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We are sad to report that legendary American road racer Dr. Dick Thompson, known to generations of fans as “The Flying Dentist”, passed away on September 14, 2014 from natural causes at the age of 94. Thompson began racing relatively late in life with no formal training, no engineering background, and no mechanical experience to draw upon, but he did have that innate ability that defines truly great racers. By the time he retired from the sport after 19 years he’d driven some of the greatest production and sports racing cars ever created, won class or overall wins in many of the world’s major racing venues, and earned an impressive nine SCCA national championships. Five of those championships were garnered racing Corvettes, the nameplate with which Thompson is most closely associated, and one that he helped save by transforming competition success into a better car and much improved sales figures beginning in 1956.

Thompson was a 2000 Corvette Hall of Fame inductee.

more info:

Dr. Dick Thompson (born in 1920 or 1921, Died September 14, 2014) was a retired American racecar driver. A Washington, D.C. dentist by trade, he is known as "The Flying Dentist". He won numerous Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) championships and was inducted in the Corvette Hall of Fame. Thompson brought credibility to the Corvette as a world-class sports car. Active from the late 1950s until the 1970s, Thompson raced for several notable racers, including the factory Corvette team for John Fitch and Briggs Cunningham.

Thompson started racing in 1952 in one of the first 12 hour races at Sebring International Raceway. He drove to the track in his MG TD, and co-drove the car to an eighth place finish. He caught Corvette engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov's eye in 1956, when Thompson was the only driver to compete in a production Corvette. He won the SCCA championship in his Corvette in 1956, 1957, 1960, 1961 and 1962 in Classes A, B and C. He was selected to test drive a new Corvette Grand Sport at Sebring in December 1962. In 1963, he drove a Corvette Grand Sport to victory at Watkins Glen International. He took third place that year at Daytona International Speedway and won the GT class in 1970.

Thompson used his knowledge of the Corvette to write The Corvette Guide in 1958. He never made enough money to cover more than his expenses. He had never quit his dentistry business, so he decided to concentrate on that business full-time. He has raced occasionally in events since his retirement. He lived in Wellington, Florida as of October 2007.


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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

 A True messinger of the sport. May his memory never fade and his accomplishments recorded in the hearts of the fans.

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