1967 Mickey Thompson Special

Californian Mickey Thompson built his first car for the Indianapolis 500 in 1962, and he entered his own unique design every year until 1968. In 1967, Mickey worked with respected chassis builder Joe Huffaker to construct two new cars including this rear-engined model, powered by the exotic Mickey Thompson 3-valve Chevrolet V8. The car failed to qualify that year, but it returned in 1968 as the City of Long Beach Special, with Bill Puterbaugh as the driver. Bill set a few fast laps in practice, but his qualifying times were not enough to get a grid position for the race. This was Mickey Thompson's last effort to conquer Indy, and the car returned home with Thompson and was stored away for the next 46 years. The car remained intact but neglected until its current owner acquired it for his Indianapolis race car collection. The car has just had a complete restoration and is now shown exactly as it was in 1968.