John Ashley Thomson (April 9, 1922 – September 24, 1960) was an American racecar driver. Thomson was nicknamed "the Flying Scot." He won several championships in midgets and sprint cars before competing in Championship Car (now IndyCar) racing. He won the pole position for the 1959 Indianapolis 500.

Background Thomson was born on April 9, 1922, to William and Marion Ross Thomson. He graduated from Lowell High School then the New England Aircraft School.

Thompson served in the United States Air Force as a crew chief during World War II in Corsica and Italy between 1942 and 1945 on a B-25 bomber. Thomson was awarded five service stars and the Distinguished Air Force Medal.

Thomson met his future wife Evelyn Peterson in 1951. He moved from the Springfield, Massachusetts, area to a five-acre ranch that he built near Boyertown, Pennsylvania, in the mid 1950s.

Midget cars Thomson began watching races at a track across the street from his home in 1937 and 1938 in Lowell. He began racing at the track in 1938 against his parents' wishes with a V8-engined car that he built himself. After returning from the war, he resumed racing midgets at the Bay State Racing Association. His first win happened at Seekonk Speedway in 1946 and he won seven times in 1947.

Thomson won the 1948 United Car Owners Association (UCOA) New England title after winning 32 midget events. He won his second UCOA title in 1949; he also race in some American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) events. He switched to the ARDC in 1950 to finish fifth in points and took second in points in 1951.

Thompson won the 1952 AAA Eastern division midget car championship after winning twice at Williams Grove Speedway.

Championship cars Thomson drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1953-1960 seasons with 69 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 races in each season. He finished in the top ten 43 times, with seven victories. His best Indy finish was third in 1959 after starting the race on the pole position. Roy Sherman, the first National Midget Champion, was his chief mechanic for several Indy 500s.Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame

Thomson won his first champ car race at the Milwaukee Mile in 1955. He ended up finishing third in season points after having to sit out the middle part of the season while healing from a end over end flip at the Langhorne Speedway circle. He clipped Jerry Hoyt's car while in the lead; he broke five ribs, bruised his vertebrae, broke his shoulder in eight places. In 1957, Thomson won at Langhorne; he also earned two pole positions. In October, he crashed at the California State Fairgrounds Race Track suffering internal injuries. In 1958, he finished third with wins at the Springfield Mile, DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, California Fairgrounds, and Syracuse Mile. He earned two pole positions in 13 starts. In 1959, he raced primarily in champ cars and finished third in national points after a win at Milwaukee plus three fast times. He had a wreck in a sprint car race at Williams Grove in September and missed the rest of the season.

Thomson was the first driver to win a dirt track race in less than an hour at Langhorne Speedway. His champ car's average speed was 100.174 miles per hour.

Sprint cars Thomson made his first "Big Car" (now sprint car) start in September 1952 at the Vermont State Fairgrounds. He primarily raced on the AAA Eastern circuit in 1953; he finished ninth after winning at Altamont, New York. Thomson won the Eastern AAA Big Car championship in 1954 after winning eight events. AAA ended sanctioning after the 1955 season and it was replaced by the United States Automobile Club (USAC) in 1956. He continued in the Eastern Division in 1956 and had wins at Williams Grove, Trenton Speedway, and Reading Fairgrounds Speedway; he finished second in points behind Tommy Hinnershitz. Thomson's sprint car races in 1957 were primarily in the USAC Eastern division; he won twice at Reading and once at the Allentown fairgrounds to finish third in points. Thomas returned from injury to win the first 1958 USAC Sprint Car Series Eastern race at Williams Grove; he followed up with two wins at Reading and one at Allentown to win the Eastern championship.

Death On September 24, 1960, Thomson was racing in a USAC Sprint Car at the Great Allentown Fair at the Allentown Fairgrounds. On a rutty and dry track, his car flipped and crashed through the backstretch fence and flipped into the infield. He was thrown out of the car and was pinned underneath the car after it stopped rolling. His leg was broken, and he died several hours later at Allentown General Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, at age 38. His friend Tommy Hinnershitz announced his retirement from racing shortly after Thomson's death.

Thomson was survived by his wife and four sons (Dale, Dana, David and Darryl).

Career awards Thomson was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1996 and the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1997.

Television Appearance Thomson was a contestant on Bud Collyer's "Beat The Clock".

Complete AAA/USAC Championship Car results Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Points 1953 INDY32 MIL13 SPR DET SPR MIL DUQ PIK SYR ISF SAC PHX - 0 1954 INDY24 MILDNS LAN DARDNQSPR MIL DUQ PIK SYR9ISFSAC PHX LVG 43rd 40 1955 INDY4 MIL1 LAN15 SPR MIL DUQ PIK SYR5 ISF2 SAC2 PHX2 3rd 1.380 1956 INDY32 MIL2 LAN18 DAR9 ATL3 SPR10 MIL14 DUQ2 SYR3 ISF16 SACDNP PHX 10th 710 1957 INDY12 LAN1 MIL2 DET18 ATL17 SPR14 MIL4 DUQ2 SYR3 ISF17 TRE2 SAC14 PHX 7th 1.110 1958 TRE3 INDY23 MIL4 LAN18 ATL3 SPR1 MIL22 DUQ1 SYR1 ISF2 TRE2 SAC1 PHX14 3rd 1.520 1959 DAY7 TRE20 INDY3 MIL1 LANDNQ SPR4 MIL2 DUQ16 SYR16 ISFWth TRE SAC PHX 3rd 1.400 1960 TRE20 INDY5 MIL18 LANDNQ SPR9 MIL23 DUQ9 SYR4 ISF5 TRE SAC PHX 7th 800 Reference:

Indianapolis 500 results

YearCarStartQualRankFinishLapsLedRetired19535633135.262333260Ignition1954434138.78712241650Stalled19554433134.1133342000Running19568818145.549232220Spun FS19571011143.5294121995Flagged1958722142.9082023520Steering195931145.9081 3rd20040Running1960317146.4433520010RunningTotals104455

Starts8Poles1Front Row1Wins0Top 53Top 103Retired4

World Championship career summary The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Thomson participated in eight World Championship races. He started on the pole once, set one fastest lead lap, and finished on the podium once, accumulating a total of ten World Championship points.

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