All season long, it has been Layne Riggs and Kaden Honeycutt fighting for supremacy in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series… well, with the checkered flag falling on the 2026 campaign, given the advantage to Honeycutt and the championship-winning No. 11 team from TRICON Garage.
Piloting the same exact No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro that took the crown last November in Phoenix, Honeycutt won the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, on the way to his first championship in NASCAR’s National Series.
The 23-year-old driver is the second NASCAR Truck Series champion from the state of Texas, after James Buescher, and the second champion out of the TRICON Garage stable, after Corey Heim.
Honeycutt, who was a fixture in and around the top-five all evening long, took the lead away from Christian Eckes with 13 laps remaining in the 134-lap contest at Homestead, pulling away to win Friday’s event by 1.038 seconds. It’s the fifth NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series of the season, and of Honeycutt’s career.
“This team is a freaking Hall of Fame team,” Honeycutt said in jubilation on the frontstretch. “Scott Zipadelli is the best damn crew chief on that pit road. He’s the best man out there. He’s not just a Hall of Fame crew chief; he’s a Hall of Fame man. He’s done nothing but mentor me and make me better every single week.”
Scott Zipadelli, crew chief on the No. 11, is the first shot-caller to win the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series championship with three different drivers – winning it this year with Honeycutt, last season with Corey Heim, and in 2018 with Brett Moffitt. As of Homestead, Zipadelli has 41 Truck Series wins, which is second on the all-time list to Eric Phillips (44).
“Man, this is amazing. I’ve worked so damn hard to be here. Thank you to every owner, thank you everybody that’s let me drive the race car for them, whether it was dirt, asphalt, road course, doesn’t matter. That is because of you guys I’m sitting right here with this group behind me as champions. I’m so out of breath, I wish I could talk harder,” Honeycutt added.
Christian Eckes finished Friday’s season-finale in second-place, with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing teammate Daniel Hemric in third. Ty Majeski and Stewart Friesen rounded out the top-five. Corey Heim, Chandler Smith, Jake Garcia, Grant Enfinger, and Corey LaJoie rounded out the top-10.
Layne Riggs, who entered Friday’s race just 20 points behind eventual champion Kaden Honeycutt, finished in 32nd, six laps down, after a series of flat tires caused by contact with Nick Sanchez on the second lap of the 134-lap contest.
Both Honeycutt and Riggs will return to the newly named NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series in 2027.
Photo by Sean Gardner, Getty Images
