Alfredo On Young’s: ‘We Will Build From The Ground Up

Anthony Alfredo (Danny Hansen/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

HAMPTON, Ga. – He might not have gotten the Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway finish he wanted on paper, but Anthony Alfredo feels good about the way he and Young’s Motorsports have started the year together.

The new pairing contended for a top-10 finish late in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona on Feb. 15, before Alfredo was swept up in a late crash that left him with a non-representative 22nd-place finish.

That was the bad news. The good news was that Alfredo earned points in both stages at Daytona and feels the team has “all the tools it needs” to continue that consistency on the superspeedways to come.

“It was great to have solid speed at Daytona to start the year and score points in both stages. We got some damage after being collected in an accident towards the end that prevented us from getting the finish we deserved,” Alfredo said.

“I’m looking forward to building on our speed and finishing better this weekend.”

Atlanta Motor Speedway comes as a place where Alfredo can likely achieve an improved result, given his past consistency since the track’s 2022 reconfiguration.

In six starts on the ‘new’ Atlanta, Alfredo has finished 16th or better five times, including a track-best seventh-place run last February driving for Our Motorsports.

While it’s “not a full-blown draft track,” Alfredo believes some of his superspeedway skills still translate into success at AMS.

“The reconfiguration of Atlanta Motor Speedway has turned it into its own animal,” he explained. “It’s definitely not a traditional intermediate, but it's also not a true superspeedway. Handling and track position matter, while drafting is still key.

“Things happen fast, and you need to be near the front to execute at the end, and hopefully, we can do that on Saturday with our Young’s Motorsports team,” Alfredo continued. “Track position is huge at Atlanta because it is difficult to pass, despite it being considered a drafting track. I want to be out front and managing the lanes rather than stuck in traffic.”

Alfredo comes into Atlanta 19th in the early Xfinity Series standings, but just four points outside the 12-driver playoff threshold with plenty of racing still to come through the spring and summer months.

Knowing that superspeedways and short tracks – two of Alfredo’s strengths – dot the early portions of the calendar, the Ridgefield, Conn., native has his sights set high on what he wants to accomplish with his new team.

“My goal this year with Young’s Motorsports is simple: to win a regular-season race and make the playoffs,” said the 25-year-old Alfredo. “It’s certainly a tall order, but we can make it happen.

“We will build this program from the ground up and make that goal a reality.”

Coverage of Saturday’s Xfinity Series Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 from Atlanta is slated for 5 p.m. ET on The CW, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

It’s part of a doubleheader race day with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, which Young’s Motorsports will also compete in with Nathan Byrd.