Celebrating First American to Break 400 Mph Barrier

By Craig Taylor

February 3, 2010

In 1960, hotrodder Mickey Thompson made history when he became the first American to break the 400 mph barrier at the Bonneville Salt Flats of the Great Salt Lake Desert in northern Utah.

Thompson broke the record using his garage-built machine, the “Challenger 1.”

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of this extraordinary achievement, long-time friend and fellow hotrodder Gale Banks will present the new exhibit, “Mickey Thompson: The First American to 400 mph,” at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum on Feb. 12.

“Mickey was ten years older and already pretty well-known when I opened my first little speed shop in 1958,” said Banks. The two crossed paths often in those days but never became on or off-track rivals. “What I was doing with engines always intrigued Mickey, and the progress that he was making with chassis design and tires always got my full attention,” Banks remembered.

The exhibit will feature many of the innovative machines that Mickey Thompson designed, built, and in many cases, drove into the record books, including the “Challenger 1.”

“It’s a great honor for me personally to have the name Banks associated with both Mickey Thompson and racing icon Wally Parks, two men that I felt very privileged to call friends,” Banks concluded.