Schmidt signs Parker Nicklin

Sam Schmidt has signed Parker Nicklin as a development driver for USF2000 for next year.

Then if he wins a couple of races, he probably moves up to Indy Lights the next year. And if he wins a couple of races in Lights, he probably gets to drive in the Indianapolis 500 not too long after that, because almost everybody who drives for Schmidt in Indy Lights goes on to drive at Indy on Memorial Day weekend in the big one.

That’s the plan anyway. Pedal to the metal, but not while texting with friends. The reason Parker Nicklin has a big Nevada Highway Patrol decal on his car is “Just Let It Ring," a program to curb texting while driving for which he is a spokesman.

“I’d say it goes back to when I was 3 or 4, when I was at the Long Beach Grand Prix when my dad (Steve, a former downtown craps dealer) had me on his shoulders," the youngster said about developing a passion for formula-style racecars. “I saw the cars passing by. I remember the sound and the speed.