Greg Van Alst Bio
Gregory Michael Van Alst (born July 1, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner from Anderson, Indiana. He has built a long career competing across ARCA Menards Series events and national NASCAR touring divisions, including the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In addition to driving, Van Alst owns and operates Greg Van Alst Motorsports, a single-truck operation that fields the No. 35 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in the Truck Series on a part-time basis. His career is marked by steady development through short-track and regional racing, a single ARCA victory at Daytona International Speedway, and a willingness to move between cars, teams, and series in pursuit of national-level opportunities.
Early Life and Background
Gregory Michael Van Alst was born on July 1, 1981, in Anderson, Indiana, where he was raised and still considers home. Growing up in the Midwest placed him close to a strong network of short tracks and late model racing, which shaped his early interest in motorsports. He began his racing career in 2002, the same year that he made his first national-level stock car start, suggesting a childhood and teenage background that revolved around local racing and family support for the sport.
Path to NASCAR
Van Alst’s climb through the sport followed a familiar stock car ladder. He cut his teeth on regional short tracks in the Midwest, earning a reputation as a consistent front-runner in late model competition. His breakthrough regional title came in 2014, when he won the CRA Late Model Sportsman Series championship, a victory that established him as a serious contender in the central Indiana racing scene. He added a second major regional crown in 2019, capturing the ARCA/CRA Super Series championship. These two regional titles served as springboards, giving him the visibility and confidence to step into NASCAR’s national touring divisions with his own team in the early 2020s.
Greg Van Alst Career
Early Career (2002-2020)
Van Alst’s earliest national stock car experience came in 2002, when he made his ARCA Re/Max Series debut, running three races at Kentucky, Chicagoland, and Salem behind the wheel of the No. 01 Chevrolet for Robert Locke. His strongest result in that rookie stretch was a fifteenth-place finish at Chicagoland. After that initial taste of national competition, he stepped away from the ARCA tour to focus on regional late model events, where he honed his race craft and built the foundation for future opportunities.
ARCA Menards Series Breakthrough (2021-2024)
Van Alst returned to the now ARCA Menards Series in 2021, this time as a driver-owner fielding the No. 35 entry for his own team. He ran eight races that season, collecting three top-ten finishes, including a strong second-place run at Winchester, a seventh at Kansas, and a sixth at Michigan. In 2022, he committed to a full-time ARCA Menards Series effort for the first time, finishing fifth in the final championship standings and earning eleven top-ten finishes, with his best result of the year, a fifth place, coming at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He also made his ARCA Menards Series West debut that year in a combination event at Phoenix, finishing thirty-sixth due to a handling issue.
The defining moment of his ARCA career arrived in 2023, when Van Alst scored his first national series victory at Daytona International Speedway. He took the lead by passing Jason White on the final lap of the BRANDT 200, a victory that instantly elevated his profile. The 2023 season, however, was also a year of trade-offs. After opening the year with plans to run a full schedule, Van Alst scaled back to select races late in the season due to financial limitations, even as he posted additional top-ten finishes, including a tenth at two of the next three events. In 2024, he opened the campaign with a third-place run at Daytona and was running third in points through the summer before reverting to part-time status due to a lack of sponsorship and manufacturer support, ultimately finishing eleventh in the standings. He closed his 2024 ARCA campaign with starts at Bristol and Kansas.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Debut (2023-2025)
On April 22, 2023, Alpha Prime Racing announced that Van Alst would make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After a near spin in qualifying, he crashed early and was credited with a thirty-eighth-place finish. He also ran the following race at New Hampshire, where brake issues left him thirty-eighth and last once again. In 2024, SS-Green Light Racing brought him back for his first Xfinity start of the year at Indianapolis, where an ignition problem left him thirty-second. He added starts at Darlington, Bristol, Martinsville, and Phoenix, with his best result of the season, a twenty-sixth place, coming at Phoenix. On December 16, 2024, it was announced that Van Alst would run the majority of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule with Joey Gase Motorsports, driving the No. 35 car, before later downsizing that plan to focus more on his Truck Series program.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (2023-Present)
Van Alst made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut in 2023 at IRP, driving the No. 20 truck for Young’s Motorsports. A few days later, the team confirmed he would run the remainder of the 2023 season in that entry. The Truck Series campaign, however, carried a sobering moment at Talladega, where he suffered fractured vertebrae in a multi-truck accident. After a period of recovery, he returned to the Truck Series in 2025, this time fielding his own No. 35 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Greg Van Alst Motorsports across four announced races. His best finish in the series through 2025 remains in progress, and his 2025 Truck Series championship position closed at thirty-ninth.
Driving Style and Strengths
Van Alst is a self-made driver-owner who combines Midwest short-track grit with patience and resourcefulness. His biggest successes have come on superspeedways and intermediates, highlighted by his last-lap pass for the win at Daytona and competitive runs at tracks like Charlotte, Michigan, and Kansas. Operating as both driver and team principal has sharpened his strategic sense and his ability to communicate with crews under tight budgets, and his willingness to switch between the Truck Series and Xfinity Series shows the versatility needed to keep a small team active on the national stage.
Notable Races and Milestones
Van Alst’s signature moment remains the 2023 BRANDT 200 at Daytona, where his last-lap pass of Jason White delivered his first ARCA Menards Series victory. Other milestones include a runner-up finish at Winchester in 2021, a fifth-place points run in the 2022 ARCA Menards Series, a top-five return to Daytona with a third-place result in 2024, and the 2014 CRA Late Model Sportsman Series and 2019 ARCA/CRA Super Series regional championships that opened the door to national competition.
Greg Van Alst Career Wins
Van Alst’s national win ledger is anchored by a single ARCA Menards Series victory, the 2023 BRANDT 200 at Daytona International Speedway. Beyond that lone national triumph, his career features two regional championships and a steady stream of top-ten finishes across ARCA’s national and East divisions. The win total reflects a part-time national schedule and the realities of running a small, independent team in modern stock car racing.
ARCA Menards Series Highlights
Van Alst’s first career ARCA Menards Series win came at Daytona in 2023, capping a long climb from his 2002 debut. Across his ARCA career, he has recorded one win, twenty-six top-ten finishes, and no poles, with a best championship finish of fifth in 2022. His most recent ARCA start came in 2024 at Kansas in the Reese’s 150.
Other Wins and Performances
In the ARCA Menards Series East, Van Alst has made multiple starts, posting six top-ten finishes, with a best championship result of twelfth in 2022. He has also run a limited ARCA Menards Series West schedule, recording one top-ten finish and a best West points result of forty-seventh in 2023. His regional résumé includes the 2014 CRA Late Model Sportsman Series championship and the 2019 ARCA/CRA Super Series title.
Greg Van Alst Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Van Alst grew up in Anderson, Indiana, a region with a deep tradition of short-track stock car racing. He has built his racing operation, Greg Van Alst Motorsports, as a family-rooted, owner-driver effort that has carried him from regional late model tracks to NASCAR’s national touring series.
Personal Life
Van Alst is based in the Anderson, Indiana area, and his professional life centers on running Greg Van Alst Motorsports while continuing to drive on a part-time national schedule.
2025 Season Performance
Van Alst’s 2025 campaign was built around a part-time, dual-series plan. On July 7, 2025, he announced he would field his own No. 35 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races, including the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix. He opened his Truck Series effort under the Greg Van Alst Motorsports banner, balancing driving duties with the demands of running his own operation. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, his 2025 schedule included the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega, and he closed that series’ points standings in 100th place. His previous O’Reilly Series best championship finish had been fifty-fourth in 2024.
Midseason brought another schedule shift, as Van Alst chose to downsize his Xfinity plans with Joey Gase Motorsports to concentrate on his Truck Series team, reinforcing his long-term commitment to building Greg Van Alst Motorsports. Looking ahead, the program was strengthened in January 2026 when it was announced that Van Alst would return to the ARCA Menards Series at Daytona with Maples Motorsports, driving the No. 19 Chevrolet, signaling a renewed focus on ARCA competition while continuing his Truck Series presence.
