submitted by Randy Thompson
Randy Thompson , center , celebrates after a win .
Now 38 years later , Thompson rattles off the names of dirt track racers , car owners and innovations in the sport from decades past because he ’ s been around it ever since .
“ Dirt track racing back in the day , it got a bad name . Drinking and fighting . … It isn ’ t that way anymore ,” Thompson said . “ It ’ s more family-oriented .
“ Every once in a while you ’ ll still have a disagreement with some of them , and they ’ ll have to separate them , but it still does good ,” he said .
Thompson spent a brief time behind the wheel before deciding he needed
“ That ’ s how I got hooked a long time ago ,” said Thompson , who owns Thompson Auto Repair in Meridian . “ I worked for him in the evening time , and then I would go with him to the races and help him work on the car .”
Thompson got into dirt track racing as an owner in 1985 , a year after buying his first car , an old Chevy that still sits in his Meridian auto shop . He tore the Chevy down to its frame and built it back up with the help of James Walley from Ellisville , Mississippi .
Thompson searches for a wrench in his tool chest . more wins and fewer damaged cars to be able to foot the bill for his business and his hobby because he did not want to take the money out of his family ’ s pockets .
Over the years , more than two dozen drivers have raced his cars , including the legendary dirt track racer Johnny Barr , but Thompson has always been the brains behind the setup .
“ I tore up too much stuff , so I hired Johnny Barr to drive my race car because he was a professional ,” Thompson said . “ He ’ d done it for a long time and won a bunch of races , so I knew if I had him in my race car I could win races and I could put that money back in the car .”
At first , Thompson was putting together his own bodies with aluminum sheets and a tin smith . But , before long he was buying four cars a year and turning them into winners before selling his masterpieces .
“ I ’ d sell them and buy another new one ,” Thompson said . “ Just like new shoes , they feel better and wear better , don ’ t they ? Race cars are the same way ,” he said . “ It ’ s a sickness to own one of these things because if you love it , you ’ ll never get it out of your system ,” he said . “ You
24 • MERIDIAN LIFE