The ARCA Menards Series storms into Bristol Motor Speedway this Thursday for the running of the Bush’s Beans 200 | Sioux Chief Showdown, and by the end of 200 laps, at least one driver will be celebrating a championship.
The race serves as the 18th event of the 2022 ARCA Menards Series season and the final race of the 2022 ARCA Menards Series East and 2022 Sioux Chief Showdown seasons.
Entering Thursday’s race, Sammy Smith is the driver most likely to claim the ARCA Menards Series East and Sioux Chief Showdown championships. In the East Series, Smith holds a 33-point advantage on Taylor Gray. Meanwhile, Smith leads Jesse Love by 26 points in the battle for the Sioux Chief Showdown crown.
This will be the fifth time the ARCA Menards Series has visited Bristol, with Sam Mayer and Ty Gibbs winning the two most recent visits. Thursday’s race also marks the 11th time the East Series will race at Bristol. Among the drivers to score East Series wins at Bristol are Nelson Piquet Jr., Todd Gilliland, Harrison Burton, Chad Finchum and the aforementioned Mayer and Gibbs.
Tickets to Thursday’s Bush’s Beans 200 | Sioux Chief Showdown at Bristol Motor Speedway are available. Below is everything to know about the event.
Bush’s Beans 200 | Sioux Chief Showdown at Bristol Motor Speedway
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Sammy Smith is making a habit of coming to Bristol in contention for a championship. Last season, he entered the East Series finale at Bristol as the likely East Series champion, which he was able to secure with a runner-up finish to Gibbs.
He’ll look to not only claim the East Series championship and the Sioux Chief Showdown crown this Thursday night, but also improve his finishing position by one to earn a trip to Victory Lane, as well.
There will be plenty of competitors looking to stop Smith from making it a clean sweep Thursday night, including his East Series rival Gray. The David Gilliland Racing driver has three ARCA Menards Series wins this year as well as an East Series victory, numbers he hopes to add to this week.
Love is back in Venturini Motorsports’ No. 20 Toyota this week after sitting out the race Sunday at Kansas Speedway due to age restrictions. He’s the driver closest to Smith in the Sioux Chief Showdown standings and is hoping to steal that championship for himself with a strong run Thursday.
Nick Sanchez leads the ARCA Menards Series (national) standings entering the race at Bristol this Thursday. He finished fourth last season at Bristol, and another strong finish like that could help him inch ever closer to his first ARCA championship. Fellow title contenders Daniel Dye and Rajah Caruth are also among those who should be considered contenders to visit Victory Lane.
MORE BRISTOL: Schedule | Tickets
A number of other drivers are set for returns to ARCA competition at Bristol. They include Mason Diaz, who is teaming up with Mullins Racing to make his first ARCA Menards Series start of the season in the No. 3 Toyota.
Conner Jones returns to Venturini Motorsports on Thursday aboard the No. 55 Toyota. Connor Mosack is back in the No. 23 Chevrolet for Bret Holmes Racing, and Jake Finch is set for another start in the family-owned No. 1 Phoenix Racing Toyota.
Brandon Jones, who has won three of his four ARCA Menards Series starts this year for Joe Gibbs Racing, is back in the No. 81 Toyota as he chases his fourth victory of the season.
Tanner Arms makes his ARCA Menards Series debut after making his East Series debut earlier this year at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, and Andres Perez de Lara is set for his maiden ARCA Menards Series start in a second car fielded by David Gilliland Racing.
Other notable entries include Ashton Higgins, Justin Carroll, Amber Balcaen, Andy Jankowiak, Leland Honeyman, Parker Chase and Toni Breidinger.
The complete entry list for Thursday’s Bush’s Beans 200 | Sioux Chief Showdown is available here.
RACING REFERENCE:
RACE FACTS
| RACE | Bush’s Beans 200 | Sioux Chief Showdown |
| PLACE | Bristol Motor Speedway |
| DATE | Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022 |
| TIME | 6:30 p.m. ET |
| TV CHANNEL/LIVE STREAM | FS1 |
| RADIO | MRN / SiriusXM (XM channel 391, online channel 981) / ARCARacing.com |
| TRACK LAYOUT | 0.533-mile paved oval |
| LAPS | 200 |
| EVENT SCHEDULE | Thursday, Sept. 15: Practice from 2:30 – 3:20 p.m. ET … Qualifying at 3:30 p.m. ET … Race at 6:30 p.m. ET |
CREW CHIEF HANDOUT:Â The starting field for the Bush’s Beans 200 | Sioux Chief Showdown is limited to 25 plus provisional positions. This event will be run under the 2022 ARCA Menards Series rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.
QUALIFYING: By timed session. All cars must make a qualifying attempt, and all drivers must practice before they qualify.
RACE PIT STOP: Break pit stop procedure. Breaks at or near the conclusion of Laps 75 and 125. All cars will be required to make at least one pit stop prior to last 10 laps of race. No adding or moving tires to or from pit box once race has started.
The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: Per ARCA Rulebook, maximum tire usage for this event (purchased plus from-home tires) is 16. Maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is eight (8).
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