Tom Meehan

Although he drove a series of interesting cars, and always with success, Tom (“Tommy” as he was known) achieved his greatest fame as the second owner and second serious driver of the famous Pete Lovely “Pooper” which he helped develop and which he later converted to Weber carbs. Tom’s first race was in 1953 at Paine Field, in a pre-National club race in which he drove a 1953 VW convertible. Tom soon was working for Pete at the Empire Way, Seattle, VW dealership as a shop foreman. Pete told him, “I can’t pay you what you are worth, but we’ll have a lot of fun.” With Pete and George Keck, and others, he helped form the Team Empire racing team. Among other cars that Tom drove with distinction are a Formula Three Cooper that he raced all up and down the West Coast—best race, second at Laguna Seca; and the first Maserati in the Northwest. Tom’s memorable races include going toe-to-toe with Tom Luce at Deer Park in 1959 in the Pooper, a race in which both received the black flag but kept going, and numerous wins at Shelton and Westwood. Tom retired from racing to support a family. He passed away in 2016 in Snoqualmie, Washington.