CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Jan. 17) — Garrett Alberson wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the final weekend of the Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout at Central Arizona Raceway. Through Wednesday, he hadn’t yet been convinced he had a race-winning car.

That uncertainty ballooned Friday when a broken rocker arm left him running on seven cylinders, though he still salvaged a sixth-place finish. The setback pushed Alberson toward a more conservative approach for the final two rounds and forced the Roberts Motorsports team to rely upon its secondary car.

But Alberson’s brother Dylan, who crews for him during Georgia-Florida Speedweeks before returning to his day job as a whitewater raft guide for OARS Rafting Destinations in Idaho, had a feeling the night would end on an especially positive note.

“This car right here is Fancy,” Dylan said prerace. “It’s never lost from the pole. It’s a ground-pounder.”

After Saturday, Fancy’s record remains perfect when it starts on the pole position as Alberson unleashed a smackdown on the 25-car field, sweeping the night for an emphatic 5.5-second victory over Hudson O’Neal and proving his Plan B was anything but second-rate.

“I don’t know if saving it is the right word, but we were putting so much effort into Frost, our other car, and we were trying to keep from making too much work between here and Speedweeks,” the 36-year-old Alberson said. “And that’s just the way it went with that motor going down there yesterday. Luckily nothing major, but, yeah, a big shoutout to (engine builder) Glenn Clements and the guys. This thing ran like crazy.”

Indeed, Alberson was fast all night, from qualifying all the way through lap 40 of the $15,000-to-win feature. Despite going out 14th of 19 in Group B, he laid down the fastest lap in his group at 15.186 seconds and third overall fastest lap of the night, behind O’Neal’s 15.039 and Mike Marlar’s 15.181.

In his heat race, he kept Bobby Pierce at bay, leading all eight laps to set himself for the pole. From there, Alberson took care of business, wiring the field aboard the car he’s dubbed Fancy, just like he did in flag-to-flag victories last Aug. 29 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., and Sept. 18 at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway.

“This car is has been really good. Sometimes different cars have different characteristics to them. This car feels pretty neutral,” Alberson said. “It doesn’t really have a characteristic that really sticks out, but it makes good speed and is easy to drive. The motor that’s in it, that combo right there has been really good.”

Alberson appeared to push himself as hard as he could Saturday, but that wasn’t necessarily the case. His water temperature light popped on a few times, telling Alberson he needed to pace himself better.

“I was trying to manage that and not be too silly,” he said. “But man, when I needed to, I could turn and go, and get through them lapped cars when I needed to go and stuff. Yeah that was pretty sweet.”

Davenport pressured Alberson only briefly on laps 9 and 10 when he pulled within three-tenths of the eventual winner. But after that, Alberson turned up the wick, stretching out his lead to 1.5 seconds by lap 18, 2.5 seconds by lap 22, four seconds by lap 27 and more than five seconds by lap 29.

“I saw (Davenport) that one time. I was trying to be patient with my tires at first, as much as I could there. And I knew I was maybe giving up some speed here and there, but I was trying to be smart and not blister out too early,” Alberson said. “I seen him down there the one time in three and four. Luckily it was the side of the track where I could get my speed built back up. And then I eased down there, make sure I didn’t chop him off too bad, just break his rhythm a little bit there. 

“But then we caught lapped traffic again, and it put me right back in the lane I was. So I was like, ‘I better protect what I got.’ The lane kinda crept up in the middle of three and four, and I think I found to get out there earlier a little quicker than some. And that helped me get to the straightway really good. Man, I just can’t say enough about what this crew did. I’ve been working on it, trying to make it feel right all week. (Consultant) Vinny (Guliani) came in here and nailed it first try. Sometimes I just need to quit overthinking it.”

The Roberts Motorsports race-day crew, led by second-year crew chief Zach Huston and bolstered by the return of tire specialist Chasin Luther, have fostered a tight-knit operation rooted in togetherness, positivity and relentless effort behind the scenes, making Friday’s setback less painstaking. 

“We work super hard, not just me. The boys, like, we've been after it,” Huston said. “We work so hard in the shop to get these things ready. I mean, like, it's just endless. Yeah, (Friday) sucked. We had a really good car. Sixth on seven cylinders is pretty impressive for this field of cars. And then they come out tonight and just completely sweep the night is just incredible. I never would have guessed that would happen.

“Them boys work their butts off. Me Dylan, Chasin, Garrett’s out here with us all the time, man. We just never give up, this whole team. Yeah, it's the best part of it. No matter what happens, dude, we're always positive the next day. It's just a new day. You keep racing no matter what. That's how we look at it.

“It's a lot of Garrett, you know? He never gets down. He just keeps, no matter what happens, he keeps trucking man. He keeps me up, I keep him up,” Huston said. “We’re just a good team, man. I really like it here.”

The team will also receive a third helping hand to round out its full-time crew in May, adding Peyton Hines from the University of Northwestern Ohio's motorsports program, a move Huston said “we’re all looking forward to.”

With the nucleus intact for another season, Huston is aiming to guide Alberson and the Roberts Motorsports team to new heights, particularly on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. After finishing sixth in the tour’s standings last year in their first season together, they’re intent on establishing itself as a legitimate title threat.

“I think if we start off swinging and just stay consistent, you know? Just never get your head down and keep racing — that’s it,” Huston said. “I’d like to think we could be there in the end. You never know what’s gonna happen, but I think we’re good enough to be there. It’s only year two with me and Garrett, and I think we race really well together. We’re just going to keep building from here. I’m super excited about it. This shows what we’re capable of.”