The first time tackling a national Sprint Car racing schedule can be daunting for some, but the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) saw four young talents fearlessly complete the journey in 2025.
Garrett Benson, Brady Baker, Ryder Laplante and Brogan Carder were the four teenage wheelmen who made up the rookie class in the 34th season of national 360 Sprint Car racing. Together, they stepped foot on grounds both new and familiar, sharpening their skills in the seat as they raced 33 dates in 11 months at 21 unique tracks in 10 different states across the country.
Garrett Benson (Concordia, MO)
The youngest of all four rookies, Benson was crowned the youngest Rookie of the Year in Series history — a historic achievement at only 15 years of age.
“It’s quite an honor,” Benson said. “All of the people that are part of the American Sprint Car Series, all the champions and all the different winners, all the people that are part of the Series — it’s quite an honor to be a part of that. To be in the history books of ASCS and to be the youngest really means a lot.”
On the path to his historic accomplishment, Benson posted four top-five finishes — all of which were third-place finishes, which came at Benton Speedway, Electric City Speedway, Paducah International Raceway, and I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park. In 29 Feature starts, Benson also notched 19 top-10 finishes, an average finish of 10.46, and finished fifth in the championship points standings.
For starting the year with limited time in a full-size Sprint Car, Benson said he exceeded his preseason expectations.
“I probably had 20 Sprint Car races under me when I started the season and just didn’t really know what to expect,” Benson said. “I mean, we’re racing against some of the best 360 Sprint Car drivers in the country. I was just hoping to learn from them. If we could start clicking off some better finishes and building more momentum, I knew we’d keep running better, but I just didn’t really expect to get a podium as soon as we did.”
Another highlight of his rookie campaign came in the final race of the season at Creek County Speedway, where he won the Honest Abe Roofing Dash, started on the pole of the main event and led the opening two laps around the 1/4-mile oval before crossing the finish line seventh. The run put his potential on full display and showed his blossoming capabilities as he continues the climb up the open-wheel racing ladder.
“Just to be able to run with the frontrunners and learn from them and be a part of that pack throughout the Feature really means a lot,” Benson said. “You can learn a lot. Just having those finishes but not being able to get the win just makes us hungrier to come back, work harder and try to get in that position and capitalize on it.”
Brady Baker (Alexander, AR)
Baker had raced multiple ASCS events before announcing his plans to contest the entire national schedule in 2025 and thus had a bigger preview of what was to come during his rookie season than most of his competition.
That preparation produced multiple bright spots in his first full season on the road, totaling three top-five finishes and 13 top-10s in 27 main event starts to finish eighth in the final points standings. All three of those top-fives were on the podium — one third-place finish at WaKeeney Speedway in August and two runner-up finishes, first at Batesville Motor Speedway in June and another at Salt City Speedway in October.
His run at Salt City was most impressive, as the 18-year-old overcame repeated mechanical issues over the last half of the summer and put the Mid-State Golf Carts No. 71 on the outside front row for the start of the race. For the first nine laps around the flat, 1/2-mile Kansas oval, Baker paced the field out front and locked up another best career ASCS finish.
“Honestly, I was just hoping to get a couple top-10s at the beginning of the year, and we crushed my goal,” Baker said. “We didn’t quite get to where we wanted to be in the points — we had a few parts failures — but that’s alright. Just racing with the guys on the road — Sam (Hafertepe), Blake Hahn, Matt (Covington), even (Seth) Bergman a little bit, those were my heroes growing up. Just being able to race with them every week and just learn what they do and how they race is just awesome.”
Ryder Laplante (Calera, OK)
Coming from out of the Micro Sprint and local 305 Sprint Car ranks, Laplante aimed for a season full of learning with a 360 engine under the hood on the ASCS trail in 2025.
Though the 18-year-old Oklahoman had run several ASCS events in the past, he pushed himself for better and more consistent results in his first full-time season. In short, he delivered, posting six top-10 finishes in 27 Feature starts — two of which were a season-high sixth place, which he earned at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park in September and Tulsa Speedway in October.
In the end, Laplante surged into the top-10 in the final points standings, finished third in the Rookie of the Year chase, and is already looking forward to another season of ASCS action in 2026.
“It felt like a rookie year for me, honestly; a lot of bad luck,” Laplante said. “But we learned a lot with our notebook, learned a lot with the car. I learned a lot as a driver. I felt like this was one of my best years, personally, driver-wise, because I was so mentally prepared for everything. We learned, and hopefully we’ll have a better year next year.”
Brogan Carder (Sioux Falls, SD)
A fellow 15-year-old in the Rookie of the Year class, Brogan Carder, had the least amount of 360 Sprint Car experience in the group, but that didn’t stop him from taking the national Series schedule head-on this year.
In 18 Feature starts, Carder finished 11th four times before finally breaking through for his first career national Sprint Car series top-10 finish at Paducah International Raceway in September, crossing the finish line in ninth place.
Most importantly, Carder took away plenty of new information from both his own car and the advice from some ASCS veterans that he’ll use in 2026 as he continues to navigate the open-wheel racing world.
“I feel like the laps I got to run with ASCS are the most valuable laps that will probably be in my career,” Carder said. “I took away so much. Just hearing words from Blake Hahn and Matt Covington — I went over and talked to them a couple of times, and they really helped out with my driving. Before I ever got in a Sprint Car, I never had shocks or bars or anything like that, so I didn’t know how to counteract things I was feeling, and they kinda coached me through and said, ‘If you’re feeling this, do this, and if you’re feeling that, do that.’
“I feel like from the beginning of the year to the end, I most definitely got better in seeing how the car feels and feeling the car out by itself.”
UP NEXT
The American Sprint Car Series opens its 2026 season again at Volusia Speedway Park during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, Jan. 29-31.
GET TICKETS TO DIRTCAR NATIONALS
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every American Sprint Car Series race live on DIRTVision.
