All the way back in 1963, before many of you reading this (including myself) were born, legendary drag racer Mickey Thompson teamed up with friend Gene McMannis to start a new company, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels. Their goal was to design, manufacture, and test high performance tires, and that core idea is what continues to power the minds behind the company today.

The initial tire they built was for open-wheel competition, and it had a lower profile and softer compound to take advantage of the lower center of gravity such a design offered. It was complemented with a wide wheel to finish off the package, and the company was off to the races with a design that was innovative and fresh. Their initial successes continued into the 1970’s, when the original ET Drag tire was designed for the dragstrip, and off-road tire development started to take shape as well.

Since then, the company has introduced a number of tires and wheels to target specific niches in the marketplace, including off-road applications.

The Sportsman Pro, which showed up in 1991, ushered in the original Pro Street racers with a street-legal, sticky, wrinkle-wall tire that would still perform on the strip. The tire revolutionized the way street-legal racing was approached, and in fact has done so well over the years that it was inducted into the Hot Rod Magazine Speed Parts Hall Of Fame in 2011.

Their Pro-5 drag wheel, which debuted in 2008, was created to provide the lightest practical weight and while retaining the strength necessary to withstand the incredible torque loads placed upon it by today’s high-horsepower cars. The company’s most recent revolutionary development came with the introduction of the ET Street Radial Pro tire, designed specially for the hottest class in drag racing today, X275.

The team at Mickey Thompson has proven over the last five decades that they know how to produce championship-winning tires and wheels, and the company remains dedicated to preserving their founder’s legacy today. Happy birthday!