Land Speed Legends
Conversations with men & women who make land speed racing legendary!
Land Speed Legends
Salt, Speed, and a Promise Kept: THE LEGENDARY DANNY THOMPSON Explains How He Went From Motocross to 448 MPH! The Son of Mickey Thompson Proves His Streamliners Potential and Find's His Own Limits.
The salt doesn’t care about your plans, your budget, or your last name—and that’s exactly why Danny Thompson keeps coming back. From a childhood ban on racing to a 448 mph average in Challenger 2, Danny walks us through the moments that shaped him: motocross grit, off‑road savvy, open‑wheel precision, and the quiet craft of fabrication that keeps fast ideas alive.
We get into the early hooks—Mustangs on the 10‑mile circle, a red hat in a lakester, and a Mustang flight that turned seven end‑over‑ends into a lesson on composure. Then the long game: resurrecting Mickey Thompson’s 1968 streamliner with almost no money, sending thousands of sponsor pitches, and learning, run by run, what Bonneville expects from a team. The details are raw and specific, from fire bottles fogging a visor at 400 mph to the split‑second choice to throttle through a yawing 450 mph return, securing a 448 average and settling a 48‑year family benchmark.
We also celebrate the culture that makes this place different. Records are targets, not trophies; rivals call to congratulate; and a seven‑cylinder hack can topple a Vesco mark by 34 mph before an A motor goes in for the next hunt. Danny shares why he retired and sold Challenger 2 to clear debts, how Ferguson’s streamliner rekindled the chase, and where the dream points now: a three‑part Stand on the Gas series to fund and frame a shot at 500 mph in a piston‑powered Challenger 3.
If Bonneville matters to you—its history, its people, and its fragile surface—this conversation is a map of what it takes to turn legacy into action. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves fast machines, and leave a review telling us: do you think a 500 mph piston car is within reach?