What has been a healthy 2024 ARCA Menards Series season for car counts so far, will continue in Saturday’s General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway as 36 cars are entered into the race. Up to 40 cars are permitted to start races in the ARCA Menards Series, which means nobody will go home for the first time this year.
William Sawalich, who won the most recent ARCA Menards Series event, which was contested at Phoenix Raceway on March 8, will not compete in this event as he is not 18 years old, a requirement for drivers at Superspeedways in ARCA and NASCAR. In place of Sawalich in the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will be full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor Tanner Gray.
Greg Van Alst, who currently holds a five-point lead over Christian Rose and Andres Perez in the championship standings, will once again pilot his family-owned No. 35 Chevrolet this weekend. Van Alst has just one career ARCA Menards Series win, but it came at Daytona, another Superspeedway, last season.
Rose, who finished third in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings a season ago, has already reached half of the total of top-fives that he had a season ago (2) through just the opening two races of the season. The AM Racing driver has been solid through the opening two events of the year.
Likewise, Amber Balcaen, who has run into bad luck throughout her stint in the ARCA Menards Series, is finally finding some luck in 2024, and she is getting finishes to show for it. The Venturini Motorsports racer sits fourth in the championship standings and is less than 10 points from the point lead after finishes of ninth and 15th in the opening two races.
While it’s been a dream start for Balcaen, it’s been a rough start for the remainder of the Venturini Motorsports team.
Fellow full-timers Toni Breidinger, Kris Wright were swept up in crashes at Daytona, and find themselves 12th and 19th in the championship standings. They’ll look to work their way back up the standings this weekend at Talladega.
Part-timers Jake Finch and Gus Dean found themselves at odds in the season-opener at Daytona after Dean vowed on the radio to help Finch for the race win, but then opted to change his mind without telling anyone. Dean went on to win, while Finch crashed in the closing laps. Dean and Finch are back in the lineup this weekend for Venturini Motorsports.
General Tire 200 at Talladega Entry List
| Entry | No. | Driver | Team | Crew Chief |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | Ben Peterson | Wayne Peterson Racing Peterson Motorsports Toyota | Wayne Peterson |
| 2 | 01 | Cody Dennison | Fast Track Racing ALL CAPS Comics Ford | Nathan Davis |
| 3 | 2 | Andres Perez | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet | Glenn Parker |
| 4 | 03 | Alex Clubb | Clubb Racing Race Parts Liquidators Ford | Brian Clubb |
| 5 | 06 | Con Nicolopoulos | Wayne Peterson Racing Peterson Motorsports Ford | Michael Peterson |
| 6 | 6 | Lavar Scott | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet | Danny Johnson |
| 7 | 7 | Eric Caudell | CCM Racing RYDIN / Coble Enterprises / Red Tide Canopies Toyota | Kyle Totman |
| 8 | 8 | Sean Corr | Empire Racing Nesco Bus Sales Chevrolet | Derek Kearns |
| 9 | 10 | Ed Pompa | Fast Track Racing HYTORC of NY / Double H Ranch Toyota | Todd Parrott |
| 10 | 11 | Bryce Haugeberg | Fast Track Racing Karcher / Brenco Toyota | Chris Vanscoy |
| 11 | 12 | Ryan Roulette | Fast Track Racing Bellator Recruiting Academy / VFW Ford | Jeremy Petty |
| 12 | 15 | Kris Wright | Venturini Motorsports FNB Corporation Toyota | Larry Balsitis |
| 13 | 18 | Tanner Gray | Joe Gibbs Racing Place Of Hope Toyota | Matt Ross |
| 14 | 20 | Jake Finch | Venturini Motorsports Phoenix Construction Toyota | Shannon Rursch |
| 15 | 22 | Amber Balcaen | Venturini Motorsports Icon Technologies Toyota | Dave Fuge |
| 16 | 25 | Toni Breidinger | Venturini Motorsports Raising Cane’s Toyota | Cayden Lapcevich |
| 17 | 27 | Tim Richmond | Richmond Motorsports Immigration Law Center Toyota | Adam Murphy |
| 18 | 30 | Frankie Muniz | Rette Jones Racing Ford | Mark Rette |
| 19 | 31 | Casey Carden | Rise Motorsports nationalpolice.org Chevrolet | Tim Goulet |
| 20 | 32 | Christian Rose | AM Racing West Virginia Department of Tourism Ford | Ryan London |
| 21 | 35 | Greg Van Alst | Greg Van Alst Motorsports Zaki Ali Injury & Criminal Attorney / ZakiAli.com Chevrolet | Jim Long |
| 22 | 44 | Thomas Annunziata | Ferrier McClure Racing Nerd Focus Chevrolet | Jeff McClure |
| 23 | 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Motorsports Copraya.com Ford | Terry Strange |
| 24 | 55 | Gus Dean | Venturini Motorsports Dean Custom Air Toyota | Kevin Reed Jr |
| 25 | 57 | Hunter Deshautelle | Brother In Law Motorsports Chevrolet | Bob Rahilly |
| 26 | 68 | Jeff Scofield | Kimmel Racing JXT Transportation Chevrolet | Brian Finney |
| 27 | 69 | Scott Melton | Kimmel Racing Melton McFadden Insurance / Donna’s Donuts Ford | Bill Kimmel |
| 28 | 73 | Andy Jankowiak | KLAS Motorsports Acacia Energy Ford | Mike Dayton |
| 29 | 87 | Chuck Buchanan | Charles Buchanan Racing Spring Drug Chevrolet | Craig Wood |
| 30 | 88 | A.J. Moyer | Moyer-Petroniro Racing River’s Edge Cottages & RV Park / Ampere EV Chevrolet | Rick Maring |
| 31 | 93 | Caleb Costner | Costner Weaver Motorsports Lickety Lew’s / Heritage Water Systems Chevrolet | Riley Higgins |
| 32 | 97 | Jason Kitzmiller | CR7 Motorsports A.L.L. Construction Chevrolet | Frank Kimmel |
| 33 | 98 | Dale Shearer | Shearer Speed Racing Toyota | Ian Egert |
| 34 | 99 | Michael Maples | Fast Track Racing Don Ray Petroleum LLC Chevrolet | Mike Sroufe |
| WD | 63 | John Aramendia | Spraker Racing Enterprises 1st Call Plumbing Heating & Air Chevrolet | Jeff Spraker |
| WD | 36 | Ryan Huff | Huff Racing Williamsburg Contracting Ford | James Huff |
