Top 15 At Bristol Is A Shot Of Momentum For Alfredo

Anthony Alfredo earned a season-best finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Wyatt Tinsley/Race Face Digital photo)

BRISTOL, Tenn. – An unexpected solid Saturday for Anthony Alfredo led to his best NASCAR Xfinity Series result of the year, finishing 15th in the SciAps 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Alfredo had to overcome adversity and was lapped by the time the first caution waved on lap 76, but was able to use a wave around to get back on the lead lap until stage two, where he ultimately got lapped once again once again by a dominant Kyle Larson.

“We had to make a big adjustment on our first stop, considering that [we’d been lapped],” said Alfredo of his stage one struggles. “Got a little better, but we were just behind on track position and made a bold strategy call. Thanks to the grace of God, we were able to see it through.”

The last stage saw the race go largely green, with only one caution slowing the pace on lap 212, after the No. 45 of Mason Massey spun and created a stack-up that collected the No. 18 of William Sawalich.

Though he was never able to get back on the lead lap, Alfredo was able to continue picking off positions en route to his 15th-place result. It bettered a pair of 17th-place runs from Circuit of the Americas and Martinsville (Va.) Speedway last month.

After so much bad luck for he and Young’s Motorsports, Alfredo noted it was nice to have a bit of good fortune for a change, even if his No. 42 Chevrolet fought for balance throughout the 300-lap race.

“Yeah, we were not good today. We really struggled with the handling of our car,” he said. “This is my favorite racetrack and I like to think I know what I need here. I was pretty happy in practice, but we missed it in qualifying and had to come from behind.

“I think after the cup cars practiced, they pulled all the rubber up, and it took me the whole first stage to kind of see the track go through a swing. Once we figured it out, it was a little better,” Alfredo continued. “This was probably our worst race of the year on raw speed, but our best finish. It’s funny how that works.”

Alfredo feels optimistic about going into the next couple of races with at least a bit of much-needed momentum, after finally starting to get the ship righted at The Last Great Colosseum.

“We know what we need to be better, and hopefully, this means some momentum and some good runs coming in the future,” said the Ridgefield, Conn., native. “If we can start putting more of these days together, we’ll get closer to our goals and where we want and need to be.”

Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway is the next track for the Xfinity Series, the first time there for the tour since 2004. Alfredo already has some thoughts on how that race could play out and felt his testing time in January at the one-mile oval helped him learn what he needs.

“Based on the Rockingham test, I think we had a lot to work on from that test,” Alfredo said. “We didn’t get to test a lot because we actually had an issue there, a mechanical issue, but I think we know what we need to go back with.”

The weather has played a key role in the last couple of races, with Darlington being near the 90s and Bristol being in the lower 50s, temperature-wise. It’s something Alfredo wants to keep an eye on heading to Rockingham, as the pavement there could be somewhat temperature sensitive.

“I'm curious what it’s going to be like with the weather. It’ll be a lot more cars on the track, a lot more rubber, and there are two races before ours. So hopefully the groove moves around,” he offered. “With the replay, though, it’s really hard to pass. It’s really fast. It’s fun.

“But I think this (Bristol result) is going to be huge for us in terms of building (as a team), so I think there’s a lot we can take away from here that maybe we can apply to more (races).”

Broadcast coverage of the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham is slated for Saturday, April 19 at 4 p.m. ET, live on The CW, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.