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By Brandon White www.arcaracing.com May 8, 2026
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points leader Kaden Honeycutt got his busy doubleheader weekend at Watkins Glen International off to a winning start Friday afternoon.
Inclement weather forced Honeycutt to start 15th during the General Tire 100 at the Glen, but he wasted no time working his way through the field. Once he took the lead on Lap 13, Honeycutt enjoyed a mostly calm and flawless drive to pick up his first victory in the national ARCA Menards Series.
RELATED: Complete results from the General Tire 100 at the Glen
Although Honeycutt’s road course experience was limited compared to other drivers in the field, he maneuvered his way around Watkins Glen with the composure of a seasoned veteran. From Honeycutt’s perspective, there was a simple reason why his first of two races at Watkins Glen on Friday was so efficient.
“I just think the key was an amazing car,” Honeycutt said. “I couldn’t have done it without [my team]. The car was phenomenal all day. I was a little bit free through the carousel, I had to work on that a little bit, but I think that was mostly on my end. Just a great car [and] all [these guys] do an amazing job.”
The No. 17 Bruce Cook-owned Toyota that Honeycutt drove on Friday is a car he has enjoyed plenty of success with before.
With four races remaining in the 2023 ARCA Menards Series West campaign, Honeycutt joined the No. 17 team co-owned by Cook, Steve and Brenn McGowan. Honeycutt proceeded to tally two victories in those four starts, which helped the team lock up the West Series owner’s title at Phoenix Raceway.
A lot has changed for Honeycutt since then, as he is now full-time in the Truck Series in the No. 11 Toyota for Tricon Garage, the same team that won 12 races and a title with Corey Heim last year. Due to his Truck Series commitments, Honeycutt had not attempted a race on the ARCA Menards Series platform since 2024.
It was only fitting that Honeycutt’s return to the ARCA Menards Series would see him reunited with Cook. The chemistry the two shared briefly in 2023 was on full display once again, as Honeycutt set the fastest time in practice by almost a full second prior to his commanding victory.
As Honeycutt pulled away from the pack, the fight for second would be determined between Carson Brown and Thomas Annunziata. Brown led the opening portion of the General Tire 100 at the Glen from the outside pole, but battled vigorously to recover lost track position after the halfway break and settled for the runner-up spot.
Brown, who secured his first ARCA Menards Series victory at Phoenix Raceway in March, even had to muscle his teammate Tristan McKee out of the way to gain a spot late. While Pinnacle Racing Group made significant improvements to Brown’s car, they were not enough for him to seriously challenge Honeycutt.
“Just needed a little bit more,” Brown said. “I felt like we had a really good race car. Started off really free and after the halfway [break], we made some adjustments, got it tightened up a little bit and then kind of got shuffled back on that [last] restart. We kind of slowly worked our way back up there but needed a few more laps.”
Friday was all about gaining experience for Honeycutt, whose only Truck Series start at Watkins Glen prior to the weekend occurred last year, when he finished 28th after a mechanical failure. Knowing he needed to get more comfortable on road courses in general, Honeycutt carefully studied himself to figure out how to gain time across two disciplines.
That diligence for Honeycutt paid off with his third overall victory on the ARCA platform, all of which have been in the Cook-owned No. 17. Honeycutt cherishes every chance to compete on the platform and hopes the knowledge acquired in Friday’s ARCA Menards Series race translates to more long-term success on road courses.
“There were some things I needed to work on in Truck [Series] practice,” Honeycutt said. “I really tried to put that out there in the ARCA race and see if I could find anything myself and I certainly did. [It’s great] to win on a road course just in general. I haven’t been really good at it at all. Not my forte one bit, so it’s really awesome to get that done for sure for these guys.”
Annunziata enjoyed a solid points day at Watkins Glen with a third place finish. His Nitro Motorsports teammates, Gavan Boschele and Sam Corry, made up the rest of the top five.
Rounding out the top 10 were Isabella Robusto, Andrew Ranger, Max Reaves, Ryan Gemmell and points leader Jake Bollman.
Next up for the ARCA Menards Series will be a homecoming event for the sanctioning body at Toledo Speedway on Saturday, May 16. The green flag for the Owens Corning 200 waves at 7 p.m. ET and fans can watch the race live on FS1.
