Thompson Nears Goal of 100 CRA Wins

With 96 victories, Dean Thompson is the all-time winningest sprint car driver with the California Racing Assn., but the 35-year-old cCompetitor has only recently been known for his abilities on race tracks other than Ascot Park, the home base of the CRA.

The Carson driver, a three-time CRA champion and runner-up the past two years, will return to Ascot’s dirt next Saturday night, two weeks after taking his second main event this year at Santa Maria Speedway.

And on July 12, the curly-blond driver won at Manzanita Park in Phoenix. The victory was his first on the Arizona track in 13 1/2 years of racing.

“I’ve gotten luckier (this year) I guess.” Thompson said. “I kinda had a jinx at away tracks.”

Actually, Thompson’s luck at the start of the year was the kind you wouldn’t wish for. His missed the first seven CRA events while recuperating from surgery. He also missed a couple of more races when he broke a toe in a highway accident while in the Midwest for the CRA vs. USAC series during the first part of may.

“I was out of the point race from the go,” Thompson said. “I’m more interested in winning races this year. I’d like to get 100 CRA wins and finish the year safely.

“I wasn’t planning on racing as much as I have this year and want to phase myself out of this sport as a driver eventually. It’s been 15 years since I’ve done anthying but be at a race track on a Saturday night. But I do want to say in the (sprint car racing) business. Maybe as an official.”

Thompson attributes his better showing on out-of-town tracks to the new California Gambler machine he drives for owner Bruce Bromme of Gardena.

We were looking for a car that wouldn’t be a total Ascot car,” he said. “It’s geared to be a feature car rather than a qualifying car and has a more conventional setup, although it does have a lot of our ideas in it. Naturally you have to have your car run well at Ascot, where we run 80% of the time.

Thompson, who has 108 overall career wins, has the most this season after 29 races with eight. Carson’s Mike Sweeney is next with five. Overall, defending champion Bubby Jones is second with 64, but Jones has elected to travel around the country more instead of staying strictly with CRA as he did the past few years.