When Anthony Alfredo joined B.J. McLeod Motorsports for the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, it seemed sensible that he would race for McLeod’s Cup Series arm Live Fast Motorsports too at some point. Such speculation was confirmed Thursday when the team announced he will drive the #78 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Richmond Raceway on 2 April. A second race at a to-be-announced location is also planned.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to drive the #78 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond. It is a huge opportunity for me to get experience in the Next Gen car,” said Alfredo. “We have already made major strides with the Xfinity programme and I am excited to take that momentum to the Cup side. It wouldn’t be possible without all the great people at Live Fast, as well as our partners and supporters.”
Alfredo raced the full Cup Series in 2021 for Front Row Motorsports, finishing thirtieth in points with a best finish of tenth at Talladega. He departed the team at the end of the season and returned to the Xfinity Series, where he ran a limited slate in 2020, with Our Motorsports and placed fifteenth in the standings with a pair of top tens.
He signed with McLeod in January. After three races, he sits twenty-first in points and is riding a string of top twenties.
“Anthony’s drive and determination is something we’ve seen stand out on our Xfinity team,” McLeod commented. “We are excited to give him the opportunity to compete at the Cup level again and gain some experience in the Next Gen car.”
Alfredo finished thirty-first and twenty-sixth in two Richmond Cup starts for FRM in 2021. His Richmond Xfinity début the following year ended in twelfth.
Since Live Fast’s formation in 2021 between McLeod, Joe Falk, and Matt Tifft, McLeod has run the bulk of the schedule in the #78 and usually steps aside for special events like road courses and the Bristol Dirt Race. 2023 is the team’s first year with Chevrolet after two seasons with Ford. While McLeod has run the first three races of 2023, Josh Bilicki will also enter multiple races in the #78 starting at Circuit of the Americas.