In 2015, Michael Frayser began racing on a whim.
At the time, he was spending much of his time playing travel softball. When his neighbor, Brad Davis, moved in, Davis and his brother, Tyler, were racing at Virginia’s Southside Speedway. They invited Frayser to the track one day to help them out in the pits.
“I was sitting there at the track, having the time of my life at Southside Speedway where I got to watch my cousin, Roy Hendrick, drive when I was a kid,” Frayser said. “Here I am back there with another friend.”
Late in the night, Southside’s UCar Division took to the track for a race, and Davis looked at Frayser and said, “You might be able to afford one of those.”
Not long after, Frayser turned in his bat and glove for a car. He ran four races that season, and every year he's gotten progressively better. In 2019, he moved to Dominion Raceway, a NASCAR Regional track in Woodford, Virginia, and won a race that season.
“Then I realized that I figured something out at the track,” he said of Dominion. “It's nice, let's start racing here. We were fast and competitive at Southside; we were just missing something. But at Dominion, it was like things fell into place.”
He came back to race a full season at Dominion in 2020 and won once on the way to a fourth-place finish in the track’s UCar Division points. That season, he also finished 77th in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division V national standings.
“We made the top 100. That was like a big thing for the drivers at Dominion, getting into that top 100 and getting that plaque from NASCAR,” he said.
The next season, Frayser finished 47th in the nation, and third at Dominion. The following year, he moved up again to 13th in the nation and second at his new home track.
“That's a big confidence booster when you're steadily creeping up the charts in the nation,” he said.
It was 2023 when Frayser thought he had a shot at a national title. He finished the year with seven second-place finishes, despite new rules at the track that stated the top three finishers from the race prior had to start the next race at the back of the field.
Frayser won his first track title in 2023 and took home the Southeast Regional championship. He ended up fourth in the national points.
“It was late in the season, and we were battling,” he said. “I was in first sometimes, and then I get bumped back, and it was back and forth. The track really accommodated us to make sure we got enough races in, and we even had a throwaway race.
“Obviously we want to win track championships, so everything is growing to this point. We're in the right spot this year, and it's just a matter of making sure we get the car count at Dominion to give me a shot at winning the national championship.”
Frayser is right where he wants to be midway through the 2024 season. He has two wins, three second-place finishes and a third in seven races so far this season at Dominion. He leads the track points and is
fourth in the Division V national standings.
Two months into the season, Frayser can already tell this year is going better than any prior. His knowledge of Dominion, learning the track and what works best to get around it, has added to his success.
“I'm working on different techniques,” he said. “I've been at Dominion this long now. I've got a certain line that I run, and not every driver runs the same line … I have my car set up how it makes me feel comfortable. What I tell everybody all the time is I drive down to the corner until I see Jesus, and then I wave at him and drive a little farther.
“We have a competitive field. No one car is out there just driving away, but everybody has a different driving style and different technique. And I think over the years I've developed a little bit of a technique to get through the corners at Dominion, and I feel comfortable."
Frayser said he’s also gained more confidence behind the wheel, which has been the key to his climb up the ladder.
“When I first started there, I was very intimidated,” he said. “When you get in these cars, you're pulling the seatbelts tight and hope and pray so that everything's great. At the end of the day, you get to drive your car back on your trailer and take it home in one piece because we're running fast for these little cars, and one mistake, you're going to feel it the next day.
“Luckily, I've got the confidence in my car and how it's set up, and I'm driving a little harder… So that's where I see the progression of getting better is I feel more confident and comfortable with my equipment.”
Just about all of the work to the car is done by Frayser and his wife Gretchen, who is the one at the track setting his tire pressure and helping him get buckled in.
Gretchen wasn’t always a fan of her husband being behind the wheel. She wouldn’t even come to the races because, Frayser said, “she was scared to death something would happen to me.”
It wasn’t until last season when Gretchen started getting more comfortable with watching Frayser race. In his first win of the season, his normal spotter wasn’t available, so she got in the stand.
“I told her I dedicated that win to her because she listens to my spotter and she hears what he says to me, and she actually did some things that surprised me,” he said. “And we ended up winning the race, and I was like, 'Oh wow, this is pretty cool.'”
Frayser said he pays attention to point standings “way too much,” but he doesn’t view them as a motivating factor. He looks at points to see if he has a chance and “What do I need to do to make sure I continue to have that chance?,” he said.
“At the end of the day, racing's fun, and I try to make it fun and I try not to stress myself out over it,” Frayser added. “But, everybody wants to win a national championship.”
Racing returns to Dominion on June 22 with VA Racer, Late Model Stock, Dominion Stock, Mini Stock and Southern Ground Pounders races. UCars will next race at Dominion on June 29.
There are still several months left in the season for Frayser to continue his fight for a national title. The key for him is patience, using his head, and continuing to drive with the knowledge he’s gained over the last five years.
“You can't win the race on the first lap. You can lose it on the first lap, but you can't win it on the first lap. I've tried. I've made mistakes because I didn't think.” He said. “A lot of my friends at the track, family at the track, all remind me to be patient and take my time… You got 25 laps to kick your way up through the field because 90 percent of the time I have to start in the rear because I'm in the top three.
“So you’ve really got to watch people, you’ve got to think about what they're thinking…. I think the key to success this year is not getting involved in an accident. Using my head, thinking things through, and making patient moves.”
Frayser thanked his sponsor, Chris Phillips at CR Phillips Electrical, for helping him get on the track this season.