Davidson, North Carolina IAME Junior Karting INEX Legend Car — Young Lions
Career highlights: 2023 USPKS Micro Swift national champion; 2024 Stars Championship Series Mini Swift national champion; SKUSA SuperNationals 26 podium; SKUSA SuperNationals 27 pole; maiden INEX Legend Car feature win in 2025.
The driver
Parker Ives races two disciplines at once — unsprung sprint karts on national road courses and a 1,250 lb coil-over Legend Car on Charlotte’s quarter mile — and debriefs both with a former NASCAR Cup Series crew chief.
Parker began racing in March 2020, aged five, on the red-clay oval at Millbridge Speedway in a ten-horsepower box stock kart. Two seasons on dirt built the car control and slip-angle instinct that still separate him when asphalt goes wet or greasy.
He moved to asphalt sprint karting with Ryan Perry Motorsport aboard Nitro Kart machinery, and by 2023 was the United States Pro Kart Series Micro Swift national champion — four wins from five rounds, and a clean sweep of the finale at Trackhouse Motorplex from pole over a record 41-kart field.
Don’t give up, keep trying, and learn. Parker Ives
In 2025 he added cars, debuting with MPM Direct in INEX Legend Car competition at Charlotte Motor Speedway and taking a maiden feature win in his first season. For 2026 he races the Young Lions division — the national class for drivers 12 to 16 — while continuing in KA100 and X30 Junior karting to keep the road-racing reflexes sharp.
The long-term target is not a secret: after a family trip to watch Hendrick Motorsports’ Garage 56 entry, his stated ambition is the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Starts racing at age five on the dirt oval at Millbridge Speedway in Salisbury, NC. Two full seasons on flat track build the car control and slip-angle instinct that later separate him on wet asphalt.
Dirt ovalMoves to sprint road racing after an introductory test at GoPro Motorplex (now Trackhouse Motorplex), joining Ryan Perry Motorsport aboard Nitro Kart machinery in the IAME Micro Swift cadet ranks.
IAME Micro SwiftWins four of five national feature rounds. Sweeps the championship finale at Trackhouse Motorplex — pole over a record 41-kart field by more than three tenths, every heat, and the main event.
ChampionQualifies second in Las Vegas against an international cadet field, sweeps all three heat races, starts SuperSunday from the inside pole and finishes on the national podium.
SKUSASteps up to heavier, faster machinery and wins the Carolina Grand Prix wire-to-wire — all 20 laps from pole, ten seconds clear. Finishes third in USPKS standings and takes the Stars Championship Series title.
ChampionDefends the Carolina Grand Prix by 0.10s after a calculated, defensive drive. Weeks later he makes his car racing debut in INEX Legend Cars with MPM Direct and scores his maiden feature win.
Kart + carAdvances to the INEX Young Lions Division — the premier national classification for drivers 12 to 16 — and runs at the front of the Cook Out Summer Shootout, taking the AFCO fastest-lap award in Round 5.
CurrentFather · Race engineer
A mechanical engineering graduate of Michigan Technological University who raced super late models before moving to North Carolina. Lead race engineer on the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 through five consecutive Cup Series titles, then a championship-winning crew chief at JR Motorsports with Chase Elliott. Runs Parker’s debriefs on tire temperature variance, roll centres, throttle modulation and telemetry.
Driver coach
A former national karting champion turned sports car endurance winner and NASCAR national series driver. Provided trackside instruction through Parker’s move from regional to national touring karting.
Driver coach
National karting champion and multi-discipline prospect who helped Parker adapt his racecraft to the high-grip national circuits.
Karting operation
Runs Parker’s Nitro Kart cadet and Tony Kart / Redspeed junior programmes, handling chassis engineering and setup across the USPKS and SKUSA national calendars.
The record
Every entry below is drawn from published series timing and trackside reporting — USPKS, SKUSA, the Stars Championship Series and INEX.
2023 USPKS Micro Swift · 2024 Stars Mini Swift
USPKS, Stars Championship Series and INEX
Dirt ovals at Millbridge Speedway, March 2020
AFCO Performance Award, Summer Shootout R5
| Season | Series | Division | Team | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | United States Pro Kart Series | Micro Swift | Nitro Kart / RPM | 1st — Champion | Four wins in five rounds; swept the Carolina GP |
| 2023 | SKUSA SuperNationals 26 | Micro Swift | Nitro Kart / RPM | 3rd — Podium | Swept all three heats; started on pole |
| 2023 | Stars Championship Series | Micro Swift | Nitro Kart / RPM | Top 3 overall | Multiple heat and feature race wins |
| 2024 | United States Pro Kart Series | Mini Swift | Nitro Kart / RPM | 3rd overall | Won the Carolina GP wire-to-wire |
| 2024 | Stars Championship Series | Mini Swift | Nitro Kart / RPM | 1st — Champion | Captured the national class title |
| 2024 | SKUSA SuperNationals 27 | Mini Swift | Nitro Kart / RPM | Pole award | Outqualified the international field for SuperSunday pole |
| 2025 | United States Pro Kart Series | Mini Swift | Nitro Kart / RPM | Part-time | Won the Carolina GP, defending the title |
| 2025 | INEX Cook Out Summer Shootout | Legends Chargers | MPM Direct #48 | Feature winner | Maiden car win; runner-up in Round 2 |
| 2025–26 | INEX Winter Heat | Legend Car — Roval | MPM Direct #48 | 2nd place | Road-course podium at the Charlotte Roval |
| 2026 | INEX Cook Out Summer Shootout | Legend Young Lions | MPM Direct #48 | Front-runner | AFCO fastest lap award — 17.213s |
No results in this discipline.
| Element | Sprint Kart — Cadet / Mini | Sprint Kart — Junior | Legend Car — Young Lions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chassis platform | Nitro Kart 950mm Cadet | Tony Kart / Redspeed 1045mm | US Legend Cars semi-elliptic coupe |
| Powertrain | IAME Swift 60cc two-stroke | IAME KA100 / X30 125cc | Yamaha 847cc three-cylinder sealed |
| Transmission | Single-speed centrifugal clutch | Direct drive centrifugal clutch | Five-speed sequential manual |
| Suspension | None — frame flex dynamics | None — frame flex dynamics | Independent front; coil-over solid axle |
| Operating weight | 245–265 lb with driver | 320–345 lb with driver | ~1,250 lb with driver |
| Operating team | Ryan Perry Motorsport / Ives Racing | Ryan Perry Motorsport | MPM Direct |
| Setup engineer | Greg Ives and Ryan Perry | Ryan Perry Motorsport staff | MPM Direct and Greg Ives |
Media
Print-resolution photography is available to accredited media on request — along with hero cards, headshots and a career fact sheet.
Latest
Weekend recaps, milestones and partner spotlights, written after the debrief rather than before it.
A 17.213s lap at the front of a 200-plus entry Summer Shootout field earned the AFCO Performance Award and confirmed front-running pace among the country’s top junior short-track drivers.
On the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, road-racing craft carried over to the Legend Car — running at the front against Peyton Worm and Marcus Wolfe before a second-place finish behind Theo Salomao.
Five rounds into a debut car season on the Charlotte quarter-mile, a first feature victory in a 1,250-pound coil-over stock car — the highlight of the early career so far.
INEX Series sits down with the No. 48 on dirt-track beginnings, the Le Mans ambition, and what it is like debriefing with a former Cup Series crew chief after every session.
Primary, associate and technical partnerships are available across both the national karting programme and the INEX Legend Car.
Partnership
Partners get more than a decal. The Ives Racing programme is engineer-led, documented after every session, and reports back with the same rigour it applies to setup.
Teams, chassis and component marques carried on the No. 48 equipment.
A ten-round Tuesday night series at Charlotte Motor Speedway drawing grandstand crowds and a streaming audience right through the summer.
One of the largest weekly short-track fields in American motorsport, with broad trade and enthusiast coverage.
A multi-state national karting calendar with eKartingNews trackside reporting, live timing and full-race streams.
Direct professional ties through Greg Ives to the Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports paddocks.
Contact