BROOKLYN, Mich. –– Daytona International Speedway isn’t until next Friday (Aug. 23), and that’s where underdogs usually shine.
However, with a speedway package similar to one at Daytona and a wild last-lap wreck that saw Kyle Sieg go flipping on the backstretch, some underdogs came away with top-10 finishes at the end of Satruday’s (Aug. 17) Cabo Wabo 250 at the two-mile Michigan International Speedway.
The highest of them all was Anthony Alfredo, who came home in fourth. With others ahead of him concerned about fuel on the final restart, Alfredo was good enough on fuel to charge into the top five on speed in the final two-lap shootout.
“It’s always a statement to run up front,” a jovial Alfredo said after the race. “We had a fast car all day. We really didn’t luck into it. We had a top-10, top-five-or-six car all day. Got the track position on that last restart and took it home.”
For Alfredo and Our Motorsports, it’s their second top five of the season behind a third-place run at Talladega Superspeedway.
“We just beat probably 10 cars that are spending a lot more than us,” Alfredo said. “And I don’t mean a few hundred grand, I mean millions of dollars. So it’s a big deal for us.
“The team, they just do a lot with a little. They give me better race cars than they probably should be able to, and I like to think I can finish a few spots better than I should be able to, compared to most guys.”
Two spots behind Alfredo was Noah Gragson, who isn’t an underdog himself, but the team he was driving for (Rette Jones Racing) could very well be considered one. After spending years strictly in grassroots racing, mainly late models and the ARCA Menards Series, the team decided to open a part-time Xfinity Series operation with Gragson as the driver.
In two previous starts, Gragson and RJR had not finished outside the top 10, and that continued on Saturday with a sixth-place finish. For Gragson, a full-time Cup Series driver, he’s proud to see the team doing well in its Xfinity infancy.
“A bunch of super late model guys […] it’s pretty cool to see the success that we’ve had,” Gragson told Frontstretch after the race. “We want to win races, no doubt, and that’s what we’re here to do. But we finished 10th at Charlotte [Motor Speedway], and then fifth at Nashville [Superspeedway], and then to come here and finish fifth or sixth. It definitely is exciting.
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