Bradley Fezard entered the toughest stint of his career when he joined the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) National Tour for his rookie campaign in 2024. But it left him eager for another round this year.
He’s been building toward this trajectory for over 10 years, climbing the ranks through Micro Sprints, Midgets and 305 Sprint Cars.
“Once you get to run the 360 with the ASCS guys, it’s kind of a whole new take on competition,” Fezard said. “It’s really stout, and with as tough as it is to run competitively, it keeps you hungry and wanting more each week.”
The former NOW600 and POWRi Micro Sprint champion from Bonnerdale, AR, compiled four top-10 finishes in his rookie season, with a best finish of ninth coming on three occasions. While a 12th-place finish in the final points wasn’t the result he was looking for from his first year on the road, he began to build the foundation of patience necessary to develop his skills in the future.
“I think the series ended up being a little tougher than we expected going into it,” Fezard said. “Last year, it was, unfortunately, just a season of ‘if it could go wrong, it did go wrong.’ For us and our team, it was a tough, challenging year, and we fought a lot of adversity every weekend.”
All four of Fezard’s ASCS top-10 finishes last year came on tracks in Oklahoma, where he grew racing and winning titles in 2020 and 2021. However, 2024 meant spending far more time outside of his proving grounds.
“We learned going to a lot of new racetracks last year,” Fezard said. “I feel like building some notes and taking some ideas and things away from first-time tracks that will help us this season when we go back to those racetracks.”
Another year older, another year wiser, and another year stronger is the motto for Fezard and the V&H Fresh Racing team in 2025, especially when it comes to equipment.
“This year, we’re going into the season with two new (Triple X) chassis, we have a new full-time crew guy that’s going to help us out this season,” Fezard said. “I feel like that’ll be something that really helps keep us going competitively each weekend.”
The team has also taken on some help in the shop, adding crew chief Jesse Barstad for the 2025 season. Barstad will provide extra help both in the shop during the week and at the track on race weekends, helping to further accelerate Fezard’s learning curve.
“This year, I would be happy with a win or two, and I’d definitely like to add on to the podium count,” Fezard said of his goals for the new year. “Definitely run better toward the end of the year and in the overall points standings. We would be thrilled to be in the top 10. That would be an accomplishment for us.”
Fezard continues his second season on the ASCS National Tour trail in the next event — Saturday, April 12, at Salina Highbanks Speedway in Salina, OK. Tickets for the event will be on sale at the gate on race day.
If you can’t be at the track to watch, stream every lap live on your devices with a subscription to DIRTVision.
