The man with the near perfect racing name won 18 poles and 20 races in his 198-start Winston Cup

 career... his first win was at Macon in the fall of 1953, his last at Richmond in the fall of !960.  Among

 his most important victories:

North Wilksboro

Martinsville

Southern 500 at Darlington 1957

Richmond (twice)

National 400 at Charlotte 1960.

Most of his success came in 1955 and 1956 when he won 10 races driving for team owner Carl

 Kiekhaefer.  The team included fellow drivers Herb Thomas and Buck Baker.  All told, Kiekhaefer-owned

 cars won 30 of 50 starts in 1956, including the last 5 races of the season.  To prove it wasn't all

 Kiekhaefer, though, Thompson won four races in 1958 with his own cars.   Thompson died of a

heart-attack while racing at the Metrolina Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina, just one day short of his

 46th birthday.