WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — The ARCA Menards Series will take on the twisting turns at Watkins Glen International in Friday’s General Tire 100 at The Glen, the fifth race of the series’ 2026 season and first of two road course races.
It will be the seventh race for the ARCA Menards Series at Watkins Glen International and the series’ 34th race on a road course in its history.
Jake Bollman (No. 20 Nitro Motorsports Toyota) leads the ARCA Menards Series championship standings heading into the General Tire 100 at The Glen; he has an eight-point lead over Ryan Vargas (No. 34 Maples Motorsports Chevrolet) heading into Friday’s race.
Neither driver has made a road course start previously in the ARCA Menards Series.
• In the 33 previous ARCA Menards Series road course races, there have been 30 different winners. Only one driver has won more than once: Andrew Ranger (No. 53 Van Dyk Recycling Solutions Chevrolet).
Ranger will make his first ARCA Menards Series start since he won at New Jersey Motorsports Park in 2014.
Ranger won his first career start at the track in 2011, and again in 2012, 2013, and 2014. His worst ARCA Menards Series road course start was second at Road America in 2013, and he has never finished outside the top-five with fifth-place finishes at both Chicagoland Speedway and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in his only two oval track starts in 2011. Ranger also has an ARCA Menards East road course victory at Lime Rock Park in 2010.
• Home state favorite Andy Jankowiak (No. 71 Whelen / DAK’s Markets Chevrolet) heads into his home race fresh off his first career ARCA Menards Series victory in the series’ most recent race at Talladega Superspeedway. Jankowiak hails from Buffalo, New York, about two hours to the northwest of the Watkins Glen area and races tour-type Modifieds at various short tracks across the state.
• NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship contender Kaden Honeycutt (No. 17 Mohawk Northeast Inc/MMI Toyota) will make his first ARCA Menards Series appearance since 2023 in the General Tire 100 at The Glen.
Honeycutt will be teaming up with the Cook Racing Technologies team that he won two ARCA Menards Series West races with in 2023 which helped propel the organization to the West owner’s championship. Honeycutt will do double duty on Friday; he will also race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series nightcap.
• Max Reaves (No. 18 Cook Out Toyota) will make his ARCA Menards Series road course debut in the General Tire 100 at The Glen. Reaves scored his fourth career ARCA Menards East victory last Saturday night at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and he enters Friday with three ARCA Menards Series victories, the most recent in the 2025 season finale at Toledo Speedway.
Reaves’ Joe Gibbs Racing team has had previous success on road courses, with wins at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with Ty Gibbs in 2021 and again in 2024 with William Sawalich and Brandon Jones at Watkins Glen in 2022.
Sawalich also has three ARCA Menards West wins at road courses, at Portland International Raceway in 2024 and again at Portland and Sonoma Raceway in 2025.
• Dystany Spurlock (No. 66 Foxxtecca Ford) will also do double duty; she will make her second career ARCA Menards Series start and then make her NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut both driving for Carl Long’s MBM Motorsports organization.
Spurlock became the first ever Black female driver to start an ARCA Menards Series race at Kansas Speedway where she finished tenth; when she takes the green flag in Friday’s event she will be the first Black female to start a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.
• ARCA Menards East championship point standings leader Tristan McKee (No. 77 Go Bowling Chevrolet) became the 38th driver to win in his ARCA Menards Series debut at Watkins Glen in 2025 and the series’ second-youngest winner in history at 15 years, 4 days of age, behind only Todd Gilliland who won at Toledo Speedway in 2015 at 15 years, 1 day of age.
McKee won the first two East races in 2026 at Hickory Motor Speedway and Rockingham Speedway.
• The 33 teams entered represent the largest ARCA Menards Series entry list at Watkins Glen International since the series’ first appearance at the track in 2001.
Previous ARCA Menards Series winners at Watkins Glen International include John Finger (2001), Corey Heim (2021), Brandon Jones (2022), Jesse Love (2023), Connor Zilisch (2024), and Tristan McKee (2025).
