Brayton Laster is the ‘Pizza Man’ of Race Automotive Driving

• Greenwood, Indiana native Brayton Laster mixed his ardour for race automobile driving and pizza in his profession as an up-and-coming NASCAR star.
• Recognized for his pizza-themed apparel and racing helmet, Laster hopes to discover a pizza trade sponsor as he strikes to the following stage.

If there’s one factor Brayton Laster loves as a lot as race automobile driving, it’s pizza. The Greenwood, Indiana native has mixed these two passions in his motorsports profession and is constructing a reputation for himself because the “Pizza Man” of NASCAR, full with a slice-themed racing helmet that has change into his trademark.

Now all he wants is a company sponsor within the pizza trade to finish the pizza bundle.

Laster made his NASCAR Tenting World Truck Sequence debut in June. On February 18, he’ll compete within the opening race of the ARCA Menards Sequence season at Daytona Worldwide Speedway and within the third race of the yr at Talladega Superspeedway on April 22.

In his middle-school days, Laster sported a pizza-themed backpack to highschool and by no means missed an opportunity to seize a pizza slice whereas racing go-karts on the Indianapolis Speedrome, which helped him earn his nickname. He’s identified for sporting pizza-themed apparel, together with ties, pants and sneakers. His Pit Highway signal even contains a smiling pepperoni slice with the phrases, “Pizza Man.”

“I turned often called the pizza child all through faculty and racing,” Laster, who’s now 20, advised Information from the Pits. “It type of turned extra of a persona trait than something. I wish to be identified for one thing that makes me distinctive but additionally makes me approachable, and all people can relate to pizza.”

As a child, Laster watched his dad, Dane “Bartman” Laster, racing Outlaw Determine 8 vehicles and needed to comply with in his father’s tracks, so to talk. He began racing go-karts on the age of eight and ultimately moved up within the Roadrunner division. In his first Roadrunner race, he completed in eighth place towards grownup racers.

At 15, he began racing filth late fashions and was named Rookie of the 12 months at Brownstown Speedway.

In line with his web site, Brayton made function begins in 2021 within the Lucas Oil Late Mannequin Filth Sequence, World of Outlaws Late Mannequin Sequence, and the Final Coronary heart of America Tremendous Late Mannequin Sequence along with different touring collection. He recorded a 3rd place run in factors at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Kentucky, and a third place in factors in his first try of operating a full touring collection with the Final Coronary heart of America collection.

Final yr, he completed thirteenth at Daytona in his nationwide collection debut with Mullins Racing and completed twenty sixth at Talladega after a wreck threw him out of the highest 15.

Additionally in 2022, Laster and his household based Drive for Humanity, a nonprofit targeted on homelessness and starvation points. “Indianapolis is an enormous homeless space,” he advised Speedway Digest. “I’ve all the time type of had a delicate spot, particularly this time of yr when it will get actually chilly. We all the time exit and hand out meals. We’ll give them gloves and sweatpants.”

Racing sponsorship has been a preferred type of advertising and marketing because the early twentieth century, so it’s no shock that Laster want to entice a company sponsor from the pizza trade. He additionally employs extra high-tech advertising and marketing ways, together with a sturdy and fast-growing social media presence.

“The plan is to get Brayton in at the very least six to eight extra ARCA races this yr, however, truthfully, plenty of that is determined by funding,” Dane Laster advised PMQ. “The remainder of these races could be based mostly on the desire of our advertising and marketing companions. For instance, I do know that plenty of the large pizza corporations appear to be out of the Detroit space, so they could wish to see Brayton compete on the Michigan ARCA race since it’s near them and the executives may come out to observe.”

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