In a rare coming together of all four series, NASCAR arrived at Watkins Glen road course this past weekend. The ARCA Menards Series, Craftsman Truck, O’Reilly, and Cup teams all took part in one of the more chaotic race weekends this season.

The powers that be made the unnecessarily bad decision to move the Watkins Glen weekend to early May, from it’s annual late summer schedule. The road course, situated in the New York foothills, is far better suited for a late summer event. Fans were greeted with mud and stuck vehicles preceding the events of the weekend.

However, once the weekend got started, each event had its own unique situations and excitement. From a first time winner sweeping ARCA and Trucks, to a dramatic late pass in O’Reilly, to SVG dominating the Cup event with some excitement….it was certainly a weekend to remember.

Next week….ARCA in Toledo, Trucks and O’Reilly in Dover, and the *sigh* All-Star event in it’s 2026 rendition also in Dover.

GENERAL TIRE 100 at THE GLEN

Winner: Kaden Honeycutt

#17 Kaden Honeycutt

Craftsman Truck Series standout Honeycutt made his return to the ARCA Menards Series at The Glen, in an attempt to get additional seat time at the twisting New York road course. Taking the wheel of Cook Racing Technologies’ #17 Toyota, Honeycutt certainly gained some valuable experience. 

As this was a one-off start in Bruce Cook’s #17 Toyota, Honeycutt quickly showed muscle. Starting relatively deep in the field (15th), Honeycutt quickly sliced his way through the field. The Craftsman Truck “ringer” would go on to lead a race high 29 laps, and beat out a strong contingent of Nitro Motorsports Toyotas en route to his first career ARCA Menards Series win.

Honeycutt, who cut his teeth in late models and such, only has seven career ARCA starts dating back to 2018, with his last previous start coming in 2023. As for the Cook Racing team, they have run 5 ARCA Menards events this season, with various drivers. The Cook team has a pair of 8th-place runs to their credit at Phoenix and Kansas.

Photo Credit: ARCAracing.com

BULLY HILL VINEYARDS 176 at THE GLEN

Winner: Kaden Honeycutt

#11 Kaden Honeycutt

Deciding to repeat his performance from the ARCA Menards Series a mere handful of hours beforehand, Honeycutt made it a first win sweep of the weekend. Tapped to replace Corey Heim in TRICON Garage’s championship winning #11 Toyota, Honeycutt has easily taken over the seat, narrowly missing wins the last several weeks….that all changed at Watkins Glen.

Following a 7th-place starting spot, Honeycutt ran well throughout the race. Following an overtime restart with two laps to go, Honeycutt held off charges from some road course heavy hitters, to score his first career Craftsman Truck Series win.

Honeycutt, who has 68 career starts in trucks thus far, ran his first full time season in 2025. Signing to take over the #11 Toyota in 2026, Honeycutt has proven he was the right choice, with a win and six top five finishes in nine races run thus far.

#14 Mini Tyrrell

Perhaps the biggest wild card of the 2026 season came in the form of Mini Tyrrell. The winner of Kaulig Racing and Ram’s “Race for the Seat” (a televised reality show). Tyrrell won the contract to drive one of Kaulig’s new Ram trucks. While the season thus far has been a learning experience, Watkins Glen may have been the proof of why Tyrrell was signed to the #14 team.

An accomplished short track racer, Tyrrell has little road course experience. That said, the rookie contender had a banner day in Watkins Glen. Starting the #14 Ram in 30th spot, Tyrrell survived the late race chaos and positioned himself to earn his first top 10 of the season, coming home 8th.

Preceding The Glen, Tyrrell’s best finishes came in a trio of 19th-place runs at Daytona, Atlanta, and Bristol.

Photo Credit: Jayski and Kaulig Racing

MISSION 200 at THE GLEN

Winner: Connor Zilisch

#87 Austin Green

Austin Green and his #87 Peterson Racing Group team make another appearance this week, though a road course is where Green is most likely to shine. Green has a background in road course racing, gaining much experience at a young age.  For 2026, Green and his #87 Chevrolet team moved to the NOAP Series in a full time bid for rookie honors. 

While the season has been an education, Green had a fantastic run at The Glen after collecting his first oval top ten finish of 2026 at Talladega. Despite a dismal qualifying spot (35th), Green masterfully raced his way quietly into the top ten on a road course yet again, finishing 9th.

The 2026 run at The Glen was especially impressive considering Green and the Peterson Racing Group team are going it alone with no team alliance. Green finished 7th in Jordan Anderson Racing’s #32 Chevrolet at Watkins Glen in 2025.

Photo Credit: Jayski and Chris Graythen/Getty Images

#88 Rajah Caruth

Like many drivers in 2026, rookie contender Caruth has made a solid impression already this season, which continued at The Glen. Caruth, like teammate Carson Kvapil, is running with two teams this season to fill out a full season schedule. While the Craftsman Truck Series graduate has limited road course experience compared to his peers, Caruth learned much while having a solid day.

The race was far from smooth for Caruth, who got his turn in JR Motorsports’ iconic #88 Chevrolet for this event. With qualifying rained out, Caruth’s #88 team was set as the pole sitter. Despite falling back early on, Caruth kept on it in the #88, led two laps late in the event, and finished a solid 12th.

Despite running for two teams in 2026, JRM’s #88 and Jordan Anderson’s #32 Chevrolets, Caruth’s rookie O’Reilly Season run has yielded four top ten finishes combined, in thirteen starts, with both teams.

GO BOWLING at THE GLEN

Winner: Shane Van Gisbergen

#71 Michael McDowell

In one of the best runs of McDowell’s Spire Motorsports’ Cup career, Watkins Glen showed the #71 Chevrolet had as much speed as the other Spire entries….and Watkins Glen was McDowell’s time.

One of the only drivers to keep pace with a dominant Shane Van Gisbergen throughout the event, McDowell kept SVG honest from the start. Starting alongside pole sitter SVG in second, McDowell ran strong the entire event, and brought home a second place run by race’s end. 

While nobody had a shot at eating up the race winner’s over seven second advantage, McDowell proved his road course prowess yet again. McDowell also finished 5th at COTA this season, and has a competitive history at Watkins Glen.

Photo Credit: Jayski and Spire Motorsports

#42 John Hunter Nemechek

What is there to say about JHN’s last few races? Marred in controversy and questionable decisions, the 2026 season even has not gone quite as planned for Nemechek and his #42 Legacy Motor Club team. Watkins Glen was a welcome reprieve from the drama of the last few weeks, with a quiet top ten as a reward.

With a dominant run by SVG, much of the rest of the field went without coverage. This allowed Nemechek to quietly place his #42 Toyota in the top ten, collecting a 10th-place finish after starting 17th.

While speed some weeks has not been an issue, the LMC #42 team has struggled to get results that match the speed. Nemechek’s previous best run this season, also came in COTA, where he finished 17th.