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Brad Perez was recently announced as a part-time driver for the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. Perez will drive the No. 45 Chevrolet Camaro with Alpha Prime Racing, with sponsorship from Weiss Sand & Clay LP and Apex Coffee Roasters.
The 26-year-old emerging driver will make his first start of the 2024 Xfinity Series season at Circuit of the Americas on March 23. So who exactly is Brad Perez?
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Brad Adam Perez was born on January 21, 1997, in Florida and is a first-generation racer with Puerto Rican and Dominican origins. He graduated from Monsignor Edward Pace High School and Broward College in Miami Gardens, Florida.
In his free time, the stock car racing driver is a disc jockey and used to occasionally manage merchandise for the band I Set My Friends on Fire at concerts. Besides racing, Perez is a passionate fan of the Miami Dolphins in the NFL.
Perez's path into racing was not conventional. He grew up in a middle-class family with Dominican and Puerto Rican heritage in Florida and didn't have access to enough resources to support any form of racing.
So he started by focusing on baseball because of his father's college baseball background in the Dominican Republic. However, his passion for cars started at a young age, as noticed by his grandmother, and brought him into the world of motorsports.
Perez's racing career began in 2015 when he got into go-kart racing at the AMR Motorplex, outside of the Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Two years later, he joined the SCCA to compete in the Spec Miata category. During that time, he represented his own team "Brad Perez Racing," and was noticed by NASCAR teams. That allowed him to work as a tire specialist for teams such as JD Motorsports and Martins Motorsports, from 2019 to 2021.
In 2021, he made his ARCA Menards Series debut after being invited by NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Josh Williams. As a result, he made his first-ever start in the series and drove for Williams' at the Glen.
Perez made his first appearance in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2022. At the Circuit of the Americas and Reaume Brothers Racing, he finished in 20th place despite starting in the 32nd position.
Perez had his breakthrough in 2022 after competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International. Driving the No. 35 car with Emerling-Gase Motorsports, he made his first career top 20.
Last year, Brad Perez shared his end goal by saying (via Nascar.com):
"I think it’s the same goal that I had originally, but I think now I can accomplish it. I just want to be able to get paid to race. I want to race as much as I can. I want to be happy."
In January 2024, Perez was announced as a part-time driver for Alpha Prime Racing’s No. 45 NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Brad Perez to steer Alpha Prime Racing's No. 45 Xfinity car in select races in 2024
Brad Perez is back for 2024 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Alpha Prime Racing and will be driving the No. 45 Chevrolet Camaro for a few races. Apart from racing, Perez will take up the role of official team reserve driver as well as running simulator setups.
He will make his debut during the race on the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on the weekend of March 22. Despite his limited NASCAR experience, the 26-year-old driver has already competed in 12 races for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
