Life Fast Lane in the

Brayton Laster, the “Pizza Man” of NASCAR, hopes to find a corporate sponsor from the pizza industry as his racing career speeds up.

BY RICK HYNUM PHOTOS COURTESY BRAYTON LASTER

You don’t need a gimmick to stand out in the racing world, but it doesn’t hurt, either. Brayton “The Pizza Man” Laster, a rising NASCAR star, came by his nickname organically: Since childhood, the Greenwood, Indiana, native has loved pizza almost as much as racing.

As a middle-schooler, Brayton wore a pizza-themed jacket and backpack to school and never missed a chance to grab a slice of Papa John’s pizza while racing Junior Faskarts—basically a go-kart with a cage—at the Indianapolis Speedrome, a pastime he adopted at just eight years old. The son of retired NASCAR driver Dane “Bartman” Laster, Brayton grew up watching his dad racing Outlaw Figure 8 cars and knew early on that he wanted to be a race car driver, too.

You might say he got off to a speedy start. After the Junior Faskarts, he moved up in the Roadrunner division and was soon driving full-fledged race cars with V8 engines. In his first Roadrunner race, he finished in 8th place against adult drivers. At 15, he was named Rookie of the Year at Brownstown Speedway in 2018.

Now 20, Brayton splits his time between racing and online classes from Liberty University, with a major in business.

Behind the wheel, Brayton is known for his eye-catching pizza helmet, festooned with pepperoni slices, and his brightorange racing uniform. Off the track, he sports a similar sartorial motif in his shirts, ties, pants and shoes.

While still in his teens, Brayton made feature starts in 2021 in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, World of Outlaws Late Model Series, and the Ultimate Heart of America Super

Late Model Series, in addition to other touring series. He recorded a third-place run in points at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Kentucky, and a third place in points in his first full touring series with the Ultimate Heart of America series.

Last year, he finished 13th at Daytona International Speedway in his national series debut with Mullins Racing and came in 26th at Talladega Superspeedway after a wreck on the 48th lap threw him out of the top 15. Brayton also made his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Knoxville Speedway in Knoxville, Tennessee, in June 2022.

But racing and pizza aren’t all Brayton cares about. In 2022, he and his family founded Drive for Humanity, a nonprofit focused on homelessness and hunger issues. “Indianapolis is a big homeless area,” he told Speedway Digest. “I’ve always kind of had a soft spot, especially this time of year when it gets really cold. We always go out and hand out food. We’ll give them gloves and sweatpants.”

His racing career will likely pick up momentum this year. On February 18, 2023, he was scheduled to compete in the opening race of the ARCA Menards Series season at Daytona International Speedway (that race took place after press time) and to run the third race of the year at Talladega Superspeedway on April 22.

Racing sponsorship has been a popular form of marketing for drivers since the early 20th century, so it’s no surprise that Brayton would like to attract a corporate sponsor from the pizza industry. He also employs more high-tech marketing tactics, including a website and a robust social media presence.

“The plan is to get Brayton in at least six to eight more ARCA races this year, but, honestly, a lot of that depends on funding,” Dane Laster told PMQ. “The rest of those races would be based on the preference of our marketing partners. For example, I know that a lot of the big pizza companies seem to be out of the Detroit area, so they may like to see Brayton compete at the Michigan ARCA race [taking place August 4 at the Michigan International Speedway], since it is close to them and the executives could come out to watch.”

Are you listening, Buddy’s Pizza or Little Caesars?