was all smiles."
Mickey went on to support popular Pontiac entries in multiple categories, including a 421-powered "Swiss Cheese" Catalina and the famed Pontiac Grand Am M/T Revelleader, teaming with great drivers like Chrisman and five-time champion Hayden Proffitt, who won both the Super Stock/Stock Class and the A/FX Class at the 1962 NHRA Winternationals in Pomona.
Mickey And Bunkie
But all of the efforts boiled down to the special relationship between Thompson and Knudsen. Sportswriter Deke Houlgate once penned, "When (Bunkie) wants something done in auto racing, he doesn't mess around with memos and staff meetings; he picks up the phone and calls Mickey Thompson."
"They really seemed to speak the same language," Judy said. "I always had the feeling that Bunkie wanted to be doing what Mickey was doing. He saw Mickey as the guy he would have been had he not had the education. Their personalities were a lot alike. They were both classic overachievers."
Erik Arneson is the author of three books, including the recently released Mickey Thompson--The Fast Life and Tragic Death of a Racing Legend, published by Motorbooks (Motorbooks.com).