Up-and-comer Anthony Alfredo highlights Front Row Motorsports’ 2021 driver lineup

On Wednesday, NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series team Front Row Motorsports announced its 2021 driver lineup.

On the Cup side, Michael McDowell will return to the No. 34 Ford, which he has driven since 2018, and Anthony Alfredo, 21, will replace John Hunter Nemechek in the No. 38. Alfredo, a member of the 2018 NASCAR Next Class, will run for Rookie of the Year after racing a part-time schedule with Richard Childress Racing in the 2020 Xfinity Series season.

Todd Gilliland will also return to FRM’s truck program. He continues his budding career in the No. 38, which he took to the first round of the 2020 playoffs. Although he went winless last year, his performance with FRM was arguably superior to his previous tenure at Kyle Busch Motorsports. He was expected to contend for a championship but missed the 2019 postseason with KBM.

David Ragan, who gave FRM its first win at Talladega in 2013, will drive the No. 36 again at the Daytona 500. However, it will be an open entry, so he will have to race his way in through the Daytona Duel race if more than 40 cars are on the entry list. He ran the 2020 Daytona 500 and finished fourth in a car prepped by FRM, but it was entered by Rick Ware Racing and had an RWR charter to ensure he was one of the 36 cars locked into the race.

Alfredo is the big question mark going into 2021 for FRM. He has never completed a full season in any of NASCAR’s national levels. He ran 19 races with RCR last year with a best finish of third and 13 races with DGR-Crosley’s truck program in 2019. His rookie season in Cup will be all about learning. Although Nemechek experienced successful runs at the start of 2020, he has many more laps logged in NASCAR’s lower levels than Alfredo.

Alfredo’s 2021 goal should be to complete as many laps as he can. He’s not in a winning car, and the only way for him to improve his driving skills is to be on-track as much as possible. Showing aggression to improve his position a few mere places in the middle of the pack won’t do him any good. He’s a polished and well-spoken individual and would be easily presentable to potential sponsors, so tearing up equipment can’t happen if he wants to one day be in a competitive Cup car.

“When you start out racing karts as a kid, you dream of making it to the sport’s top level,” Alfredo said in a press release. “I want to thank Bob Jenkins and everyone at Front Row Motorsports for making this dream a reality. I know the challenges ahead, but I’m here to work hard and prove myself.”

Seth Barbour will crew chief for Alfredo, and Drew Blickensderfer will return to McDowell’s pit box, as well.