(Photo: Ryan Daley | The Podium Finish)
After racing the NASCAR Xfinity Series part time in 2020, Anthony Alfredo got an opportunity any young racer could wish for: a Cup Series ride.
But, one season later, Alfredo has returned to the Xfinity Series to drive for Chris Our and Our Motorsports.
“I have the opportunity to be more competitive and be with a building program,” Alfredo told The Podium Finish at Richmond Raceway. “Team crew members that want to win races, and obviously, I want to win races.”
Before joining Our, Alfredo raced for Front Row Motorsports in the Cup Series. Just eight years prior, Alfredo wasn’t racing at all.
As a kid, Alfredo experimented with racing go-karts at home in Connecticut. His family loved racing and cars, but he never had any real connections inside the sport. He played other traditional sports, but his true passion was racing.
At 15, Alfredo wanted to return to racing, but in a more competitive manner. He purchased a Legend car and started to race.
“I’d race rental go-karts when I was a kid just for fun. I was pretty good at it and didn’t know it meant anything,” Alfredo said. “My dad and I went and checked out a Legend car and I turned a few laps in it and found my passion right there. So that was really where the spark started.”
In 2017, Alfredo landed his first major opportunity. Dale Earnhardt Jr. hired him to drive in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour. He finished second in points behind teammate and current Xfinity Series driver Josh Berry.
“Dale Jr. was my childhood hero growing up. So, when I had that experience, it was quite surreal,” Alfredo said. “That was kind of my breakout year… that’s where I learned a lot of the basics of stock car racing. They taught me everything I knew.”
(Photo: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)
Alfredo made more late model starts in 2018, drove full time in the K&N Pro Series East and debuted in the ARCA Menards Series. But, it wasn’t until 2019 when Alfredo earned his first opportunity in NASCAR.
Driving for David Gilliland Racing, Alfredo made 13 starts in the Camping World Truck Series. He recorded top-10 finishes at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway.
“It was tough, especially because we were just a partial team as it was. We weren’t running every week,” Alfredo said. “It was definitely hard to build momentum.”
Alfredo advanced to the Xfinity Series in 2020, but again, only received a part-time deal. He made 19 starts for Richard Childress Racing during the pandemic-affected season where he recorded nine top-10 finishes.
“It was definitely challenging, but it was a lot of fun. I was racing at a more competitive level with a really competitive team,” Alfredo said. “That set me up for where I am now. I’m able to apply a lot of those things and have a little bit more confidence.”
After success with RCR, Alfredo made a massive jump in 2021. He landed his full-time opportunity in NASCAR, and it happened to come in the Cup Series.
Front Row Motorsports’ No. 38 opened after John Hunter Nemechek vacated the seat to return to the Camping World Truck Series. Front Row needed to quickly fill the seat and they tabbed Alfredo, who searched for a ride, to make all 36 starts for the team in 2021.
Alfredo didn’t bring much sponsorship, but Front Row helped find it.
“It was just by being in the right place at the right time,” Alfredo said. “I didn’t have anything lined up and to see that 38 opened up in the last second, I was able to capitalize on the opportunity. Very thankful for that because taking that step was a huge jump.
“I feel like if I were to take the next step to the Cup Series again, at some point soon, hopefully, it would be my true rookie season. That was just such an odd year.”
Anthony Alfredo’s 2021 Cup Series ride (Photo: Mike Moore | The Podium Finish)
Alfredo recorded one top-10 finish at Talladega Superspeedway, but Front Row didn’t retain him for the 2022 season. On December 16, Our Motorsports announced him as driver of the No. 23 in the Xfinity Series. The car was driven by several drivers in 2021.
“We definitely want to go out there, win a race and make the playoffs and get my first Xfinity win,” Alfredo said. “It would be huge for myself, my career, my team and of course Chris himself, just for everything he’s been pouring into this program so that we can go out and compete every week.”
Through nine races, Alfredo has three top-10 finishes, including both superspeedway races. He contended at Auto Club and finished fifth after gambling on tire strategy.
Alfredo’s only finish worse than 17th was at Phoenix, where a mechanical issue put him over 50 laps down. He sits 13th in driver’s points, just 22 points below the cutline.
“Couldn’t ask for much more to start the year,” Alfredo said. “I think if we could just keep being competitive and consistent, we’ll have a shot at making the playoffs and capitalizing on an opportunity to win a race.”
Alfredo also has two teammates — Brett Moffitt and Jeb Burton — to lean on. Both drivers, like Alfredo, have Cup Series experience. Moffitt won the 2018 Truck Series championship and is in his second season with Our, while Burton made the 2021 Xfinity playoffs with Kaulig Racing.
“We’re just all trying to push each other to be better and really just help one another,” Alfredo said. “Driving styles can be different at times, but for the most part, we’re all able to push each other and we kind of embrace being right around each other every week. We’re pretty close in speed.”
As Alfredo progresses through the season, he has one goal: win, regardless of the circumstances.
“I want to win an Xfinity race this year really bad,” he said. “We’ve got a three car team, so it’s definitely been tough with limited supply of equipment and even people. But, we’ve been trying to make do with what we have.
“Last year, the season, as a whole, was very mentally challenging, on and off the track. A lot of things were going on. It was really tough just to feel like we kept getting on our feet to get back down again every single race.
”So, to be able to land an opportunity in the Xfinity Series full time with people who believe in me, are hardworking and want to be successful, shows that you can never give up.”
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns Saturday, April 30 for the A-Game 200 at Dover Motor Speedway.
