Anthony Alfredo acknowledges the GEICO 500 faithful at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo: Ricky Martinez | The Podium Finish)
LINCOLN, Ala. — Anthony Alfredo showcased his incredible prowess in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
In fact, Alfredo was impressive throughout the Talladega race weekend. On Saturday, the 24-year-old Ridgefield, Connecticut, native started 11th and earned a third place finish with his No. 5 Our Motorsports Chevrolet entry in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race.
As for Sunday’s GEICO 500, Alfredo, making his second start with the No. 62 Dude Wipes Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry fielded by Beard Motorsports, qualified a respectable 24th.
In the early going, Alfredo paced himself and kept his car in one piece, finishing 30th in Stage 1. Then, in Stage 2, he led on Lap 70 and 81 before he lost the draft on Lap 114.
Losing a lap, Alfredo dropped to a 36th place finish in Stage 2, conserving as much fuel to make it to the finish.
Once Stage 3 was underway, Alfredo worked his way up to 29th on Lap 142. With 26 laps remaining, he drove up to 21st.
On the final lap, Alfredo was running 18th, hugging the inside line with the lead pack getting restless. Suddenly, as Michael McDowell attempted to block Brad Keselowski from taking the lead in the dogleg, all hell broke loose.
With the seas parting, Alfredo darted to the inside to avoid the mayhem, driving through the grass, scooting past the carnage to place sixth.
For the young driver who represents the sim to reality racing movement, Sunday’s race capped off a memorable weekend.
Anthony Alfredo was on the hammer when he needed to be in his No. 62 Dude Wipes Chevrolet during Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega. (Photo: Ricky Martinez | The Podium Finish)
“We had an awesome No. 62 Dude Wipes Chevrolet Camaro,” Alfredo said. “I’m really proud of Beard Motorsports and everyone on this team. They work really hard to come to a couple races a year, and when they do it, they do it right and they know they have a shot to win.
“So I take a lot of pride in being the one behind the wheel. I hope I can do a lot more with them.”
For a while, Alfredo felt pinned in, confined to the inside line when he observed how the middle and high lines thrived with momentum. Nevertheless, skill and luck coalesced for the young driver and independent Cup team.
“We had an awesome Chevy today,” he said. “We drove to the front and led some laps. At the end there, we were just kind of boxed-in. I couldn’t really do a whole lot, especially when that third lane formed.
“I wanted to join that party earlier, but I was just trapped on the bottom. I pushed as hard as I could. In typical Talladega Superspeedway racing fashion, it got a little crazy coming to the line. I just yanked it hard left, flew through the grass and somehow opened my eyes and I crossed the line in sixth.”
Given how the NASCAR Cup Series can be a competitive, brutal division of stock car racing for the rising, smaller teams, Alfredo was elated about his memorable Talladega weekend. It was more than just celebrating the victory of surviving and driving past “The Big One” in Sunday’s race.
“It was awesome to have two great finishes this weekend with smaller teams that work really hard to go compete with the big organizations at a high level of competition,” Alfredo said. “I take a lot of pride in representing the ‘little guys’ and doing a lot with a little.
“We definitely punched above our weight all weekend and showed we belonged. It’s really important to have runs like this for our great sponsors and the new partnerships we are developing.”
