Alfredo Finds Rhythm Before Rain Stops Dover NXS Go

Anthony Alfredo in action Saturday at Dover Motor Speedway. (Wyatt Tinsley/Motorsports Hotspot photo)

DOVER, Del. – Anthony Alfredo was building optimism late in Saturday’s BetRivers 200 at Dover Motor Speedway before Mother Nature intervened and ended the race prematurely.

Afternoon showers forced the 20th NASCAR Xfinity Series race of the season to be cut short after 134 of 200 laps at the one-mile concrete oval, leaving the 25-year-old native of Ridgefield, Conn., with a disappointing 23rd-place finish.

Though it was three spots higher than his starting position in the end, Alfredo was left feeling like he missed out on a much better finish from the ‘Monster Mile’ because of the rain that hit two thirds into the scheduled distance.

“It’s really disappointing, because I feel like we got our car dialed in just in time for the rain to hit,” noted Alfredo. “We missed the balance for the start, but kept making the No. 42 Lanita Specialized Chevrolet better throughout the day. We had great pace the last run and were on track to get back to the top 15 before Mother Nature showed up and thwarted those plans.

“Our improvement is showing, though, which is a good thing for our entire team and [owner] Tyler Young, who puts so much effort and so many resources into giving us what we need to contend with the Cup-affiliated teams in the series,” he continued. “Now it’s off to the Brickyard next week for one of the biggest races that we get to put on each year, and I couldn’t be more excited to get there and see what we have!”

With six races to go until the postseason reset, Alfredo ranks 23rd in the regular season standings and 182 points out of an Xfinity Series playoff berth, meaning he’ll need a victory to break into the 12-driver playoff field.

The good news for Alfredo is that tracks like Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway – a traditional equalizer in the draft – and Portland (Ore.) Int’l Raceway, where he earned his lone prior Xfinity Series pole position, remain ahead of him in the closing stretch of the regular season.

“We’re not done and we’re not giving up on our ultimate goal of making the playoffs,” Alfredo affirmed. “That was the mission when I joined this team at the start of the season, and it hasn’t changed in our eyes. We know there are definite opportunity races ahead of us, and the hope is to pounce on those chances and get ourselves into position to fight for a championship.”

Alfredo and the rest of the Xfinity Series field head next to historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he started fifth one year ago but was involved in a late crash and ended up with a 34th-place finish.

Broadcast coverage of the Pennzoil 250 at the Brickyard is slated for Saturday, July 26 at 4:30 p.m. ET, live on The CW, the IMS Radio Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.