Heading into Sunday’s Cup Series opener is “Fast Pasta,” in honor of Anthony Alredo’s team’s guiding light. As the engines roar to life, reverberating the grunt of the mighty V8s, the one-car team, Beard Motorsports, is suiting up its driver for an epic speedway drive. Beyond the speed and competition of the 200-lap feature, the Ridgefield High School graduate has something else on his mind and will enter the race appreciating the late veteran’s contribution to the team.

Chasing a full-time Cup Series ride is Xfinity Series driver and BM’s #62 driver, Anthony Alfredo, who qualified for the “Great American Race” in the #62 Chevy. The 24-year-old already outdid Austin Hill, who failed to get the team to Daytona, qualifying for NASCAR’s biggest spectacle, and will race his Chevrolet among the best in the business to commemorate Mark Beard Sr’s legacy.

Legacy on the line: Anthony Alfredo rides to Daytona

“With Beard Motorsports missing the show last year, I wanted to deliver for them and be the one to put it in and carry on Mark’s legacy,” said Anthony Alfredo, looking to stamp Mark Beard Sr’s name into the halls of NASCAR. Founded by Beard Sr Beard Motorsports is a one-car team with no charter support, hanging in there with the best teams in the sport.

Even though this might not sound like a good idea, being in a division where the size of the team and the depth of the pockets define the potential, BM’s story is one of perseverance and resilience. Since the passing of team founder Beard Sr in 2021, the team has been putting in the groundwork, focusing all its efforts and resources on getting a car into NASCAR’s biggest spectacle—the Daytona 500.

For the Michigan-based team, racing in NASCAR’s elite division is more than a family business but a warm tribute to its patriarch, Beard Sr who was himself a NASCAR driver. It was hugs and kisses when Anthony Alfredo punched his ticket to the Daytona 500.

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Now, with the driver getting the team to the track, the team’s now curator, Aime Beard-Deja, said, “I think Dad would be extremely excited and thrilled. Losing Dad was very hard. We also have family businesses included in this. But there was no question of it. We had to keep doing it for the legacy of him. It’s for our love, too. It keeps him alive for us. We thrive from it. We love it.”

Beard Motorsport’s 2024 plans revealed

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The one-employee team will make four Cup Series efforts in 2024, with the season-opener at Daytona being the first. The generational team will feature Alfredo again at Talladega in April in its #62 Chevy. The team made its Cup Series debut in 2017, and its 2024 Daytona entry will mark its eighth season in the top faction, a fitting homage to Beard Sr who carried racing in his veins, racing go-karts from the tender age of eight.

In addition to the Daytona 500 and Talladega, the team will feature its #62 racecar again in Daytona for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in August and October’s Yellawood 500 in Talladega. With hopes of riding high, Alfredo will take on the fierce pack in a high-speed chase on February 18th, spreading the word and paying homage to the late veteran with Linda and her children, Amie and Mark Jr, running the team for the Daytona 500 and the three other superspeedway races scheduled for this season.

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