10-year-old Davenport driver makes it a routine
If you ask Tanner Thompson about all the races he’s won, he’ll just shrug and tell you his favorite thing about it is meeting new friends.
Tanner - who is No. 21 on the track - started racing when he was six for fun. Today - at the grand old age of 10 - he has so many awards that his parents, Shane and Chelsie Thompson, are quickly running out of space in their home to display them. Trophies and plaques snake around the dining room into the living room and even take up part of the dining room table. More medallions fill the walls of Tanner’s racing- themed bedroom. Most recently, Tanner won the East Series Championship with Ultra4 USA and is in the top three to win the West Series Championship. According to his father Shane, they have one more West Coast race to find out where Tanner places before they travel to Lake Havasu in Arizona for the national championship.
Tanner competes in two types of racing - quad pit bike (or ATV pit bike) and SXS short course - in a limited RZR 170 and mod 170. He competes in about 20 to 24 races per season which has the Thompson family traveling all over the country. He’s raced in Sturgis, South Dakota; Wisconsin; and Redding, Pennsylvania, just to name a few. In the last few years, he’s competed in easily over a hundred races, according to his parents.
So, what is Tanner’s secret to success? He says when he’s behind the wheel, he just focuses on keeping on all fours, which is actually the hardest part. And keeping an eye on where he’s going.
“And make sure you don’t see any crashes in,” he added.
Crashes are a natural part of racing, and Tanner’s had a few, though one at Lake Havasu stands out.
“I lost my steering wheel when I went up a giant barrier and landed in a 25-foot ditch,” he calmly explained. “And then I had to do it again.”
Shane said that right after that race, Tanner got in his other car and did another 30-minute race.
Tanner said it’s exciting when he wins. His parents echoed that though Shane said they’re always a nervous wreck watching him.
“We win some. We lose some. As long as the car rolls back into the trailer, that’s a win,” Tanner’s mother Chelsie said. “We’re very proud of him.
Winning seems to be something Tanner does well. His list of races may be long, but his list of wins runs a close second. He started back in 2019 with MidAmerica Outdoors (MAO) - which he’s been an ambassador for since 2022 - and completes in all of their races every season. In MAO’s week-long Visions race, he won third place in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Tanner was Rookie of the Year at Best in the Desert in 2021 and won first place in 2022.
He’s also taken second place in the Mint 400 in Las Vegas. He was on the cover of Dirt Wheels magazine for the September 2023 issue.
And that’s just a few. Tanner’s also been invited to race snowmobiles up in Canada and race in the desert in Cabo San Lucas.
Thankfully, racing doesn’t cut into his schoolwork. With Davenport only having class four days a week, Tanner’s free to go out and race every weekend. The fourth grader at Davenport Elementary School has also made the superintendent’s honor roll twice in a row.
“Tanner is a great kid and very humble,” said Davenport Principal Misty Emmons. “We are very proud of him and the success he has had so far.”
For now, Tanner says he wants to keep racing for fun. With an army of sponsors, both local and national, behind him, that seems more than possible.
Up next on Tanner’s race schedule is the last Ultra4 race in the West Coast series on Sep. 30.