Who is Lawless Alan? Meet the not-so-rebellious racer who’s fighting for an ARCA Menards Series title

Lawless Alan knows the question one might be pondering. Yes, that’s his real name.

The Van Nuys, California native became accustomed to people asking about the unorthodox first name — his great-grandmother’s maiden name — during his youth. Being “lawless” is not exactly part of Alan’s on-track identity, something he’s been developing over the past several years.

A full-time season in the ARCA Menards Series with Venturini Motorsports has helped Alan discover who he is as a competitor. Currently sitting second in the point standings with a victory at Talladega Superspeedway, Alan feels more confident than ever in his ability to flourish in stock cars.

“I’m going to look back on this year and see it as one of the most important in my career,” Alan said. “With everything the Venturinis have done for me, along with my relationship with crew chief Kevin Reed Jr., I feel like I’ve learned so much. I’m still hunting for a few more victories.”

Alan knew 2025 would be a crucial season the moment he signed his contract with Venturini, a team that possesses four championships and nearly 100 victories in the national ARCA Menards Series.

Alan’s journey from the West Coast to the East Coast saw him gradually gain knowledge and insight from several different organizations. He briefly competed with Bill McAnally Racing in the ARCA Menards Series West before he contested three full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series campaigns between Niece Motorsports and Reaume Brothers Racing.

Finding consistency proved to be difficult for Alan during the first half of the 2020s, but he saw the move to Venturini’s ARCA program as a fresh start. If he utilized every resource at his disposal, Alan believed, he could guide Venturini to another title and eventually return to NASCAR’s national series as a more refined driver.

Alan wanted better fortunes in his first NASCAR stint, but the tribulations he endured provided a fresh perspective on how to persevere through adversity.

“I’ve learned a lot about my resolve,” Alan said. “I have a blessing or a curse depending on how you look at it of a refusal to give up. I hope that’s going to end up working out for me.

“There was a long period of time of one setback after another. That gets to be very un-fun, but with the refusal to give up, you’re kind of counting on good times ahead.”

Alan quickly experienced the good times he envisioned with Venturini. The third race of the 2025 ARCA Menards Series campaign at Talladega saw him lead a race-high 30 laps and earn his first victory.

The win was validating for Alan in numerous aspects, as he had not earned a major stock-car victory on any platform. A breakthrough at one of the United States’ largest complexes required Alan to apply everything he knew about gaining and keeping track position in the draft.

“I really liked how difficult the race was to win,” Alan said. “You could see [William Sawalich and I] using the air on each other pretty well with his Xfinity experience and my Truck experience. We were racing each other really hard, so to finally win one of these things was such a relief, and it was awesome.

“No matter what happens, nobody can take that away from me.”

In 10 starts, Alan has finished inside the top five seven times, including a four-race streak of third-place showings from Michigan International Speedway through Lime Rock Park. The only occasions in which Alan did not secure a top five took place due to circumstances outside of his control.

Last weekend’s General Tire 150 at Dover Motor Speedway proved to be the most costly of the three, as Alan was plagued by an early flat tire that relegated him to 12^th in the running order, 10 laps down to race-winner and points leader Brenden “Butterbean” Queen.

Alan now faces a 26-point deficit to Queen entering Friday’s race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. He’s not overly concerning himself with the points scenario, because he knows he and Venturini are more than capable of accumulating more top fives in the second half of 2025.

Alan believes IRP can be the site of his eighth top five — at least — of the season. From his experience there in the ARCA Menards Series and Truck Series, Alan said IRP shares a lot of characteristics with the now-defunct Irwindale Speedway in his home state of California, especially with how drivers spread out in the turns searching for grip.

With 2025 being the farewell season for Venturini Motorsports, Alan wants to play his role in sending the storied organization out on a high note. He’s the most recent driver to win in a Venturini car, but he knows finding Victory Lane again will require everyone on his team to keep building on what has worked.

“It’d mean a lot to get another victory,” Alan said. “Obviously it helps that we’re in the championship hunt, but right now, we’re all just focusing on executing to the best of our ability. We all want to win as many times as possible, but if you’re too focused on the result, you’re probably going to cost yourself that result one way or another.”

The time Alan has spent with Venturini in the ARCA Menards Series has not only provided him a path to sustainable success in NASCAR, but also helped him discover several distinct traits about himself.

Alan does not intend to adhere to the “lawless” aspect of his name, something that was passed down to him as part of a family tradition where names live into the next generation. One aspect he will follow is his determination, something that has carried him through the highs and lows on the developmental ladder.

“I’m not going to give up, and I’m going to execute to the best of my ability,” Alan said. “If that results in a win, it does, but if it results in crashing in practice on the first lap, it does. I’m not going to get too stressed out over it. I’m going to go race by race.”