- Source: 2023 General Tire 100 at The Glen
The 2023 General Tire 100 at The Glen was the 13th stock car race of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series season, and the 3rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Friday, August 18, 2023, in Watkins Glen, New York at Watkins Glen International, a 2.454 mile (3.949 km) permanent road course. The race was scheduled to be contested over 41 laps, but was extended to 42 laps due to a NASCAR overtime finish. In a wild one-lap overtime restart, Jesse Love, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would make a bump-and-run move on Connor Zilisch in the final turn, and held him off to earn his 10th career ARCA Menards Series win, his eighth of the season, and his fourth in a row. Zilisch had dominated the entire race, leading a race-high 34 laps. To fill out the podium, Zilisch, driving for Pinnacle Racing Group, and Brent Crews, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Background
Watkins Glen International (nicknamed "The Glen") is an automobile race track located in Watkins Glen, New York at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the home of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for twenty consecutive years (1961–1980), but the site has been home to road racing of nearly every class, including the World Sportscar Championship, Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR Cup Series, the International Motor Sports Association and the IndyCar Series.
Initially, public roads in the village were used for the race course. In 1956 a permanent circuit for the race was built. In 1968 the race was extended to six hours, becoming the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. The circuit's current layout has more or less been the same since 1971, although a chicane was installed at the uphill Esses in 1975 to slow cars through these corners, where there was a fatality during practice at the 1973 United States Grand Prix. The chicane was removed in 1985, but another chicane called the "Inner Loop" was installed in 1992 after J.D. McDuffie's fatal accident during the previous year's NASCAR Winston Cup event.
The circuit is known as the Mecca of North American road racing and is a very popular venue among fans and drivers. The facility is currently owned by International Speedway Corporation.
= Entry list
=(R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice
The first and only practice session was held on Friday, August 18, at 3:00 PM EST, and would last for 60 minutes. Connor Zilisch, driving for Pinnacle Racing Group, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:14.022, and an average speed of 119.154 mph (191.760 km/h).
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, August 18, at 4:15 PM EST. The qualifying system used is a multi-car, multi-lap system with only one round. Whoever sets the fastest time in that round wins the pole. Corey LaJoie, driving for Spraker Racing Enterprises, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 1:13.280, and an average speed of 120.360 mph (193.701 km/h).