Thompson has racing in her blood

By Ken de la Bastide

Coming from a family in which her grandfather and father were racers, it’s easy to understand how Ashton Thompson developed a passion for the sport. Thompson, 21, started racing at the age of 6 and plans to run the full season with the Kenyon Midget Series.

It's not surprising with her family heavily involved in open wheel racing that Thompson started her career in quarter-midgets. Thompson said she was playing soccer for the YMCA and didn’t want to play soccer anymore. “My dad said we can get a race car,” she explained. “That’s how I got started.”

For four years she raced the quarter-midget and then had to take a decade off because her father’s employment situation changed. “We sold everything,” Thompson explained. “We did some go-karting and started racing in a Legends car for a few races. Once racing is in your blood, it’s always there.”

She tested a Formula 4 car at South Carolina Motorsports Park and had an opportunity for a full-time ride, but the $250,000 cost was prohibitive. “We didn’t know what direction we were going to take,” Thompson said. “We were told about the Kenyon Series and liked that it was open wheel, affordable and all the competitors used the same motors.”

A graduate of Salem High School, Thompson is a senior at Indiana University South East studying psychology and communications. “I wanted to have something to fall back on if a career in racing didn’t work out,” she laughed.

Thompson is looking forward to the practice session at Anderson Speedway in March and testing the Kenyon Midget on the quarter-mile track at Salem Speedway. The family purchased a midget from Nathan Foster that has been repainted purple and will carry the number 23 for the season.

Thompson said they have some local sponsors for the 2022 season and signed a deal with the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition as a sponsor. “I’m their first sports ambassador,” she said.

Thompson hopes that her experience with the Kenyon Midget Series and driving a ARCA style car at Salem Speedway will lead to a career in NASCAR.