Brayton Laster (born August 28, 2002), nicknamed "the Pizza Man", is an American professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

driver. He competes full-time in the

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car racing, stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into ...

, driving the No. 0 and 06 for Wayne Peterson Racing.

Racing career

Early racing career

Laster would start racing

go-kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of small sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performanc ...

s at the age of eight at the

Indianapolis Speedrome The Indianapolis Speedrome is the oldest operating figure 8 track in the United States as it opened in 1941. It is believed by many historians that this is the first figure 8 track where cars intersect. The Speedrome is home to the World Figu ...

. Four years later, he would move on to racing Ford Thunderbirds and other various types of stock cars. According to Laster's dad, Dane, he would describe Brayton's equipment as a Frankenstein-esque vehicle, saying that "There’s times where I look back and I feel bad about some of the stuff I put him in over the years. But he’s had to drive his heart out, he’s had to learn to work on it to get speed out of it." For most of his career, Laster has driven the No. 13 along with green paint, both racing superstitions that are rumored to give bad luck. Laster said that he wanted both qualities as a satire to both superstitions.

ARCA Menards Series

Laster made his

debut in

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in the Lucas Oil 200 at the

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...

, driving the No. 03 car for Mullins Racing. Laster had a strong run, finishing 13th. He returned to the 03 car for the 2023 Daytona season-opener, finishing 27th. Laster would join

Fast Track Racing Fast Track Racing (also known as Fast Track High-Performance Racing or Fast Track Racing Enterprises) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes full time in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East, fie ...

for the race at Charlotte, finishing 19th. Later in the year, he drove the No. 31 car for Rise Motorsports in three races, finishing top ten in all three. On January 2, 2024, it was announced that Laster will join TC Motorsports for the season-opener at Daytona, driving the No. 91 car. It was later revealed that Laster would drive the No. 95 at Daytona, driving for MAN Motorsports in a partnership with TC Motorsports. He would ultimately fail to qualify for the race. Laster went on to make seven starts throughout the season following this, driving for

, Rise Motorsports, and Wayne Peterson Racing, finishing a best of 9th at Salem Speedway. On October 30, 2024, it was announced that Laster will run full-time in the

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, driving for Wayne Peterson Racing.

ARCA Menards Series East

In 2023, Laster made his

ARCA Menards Series East The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly known by other names) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Races are h ...

debut in the Music City 200 at the

Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway is a motorsport racetrack located at the Nashville Fairgrounds near downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The track is the second-oldest continually operating track in the United States. The track held NASCAR Grand Nati ...

driving for Fast Track Racing. A fuel pressure issue would sideline him and he would ultimately finish 14th. Later in the year, he would also makes starts in the ARCA/ ARCA East combination races at Iowa Speedway and Indianapolis Raceway Park. In 2024, Laster's only East start came at the Indianapolis Raceway park combination race, where he finished 19th driving for Wayne Peterson Racing.

ARCA Menards Series West

In 2024, Laster made his

ARCA Menards Series West The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series, NASCAR Winston Transcontinental Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series ow ...

debut in the General Tire 150 ARCA/ ARCA West combination race, driving for

. He started 35th and finished 37th after retiring from the event after 17 laps.

Craftsman Truck Series

On April 28, 2022, it was announced that Laster would make his truck debut in the Clean Harbors 150 at

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

with Reaume Brothers Racing. He would start the race 31st and finish 27th.

Personal life

Laster is nicknamed "The Pizza Man" for his love of pizza. According to Laster, he was self-proclaimed obsessed with pizza, which started with the

selling pizza for concessions. It then "became my identity", and he was reported wearing numerous clothes that looked like pizza throughout middle school, earning the nickname from teachers. The nickname eventually moved over to his racing career. Laster was an online student at

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

. Laster plays

Roblox Roblox (, ) is an online game platform and game creation system developed by Roblox Corporation that allows users to program and play games created by themselves or other users. It was created by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel in 200 ...

Racing for fun.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

Camping World Truck Series

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Menards Series

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Menards Series East

ARCA Menards Series West

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laster, Brayton 2002 births Living people ARCA Menards Series drivers NASCAR drivers Racing drivers from Indianapolis People from Greenwood, Indiana Sportspeople from Johnson County, Indiana 21st-century American sportsmen