Sam Schmidt signs local kid to drive his fast cars

The story goes that when Parker Nicklin of Las Vegas thought he wanted to drive in the Indianapolis 500, Sam Schmidt, the local IndyCar team owner, invited the youngster to his Lake Las Vegas home for some soul-searching.

Schmidt, the story continues, showed young Nicklin the special place in his home where a white and black IndyCar, No. 99, sits on display. This was the car in which Schmidt won his only IndyCar race, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, sporting Elvis Presley sideburns in 1999.

A few months later, Schmidt would suffer terrible injuries in a testing crash while driving the No. 99 car. Those injuries put Schmidt in a wheelchair. That was 14 years ago, and he’s still in the wheelchair. Sam Schmidt is paralyzed from the shoulders down, though you’d never know it from his attitude and from what he has accomplished since his driving career ended.

It was then Sam Schmidt supposedly asked young Parker Nicklin if he still wanted to drive an IndyCar.

“Absolutely true,” the 18-year-old said in retelling the story Monday afternoon.

We were standing in that special place in Sam Schmidt’s trophy room, adjacent to the foyer of his home that looks like one of those not-so-humble abodes you see on Home and Garden TV.

Sam had invited local media to his home to introduce young Parker Nicklin as a development driver for his up-and-coming race team that finished third in the IndyCar championship last season and again this season. It has been a hell of a ride, two of ’em, for Schmidt’s outfit that is only modestly funded, at least in comparison to what the top teams spend.

What does a development driver do?

Well, next year, he gets a ride in an introductory series for Indy-style cars, and 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.

“Then when I was 6, I got into go-karts ...”

Confident that none of the local media was going to steal anything, Schmidt rolled up to chat about his new young driver. Earlier Monday, it was officially announced that Frenchman Simon Pagenaud, who had won four races for Schmidt the past two years, was leaving to drive for Roger Penske, which in auto racing is like leaving to play shortstop for the Yankees.

Schmidt said he couldn’t discuss Pagenaud’s replacement because the sponsors like to bring in fine meats and cheeses and pretty girls dressed in form-fitting outfits when those announcements are made. But if it’s the guy I think it is, it won’t be a big drop-off from Pagenaud, as good as the Frenchman is.

Perhaps in a couple of years, should this happen again, Schmidt will only have to go as far as his own backyard, or thereabouts, to find his new driver.

“Not that I like to borrow anything from NASCAR, because I usually don’t do that, but the reality is you’ve seen the evolution of driver development programs in NASCAR, and I think we’re at the point where we need to start looking at the same stuff,” Schmidt said as root beer-flavored chocolate milk — not as good as plain white milk at Indy, but a close second — was being served.

Schmidt says he’s always out at the big karting meets, looking for kids who can drive, and that’s where he first spotted his young protege.

“Obviously Parker’s a local guy,” Schmidt said, “but I think if you’re going to make it to this level, you have to be talented and win races and win championships and all that. But what he’s done with the no-texting, no-driving program, he’s clearly committed. Some people are prima donnas, expect it to be handed to them on a silver platter. He’s not that way.

“If the association with our team can help him get to the next level, great.”

Schmidt said Parker was a good kid despite his father, and for a split second nobody laughed, because although Schmidt is the nicest guy you’ll meet, he’s like Roger Penske when it comes to cracking wise.

I made a mental note of the laughter, and the scene, in case there comes a day when Parker Nicklin and Sam Schmidt drink milk together at Indy instead of in his dining room. And then, speaking on behalf of the local media, I promised Sam we would not come to his home trick-or-treating.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski.