ELKO, Minn: Approaching the end of a four-race short track stretch in the ARCA Menards Series, Greg Van Alst eyes Saturday night’s Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy Paints at Elko (Minn.) Speedway as a massive opportunity to rebound following a disappointing race last weekend at Salem Speedway.
Feeling optimistic about returning to one of his favorite Indiana short tracks, Van Alst felt like he had a chance of delivering back-to-back top-10 finishes, but a tango with a lapped car in the race not only destroyed his race car but Van Alst took a dive in the championship point standings too.
While the championship is still in reach, Van Alst is focused on solid finishes, knowing that top-five and top-10 finishes will deliver the points needed to climb back into the championship chatter.
Elko Speedway, the tight Minnesota short track, provides an opportunity for Van Alst and his team to rebound.
“Salem was definitely disappointing on my side,” explained Van Alst. As a team owner, it was great to see Isaac succeed with a strong lead lap sixth-place finish. He did a great job, and I’m really proud of him. Still, where there was a lot to be happy about with the No. 34 team, on the flip side, it was frustrating for our No. 35 team.
“We aren’t going to bow out now. We will keep digging, improve our cars, and vow not to go down without a fight for the series championship. Elko is a must-rebound for our team, and I know we can fight toward a top-five finish on Saturday night.”
The Anderson, Ind. native will make his second ARCA Menards Series start at Elko Speedway on Saturday night. In 2022, Van Alst started the night in his No. 35 Ford ninth and finished a respectable eighth.
Two years later, Van Alst doesn’t believe a top-10 will cut it. He is focused on earning his second top-five of the season just past the halfway point of the season.
“We’ve been telling everyone that we need to earn more top-five finishes,” Van Alst continued. “We are definitely working towards that. Last weekend was an example of our hard work with Isaac’s performance. The series is competitive right now. If you make one mistake, you can not only be outside the top 10 but out of the race.
“The Rev Racing team has done a good job of finishing races and minimizing mistakes. We need to take the remainder of the second half of the season to try and turn up the heat a little bit by making sure we are working even harder to be better off the hauler. If we can do that, our race program will elevate even more.
“That’s our goal anyways, and we’ll use what we learned at Elko in 2022 to our advantage this weekend.”
Saturday night’s 200-lap race will mark Van Alst’s 50th career ARCA start.
With 11 races completed, Van Alst sits third in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, 13 points behind Lavar Scott for second, and 61 points behind championship leader Andrés Pérez de Lara, with nine races remaining this year.
Since 2002, Van Alst has 49 ARCA Menards Series starts to his credit, one win, five top-five and 24 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 Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy Paints (250 laps | 94 miles), is the 12th of 20 races on the 2024 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice begins Saturday, August 3, from 3:40 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., with an additional session from 4:10 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying follows beginning at 5:20 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later in the day shortly after 8:00 p.m. CT (9:00 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 (CT).
