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The Anderson, Ind. native is set to make his first Xfinity Series short track start of the season after competing at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway and Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, respectively.
With a season-high 26th-place finish at the “World Center of Daytona” last month, Van Alst is eager to improve and deliver his Mooresville, N.C.-based team a top-20 finish.
Van Alst is confident that his short-track experience will be an asset this weekend at Martinsville.
“I’m really looking forward to Martinsville,” said Van Alst. “Short tracks are my bread and butter. It’s where I’ve had the most success throughout my career, and I feel like Martinsville presents a great opportunity for us to have our best finish of the season.”
The former ARCA Menards Series winner is also looking forward to capitalizing on his recent Martinsville Speedway finish, where last November, Van Alst earned a solid finish in his track debut at the famed paperclip oval.
“I learned a lot last year at Martinsville,” Van Alst said. “It’s a tough place — tight corners, heavy braking, and a lot of beating and banging — but I felt like we held our own and came away with a respectable result. Now that I’ve got some laps under my belt there, I feel like I have a better understanding of what to expect and how to approach the race.
“Martinsville is all about track position and survival. If we can keep the nose clean and be there at the end, I think we have a shot to put ourselves in a good spot when it counts.”
After three diverse starts on a superspeedway, intermediate track, and a one-mile oval, Van Alst believes the return to a short track will play to his strengths.
“We’ve shown speed at times this year, but things just haven’t fallen our way,” Van Alst added. “Martinsville is a place where you need to be patient, take care of your equipment, and be in a position to capitalize at the end. If we can stay out of trouble and have a clean race, I think a top-20 finish is within reach.”
Van Alst’s No. 35 team, led by veteran crew chief Mike Hillman Sr, has been steadily improving with each race. Despite suffering mechanical gremlins at Las Vegas, the veteran driver is optimistic that their hard work will translate to success on Saturday night.
“We’ve been building something good here at Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen,” Van Alst said. “The team has been working hard in the shop and at the track, and I’m grateful for the effort everyone has put in. Hopefully, we can reward that with a strong finish at Martinsville.” |
