10/21/2014
Fezard Hangs With Country’s Best At Outlaw Nats
(Photo by Mike Spivey)
TULSA, Okla. – To cap his 2014 racing season, Bradley Fezard made the four-and-a-half-hour drive west from central Arkansas to invade Port City Raceway in Tulsa, OK. The occasion was the 1st Annual Micro Sprint Outlaw Nationals, which potentially offered the Saturday night main event winner up to $13,000 in prize money, topping the previous highest payday in micro sprint racing history.
On Wednesday night, the team wasn’t sure if they’d even be making the trek, but thanks to family friends John and Robin Huston, they were able to load up and take on the high-banked 1/8 mile oval for Thursday night’s opener, and Fezard would start the night off in promising fashion, being 28th-quick in hot laps when 85 cars signed in. However, due to a pill draw of 192 out of 200 numbers, he’d be starting tail of his nine-car, ten-lap heat race. The ill-handling #58 wouldn’t move forward in the event, prompting Fezard and his father to get the car better tuned in for the track conditions. The efforts wouldn’t pay off, though; he started in sixth spot in his last-chance qualifier race, in which only the top two transferred to the back of a qualifier, and finished fifth, bringing his night to an early close.
Ready to redeem himself on night number two, Fezard again started the night off strong, stopping the clock in hot laps with the 25th-quickest lap of 78 cars timing in. With a much better pill draw, he gridded outside row two and quickly jumped out to the lead of his ten-lap heat race, winning the event handily. The fourth-to-first drive was good enough to put him in the second position overall in heat race points of 85 entries total; behind him in points were several past Port City Raceway points champions, and multiple drivers with experience in USAC and World of Outlaws Sprint Car competition. That points total, paired with an invert of the top six drivers in each of five qualifiers slated him to start sixth, moving up one spot to fifth. The effort was sufficient to put him in the night’s main event, which included the top 20 in total points over the night’s races. Fezard was 14th in points after the qualifiers, so he was set to roll out in that position for the feature. The short length of the track allows the leaders to reach lapped traffic very quickly, so he battled to remain on the lead lap, but succumbed to perennial micro sprint ace and eventual race winner Frank Flud with three laps left in the 25-lap affair, and Fezard completed the race in the 16th spot.
With one more chance to get into the 13K to win feature race, Fezard stayed right around his hot lap time for the weekend, 29th quick with 74 cars on the clock. In heat race action, the narrow, heavy track wasn’t very conducive to passing, and he managed one pass, starting sixth and finishing fifth. He just missed getting into a qualifier directly from the heat race, with 77 total heat points, and the final car transferring to qualifiers with 79 points. Instead he’d start on the pole of an LCQ, where he was never challenged, taking the checkered with a half-straightaway lead. The win would transfer him to the back of a qualifier, rolling off in eleventh. Fezard found himself at home up on the high side, riding the massive Port City cushion in his Stallard/FTZ Honda all the way up to sixth, which could have possibly put him in the A. Unfortunately, hard but clean racing with another car for the sixth spot led to contact between the pair, bending the fourteen-year-old’s front axle, and the handling on his ride was shot. He’d fight the car the rest of the race, but still managed to finish the race, albeit in the ninth spot. That race would conclude his weekend, but still proved that he is a driver to watch in the near future, as he is already racing wheel-to-wheel with the best micro sprint wheelmen in the nation.
Fezard would like to thank Brandon’s Ranch and Aaron’s Powdercoating, as well as his mom and dad, Aaron Qualls, and John and Robin Huston for their continued support.
Fezard next plans to compete on December 31-January 3 at the River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, OK for the 30th Annual “Tulsa Shootout” in #58 600cc outlaw entry.
Quick Results
October 16 – Tulsa, OK – 600cc Outlaw – Heat: 9 (9); LCQ: 5 (6)
October 17 – Tulsa, OK – 600cc Outlaw – Heat: 1 (4); Qualifier: 5 (6); Feature: 16 (14)
October 18 – Tulsa, OK – 600cc Outlaw – Heat: 5 (6); LCQ: 1 (1); Qualifier: 9 (11)
Season Stats
18 races, 1 win, 9 top fives, 13 top tens, 0 DNFs
Social Media
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bradley.fezard
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/bradley_fezard58
Article Credit: Redbeard Promotions
