Set to return to the ARCA Menards Series for the first time in more than a month, veteran driver Greg Van Alst is hoping for a strong weekend at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway starting with Thursday night’s Bush’s Beans 200.
Since his last ARCA Menards Series race at Michigan International Speedway, Van Alst has focused on the future of his Greg Van Alst Motorsports program inside and outside the ARCA Menards Series garage.
Recently, Van Alst made his return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, tackling Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in a car fielded by SS-GreenLight Racing. He has also been steadily preparing for his final two races of the season at Bristol and next weekend at Kansas Speedway.
Once again, the Anderson, Ind. native will field two cars with Van Alst in his flagship No. 35 Ford and newcomer Isaac Johnson aboard the team’s No. 34 entry for the season’s penultimate ARCA Menards Series race.
But before Van Alst steers 100 percent concentration towards the Land of Oz, he’s excited about returning to the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile,” where he hopes to turn 500 laps in total between the ARCA Menards Series race and his third Xfinity Series start of the year with SS-GreenLight Racing.
“I’m glad to be back on the ARCA scene this weekend at Bristol,” said Van Alst. “I know it was disappointing not to be around the last month, but focusing on the future, where we are finalizing a plan to strengthen our team, it was necessary to step away and take a break.
“We’re refreshed and refocused and ready to get down to business at one of my favorite race tracks on the circuit. Hopefully, Thursday will be good for us.”
The former CRA | ARCA champion is set to make his fourth ARCA start in Thunder Valley. After posting just two top-15 finishes in 2021 and 2022, respectively, the family-owned team picked up the pace considerably last September, with Van Alst finishing fifth after starting 12th.
This year, Van Alst is aiming for a duplicate performance, or if luck paves the way, then to score his second ARCA Menards Series victory, the first since Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February 2023.
“We’ve worked hard on our short track program, especially with Bristol in mind,” explained Van Alst. “Our team is still riding the momentum of our sixth-place outing at Michigan International Speedway last month, and we’re looking to return to Bristol this week to capitalize on our notes and see if we can’t get some better track position for the start of the race that will hopefully open the door to our second top-five of the year.”
Following Thursday night’s penultimate ARCA short track race of the season, Van Alst will focus on making his fourth career Xfinity Series start competing in Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol.
“I’m hoping just to take the track time from Thursday and apply it to Friday,” added Van Alst. “The field will be incredibly tight for Xfinity, and it always is. But with just how short practice is on Friday afternoon, I believe the 200 laps plus whatever number of laps we can turn in for practice and qualifying will only be an asset to me.
“The competition varies for ARCA compared to Xfinity, but our expectations for both races are realistic. It will be a win if we finish the Xfinity race on the lead lap with a top-20 finish. Hopefully, from that, we can build on the schedule we set forth for the remainder of 2024.”
Van Alst will have primary partner support from Phil’s Heating and Air, with continued commitment from CB Fabrication, Jaccard Construction, Top Choice Fence and Zaki Ali.
“I just can’t thank everyone enough for believing in me and our program,” sounded Van Alst. “It means a lot, and I promise we have worked hard to come out of the box swinging at Bristol on Thursday. I am hoping to back it up at Kansas Speedway with two cars.
“We’ve been so fortunate to have new partners, old partners, and consistent partners throughout the ARCA Menards Series season. We could not have made it to the track without them, and I only know one way to thank them properly, and that’s putting our No. 35 Ford Fusion in Victory Lane.”
Since 2002, Van Alst has 51 ARCA Menards Series starts to his credit, one win, five top-five and 26 top-10 finishes.
For more on Greg Van Alst and Greg Van Alst Motorsports, please visit GregVanAlst.com, like them on Facebook (Van Alst Motorsports) and follow him on X | Twitter (@GregVanAlst35).
The Bush’s Bean 200 (200 laps | 106.6 miles) is the 18th of 20 races on the 2024 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice begins Thursday, September 19 from 1:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying follows beginning at 2:00 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later that afternoon shortly after 5:00 p.m. ET. The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (XM channel 391 | online channel 981) handling the radio waves. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire day’s festivities.
Greg Van Alst Motorsports PR
