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Tommy Thompson

Prior to 2006, Tommy Thompson had written extensively for maritime and labor union publications. But for the first time, he is able to write about his true love of auto racing, thanks to the folks at Frontstretch.

Tommy's passion for racing dates back to his earliest childhood memories of both hanging around and later working in his father's Northern California race shop. The Thompson family, depending on the family fortunes at any given time, raced many different classes of cars, including Figure-8s, claimers, hobby stocks, late model stocks, sprints, and midgets. Much like his father, Tommy has, in between raising and educating 3 children, participated in local racing along the Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi gulf coast as a driver, builder, and car owner in various classes including sportsman, late model, dirt, and I.M.C.A. modified racing.

Though professional demands have not made it possible to always be an active participant in racing, it has afforded to Tommy the advantage of observing local racing in many different geographical locations throughout the United States. It's a rare weekend that Tommy isn't in attendance at some track, somewhere. Equally at home at either mega-venues such as Talladega or a dilapidated ¼ mile dirt track in the rural south, Tommy enjoys watching the competition and commenting on the drivers, crews, promoters, and fans that contribute to the enjoyment of the sport.

Favorite Movie -Raging Bull
Favorite Racing Memory - Jeremy Mayfield's last lap "bump-and-run" pass of the legendary Dale Earnhardt at the June 2000 rain delayed Pocono race.
Favorite Athlete - Walter Payton. Payton was not only a gifted and dedicated athlete on the field, but an inspiration to those in need of a role model off the field, as well.
Things I'd like to accomplish in 2008 – Transition into retirement and start my new life as a full-time motorsports writer and traveler.
Favorite TV show – Jim Cramer's "Mad Money."
Favorite Hobby – Traveling the great US of A.

Favorite web sites:

The Motley Fool
America’s Union Movement, homepage for the AFL-CIO
National Park Service homepage

Past articles by Tommy Thompson

May 2008
05/14: Richard Childress: Rightfully - A Hall Of Famer [3]
05/12: Ten Points To Ponder...After Darlington [21]
05/07: Darlington Fans: "Too Tough To Surrender" [3]
05/05: Ten Points To Ponder ... After Richmond [7]
April 2008
04/30: Richmond: The Best Of The Rest! [1]
04/28: Ten Points To Ponder ... After Talladega [12]
04/23: A Successful Female NASCAR Driver Would Be… Oprah-Like [2]
04/21: Ten Points to Ponder ... After Mexico [2]
04/16: Random Drug Testing: Harvick, Earnhardt, Stewart And Granny…Form A Line Over Here! [6]
04/14: Ten Points To Ponder ... After Phoenix [6]
04/09: The Verdict Is In: NASCAR Scores Big With The CoT [8]
04/07: Ten Points to Ponder ... After Texas [3]
04/02: Robby Gordon: Just Being Robby [14]
March 2008
03/31: Ten Points To Ponder ... After Martinsville [9]
03/26: Open Wheel Reunification: A Lesson For NASCAR, Too! [9]
03/24: Ten Points To Ponder … During The Easter Break [2]
03/19: Driver's Union: Probably Not A Good Idea [5]
03/17: Ten Points To Ponder ... After Bristol [5]
03/12: Five Good NASCAR Role Models [3]
03/10: Ten Points To Ponder ... After Atlanta [5]
03/05: Edwards' Penalty: The Decision Should Be Simple [12]
03/02: Ten Points To Ponder … After Las Vegas [5]
February 2008
02/28: Tim Richmond: Truimph, Tragedy and Betrayal [16]
02/26: Kyle Busch: So Much…And So Soon
02/25: Ten Points To Ponder ... After the Auto Club 500 [1]
02/21: Cotton Owens: Quite a Driver...Too [3]
02/20: Newman Flies Under the Radar En Route To Returning As Cup Contender [1]
02/18: Ten Points To Ponder … After the Daytona 500 [13]
02/12: With Help From Joe Gibbs Racing…Toyota Has Arrived
02/10: Ten Points To Ponder…After the Bud Shootout [6]
02/06: Rule Changes And Missed Opportunities [5]
January 2008
01/23: The Best Of The Frontstretch : Robby Gordon One-Ups Himself
01/22: The Best Of The Frontstretch : Bobby Ginn : The Gambler Rolled "Snake Eyes"
01/16: There Will Be Only One Junior To Blame [9]
November 2007
11/13: Johnny Benson Didn't Get The Memo [22]
11/07: Bruton Smith Intent On "Shafting" New England Race Fans [14]
October 2007
10/30: Billionaire Bruton Smith Bluffs City Council Into Submission [4]
10/23: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. And DEI: Just Going Through The Motions [46]
10/16: Martinsville : Stop The Bumping! [10]
10/09: Move Over, Jimmie…Let's Let Gordon Get One For The Thumb [6]
10/02: NASCAR Is Ripe For Scandal [12]
September 2007
09/25: The Key (or lack thereof) To Winning The Chase: "Big Picture" This! [3]
09/18: Clint Bowyer: An All-American Story...And Just What NASCAR Needs [4]
09/11: Give Credit to Sprint / Nextel In AT&T Sponsorship Resolution [13]
09/04: Toyota: Banking On Some Old Fashioned American Ingenuity ... From Joe Gibbs [13]
August 2007
08/28: Harvick Needs to Mind His P's and Q's [19]
08/21: Michigan: The Fans Should Be The Big Story [1]
08/21: Nextel Cup Rookie Report: Michigan
08/14: Denny Hamlin: Not Necessarily The Third Wheel Now At Joe Gibbs Racing [6]
08/07: Robby Gordon One-Ups Himself [10]
July 2007
07/31: Teresa Earnhardt: Still Making All The Right Moves [22]
07/26: The Problem With the Buschwackers Is…There Needs To Be More Of Them! [10]
07/25: Bobby Ginn : The Gambler Rolled "Snake Eyes" [6]
07/17: Driver Shopping? Try Clint Bowyer On For Size
07/10: Tony Stewart: No Excuse For Bad Behavior [28]
07/04: Kyle Busch Still Has Some Growing To Do [10]
June 2007
06/26: No Harm, No Foul In Hamlin / Almirola Controversy [7]
06/19: Juan Pablo Montoya: Not NASCAR's Answer To Diversity [4]
06/12: "Big" Tommy…A NASCAR Father's Day Story [1]
06/05: Junior Sets The Record Straight…Meaning Vindication For Teresa [20]
May 2007
05/29: NASCAR Sucks! Studying The Concept Of NASCAR Bashing...And Why I Won't Do It [10]
05/22: Court Decision Good For AT&T…Maybe Not For Racing [8]
05/15: No "Free Rides" For NASCAR Owners [1]
05/08: Talladega Revisited: Blame NASCAR … Not The Earnhardt Nation [10]
05/01: Gordon Is Treating Fans To History In The Making [4]
April 2007
04/24: For Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Might Doesn't Make Him Right [39]
04/17: Mark Martin : Not Doing Well At Retiring [4]
04/10: NASCAR: Indy Car Racing's Savior?
04/03: A Sad State of Affairs : The Continuing Demise of Local Racetracks [5]
March 2007
03/27: Progressive Banking For Bristol…Why Not? [2]
03/20: Michael Waltrip: Sitting Pretty...In The End, That Is [10]
03/13: Robby Gordon: NASCAR's "Lone Wolf" [35]
03/06: Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
February 2007
02/27: Dale Jarrett is the Golden Ticket for Owner and Manufacturer
02/20: Follow the Rules! [7]
02/13: Speedweeks : The End of Winter
02/06: Burton Once Again A Victim of Corporate Insanity [7]
January 2007
01/30: A Season Of Inconsistency and Frustration [2]
01/23: NASCAR Announces Chase Changes While Fan Opinions Fall On Deaf Ears [7]
01/16: Benny Parsons : A Champion
01/16: Best of Tommy Thompson : All Is Well Over At Richard Childress Racing
01/09: Best of Turn 5 : It's Junior, Not Senior
01/02: Best of Turn 5 : The Chase...No Changes Needed
December 2006
12/26: Best of Turn 5 : NASCAR Should Not Protect Mediocrity [1]
12/13: Best Of Turn 5 : Misguided Loyalties
12/05: NASCAR Could Learn From The Snowball Derby [4]
November 2006
11/21: A Well Deserved Championship [1]
11/17: Wondering ... Wandering : Part III [6]
11/16: Wondering ... Wandering : Part II [3]
11/14: Homestead…Championship Possibilities Abound
11/14: Wondering...Wandering : Part I [3]
11/07: The Chase : No Changes Needed [4]
October 2006
10/31: NASCAR Should Not Protect Mediocrity [6]
10/24: An Indomitable Spirit Prevails At Hendrick Motorsports [7]
10/17: Misguided Loyalties [5]
10/10: Mark Martin Finds Part-Time Work Away From Roush...And It's OK [7]
10/03: Diversity : The Road To NASCAR's Future Growth [5]
September 2006
09/26: Tony Stewart : In Unfamiliar Territory [9]
09/19: Kevin Grubb Tests NASCAR's Drug Policy [4]
09/12: Mark Martin : Time To Change The Legacy [9]
09/05: Matt Kenseth : Hiding In Plain Sight [7]
August 2006
08/29: Bristol : A Pleasant Surprise [5]
08/22: It's Junior, Not Senior [30]
08/15: All Is Well Over At Richard Childress Racing [6]
08/08: Thanks For The Chase, Mr. France [11]
08/01: Robert Yates Racing : A Sinking Ship? [6]
July 2006
07/25: Consequences For NASCAR Rich & Poor Not the Same [8]
07/18: The Juan Pablo Epidemic [18]


Turn 5 Archive
November 2007
11/15: Turn 5 - The Fat Lady's Humming...At Least! [1]
11/08: Turn 5: It's More A Matter of Who is Winning! [1]
11/01: Turn 5 - Cooter County Ethanol: A Fitting Solution For NASCAR! [1]
October 2007
10/25: Turn 5 - Drivin' Scared: Time For Some Tae Bo?
10/18: Turn 5: What I meant to say was...
10/11: Turn 5: Talla-Booooring! [2]
10/04: What's Next For NASCAR...Race-A-Mania?
September 2007
09/27: Turn 5: Updating the "8" [1]
09/20: NASCAR: Foreign Vehicles and Complicated Mathamatics [1]
09/13: Turn 5: The Chase and the "Junior Rule" [7]
09/06: Turn 5: Phil Departs DEI; Pride Intact!
August 2007
08/30: More Important Than The No. 8? [1]
08/23: Turn 5 - A Longshot Candidate For DEI Holds Out Hope
08/16: Turn 5: Who Will Be the "Odd Man" out at DEI
08/09: Time to Free the 8! [6]
08/02: Turn 5: An Army of Two?
July 2007
07/26: Turn 5: Call Me Intimidator [2]
07/25: Best of Turn 5 - Raggin' On Junior
07/25: Best of Turn 5 - DEI's New Driver In Training
07/23: Best of Turn 5 - Charming D.E.I.
07/22: Best of Turn 5 - Turning The Other Cheek
07/21: Best Of Turn 5 - Them NASCAR Boys And Their Magic Rule Book Changer
07/20: Best of Turn 5 - Phil Can't Find The Rule Book, Either
07/19: Best of Turn 5: Phil Chases His Dream
07/12: Raggin' on Junior
07/05: Sabotaging Kyle's Job Search [2]
June 2007
06/30: Turn 5: "DEI's New Driver In Training Program" [1]
06/21: Turn 5 - All Hell Breaks Loose In Cooter County [3]
06/14: Turn 5 - D.E.I. Negotiations Progressing Smoothly
06/07: Turn 5 - Phil lays out the man charm
May 2007
05/31: Turn 5 - Mystery owner in secret negotiations with Dale Jr and Budweiser?
05/24: Turn 5 Cartoon : What Pork Chop And Tony Eury, Jr. Have In Common
05/17: Turn 5 - Dale Jr.'s Contract Gets In The Way
05/10: Turn 5 - Phil Needs a Backup
05/03: Turn 5 - An Odd Way To Celebrate A Win [1]
April 2007
04/26: Turn 5
04/19: Turn 5 - Phil plans the Filler Garage Mahal
04/13: Turn 5 - Act Like You've Been There
04/05: Turn 5 : It's Got Four Wheels! What More Do You Want?
March 2007
03/29: Turn 5: Is Toyota THAT Desperate?
03/22: Turn 5 - Does Texican count as Diversity Mr France?
03/15: Turn 5 - I'm Phil Filler and I Want to be Your Driver!
03/08: Turn 5 - Mandatory UNretirement?
03/01: Turn 5 - Dale Jr Done? Say it Ain't So Sugar!
February 2007
02/22: Turn 5 - Them NASCAR Boys and Their Magic Rule Changer [1]
02/15: Turn 5 - Phil Can't Find the Rule Book Either [3]
02/11: Turn 5 - Phil Chases His Dream [3]
02/07: Turn 5 Cartoon Debut [1]