CONCORD, N.C. — Anthony Alfredo climbed from his JR Motorsports Chevrolet and thrust his arms into the air in a moment of pure bliss.
He’d just won the first of a pair of CARS Late Model Stock Tour races scheduled for the night of May 6, 2017, at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway and he couldn’t contain himself. He was so excited, in fact, that it took him a minute to realize his overzealous celebration resulted in the checkered flag’s wooden rod snapping in two.
Alfredo triumphed after a side-by-side battle with Austin McDaniel.
“That was the hardest I’ve ever had to drive,” Alfredo said later.
However, Alfredo’s night wasn’t over. He started in the fifth row for the night cap and grabbed the lead from McDaniel on lap 66. McDaniel fought back and used the bumper of his car to move Alfredo out of the groove and regain the lead.
But Alfredo was not phased and within two laps he’d made his way back around McDaniel and began pulling away.
Alfredo completed a sweep of the doubleheader and it was a moment that, in many ways, catapulted him into the spotlight.
Since then, Alfredo’s racing career has been a whirlwind that culminated in January when he was selected to drive the No. 38 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The 21-year-old native of Ridgefield, Conn., has grown by leaps and bounds since his stint with the JR Motorsports late model program, which saw him finish second in the 2017 CARS Late Model Stock Tour standings.
He moved on to the ARCA Menards Series East to compete for MDM Motorsports in 2018, earning one victory and a top-five championship finish. His 2019 season saw him race part time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for David Gilliland, with a best finish of eighth at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Alfredo’s career really took off last year when he ran 19 NASCAR Xfinity Series races for Richard Childress Racing.
He quickly turned in strong results, earning a sixth-place finish in his series debut at California’s Auto Club Speedway. Those results continued with sixth-place finishes at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Kentucky Speedway (twice) and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway; a fourth-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway and a third-place effort in his final race of the year at Texas Motor Speedway.
The young man, who jokingly calls himself “Fast Pasta,” caught the attention of many in the garage area, paving the way for him to land the seat at Front Row Motorsports that was vacated by John Hunter Nemechek, who left to race for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series.
“When you start out racing karts as a kid, you dream of making it to the sport’s top level,” Alfredo said. “I want to thank Bob Jenkins and everyone at Front Row Motorsports for making this dream a reality. I know the challenges ahead, but I’m here to work hard and prove myself.”
What should be expected from Alfredo this year?
That’s a good question as his rookie season at the Cup Series level will be his first full season competing in one of NASCAR’s three national series.
In addition, he’s driving for Front Row Motorsports, a team not known for consistently running at the front of the field. Speaking frankly, Alfredo should not be expected to light the world on fire this year.
Instead, what we should expect is for Alfredo to go out on track, keep his car clean and complete all of the laps. He likely won’t be in contention to win any races this year, but by staying out of trouble and completing as many laps as possible, he can have a successful season that will better prepare him for the future.
Anything beyond that would be a cherry on top of the sundae, as they say.
– There has been a small development in the search for more information regarding the vintage modified chassis discovered on my late grandfather’s property in Troy, Pa., which I wrote about a few months ago.
After speaking with the children of Rod Fifield, whom I thought was the last known owner of the car before it was found on my grandfather’s property, I discovered he never owned the car.
As it turned out, Fifield built nearly all of his own chassis during his racing career and the modified found on my grandfather’s property never graced his garage. Thus, we’re back to square one in the search for the origin of the No. 19 modified and how it ended up in my grandfather’s possession.
I am happy to report, however, that a race fan acquired the car during the auction of my grandfather’s estate and was considering restoring the car with a paint scheme similar to one of Denny Soltis’ old red-and-white No. 0 race cars.
Hopefully, the car will go on to live a long and joyful life away from the field my grandfather left it in.