Brad Perez will pilot the No. 45 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Circuit of the Americas on March 23rd. Perez announced the news on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Monday morning.
The 26-year-old racer will have sponsorship backing from longtime partners Weiss Sand & Clay LP and Apex Coffee Roasters for the event.
In addition to the race at COTA, Perez will serve as the team’s development driver and he will be named Alpha Prime Racing’s official reserve driver in 2024. According to a press release, Perez will be a key component in setting up the organization’s new in-shop simulator.
The skilled road racing ace is elated to continue driving in the NASCAR National Series in 2024.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to progress my career with Alpha Prime Racing,” Perez said. “This is a great environment for me to learn from veterans on this squad and show my talent. I’m excited to get to COTA in our Weiss Sand & Clay Camaro and have a good day and grow on what we accomplished at Road America last year.”
Perez tells TobyChristie.com that if more sponsorship funding is secured, he hopes to add additional events to his 2024 schedule at Alpha Prime Racing. On SiriusXM, Perez said he is close to securing the funding needed for the Chicago Street Course event.
“Weiss Sand and Clay is honored to team up with Alpha Prime and support Brad,” a statement from Weiss Sand and Clay explained. “As a smaller Texas business, we appreciate who he is and what he brings to the track every day. Brad’s the kind of guy who’ll put everything he has into what he does and we fully support him.”
Apex Coffee Roasters is equally excited to be partnered with Perez for a third season.
“We are looking forward to this year’s race at COTA, which will mark our third year partnering with Brad,” said a statement from the company. “The name and colors of Apex Coffee Roasters were chosen because of our love for racing. Brad’s dedication to his craft, and to his sponsors has been great to see, and we’ve enjoyed being a small part of his journey, and cant wait to see what this new season will bring for him.”
Perez, a native of Hollywood, FL, has carved out a solid career as a part-time journeyman racer in the NASCAR National Series ranks. Perez, who cut his racing teeth on road courses in Spec-Miata racing, has started a total of seven NASCAR Xfinity Series races and five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events over the last two seasons.
The driver has a NASCAR Xfinity Series career-best finish of 19th, which he achieved at Road America in a one-off start with Alpha Prime Racing a season ago.
When not serving as a driver in the NASCAR National Series, Perez is often found serving as a tire specialist, and he’ll continue that with Young’s Motorsports in 2024. Perez also does a lot of work in the music industry.
He’s grown a reputation as one of the most fun and upbeat individuals in the NASCAR garage area. His grind and attitude continue to open up opportunities for Perez.
Perez joins Alpha Prime Racing co-owner Caesar Bacarella as the announced drivers so far for the part-time 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule for the No. 45 team.
Bacarella announced a four-race schedule back on January 3rd, which will include the four Superspeedway events beginning with the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway on February 17th.
As previously announced, Ryan Ellis and Brennan Poole will serve as full-time drivers for the team in 2024 in the No. 43 and No. 44 entries.
