By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Parker Thompson burning up the Pro Mazda circuit

Jun 21, 2018 | 10:54 AM

Parker Thompson, Red Deer’s very own professional race car driver, is tearing it up on the track this season.

Through seven Pro Mazda races, the 20-year-old has three wins, matching his total from last year on the lower USF2000 Championship, and in half as many races.

The impressive output has him in the points lead and 40 points up on the next best driver.

“One bad race can change that,” he says. “So knock on wood hopefully we just keep rolling the way we are. The team’s doing fantastic.”

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Among the highlights of the season so far is a win for Thompson at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway back on May 12. This weekend, he looks to conquer Road America in Wisconsin.

“To come, we’ve got the Toronto Indy which is my favourite race. That’s coming up in July. Last year, we won both races there,” he remembers with glee. “Having the only Canadian team (in the championship), that race means a lot to us. There are a lot of emotional-filled events.”

Meanwhile, Thompson continues his Drive to Stay Alive campaign by going into Canadian and American schools to talk about the perils of distracted driving.

In 2017, he estimates his talks reached 100,000 students, with another 50 events scheduled this year between being a professional race car driver.

“I’m extremely passionate about it. It’s one of the things that really needs to change, not only in the community of Red Deer, but across Canada and North America,” he says. “It’s really struck a lot of families and hopefully our campaign does it’s part in ending distracted driving.”

You can catch the live stream of Parker’s races on Friday and Saturday at IndyCar.com.