Parker Thompson celebrates after winning one of two times at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida this month with Abel Motorsports. (Parker Thompson Racing)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Driving to stay alive

Parker Thompson hoping double checkered flag will lead to greater things

Mar 30, 2019 | 2:00 PM

The stars are finally aligning, maybe, for Red Deer racing wiz Parker Thompson.

The 21-year-old recently signed a one-event contract with Abel Motorsports to race the first weekend of the season in St. Petersburg, Florida earlier this month.

The speedster won not once, but twice, plus took both pole positions and set a new track record.

But that’s where things get tricky because the Drive to Stay Alive founder still needs funding to continue on fighting for the Indy Pro 2000 title through the summer.

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After finishing second in the rankings in 2018 as a driver for Exclusive Autosport, Thompson says conversations are taking place to get him to the finish line and a prize of $800,000 — a sum which would allow him to possibly hitch a ride in Indy Lights for 2020.

“We have a month and a half to go rob a bank before we go racing in Indianapolis,” he jokes.

At Indianapolis in 2018, Thompson came in first and fifth in that weekend’s races. After getting off to a hot start and a 60-point lead, malfunctions reigned supreme and the team watched that advantage slip away in a fashion similar to what he says would be a hockey team going up 3-0 in the playoffs before dropping four straight.

“Junior open-wheel racing in North America is not only incredibly competitive on the track, but also off the track, and there aren’t very many sponsors that are willing to pay to get a driver to Indy Car,” Thompson explains.

“It was a tough off-season, and I kind of have come to the realization that maybe I can’t make this Indy Car thing work out, maybe I have to look at other areas and kind of hedge my bets. But now this opportunity has come up and it’s a real chance at a championship.”

For now, Thompson not only remains optimistic a deal can be made, but he’s still riding the high of winning at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

“I’ve been smiling every day since I got off the track there. Most seasons, the first race of the year is super stressful, it’s the first race of the war and you want to come out swinging, but I looked at it as if it could be one of the last times I ever got to race there if I don’t find a ride,” he says.

“The performance in St. Pete has put me on the radar of a few different people, so it looks like I might be driving some other stuff too, so things work out sometimes.”

The next weekend of racing Thompson is hoping to be behind the wheel for is May 9-11 at the Indianapolis Grand Prix.