Certain drivers, despite not having a strong racing record in the Chili Bowl Nationals, manage to gain quite some attention from the fans on social media. This could be owing to anything in particular, but lapses in safety seem to be one of the most popular reasons. 

The year’s first motorsports event, the Chili Bowl, is rather exciting. However, it can be just as dangerous owing to its ruthless nature, dirt tracks, and the powerful cars. Over the years, the event has witnessed many changes in safety regulations, but still, there seems to be a lapse from some of the newer drivers, and such was the case earlier today with one of the debutants. 

Brayton Laster issues a clarification regarding a major safety concern 

Just hours before the 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals kicks off at Tulsa Expo Raceway, debutant Brayton Laster became the centre of attention on social media. His picture, sitting in the car, went viral as his head could be seen popping out of the halo.

This is a major safety violation, as flips are quite common in the races, and this could give him a neck injury. There are also strong regulations that state that a driver’s head should not be coming out of the halo for the same reasons. 

But as fans called in for the safety officer to check him out, he issued a clarification on the platform, revealing that he was checking out different seat heights with the team and that this wasn’t the final spec. 

“Thank you guys for the concern, we’ve been playing with different seat foam all day trying to find what feels best. This is when we had an extra thick piece in the seat that obviously raised me a little too high,” he wrote. “Officials came down after our practice session and double checked it without foam.” 

As mentioned, this is Laster’s maiden participation in the Chili Bowl Nationals. Prior to this, he has also stepped into the NASCAR field in the Truck Series with Reaume Brothers Racing in 2022 and showcased active participation in the ARCA Menards Series with good results.

Although his experience in stock racing might fall short, he could be rather competitive on the dirt. He has raced in the field full-time between 2018 and 2023 and has proven to be a promising contender. He is participating with Zach Boden Racing, who are running the series for the fifth time. But the fans have a different concern. 

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Fans are concerned with Laster’s lapse in safety at the Chili Bowl 

Brayton Laster is often referred to as the “Pizza Man” for his obsession with pizza and passion for baking them regularly. Heading to the Chili Bowl, he is wearing a special helmet that has a pizza topping design, and this one particular fan found quite some humor in it, especially with the safety lapse:

“He’s trying to get that pizza helmet front and center on that go pro.” 

At the same time, however, some also felt that this adjustment should have been made earlier, before arriving at Tulsa for the race, as a lot of preparation goes into the challenge. “Imagine not properly setting up your seat before arriving.”

Moreover, some called it out with a sarcastic tone, revealing exactly how the exposed helmet could be fatal in the race.

“You’re all good it’s just your head after all. P.S. it’ll catch your landing if you flip.” Another fan commented on the rear-mounted camera, “Well shoot, I guess the go pro will catch his head bobbing around.” 

It can sometimes be tough to argue the logic that some comments on social media reflect, and one such comment, hinting towards a NASCAR driver who is known for some of their crashes, was a part of one such comment. “If he can avoid Stenhouse, he should be okay.” Ironically enough, the driver in question has not participated in this year’s Chili Bowl Nationals. 

While Brayton Laster’s questionable seating adjustment caught much attention, he would be hoping to get that for his performance in the race. With just hours to go for the start of this year’s event, he could use his dirt-racing experience to his advantage and step aside from the rest of the grid, hopefully, without any safety issues.