JACKSON, Minn. — Parker Price-Miller knew going into this season that in order to accomplish his childhood dream of being a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion, he would have to set out on the road regularly.
He took that step by launching his own No. 19 sprint car team, hopeful of claiming Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year honors in a field highlighted by the most talented drivers in the discipline.
However, that endeavor proved to be more challenging than the Kokomo, Ind., native anticipated.
Three top-10 finishes in the first 21 races of the World of Outlaws season left Price-Miller buried deep in the point standings and with a big decision to make for his immediate future.
He had gone through two crew chiefs in four months and nothing was working the way he needed it to.
“We had a crew chief early on in the year,” Price-Miller explained during the World of Outlaws’ Showdown week in Brandon, S.D., and Jackson, Minn. “Things happened, and we ended up splitting up. Then we ended up hiring Tyler Swank. We had some good runs, but we had more bad runs than good runs. Things just weren’t clicking.
“Tyler’s a great guy — I just wasn’t clicking with him and he wasn’t clicking with me.”
That was evidenced by a pair of eighth-place finishes being Price-Miller’s best Outlaw runs of the season — a far cry from when he won last July with the Outlaws at 34 Raceway in Iowa with Dietz Motorsports.
“We ran quite a bit (of the schedule this year),” Price-Miller noted. “It’s grueling — especially when you’re not running good like we were. When you’re not running the Outlaw tour, you can go to the Outlaw races that you know — I’m good at this track, I’m gonna go run (with) the Outlaws there because I know I’m going to have a strong run there. Then you can run a lower race and somewhat get your confidence back.
“Against the Outlaws, you don’t really have time to really think about what you’re doing. You don’t have a night to give up.”
To salvage what he could, Price-Miller dropped off the Outlaw tour following the May 12 Gettysburg Clash at Pennsylvania’s Lincoln Speedway, choosing to focus on other racing endeavors where he could find them.
Since that time, Price-Miller has split his time between two rides, running select races in his own car but primarily taking the wheel of legendary mechanic Guy Forbrook’s black-and-orange No. 5.
Price-Miller linked up with Forbrook, a National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee as a crew chief, the same day he stepped away from the full World of Outlaws schedule.
“The same day we fell off (the WoO) tour, Forbrook called me and asked me if I wanted to run Knoxville that weekend,” Price-Miller said. “We ran that weekend and it’s led to where we are now. We’ve been fast together, so I’m going to keep running for him as much as I can.”
Price-Miller joins a list that includes Danny Lasoski, Jac Haudenschild, Terry McCarl, Johnny Herrera, Jeff Shepard, Sammy Swindell and, more recently, Ian Madsen and Gio Scelzi, as drivers who have piloted Forbrook’s famed No. 5 sprint car.
Though it’s a new situation, Price-Miller said he already feels comfortable working with the 11-time Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway champion owner who boasts nearly 300 feature wins during his legendary career. That was evidenced during their debut race together at Knoxville on May 15, when Price-Miller landed on the pole for the 20-lap 410 sprint car feature before it was postponed by rain.
Price-Miller finished third when that race was made up the following week. He later won a Northern Outlaw Sprint Ass’n feature at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D., with Forbrook on May 31.
“I really like working with Guy,” Price-Miller said. “He’s good for me. Everyone says he’s hard to drive for — he’s not like that with me. It’s good for me, I think. We work well together. We keep getting faster and, hopefully, we can go win some races.”
Long-term, however, Price-Miller said he’ll have to find a crew chief for his own team before fans can expect to see him make another run at the World of Outlaws calendar.
“Honestly, I’m really enjoying doing what I’m doing now — just picking and choosing running where I want and when I want,” noted Price-Miller, who turned 23 on May 2. “It would have to be a perfect deal for me to head back on the Outlaw tour. It’s something I want to do, though. I want to be a World of Outlaws champion someday — just like anyone out here.
“Whatever makes sense and whatever kind of crew chief I can find, if it’s something they want to do … I wouldn’t be opposed.”
Price-Miller and Forbrook will return to action during night two of the 43rd AGCO Jackson Nationals on Friday at Jackson (Minn.) Motorplex.