Beard Motorsports carries on in honor of late patriarch
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. >> Anthony Alfredo qualified for the Daytona 500 — no guarantee for the 24-year-old nicknamed “Fast Pasta” — and wrapped his arms tight around retired driver Brendan Gaughan for a bear hug.
Alfredo was hoisted high for a fleeting moment before his feet returned to pit road and the jubilation continued. He wiped away tears and hugged everyone he could find. Over the moon with joy, team owner Linda Beard and daughter Amie pulled in Alfredo for another embrace and shared a few congratulatory words.
Alfredo put Beard Motorsports back in NASCAR’S biggest spectacle. Yes, he did it for himself as he chases a full-time Cup ride, but also for the Beards and the late patriarch of the team and family, Mark Beard.
The one-car team races only a handful of times each season and does not own a charter, which would assure it a spot in the Daytona 500. Beard Motorsports failed to qualify a year ago with driver Austin Hill. Missing the race was brutal in any circumstance. But understanding the significance of the race to Mark Beard, who started racing go-karts at 8 years old and had his own NASCAR career cut short because of sponsorship woes, made the family resolute in trying again in his honor in 2024.
“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,” Alfredo said. “Linda and Amie want this so bad. I think it was just really cool to accomplish that together.”
Now it’s time for them to make a run at winning the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
“I think dad would be extremely excited and thrilled. Losing dad was very hard,” Aime Beard-deja said. “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 Motorsports is a family business. Linda and her children, Amie and Mark Jr., run the team for the Daytona 500 and three other superspeedway races scheduled for this season.
Weather is expected to play a role in Sunday’s race. The forecast was so poor that NASCAR on Friday decided to run the ARCA race scheduled for Saturday after Friday night’s Truck Series race.
The final practice session ahead of the Daytona 500 was canceled Saturday morning because of rain at the track. NASCAR also moved Saturday’s scheduled Xfinity Series race to Monday.
There’s less chance of the Daytona 500 being prematurely altered from its scheduled Sunday afternoon start time, even though NASCAR moved up the Clash by a full a day earlier this month because of heavy rain in Los Angeles. Unless the weather conditions are dangerous, NASCAR is most likely expected to wait it out as long as possible Sunday before deciding if the race needs to be postponed until Monday.