The ARCA Menards Series heads to the Finger Lakes this Friday, Aug. 8, to kick off a weekend of racing at the historic Watkins Glen International. The Glen is a staple on the NASCAR calendar and the General Tire 100 will be the first of what will be a packed few days on the track.
Last year’s race was dominated by Connor Zilisch, who went on to win in the Xfinity Series as well. This weekend, Zilisch is scheduled to compete in the Craftsman Truck, Xfinity, and Cup series. In good news for the rest of the ARCA field, he declined Brayton Laster’s lighthearted proposal to attempt a quadruple-win weekend. The field can breathe a sigh of relief knowing he won’t be in the mix.
So far this season, the only road course on the ARCA Menards Series calendar was Lime Rock Park, where Thomas Annunziata took the win. He is not entered at Watkins Glen, which guarantees a new winner. This year’s ARCA field features a mix of familiar faces and new drivers ready to compete. The field is certainly not short on talent.
The favorites for Friday’s race start with Brent Crews and Alon Day. A former Trans Am Series champion, Crews brings prior road course experience. At Lime Rock Park, he told Frontstretch that he had the best car before being penalized for a restart violation: “…obviously had the winning car, went to last and drove back to the lead. Then I got called for that violation.”
Crews enters the weekend with momentum, coming off a win at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and a second-place finish at Iowa Speedway. He finished third at Watkins Glen in 2023, trailing only Jesse Love and Connor Zilisch.
Alon Day made his ARCA Series debut at Lime Rock Park, where he earned an impressive second-place finish. If not for a pit road mix-up, he may have found his way to victory lane. Hailing from Israel, Day is a former champion in the NASCAR Euro Series. With a recent third-place finish at Sonoma Raceway in the ARCA Menards Series West, he proved that his strong run at Lime Rock was no fluke. His road course talent should have him firmly in contention for the win.
Several series regulars and familiar faces could also find themselves in the mix. Lawless Alan, currently second in ARCA Menards Series points, scored a third place at Lime Rock Park behind Annunziata and Day. He felt good about his run and was optimistic after the race telling Frontstretch he “needed a little bit more talent on the brake pedal but we’ll apply it to Watkins Glen.”
Points leader Brenden Queen has already notched five wins this season. Despite limited road course experience, he delivered a strong fourth-place finish at Lime Rock, which should give him a boost of confidence heading into this weekend. Ryan Gemmell followed closely behind Queen with a fifth at Lime Rock and also recorded an eighth-place result at Watkins Glen last year.
Isabella Robusto bounced back from early contact with Tyler Reif at Lime Rock to earn a top-10 finish. She also finished third at Portland International Raceway earlier this year in the ARCA West Series, further proving her road course ability. Reif is another name to watch in his No. 23 Sigma Performance Chevrolet. The 18-year-old has built a strong road racing resume, including a runner-up finish at Sonoma in 2024 and a fifth-place result there this year.
Andy Jankowiak, Ed Pompa, and Kris Wright all have multiple prior ARCA Series starts at Watkins Glen. Interestingly, each earned their ARCA career-best finish at this track in 2023, with Wright placing sixth, Jankowiak seventh, and Pompa 13th. Pompa will be hoping for a better outing this time around after a rough race at Lime Rock, where he stalled following a spin in the final turn before the start-finish line. That incident led to Jason Kitzmiller colliding with him, taking both drivers out of the race.
Dale Quarterley earned one of his best ARCA Menards Series finishes at Watkins Glen in 2023, placing fifth. Impressively, he also finished fifth at the same track in the 1996 NASCAR Busch North Series race, which was 14 years before the youngest driver in this weekend’s field was even born.
Which brings us to the youngest driver in the field: the talented Tristan McKee. Just over a week ago, Spire Motorsports announced that McKee would pilot its No. 77 Chevrolet SS at Watkins Glen and Phoenix Raceway. He celebrated his 15th birthday last weekend by starting from the pole in a Late Model Stock Car at the Throwback Classic at Hickory Motor Speedway. McKee ran up front for much of the race but crashed while battling for the lead with 10 laps to go, missing out on a $50,000 payday. It was a tough way to spend his birthday, but a trip to victory lane this Friday would be a nice consolation prize.
Of the 28 drivers originally on the entry list, 27 are set to take part in practice and qualifying, as Shane Backes in the No. 00 has withdrawn. One notable name still in the field is Alex Clubb. After his hauler was involved in an accident on the way home from Iowa, both ARCA drivers and fans are glad to see him back at the track.
The field is stacked with talent, and several drivers have a real shot at the win. All signs point to an exciting day of racing.
The weekend gets underway with the General Tire 100 at Watkins Glen, scheduled for Friday, Aug. 8 at 2 p.m. ET, with live coverage on FOX Sports 2.
Then, the West Series runs at Tri-City Raceway on Saturday at 10:45 p.m. ET on FloRacing.
