ON A WING AND
A PRAYER
ALTHOUGH IT
NEVER SAW A
VICTORY, MICKEY
THOMPSON'S
CHALLENGER IV
WAS ONE OF THE
MOST INFLUENTIAL
VEHICLES THAT
CHANGED
OFF-ROAD
MOTORSPORTS.
BY DAN SANCHEZ
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ICON MEDIA
P
eople who knew Mickey Thompson described him as an innovator; a trait
that ultimately led to the creation of SCORE International and off-road racing
as we know it today. A racer at heart, Thompson participated in many of his
own off-road racing events and in doing so, ultimately became frustrated at the
lack of capabilities the current off-road vehicles had at the time.
In the mid-1970's Baja racers were using lightweight buggy chassis with
VW engines, so Thompson decided to design his own vehicle that would truly
change the way racers and vehicle designers build unlimited vehicles today. The
vehicle began when Thompson purchased a couple of buggy chassis that were
SCORE BAJA 50th SPECIAL SECTION ROAD TO THE 50TH
SCORE JOURNAL
58
