“Someone else should be driving that race car.” Anthony Alfredo did not mince his words after coming off a wild wreck in Darlington. His fury was aimed at the No. 70 Xfinity Series Chevy driven by Leland Honeyman. With 17 laps to go at the Darlington race, Honeyman’s moves wreaked havoc in a multi-car crash that involved Harrison Burton, Ryan Sieg, and obviously Alfredo. Yet, Honeyman chose to remain adamant about his actions, defending himself.
Both Leland Honeyman and Anthony Alfredo started and ended outside the top 30. Alfredo could reach the top five and aspired to fetch his best Darlington finish. So when contact with Honeyman shattered his dream, his clenched fists and beet-red face were visible post-race. However, Honeyman was upset as well.
Leland Honeyman reverses the line of accusation
During the waning laps of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington, the two rivals were running in the middle of the pack. While Anthony Alfredo, who had finished 5th in the first stage, was hoping for a good points day, Leland Honeyman was running behind him. Upon entering Turn 1, Honeyman dove to the inside of Alfredo, slapping the back bumper of bystander Harrison Burton. Alfredo’s No. 42 was sent into a spin while Honeyman’s No. 70 slammed against the wall. Since the incident ruined both of their days, both of their tempers flared.
Anthony Alfredo made his raging emotions apparent soon after the race. Yet at the same time, Leland Honeyman did not appear too happy either – sparingly conceding to his own fault for causing the ruckus. The Cope Family Racing driver looked visibly rattled in an interview with Frontstretch as he admitted that Alfredo would not settle things with him. “He won’t even talk to me. I don’t know. I tried, but…It’s whatever.” Then, Honeyman bizarrely launched a diatribe of his own at his rival. He fiercely opposed any more efforts to appease Alfredo: “I ain’t even going to bother, he raced me like an a–hole all day.“
We’ll have a sprint to the finish after this incident involving the Nos. 42 and 70. pic.twitter.com/kTH6mfAaIA
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 5, 2025
Alfredo nestled among frontrunners in the early part of the race, taking advantage of a lap 23 caution for Kris Wright. He shuffled places with first-stage winner Harrison Burton, Ryan Sieg, and Brennan Poole. Although no reports of conflict emerged between them, Leland Honeyman insisted that Alfredo was at fault for the ruckus as well. “He races everybody like that. You can see it. People are mad. So it’s whatever. Race how you want to be raced, how they said in the driver’s meeting today. There are driver’s meetings for a reason, and some people belong in them.” He cut a little slack to Alfredo before resuming his bashing spree again. “I’m not saying that was his fault, but he did race like a jacka–. So that’s that, there’s no doubt about it.”
The drivers’ meeting happened due to the Martinsville chaos last weekend. Sammy Smith’s acts of vengeance against Taylor Gray had spun off the ordeal. Leland Honeyman claimed that Anthony Alfredo deserved that driver’s meeting – but ironically, the latter did not want any revenge. “I race people how I want to get raced. Just because someone did something to me doesn’t mean I’m going to do it to them, frankly, because I’d embarrass myself if I did something like that, but people like that don’t know better.”
Clearly, tempers are short on both sides of this conflict. What must have infuriated Leland Honeyman more is destroying a perfect throwback weekend.
Ruining the opponent’s colors of tribute
Darlington Raceway is embedded in the annals of NASCAR history. Opened way back in 1950, the egg-shaped oval has been synonymous with racing on the ragged edge of velocity and bravery. That is why drivers take part in the ‘Throwback Weekend.’ In practice since 2015, this concept pays tribute to all the star drivers who won with the ‘Lady in Black.’ Leland Honeyman had plans to do the same with his No. 70 Chevrolet. A week before starting the race in Darlington, his team, Cope Family Racing, announced a throwback scheme. Partnering with Distributor Wire & Cable (DWC), they honored the colors of Jeff Green’s Nesquik Chevrolet #10.
Leland Honeyman was evidently excited to hail the former NASCAR driver and crew chief. He said before the race, “I’m excited to honor Jeff Green and his iconic 2000 Nesquik paint scheme this weekend. Huge thanks to my partner, DWC, for making this throwback possible. Can’t wait to hit the track in style and with speed at The Lady in Black. Darlington’s always been one of my favorite stops on the schedule.” Unfortunately, Honeyman could not pay a proper tribute as he ended up in 37th place after the ill-fated wreck.
After yet another chaotic NASCAR Xfinity Series weekend, it appears that tempers are flaring yet again. We do not yet know if there will be a clean resolution, as Leland Honeyman and Anthony Alfredo remain at loggerheads.
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