Conversation so far:
when was Mickey Thompson born?
CANNOTANSWER.
what was his early history like?
Tireless and innovative, he found success as a championship driver and instinctive automotive technician.
what did he do with him?
He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster.
what was special about the dragster?
moving the seat behind the rear axle to improve traction when existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of increasingly powerful custom engines.

Question: was it successful?
Self-contained rewrite: was the design successful?