Anthony Alfredo has been selected to pilot the No. 62 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Beard Motorsports throughout Daytona Speedweeks in preparation for the 66th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February 2024, where he will then attempt to compete at Talladega Superspeedway in April.
The news comes as Beard Motorsports is set to return on a part-time NASCAR Cup Series campaign in 2024, beginning with an eighth consecutive entrance in Daytona Speedweeks and the team’s bid to make the Daytona 500 field, which would mark the team’s sixth qualification for the 500, after missing the event this past season. Due to being a non-chartered team, Beard Motorsports will have to make the 500 either through the Daytona 500 Qualifying session that will occur on February 14 or through one of two Bluegreen Vacations Duels that will occur the following day on February 15.
For Alfredo, the 24-year-old native from Ridgefield, Connecticut, will attempt to become the sixth competitor to compete in a Cup Series event for Beard Motorsports. He previously competed in the entire 2021 Cup season with Front Row Motorsports, where he ended up in 30th place in the final standings on the strength of a single top-10 result and an average-finishing result of 27.5. He also made two Cup starts with Live Fast Motorsports this past season, which occurred at Richmond Raceway and at Martinsville Speedway in April.
Aside from his part-time Cup campaign with Beard Motorsports, Alfredo is set to campaign on a full-time basis in the 2024 Xfinity Series season for Our Motorsports.
“I’m so thankful for this opportunity,” Alfredo said in a released statement. “Every driver that runs stock cars wants to race in the NASCAR Cup Series and the Daytona 500. I’ve been blessed to race at this level against drivers that are childhood heroes of mine. This opportunity with the Beard family is very exciting. They have always fielded great cars in these superspeedway races, so I’m thrilled to get behind the wheel of their No. 62 Chevrolet.”
Beard Motorsports, which is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, and has only a single full-time employee, that being crew chief Darren Shaw, made its Cup Series debut during the 2017 Daytona 500 with veteran Brendan Gaughan. Since then, the team has made 26 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series, primarily at Daytona and Talladega. Within the 26 starts, the team recorded five top-10 results and a career-best fifth-place run with Noah Gragson at Daytona in August 2022. The team’s best result in the Daytona 500 is a seventh-place finish produced by Brendan Gaughan in 2020.
This past season, Austin Hill, an Xfinity Series competitor for Richard Childress Racing, made a total of five Cup starts for Beard Motorsports. Hill’s best result with the team was a 14th-place run at Daytona in August.
“The 2024 season marks our eighth year competing in the NASCAR Cup Series,” Amie Beard, executive vice president of Beard Motorsports, added. “It’s surreal to even be referencing year number eight. This race team is a passion project for all of us. My dad loved the sport and it’s a passion that we now share as a family. It’s what drives this team.”
Beard Motorsports also plans to compete at Daytona in August and at Talladega in October. The team’s driver plans for both events along with additional events to enter remain to be determined.
Alfredo’s first Cup Series campaign with Beard Motorsports commences with the Daytona 500 Qualifying session on February 14 followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona International Speedway that will occur on February 15 as he attempts to qualify for the 66th running of the Daytona 500 that will follow suit on February 18 and air at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
