17-Year-Old Racer Earns Fourth Top-Two Result in Six Career ARCA Menards Series Starts
Date: Friday, May 8
Event: General Tire 100 at The Glen
Series: ARCA Menards Series
Location: Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International (2.45-mile, seven-turn road course)
Length: 41 laps (100.45 miles)
Start/Finish: 2nd / 2nd (Running, completed 41 of 41 laps)
Overview:
Carson Brown delivered another strong performance in his nascent ARCA Menards Series career by finishing second in the General Tire 100 at The Glen Friday at Watkins Glen International. Brown started second for the 41-lap race around the 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course in upstate New York when qualifying was rained out and the 33-car field was set by current owners’ points. When the green flag waved, Brown quickly took the lead, dispatching polesitter Max Reaves as they raced down the frontstretch and into turn one. Soon after, Brown’s Pinnacle Racing Group (PRG) teammate, Tristan McKee, took command of second place and ran in Brown’s tire tracks. The PRG duo ran 1-2 until lap 14 when Kaden Honeycutt, who started 15th and had sliced his way through the field, took the lead from Brown. Honeycutt had the advantage of taking part in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series practice and qualifying prior to the General Tire 100, gaining valuable track time over his ARCA counterparts. Brown held second place through the mandatory mid-race break, and that’s where the 17-year-old started when the race resumed on lap 24. A quick caution set up another restart on lap 28, and as the leaders jostled for position, Brown dropped to fourth behind Thomas Annunziata and McKee, while Honeycutt reaffirmed the top spot. On lap 32, Brown muscled past McKee through the Bus Stop to re-take third – earning the Reese’s Sweet Move of the Race – and soon set his sights on second-place Annunziata. Brown passed Annunziata on lap 36 before the final corner, but with Honeycutt nearly five seconds ahead, Brown had to settle for second. He ultimately finished 3.493 seconds behind Honeycutt in the runner-up spot. The finish was Brown’s fourth top-two result in ARCA, a tally that includes his first career victory March 5 at Phoenix Raceway.
Carson Brown, driver of the No. 28 Klean Freak Chevrolet for Pinnacle Racing Group:
“I just needed a little bit more. I feel like we fired off really good on that restart, started off a little loose, and then at the halfway break made some adjustments, got it tightened up a little bit, felt like we had something, and then just kind of got shuffled back on that restart when we got three-wide. Then just kind of slowly worked our way back up there, but needed a few more laps. We had a really fast racecar, just big thanks to PRG, Klean Freak, and everybody that works on this thing.”
Notes:
● This was Brown’s sixth career ARCA start. He made his ARCA debut in March 2025 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, when he finished sixth in the ARCA East season opener. Brown’s ARCA win March 5 at Phoenix Raceway came in his third career start.
● Brown’s average ARCA finish is 3.67. He has never finished outside of the top-10.
Next Up:
After turning left and right around Watkins Glen’s circuitous layout, Brown makes a quick turn back to oval racing on the zMAX CARS Tour. He will compete Saturday night in the 125-lap Late Model Stock feature at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, North Carolina. Brown’s next ARCA race comes May 16 with the Owens Corning 200 at Toledo Speedway in Ohio. Less than a week later, Brown is back on the ASA Stars National Tour with races May 21 at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway and May 23 at Tri-County Motor Speedway in Granite Falls, North Carolina. Across ARCA, the ASA Stars National Tour, the zMAX CARS Tour and select Late Model races, Brown is scheduled to compete in 53 pavement races in 2026.
