SALEM, Ind: Fresh off a top-10 finish in the most recent race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, ARCA Menards Series veteran Greg Van Alst treks to Salem (Ind.) Speedway, the site of Saturday night’s Mid-Summer Classic 200, looking to keep his recent momentum alive.
Last weekend, the Anderson, Ind. native had a hectic weekend of racing, competing at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and making his third career NASCAR Xfinity Series at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
While Friday night resulted in Van Alst’s fifth top-10 finish of the 2024 season, his return to the Xfinity Series was solid, but transmission woes interrupted him in the closing laps of the Pennzoil 250.
Putting the double duty weekend behind him, Van Alst has shifted his focus to one of Southern Indiana’s most famed short tracks, the high banks of Salem Speedway – eyeing his third straight top-10 performance.
Van Alst will make his third career ARCA Menards Series at the half-mile short track and looks to capitalize on the tracks’ dynamic surface by besting his seventh place finish in 2022, but also capturing his second top-five finish of the ARCA Menards Series season – just past the halfway point.
Like Indianapolis Raceway Park, Van Alst knows Salem Speedway will not only be a tense race, but with the pace much quicker, the former ARCA | CRA Super Series champion also knows things can happen in a hurry – putting the driver on alert for 200 laps on Saturday night.
“Salem Speedway is a blast to race,” recalled Van Alst. “It’s a Bristol and Darlington Raceway all in one, making it super exciting. It will be a busy weekend again for my team as Isaac (Johnson) will be there in a second car, but nothing like the pressure we felt last weekend.
“We’re still chasing that points lead. Andres is running strong, and we’re right in his footsteps by a couple of positions. One mistake and the points could shake up like that. That’s why our Van Alst Motorsports team needs to leave nothing on the table.”
After practicing and qualifying in the afternoon and taking the green flag approaching sunset, Van Alst expects the track to change on Saturday night. He believes his Jim Long-led team will be able to keep up the varying track changes, propelling him into contention to win his second career ARCA victory on Saturday night.
During his full-time campaign in 2022, Van Alst finished second at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, a track with characteristics similar to Salem, leaves Van Alst feeling he is in a good place.
“I’ve said since the beginning of the season we need to improve our short track program, and we are making progress,” Van Alst added. “It hasn’t been without a lot of hard work by my guys and Isaac bringing additional feedback.
“It was a huge accomplishment to bring two Van Alst Motorsports cars home in the top-10 last weekend at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, and I’d love nothing more than to do it again on Saturday night. We have to make sure we can keep up with the adjustments and keep our nose clean, literally.”
Like last weekend, Zaki Ali (Injury & Criminal Trial Attorney; 1-888-649-1-ALI) has returned to the winning ARCA Menards Series operation as the primary partner of the team’s No. 35 Ford for the highly contested 200-lap race on Saturday night.
In addition to Zaki Ali, CB Fabricating and Top Choice Fence will serve as associate partners for Van Alst’s 49th career ARCA start.
With 10 races complete, Van Alst remains second in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, 46 points behind championship leader Andrés Pérez de Lara, with 10 races remaining this year.
Since 2002, Van Alst has 48 ARCA Menards Series starts to his credit, one win, five top-five and 24 top-10 finishes.
As mentioned, Indiana native Isaac Johnson returns in a second car for Greg Van Alst Motorsports at Salem.
Johnson will drive the No. 34 Endress | Hauser Ford for his fifth career ARCA start. He will also return to the organization at Kansas Speedway in September.
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 Mid-Summer Classic 200 (200 laps | 111 miles) is the 11th of 20 races on the 2024 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice begins Saturday, July 27, from 3:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying follows beginning at 5:15 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later in the day shortly after 8:00 p.m. ET. The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and streaming on FloRacing. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities. All times are local (ET).
