Kaden Honeycutt has taken control of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Chase.
The Willow Park, Texas-native catapulted his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to the top of the NASCAR Truck Series point standings after a long afternoon (and evening) on Saturday, winning the Race to Stop Suicide 200 at Kansas Speedway.
Honeycutt was – without question – the dominant driver in the second event of the seven-race post-season, leading an incredible 114 of 134 laps on the way to his third career victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and the 39th for crew chief Scott Zipadelli.
While a lights-out Toyota Tundra from the championship-winning TRICON Garage stable was integral in helping Honeycutt get to Victory Lane, there was a period of several hours Saturday where the 23-year-old had to come to terms with possibly not getting the pay-off that a win provides.
After sweeping the opening two stages of the event, Honeycutt pitted at the beginning of the final stage, while others – who had come to pit road under a caution for Connor Hall in the middle of Stage 2 – stayed on track hoping to catch a race-ending shower.
The precipitation came, and it came in full-force, causing a five-hour rain delay, but, NASCAR, with lots of time to burn and lights at Kansas Speedway, elected to ensure that NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series teams (and the fans watching at the track and on television) got to see a full show.
Well, the wait was worth it, especially for Honeycutt, who made the final pass for the lead on Layne Riggs with 12 laps remaining to collect his third win of 2026, and his second in the last four races.
All of this, while Honeycutt was under the weather.
“Man, a great job by my whole Safelite crew,” Honeycutt said. “This whole Team 11, TRICON Garage, Scott Zipadella, the freakin’ GOAT on pit road, the pit crew, they are the best, and there is nothing else I can say about that. I knew the two tires were going to be hard to gain on the No. 34, he had really good speed and we executed, we executed all night. Can’t thank my pit crew enough, sorry I didn’t do any burnouts, we got to save this thing for Homestead, the motors cost a lot, too.”
With his victory, Honeycutt leaves Kansas with a 37-point advantage on Layne Riggs in NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series point standings. Riggs, was running in the second position late when he scuffed the wall and cut down a right-front tire. The Front Row Motorsports driver limped his No. 34 home in 19th, costing him valuable points.
Riggs was one of several drivers to suffer tire issues at the end, including Tyler Ankrum, Parker Eatmon, Nick Sanchez, Grant Enfinger, Stewart Friesen, and others. Ankrum and Enfinger would finish 25th and 29th.
Majeski had a similar issue to the top-two, just earlier in the race after making contact with Christian Eckes and cutting down a right-front tire. The No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 finished 29th, four laps down after contact with the wall.
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to action in two weeks time at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with the event taking place on Friday, October 9 at 5:00 PM ET on FOX.
