The 2026 ARCA Menards Series season is now a quarter of the way over, meaning five of the 20 races have run their course. Through those five races, none of the previously announced full-time drivers have found victory lane, though Andy Jankowiak would like to do so.
That trend continued at Watkins Glen International on Friday (May 8), as NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular Kaden Honeycutt won his first career ARCA race. Honeycutt led 29 of the 41 laps, taking the lead from Carson Brown on lap 13 and never looking back. Honeycutt later went on to complete the doubleheader sweep of the day as well, winning the Truck Series race later that afternoon.
So, with part-time drivers winning the first five races of the 2026 season, how does this week’s edition of the Frontstretch ARCA Power Rankings stack up?
1. Jake Bollman
The start of Jake Bollman’s 2026 rookie campaign hasn’t had the dominance you’d expect out of a points leader, but consistency has been on his side.
Bollman has just two top-five finishes through five races to start the season but has run in the top 10 in all but one race. Those numbers come with zero laps led thus far, eerily similar to Andres Perez’s statistics in his championship-winning season in 2024. Regardless, Bollman has handled the first five races of his 2026 season very well, especially on a slew of racetracks he’s never competed at before.
His Watkins Glen race was very similar to how his season has gone thus far, quietly consistent. Bollman came across the line in 10th, and despite being his second-worst result of the season, kept his points lead right where it was entering the race.
Bollman has never started a race at Toledo Speedway, the series’ next stop. However, his strength out in the ARCA Menards Series West in 2025 was on short tracks, so Bollman could be a threat to go to victory lane.
2. Carson Brown
Runner up at Watkins Glen, Carson Brown has been very impressive thus far in 2026. Brown missed three of the first five races due to age restrictions, but has finished no worse than second in his two races. Brown was victorious at Phoenix Raceway in March, leading every lap.
At The Glen, Brown led 12 laps and finished second, 3.492 seconds behind Honeycutt. It was his first ARCA platform start on a road course.
In fact, Brown’s road course experience as a whole is rather brief, running a handful of TransAm races and a season of off-road trophy trucks.
With Brown turning 18 later this summer, and the schedule heading into a portion of the schedule with more short tracks, he will be in the No. 28 more frequently.
He is also an ARCA Menards Series East regular, although he did not compete in that season opener. In two East starts, Brown has one top five and two top 10s, currently 12th in driver standings.
Toledo is a combination race between the main and East series, so Brown will be back in the No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet. PRG finished second and third at Toledo in 2025, so Brown should be fast there, albeit it’ll mark the first time he’s run there.
3. Thomas Annunziata
Coming into 2026, it was known that Thomas Annunziata’s best type of track was road courses. In the first road course race of the season, Annunziata delivered on that skill, finishing third, tying his season best. Annunziata now sits fourth in points, 22 notches back of his teammate Bollman for the lead.
The first quarter of 2026 has had its share of ups and downs for Annunziata. Early wrecks at both superspeedway races forced 26th-place finishes, and he had a top-five run at Kansas Speedway taken away after a late-race penalty. When he has put together a full race, though, he has run consistently inside the top three.
Only being 22 points behind the leader, a championship season isn’t out of the question for Annunziata. As the summer wages on, the short track portion of the schedule picks up heavily, starting this week at Toledo. If Annunziata can run well on that style of track, one that he doesn’t have an abundance of ARCA experience on, his championship hopes remain very much alive.
4. Isabella Robusto
Despite the disappointment of finishing fourth after leading on the white flag at Talladega Superspeedway, it seems like the top-five finish has turned the tide for Isabella Robusto. After three straight races of finishes outside of the top 20, Robusto has now clicked off back-to-back top-10 finishes.
Watkins Glen was a quiet day for Robusto, but a quiet day might’ve been just what she needed. She started 13th, and ran at the back half of the top 10 for most of the race. However, with some help from race attrition, she worked her way up to a sixth-place finish.
The 21-year-old Robusto now sits sixth in points, 43 behind her teammate Bollman for the championship lead. Ravelling off consistent finishes is the best thing Robusto can do, especially with no clear championship favorite emerging so far.
Heading to Toledo, Robusto has just one career start at the half-mile short track. She finished fourth there at the 2025 season finale, falling in line with her trend of impressive consistency on the series short track slate.
5. Ryan Vargas
For the first time in 2026, Ryan Vargas was not entered behind the wheel of the No. 91 for Maples Motorsports. Instead, the team fielded Vaughn Racing’s No. 34 for Vargas, with help from Alpha Prime Racing as well.
Vargas finished 14th after starting 25th, surviving the race and gaining plenty of additional positions throughout the natural attrition of the race.
Now, heading into the next race at Toledo, Vargas sits second in points. He’s 12 notches behind the points leader, Bollman, and two ahead of third-place Jankowiak. Vargas has seemingly committed himself to the full-time schedule as long as the championship is within reach. Assuming he runs Toledo, it’ll be the first time in his ARCA career he’s made a start at the track.
Paint Scheme of the Race
This week’s choice for paint scheme of the week certainly didn’t get much track time, but it looked good in the process. Patrick Staropoli and Rick Ware Racing both made their 2026 series debut at Watkins Glen, teaming up for a one-off run to get Staropoli more track time for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race. However, mechanical issues put the No. 51 behind the wall early, resulting in a 22nd-place finish, 13 laps down.
The car, which was sponsored by FightingBlindness.com, looked good when it was on track, though. Mixing a light blue color tone in with a white and black base with a blue No. 51 in a font eerily similar to Kyle Busch Motorsports’ old style, the car most definitely popped this past weekend.
As previously stated, the ARCA schedule trudges on this week, heading to the series’ backyard in Toledo on Saturday, May 16. It’ll be a typical one-day show, with teams being given 45 minutes of practice at 3 p.m. ET that day, and qualifying shortly after at 4:30. The green flag for the Owens Corning 200 will fly at 7 p.m. ET, with television coverage being aired on FOX Sports 1.
Josh joined Frontstretch in 2023 and currently covers the ARCA Menards Series. Born and raised in Missouri, Josh has been watching motorsports since 2005. He currently is studying for a Mass Communication degree at Lindenwood University