Caesar Bacarella isn’t a frequent competitor in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but as of late, when the co-owner of Alpha Prime Racing has the opportunity to get behind the wheel (usually on superspeedways), it has resulted in some good finishes.
That’s likely the biggest factor in the Parkland, Florida-native fighting his hardest to drive the No. 5 Mongoose Power Solutions Chevrolet in Saturday’s United Rentals 250 at Talladega, despite fighting a battle with a sinus infection that left Bacarella with an intense headache.
Stefan Parsons, who has occasionally competed for Alpha Prime Racing, was on standby for Saturday’s 250-miler at Talladega in the event that Bacarella was unable to take the green flag or needed relief midway through the event.
“I had a sinus infection that was giving me a migraine headache, and I was struggling,” Bacarella said about his condition before Saturday’s event. “Then, I was able to pull through it.”
Making just his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the 2025 campaign, Bacarella took the green flag behind the wheel of his No. 5 Chevrolet, a fourth entry for Alpha Prime Racing, and launched from 25th. The 49-year-old then dropped to the tail-end of the field and rode around — the typical blueprint for Bacarealla in speedway events.
RACE RESULTS: NASCAR Xfinity Series United Rentals 250 at Talladega
Following the final yellow flag of the afternoon, displayed with two laps to go for a vicious crash by Aric Almirola, the race went into NASCAR Overtime, and Bacarella decided that it was time to go.
Some front-runners trickled to pit road as the field went over the scheduled distance of 94 laps, allowing Bacarella to gain additional spots and restart inside the top-15.
In the final (approximately) five miles of Saturday’s event, Bacarella was able to drive his No. 5 Chevrolet from 15th into the top-five, after pushing Garrett Smithley into the top-three, and finding himself in the right position when the field scattered to avoid the crashing Nick Sanchez on the backstretch.
Bacarella was even attempting to snag fourth away from Christian Eckes in the final moments of Saturday’s event, but ultimately came up one thousandth of a second short of getting by the Kaulig Racing driver — but, I don’t think Bacarella is too upset about that single position.
“I’m proud of the team,” Bacarella said post-race. “This is a team top-five — it’s a team thing, it’s not about me. It shows the hard work. We’ve been struggling on the superspeedways this year, and when I qualified the car, I knew I had something. The car sucked up so good, probably one of the best sucking up cars I’ve had.”
top 5! @AlphaBacarella pic.twitter.com/kthiRR4MPN
— bread perez (@bradxperez) October 18, 2025
It’s a career-best result and the first career top-five for Bacarella, who has been competing on a part-time basis in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the last eight years. But, in the last couple of seasons, since becoming a co-owner of Alpha Prime Racing, the results have really begun to turn around.
Bacarella, in the 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts he’s now made since the beginning of the 2023 campaign, has recorded a single top-five (Saturday) and four top-10 results — three of which have come on the high-banks of Talladega Superspeedway.
“I’m just proud,” Bacarella added, beaming. “Happy the race is over. The last three laps, I tell people with superspeedway racing, that you’re playing chess with a rattlesnake. You gotta pick every move, and the next thing you know, you’re getting [bitten] in the ass.”
Now, I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen on Talladega Boulevard in their celebrations on Saturday, but at least until the time that the race finished, Bacarella avoided getting himself a nasty snake-bite.
