For the fourth time this ARCA Menards Series season, there will be 30-plus competitors. Yes, the Bush’s Beans 200 has 31 drivers competing at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday (Sept. 15). Who will shine under the lights at the 0.533-mile short track?
This event is a combination race for the main series and the ARCA Menards Series East. In addition, it is the East season finale.
Sammy Smith leads Taylor Gray by 33 points in the East standings. If Smith finishes 28th or better, he will clinch the East title, his second straight. Smith also can win the ARCA Menards Series Sioux Chief Showdown, a 10-race championship within the main series. If Smith finishes 27th or better, he will take that crown too.
Smith will also continue his part-time campaign in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Bristol behind the wheel of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The Xfinity race will take place on Friday, so Smith will gain 200 valuable laps at Bristol on Thursday in the ARCA event. It will be a busy two days for Smith.
Big days ahead 👊🏼
Going for the ARCA East and Sioux Chief Showdown Championships tomorrow night with @KBMteam and another Xfinity start with @JoeGibbsRacing on Friday ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/D7A68rEpwq
— Sammy Smith (@sammysmithSS) September 14, 2022
Smith finished second in the ARCA event at Bristol last year behind his teammate Ty Gibbs. Although Gibbs is not competing, Smith’s Xfinity teammate Brandon Jones will return to the No. 81 Toyota. Jones is making his fifth ARCA start of the season and 30th of his career.
Jones already boasts three victories in his four ARCA starts in 2022; can he finish his part-time slate with a fourth trophy?
“It’s kind of surprising how much running ARCA for a few races this season has helped me in the Xfinity car,” Jones said in a press release. “It gives me a big advantage to get on track before getting in the Xfinity car … The guys have been working hard in the shop on both the ARCA and Xfinity cars so hopefully we can get to Victory Lane in the No. 81 Menards/Toyota Camry on Thursday night…”
In his racing career at Bristol, Jones has 20 starts and scored four top fives and 10 top 10s with a best finish of third place in the 2020 Xfinity spring event.
In fact, no driver entered at Bristol has won at the track before in any series, so there are plenty of hungry ARCA drivers seeking the victory.
Gray has made five combined starts in his career, including four in ARCA competition. Gray finished…
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