In 2025, the Viking Motorsports team fielded Matt DiBenedetto and Conor Mosack in the #99 Chevrolet. Matt DiBenedetto completed the bulk of the season, but parted ways with the team with immediate effect on October 13th. Mosack took over for the rest of the season, but didn’t find the level of success that DiBenedetto achieved. However, the two drivers will not be returning for the coming O’Reilly Auto Parts season, as the team has made a fresh announcement for their 2026 ride.

Viking Motorsports signs Hendrick’s sim driver

Rick Hendrick’s loyal full-time sim driver Anthony Alfredo will take over the No. 96 car for the new 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts campaign.

Since a single full-time Cup campaign in 2021 for Front Row Motorsports, Alfredo hadn’t run full-time in the Cup Series. However, he did land a sweet gig at Hendrick Motorsports as a simulator test driver. Though that does not mean that he has been idle when it comes to real racing. At the Cup level, he has competed in a handful of races for the erstwhile Live Fast Motorsports and Beard Motorsports.

Other than that, he has competed full-time in the then Xfinity Series for Our Motorsports, BJ McLeod Motorsports, and Young’s Motorsports. However, for the 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts season, he moves to Viking Motorsports, replacing DiBenedetto and Mosack. So far, neither Mosack nor DiBenedetto has a contract for the new season. However, both are talented drivers, and there are a few spots available in the O’Reilly Auto Parts driver market.

Alfredo said in his announcement video, “It means a lot to be part of the growing programme at Viking Motorsports. They’re really setting a precedence of being a competitive team and I’m proud to be a part of it. The expectations heading into 2026 is to certainly be competitive and make the Playoffs. That’s our ultimate goal and we’re going to need to win races and run up front to do that and I look forward to that challenge.”

Alfredo confirmed that he will reunite with crew chief Joshua Graham for the new campaign. They last worked together in 2024 at Our Motorsports, picking up two Top 5s and five Top 10s. With that said, ‘Fast Pasta’ is confident of reaching greater heights with Viking Motorsports with a familiar face in his corner. This will also be the second time he works in a team that has another car besides his own, and this time, his teammate is Parker Retzlaff.

What happens to his duties at Hendrick Motorsports?

The great thing about NASCAR drivers is that they are great at multitasking. Alfredo will definitely be capable of juggling his full-time O’Reilly Auto Parts campaign with his simulator duties with HMS. After all, he was actively racing with Young’s Motorsports while also performing sim duties with the top Cup team. Any data that he gathered definitely proved to be invaluable and probably contributed to Kyle Larson’s 2025 title win.

For the moment, Anthony Alfredo will be eagerly awaiting his new challenge with Viking Motorsports.

Team owner Don Sackett said, “Expanding to a second full-time car is a major moment for our organization. Anthony [Alfredo] brings experience, professionalism, and a tremendous work ethic that aligns perfectly with where Viking Motorsports is heading. Reuniting him with Josh gives us a strong foundation for this new team. Their chemistry, trust, and history together will help accelerate our growth and elevate our entire program.”

The organization was founded in 2024, so it is a relatively young team. In fact, the 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will mark its third year in the competition.