Garrett Alberson is on the verge of breaking back into victory lane. How close? He can explain.

“That second right there to me was a little more satisfying overall than the Wednesday race,” the Lac Cruces, N.M., native said Friday after his second consecutive runner-up finish.

“I was a little bit closer to (Bobby Pierce)," he added. "I feel I could keep pace with him a little more than just having track position and stuff like that. I was really happy with that.”

Indeed, the hometown racer for a minute on Wednesday had Pierce in his crosshairs, whittling a two-second lead down to a half second with seven laps remaining. On the harder right-rear tire, Alberson’s chances of overtaking Pierce were possible.

“Yeah I was trying to be smart. We were driving so hard up there, I was trying pace my left-rear if I could,” Alberson said. “I knew he was softer on the right-rear, so I tried using my right-rear as an advantage right there.”

Then Collen Winebarger drew the yellow with three laps left, stunting Alberson’s momentum.

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“Right before that yellow I felt like I was getting somewhere,” Alberson said. “On that restart I just knew I had to drive as hard as I possibly could if I even wanted to have a shot at him. He’s about as good as it gets on the top right there.

“When I dove under him, back to the bottom on that last lap there — it was kind of a Hail Mary deal just to say I tried — I rolled up way closer to him than I thought. My car is probably even better than I think it is. I’m pretty stoked about that.”

Finishing runner-up twice in a row to Pierce, the 34-time winner last year and already three-time winner 12 days into 2024, isn’t something Alberson takes lightly.

“That’s the thing with Bobby. He seems confidence-driven, and when he has confidence like he does in his car right now he’s doing everything he needs to do,” Alberson said. “Him and Bob (Pierce’s father) are so good at communicating, he’s just on top of the world right now. For me to be as close as we are, and feel we have that good of a shot at it, I’m pretty ecstatic.

“No, I’m ecstatic. You have to race with the best to get to where you want to get. I’m just happy to be there. I feel like we have a shot at it.”