Anthony Alfredo’s Simulator Laps Are About To Count For Real

NASCAR Daytona 500 - Media Day — DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 14: Anthony Alfredo speaks to the Media during the NASCAR Cup Series 66th Annual Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Anthony Alfredo, 26, will be making his first NASCAR Cup Series start of the season, filling in for Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman in the No. 48 Chevrolet. After becoming ill mid-race last week at the Circuit of The Americas road course Bowman was replaced in the car by Myatt Snider

The team announced this week that Bowman was still suffering from vertigo symptoms and have named Alfredo to steer the No. 48. In his fourth year as the Hendrick team’s fulltime simulator driver, Alfredo has considerable laps around the Phoenix one-miler since it has served as the championship race the last six years.

Alfredo, who races fulltime in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series wasn’t at COTA to relieve Bowman last week having raced in Saturday’s NOAPS race and having already flown home – not anticipating a problem for Bowman mid-race.

“I would say all the laps I’ve run definitely make me more confident in where I need to be behind the wheel but racing’s totally different,” Alfredo conceded, noting he has a pretty good basis of what to expect at Phoenix with not only the simulator work but the eight races he’s run in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races here. He suffered a pair of DNFs in two 2021 NASCAR Cup Series starts at the desert miler.

“I would say every week, just out of my due diligence, I try to be prepared aside from being comfortable on the sim; just watching the races, kind of studying what happens,” he continued. “You just never know when that opportunity might come. So, I think being prepared every week is something I do. And that way, when this opportunity did arise, it didn’t feel like it was totally sprung on me and I was not prepared. But certainly when I did find out, they gave me a lot of things to look over and study and give me the tools I need to prepare.

“But working with the best people in the sport also makes that transition more seamless, right? I think they all know what they expect of me and I have access to more resources than I probably ever had. So, I’m certainly excited about utilizing those.”