NEWTON, Iowa: Greg Van Alst is thankful for the recent two-week break from ARCA Menards Series competition.
But as the series inches closer to waving the green flag in Friday night’s Atlas 150 at Iowa Speedway, the veteran Van Alst is looking at classic short track showdown as the opportunity to start the ARCA Menards Series summer stretch with back-to-back top-10 finishes at the famed Midwest short track.
With a commendable 11th place finish in the series’ most recent race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend, the Anderson, Ind. native is acutely aware that his family-owned Greg Van Alst Motorsports team must eschew finishes outside the top-10 and reestablish their position inside the top-10 every week if they are to remain contenders in the championship race.
“Undoubtedly, an 11th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway wasn’t our ideal result, but considering the circumstances, it was a small triumph for our team,” expressed Van Alst.
“We’re missing something, but we are working endlessly to discover that one component. Once we get our hands around what we’ve missed the last few weeks, you’ll see us back hunting for top-five and top-10 finishes.
“Thankfully, we’ve spent the last few weeks catching up on our cars. Not only for Iowa Speedway this weekend, but Mid-Ohio next weekend and the upcoming races at Berlin, Indianapolis, and so on.”
The grueling part of the series schedule is on the horizon. The grueling part of the series schedule is on the horizon.
“Over the next two months, we’ll run seven races, well over the halfway point. With the short tracks traditionally showcasing fewer cars than some of the bigger tracks, we must be ready to pounce on any opportunity to collect points.
“I really feel like we have some good tracks for us coming, and we’re ready to put our foot forward and capitalize on our Iowa Speedway finish from June 2022 with another solid run on Friday night.”
In his lone trip to the 0.875-mile short track, Van Alst started 10th and kept the nose clean on his No. 35 Ford Mustang to finish a respectable eighth. The effort was just one of 11 top-10 finishes during his inaugural full-time season of ARCA competition.
Planning to go start to finish for the 2024 ARCA Menards Series schedule, Van Alst is seeking his third top-10 finish in a combined race with the ARCA Menards Series East division.
“Learned a lot at Iowa a couple of years ago,” recalled Van Alst. “It was a solid night for us, and with the mix of two series on Friday night, the competition will be stiff, but I think there is an opportunity for us to improve on the handling of our race car and contend for our third top-10 or better on Friday night.”
This weekend, the family-owned team welcomes CB Fabricating as the primary partner of the team’s No. 35 Ford Fusion for 150 laps of action.
Headquartered in Anderson, Ind., CB Fabricating offers a complete list of fabricating from design, laser cutting, CNC punching, forming, welding, powder coating, and assembly.
In addition to CB Fabricating, Zaki Ali (Injury & Criminal Trial Attorney; 1-888-649-1-ALI), Norton Transport, ProSeedUSA.com and Top Choice Fence will serve as associate partners for Van Alst’s 45th career ARCA start.
ProSeedUSA.com is a new partner to the No. 35 Greg Van Alst Motorsports team for Iowa.
There are a lot of regional suppliers to choose from, but only Pro-Seed USA provides custom recommendations based on your business goals and local soil types. They know the importance of keeping costs low while seeking a return on investment with every kernel at direct wholesale pricing.
Pro-Seed USA promises to sell you name-brand products, not a generic brand. And they are more than just a seed distributor — they are the people you can get honest answers from about any aspect of your business.
“The ARCA season is a continued grind, and I’m super blessed to continue to have the support of CB Fabricating back on board as the primary partner this weekend at Iowa, sounded Van Alst.
“It’s a big weekend of racing in the Midwest, and with the ARCA race expected to sell out, this weekend brings the opportunity to introduce our partners to a new audience on both television and the track.
“I believe our team is ready for the battle. It will be a competitive race, but we have taken steps to put our team back in the top-10 and kick off the beginning of our summer stretch on a high note.”
With six races complete, Van Alst remains second in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, 16 points behind championship leader Andrés Pérez de Lara, with 13 races remaining this year.
Since 2002, Van Alst has 44 ARCA Menards Series starts to his credit, one win, five top-five and 21 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 Atlas 150 (150 laps | 131.25 miles) is the seventh of 20 races on the 2024 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice is set for Friday, June 14, from 2:00 – 2:45 p.m. Group qualifying will begin at 3:00 p.m. The race is set for later in the day, scheduled to take the green flag shortly after 7:00 p.m. (8:00 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 weekend festivities. All times are local (CT).
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