Mark Thompson
Mark Thompson | |
[[Image:|150px]] | |
Age | 60 |
Nationality | American |
FARC Lowe Dollar Series career | |
---|---|
Car # | 1 |
Years Competed | 2014- |
Debut Season | 2014 |
Current Team | Gulf Motorsports |
Former Team(s) | M&J Racing Freya & Saito Group Slideways Racing Dale Clough Racing SWH Racing Walker Texas Racing |
Championships | 1, 2018 |
Pole Positions | 3 |
Wins | 4 |
Top 5 Finishes | 11 |
Top 10 Finishes | 19 |
First Start | 2014 @ ? |
First Win | 2016 @ Elko |
Last Win | 2018 @ Berlin |
Last Start | 2019 @ ABQ |
Miscellaneous | |
@TheOtherMarkT | |
Created By | Syzygy |
TM Canon Driver |
Mark Thompson (born November 28, 1964) is a former American race car driver and businessman.
While his day job was as an executive with the RON Oil Corporation, Thompson became interested in stock car racing as a hobby, initially competing in the ARLA Street Stocks Series and winning two races in 2013. With the FARC merger for 2014, Thompson and the team moved to the Regional Cup series, and he negotiated for RON to begin sponsoring the team. With this new cash infusion, Thompson and Gulf began to compete part-time in the Elite Series with former ASCC equipment, and also purchased the Plasma Motorsports modified team.
By 2016, Thompson sought further success in racing, and he and RON decided to take their funding to FARC powerhouse M&J Racing, which was facing sponsorship issues after the departures of Taylor Brillon and Leslie Riggs. Thompson was initially only signed on for three races, but surprised the FARC world by wining two of them, at Elko and the famous Darlington Raceway. This solidly qualified Thompson for the new "FARC-Off" championship playoff, and M&J brought him back to drive their #64 car- to some controversy, as this displaced full-time driver Ashley Tucker. Unfazed, Thompson took home another victory at Grand Detour to qualify for the second round of the playoffs; but his speed would run out in the round of 10, and he would be eliminated before the championship race.
For 2017, Thompson was only able to secure two more races with M&J, but vowed he would attempt every race on the calendar by "any means necessary". Thompson and RON ultimately signed several short-term deals with smaller Lowe Dollar Series teams- Gulf Motorsports, Dale Clough Racing, Freya & Saito Group, and SWH Racing, ultimately only missing a few races late in the season, though he did not return to victory lane.