Anthony Alfredo certainly lived up to the “Fast Pasta” moniker. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
PORTLAND, Oregon – In the least likeliest of circumstances, Anthony Alfredo snatched his maiden NASCAR Xfinity Series pole during Friday’s qualifying session at Portland International Raceway.
Alfredo was one of 10 drivers who advanced out of the group stage to have a proper fight to the pole. He was the quickest man in Group A with a time of 76.071 seconds (93.229 mph).
Little did Alfredo know, a surprise time in his No. 23 DUDE Wipes Chevrolet Camaro would ultimately lead to greater things. In NASCAR’s first national touring event in the Pacific Northwest since 2000, he’ll be the man who’ll lead the 38-car field to green for the inaugural Pacific Office Automation 147.
“It feels amazing honestly. I wasn’t really sure exactly what I did in that lap other than leave nothing on the table,” said Alfredo after winning the pole.
“I guess that’s what it takes to get a pole, especially on a road course. By no means I’d expect our first pole to be on a road course. But I’ve just put a lot of work behind the wheel and studied film to try to figure out how to be a better road course racer. There’s a lot of road ringers in the Xfinity Series and they’re hard to beat,” Alfredo continued.
“This is big of our team. It’s one step closer to getting our first win. Some may say it’s just a pole. But for us, we’re accomplishing a lot of big things as a small team. We don’t have a lot of resources and we’re doing a lot with little.”
During the final round of qualifying, the 10 drivers came out to make a pole run with dry Goodyear Eagles. Alfredo was the last one to go out, but just as everyone went out, the circuit became too damp and the session had to be halted.
Cars came back to pit road, pondering if they’ll have a shot to set a lap.
Due to the rulebook, the session was “dry” conditions. Therefore, with under six minutes to go, NASCAR pulled the plug as nobody set a timed lap in the final round of qualifying. That’s when Alfredo got the word of scoring a pole. He’ll start alongside Austin Hill for the 75-lap race.
In the last six races, Alfredo has stayed 13th in the regular season standings. Just one spot behind below the cutoff which is currently held by Ryan Sieg. The last two races haven’t been kind for the Our Motorsports driver as he’s been involved in crashes at Texas and Charlotte.
Alfredo knows that a strong run on what’s expected to be a wet race will do the entire No. 23 squad wonders. More so if he cuts the 48-point deficit on Sieg.
Alfredo certainly bounced back from a morning practice spin at Portland. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
“It’s huge for us honestly. We’ve been on that playoff bubble, but the last two weeks have been bad for us. We haven’t had any incidents all year long but in the last two weeks, we’ve had issues. Had to go in the rear and got caught up in a wreck,” Alfredo explained.
“We know what we have to work on to prevent that in the future, but with where we run week in and week out, that 10th to 12th place spot. That’s right on the playoff bubble as it is, so it’s pretty challenging to make it in.
“(Winning the pole) is definitely going to help us with that. We’ve been working as hard as we can. I can’t thank my guys enough for the opportunity to be here. We’re working really hard so we can make it into the playoffs and days like (Friday) our what we need to do that. We’ve been getting better every week and that’s all we can really ask for.”
Both group sessions had a pair of drivers go off in Turn 4. Darren Dilley and Andy Lally were the two who went for a spin in Group A. As for Group B, Connor Mosack and Stefan Parsons had their woeful spins. All four were able to get out of the wet grass and continued their afternoon.
The madness that lies ahead is indeed the 75-lap contest. Live coverage of the first Xfinity Series race in Portland begins at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
