Aug.21.2024Mickey Thompson’s Annual Dragster Adventure Challenge!

Mickey Thompson’s Annual Dragster Adventure Challenge Heats Ups at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School

Written by Ainsley Jacobs

Each year, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels honors its hardworking employees and dedicated dealers and distributors by sending a group to Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School to participate in the thrilling Dragster Adventure Challenge. For 2024, the event was held on July 9 at the iconic Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, and it was Wheel Pros’ Dan Pack who came out on top.

Mickey Thompson has been partnered with the School since 1999 as the official tire supplier for all the vehicles involved in Frank Hawley’s program, and the fun Dragster Adventure Challenge allows anyone to enjoy the exhilaration of piloting a dragster without the requirements of becoming a licensed racer. Available to both the general public as well as corporations looking for unique teambuilding outings, the Dragster Adventure Challenge is available at various tracks all around the country throughout the year.

“We have been working with Mickey Thompson’s team for 25 years, and have enjoyed growing the relationship during that time,” said Frank Hawley, founder of the School. “Letting M/T’s employees and customers participate in our Dragster Adventure Challenge Program and give many folks their first chance to strap into a dragster and power down the quarter-mile is a real honor.”

With a full field of 16 participants, eight of which were Mickey Thompson customers, the group had an absolute blast rocketing down “America’s Racetrack” and participating in a simulated competition.

“We had a fantastic customer turnout and had some new employees participate, a few of whom have raced on their own but this gave them formal education on racing,” shared Jason Moulton, Director of Motorsports at Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels. A few Goodyear employees, Mickey Thompson’s parent company, were new to drag racing altogether and they were lucky enough to participate in the program and get that “on track” feel as they continue their careers. “We’re taking people that either work with our product or sell it and are letting them experience it in a real race car at one of the best facilities and with one of the best schools out there. Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School is first-class – everyone always has a great time!”

After receiving instruction and training on how to drive the full-size, competition-style dragsters capable of going 0-60 MPH in 3 seconds and surpassing speeds of 130 MPH in the quarter-mile, Mickey Thompson’s esteemed team was paired by chip draw for a 16-car eliminations ladder. Participants got to experience the excitement of staging side-by-side, perfecting their reaction times, and flying to the finish line. The competition was friendly yet fierce, and the final round saw M/T customer Dan Pack, a sales representative for Wheel Pros (a division of Hoonigan), awarded the trophy over the race’s second-place finisher and Goodyear engineer, Joe Ciarniello.

“Going to Frank Hawley’s School was an amazing experience,” said Pack. “Not only to drive the cars and feel the adrenaline with the Gs and speed, but to meet a legend in the motorsports industry. Big thanks to Mickey Thompson!”

In addition to giving back to the folks who make Mickey Thompson’s business operations run smoothly, the Dragster Adventure Challenge and all of Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School’s other classes provide Mickey Thompson with valuable product testing data.

“The School runs our tires in real-world settings and at multiple tracks, and that provides us great feedback on how our products perform in different conditions which helps us generate new ideas going forward and gives us opportunities for continuous improvement,” added Moulton. Additionally, students of the School experience Mickey Thompson’s performance tires firsthand, which gives them the confidence to trust the products with their own racing or performance programs.

Together, Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School and Mickey Thompson provide true “bucket list” moments not just for the lucky few selected to attend M/T’s annual event, but for anyone who’s ever dreamed of driving a dragster or drag car.