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Staff Report www.arcaracing.com September 18, 2024
Photo: Jacob Kupferman/ARCA Racing
One of the biggest races on the 2024 ARCA schedule commences Thursday with the running of the Bush’s Beans 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
A combination event featuring both the ARCA Menards Series (national) and the ARCA Menards Series East, the race marks the championship finale for the latter series. Either rookie sensation Connor Zilisch or defending champion William Sawalich will leave Bristol on Thursday night as the East Series champion.
The Bush’s Beans 200 is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday. FS1 will provide live TV coverage of the 200-lap race, and a radio call can be heard on MRN.
Below are some storylines and stats ahead of ARCA’s annual visit to the venue known as “The Last Great Colosseum.”
Bush’s Beans 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway
- The Bush’s Best 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway will be the 18th ARCA Menards Series race of the 20-race 2024 schedule. It will also be the eighth and final race of the 2024 ARCA Menards Series East schedule. The race will pay full points to both series; the winner will be credited with a victory in each series.
- Connor Zilisch (No. 28 Silver Hare Development / Chevrolet Performance Chevrolet) enters the Bush’s Best 200 leading the ARCA Menards Series East standings by 16 points over William Sawalich (No. 18 Starkey / SoundGear Toyota). If Zilisch finishes 11th or better, he will win the ARCA Menards Series East championship regardless of what Sawalich does.
- Zilisch has won five ARCA Menards Series races in six starts this year: Dover Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Michigan International Speedway and last Friday’s race at Watkins Glen International. He finished second in his other ARCA Menards Series start at The Milwaukee Mile. Three of those victories – Dover, Iowa, and Indianapolis – were ARCA Menards Series East combination races. He also has a standalone East win at Flat Rock Speedway.
- Sawalich has seven ARCA Menards Series wins in 12 starts this year: Phoenix Raceway, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Berlin Raceway, Salem Speedway, Elko Speedway, the Illinois State Fairgrounds and The Milwaukee Mile. The win at Milwaukee was also an ARCA Menards Series East win; he has a standalone East win at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
- Andres Perez (No. 2 Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet) leads the ARCA Menards Series championship standings by a season-high 54 points over his Rev Racing teammate Lavar Scott (No. 6 Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet). Perez finished third at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2023 and seventh in 2022; Scott finished 17th in 2023. Logan Misuraca (No. 9 Clean Harbors Chevrolet) will make her first ARCA Menards Series start of 2024 in a third Rev Racing-fielded entry.
- Corey Day (No. 82 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet) will make his second ARCA Menards Series start in a second car entered by Pinnacle Racing Group. Day, who competes full-time in the High Limit Sprint Car Series, finished 15th in his series debut at Salem Speedway in July.
- ARCA Menards Series West championship points leader Tyler Reif (No. 23 Vegas Fastener / Sigma Performance Services Chevrolet) will make his second ARCA Menards Series start of 2024 and his first since he finished 11th at Phoenix Raceway. Reif, who won in his ARCA Menards Series debut at Phoenix in 2023, has two ARCA Menards Series West victories this season at Shasta Speedway and Tri-City Raceway; he leads the series standings by seven points over defending series champion Sean Hingorani.
- Five drivers are scheduled to run double duty in both the ARCA Menards Series/ARCA Menards Series East race and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday: Marco Andretti (No. 17 Group 1001 Chevrolet), Zilisch, Sawalich, Lawless Alan (No. 33 AutoParkIt Ford) and Dean Thompson (No. 55 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota).
- Former ARCA Menards Series winner Landen Lewis (No. 97 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet) will make his first series start since he finished 20th last year at Bristol. Lewis, who won at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in 2021, was battling for the lead late in last year’s race when he made contact with the Turn 1 wall.
- Dawson Sutton (No. 71 Chevrolet Performance / Wheeler Trucking Chevrolet) will make his debut in a car prepared by four-time ARCA Menards Series East championship-winning crew chief Mardy Lindley.
- Former ARCA Menards Series winners at Bristol Motor Speedway include Bobby Watson (1968), Ramo Stott (1969), Sam Mayer (2020), Ty Gibbs (2021), Sammy Smith (2022) and William Sawalich (2023).
- Former ARCA Menards Series East winners at Bristol Motor Speedway include Nelson Piquet, Jr. (2012), Dylan Kwasniewski (2013), Eddie MacDonald (2014), Kyle Benjamin (2015), Chad Finchum (2016), Harrison Burton (2017), Todd Gilliland (2018), Sam Mayer (2019 – 2, 2020), Ty Gibbs (2021), Sammy Smith (2022) and William Sawalich (2023).
- Ty Gibbs set the ARCA Menards Series track qualifying record at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2021 at 14.859 seconds/129.134 mph. Sammy Smith holds the ARCA Menards Series race record at 68.248 mph.
- Gibbs also holds the ARCA Menards Series East track qualifying record at Bristol Motor Speedway, set in 2021. Sam Mayer holds the ARCA Menards Series East race record, 93.936 mph, set in 2019.
- The race will be run under the Break Pit Stop format; there will be a five-minute break at or near Lap 100 for teams to change tires, add fuel, make adjustments and, if needed, make repairs. Teams may have eight tires in the pit box, four for use at the break and four for emergency use. Tire changes outside of the break must be approved by ARCA officials; any unapproved tire changes will result in a two-lap penalty.
- Should the race need to be extended into overtime, there will be unlimited attempts at a two-lap “green followed by white followed by checkered” finish. If the yellow flag is displayed after the white flag, there will be unlimited attempts at a one-lap “green-and-white-together followed by checkered” finish.
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