OSKALOOSA, Iowa (May 6, 2024) – The details of Brayton Carter’s racing career are recorded in a growing collection of notebooks, detailing everything from where he started to where he finished.
The footnote to the May 6 Monday Night Madness main event at Independence Motor Speedway was that it was the 100th feature win of his Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod career.
“It’s huge,” the Oskaloosa driver said after becoming just the ninth driver in division history to reach the triple digit mark. “We’ve always tried to be consistent. We’ve gone out every race and tried to do our best.”
Carter has consistently been among the best in the class since his rookie campaign and particularly over the last five seasons, averaging 16 feature wins per.
He’s captured five track championships, including three straight at Stuart Speedway from 2020-2022, and is coming off a career-best 23-win campaign last year.
Four of those 2023 checkers came at Indee, where Carter has now won all five of his career starts.
“I like tracks like Marshalltown, Stuart, Cedar County and Independence, where you have to get your elbows up,” he said. “We’ve been very fortunate every night we’ve gone to Independence and gotten good draws, although one night last year we won from 11th. It’s a track where you can use your momentum and it just fits my driving style. My car has been good and they’ve had a nice, smooth track every night we’ve been there.”
Carter is part of a three-generation race team that includes grandfather Jimmy – “the guy in charge” – his father B.J., mother and keeper of the notebooks Julie, and brother Cayden, runner-up in Monday’s IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature at Independence.
Cousins Carter VanDenBerg and Dylan VanWyk will be back in the IMCA ranks as well in 2024.
“Cayden and I raced against each other in go karts,” said Carter, who picked up the nickname Speedy Bray courtesy of his grandfather at the age of seven or eight. “He’s always answered all the questions we had about things like setup. He’s another reason why we’ve been as good as we are.”
Carter interned at and has worked for Musco Lighting since earning an industrial technology degree at William Penn five years ago.
He’ll race at weekly and select events in Iowa and the Midwest again this summer and looks to make the Big Dance for the sixth time in his career at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s in September.
“We’ve always enjoyed the cost and the competition in the class,” said Carter, the first IMCA driver in any division to reach 100 wins this season. “It’s fun to be able to race three nights a week and not have to spend so much time in the shop.”
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