On Thursday, Sept. 11, the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East roll into Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bush’s Beans 200. Nicknamed “The Last Great Colosseum,” the high-banked 0.533-mile short track is known for its intense racing and unpredictability. One thing, however, is certain on Thursday (Sept. 11): championships will be on the line.
Brenden Queen enters the race with a 42-point lead over Lavar Scott in national division points. With four races to go, Queen would almost have to give this trophy away, as he is positioned to coast to the crown. Considering the number of cars that typically finish on the lead lap in ARCA competition and Queen’s current advantage, he needs to avoid absolute catastrophe to stay on top.
Queen will make his first start at BMS. His No. 28 Chevrolet was fast in the 2024 race there as Connor Zilisch scored the pole and led 23 laps before he was collected in a crash. Scott, meanwhile, finished third in the ’24 race, and this will be his third Bristol start.
The Bush’s Beans 200 also serves as the season finale for the East series, with the owner’s and driver’s championship to be decided.
Isaac Kitzmiller currently leads the East standings by 19 points over Tyler Reif. Zachary Tinkle sits third in the standings, 30 points behind Kitzmiller. If Kitzmiller finishes 13th or better, he will clinch the championship regardless of Reif’s finish. Reif must finish at least 19 spots ahead of Kitzmiller to win the title, and Reif does own the tiebreaker of top-five finishes. Tinkle is a long shot, as he needs to finish 31 spots better than Kitzmiller and 12 ahead of Reif to win it all.
Kitzmiller has never been to BMS before. In the last two ARCA Bristol events, CR7 Motorsports has led 112 laps and finished runner up last year, so expect the Jason-Isaac Kitzmiller duo to be fast.
Reif started fifth and finished sixth in the ’24 race. Tinkle is the most experienced of the trio with four Bristol starts, albeit with zero top 10s nor lead-lap results.
In recent years, Toyota has dominated the ARCA race at Bristol, winning the last four events. A strong favorite to extend that streak is Brent Crews, who returns behind the wheel of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. A victory would mark Crews’ seventh win across ARCA platforms this season, while simply finishing 29th or better secures JGR its seventh consecutive ARCA East owners’ championship.
Another driver who could continue Toyota’s winning trend is Thomas Annunziata. He returns to the series with a victory already on his ARCA resume, having won at Lime Rock Park earlier this year. Annunziata also competed at Bristol in the NASCAR Xfinity Series earlier this year, finishing 28th. He will pilot the No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Toyota. Nitro has scored three wins this year and sits sixth in owner points, only 45 away from third place.
Andy Jankowiak returns to ARCA for the first time since competing at Watkins Glen International. With two top-five finishes this season, Jankowiak adds another strong Toyota contender to the field. Jankowiak has three top 10s in four Bristol starts, with a best finish of eighth in 2022.
Alongside points leader Queen, PRG will field Tristan McKee, who is eager to return to victory lane. After his win at Watkins Glen, McKee was running second early at Madison International Speedway before a spin dropped him back. He recovered to finish 11th. The youngest driver in the field, McKee remains a serious threat to capture the checkered flag.
Partnering with Scott at Rev Racing will be Lanie Buice and Logan Misuraca. As a part-time driver, Buice has three top 10s in five platform starts. Misuraca will drive the No. 9 in her first start of the year. She started 13th in last year’s Bristol race, but she was involved in a crash, which resulted in a 27th-place showing.
Garrett Mitchell, known as “Cleetus McFarland,” returns for his fourth ARCA start of the season. After a DNF at Daytona International Speedway, he rebounded with back-to-back top-10 finishes, most recently at Charlotte Motor Speedway. That result, however, came after Mitchell spun his tires on a restart, stacking up the field and causing Isabella Robusto to crash out.
Robusto is currently tied with Jason Kitzmiller for fourth in the standings, 78 points behind Lawless Alan in third. With Alan not entered, Robusto and Kitzmiller could ultimately be battling for a top-three points finish. Jason Kitzmiller has two Bristol starts, most recently in 2021, yet zero lead-lap finishes.
Robusto will be making her first Bristol start. Venturini Motorsports has never won at Bristol before, and the team has four entries with Jake Finch in the No. 15, Leland Honeyman in the No. 20, Patrick Staropoli in the No. 25 and Robusto in her No. 55.
With championships on the line and 34 drivers in the field, Thursday’s Bush’s Beans 200 promises an exciting showdown at Bristol. This is the largest ARCA and East field since the most recent combination race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
On Thursday the 11th, practice will get underway with a 45-minute session at 1 p.m. ET with qualifying set to begin at 2 p.m. That evening, the green flag will fly at 5:30 p.m. with TV coverage provided by FOX Sports 1.
