Story, Quotes, Fast Facts Below
By Reid Spencer —NASCAR Wire Service
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Under caution with 27 laps left in Friday night’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Chase leader Kaden Honeycutt was debating whether to pit for his last set of fresh tires.
“I say we pit, put ‘em on and go for it,” Honeycutt radioed to crew chief Scott Zipadelli.
That’s exactly what Honeycutt did. Gaining the lead after a restart on Lap 121 of 134, he pulled away from runner-up Christian Eckes to win not only the race but his first series championship.
Knowing the title was his—and screaming with raw emotion—Honeycutt powered his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota across the finish line 1.038 seconds ahead of Eckes to score his fifth victory of the season, his first at 1.5-mile Homestead and the fifth of his career.
“Man, this is amazing,” Honeycutt exulted. “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. Thank you, fans, for showing up. We just won Homestead and the damn championship.”
Honeycutt’s decision to abandon the conservative approach he had adopted early in the race paid enormous dividends.
“The first half of the race I did not want to push it too hard,” he said. “It fell in our hands. I put my nuts on the dash and wanted to win the race.”
The drivers’ championship was the 11th in the series for Toyota, achieved in the same No. 11 Toyota Corey Heim drove to a single-season-record 12 victories and the championship last year.
Billed as a shootout between Honeycutt and Layne Riggs, the head-to-head battle never materialized. After side-to-side contact with the No. 77 Chevrolet of pole winner Nick Sanchez on Lap 2, Riggs No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford was never the same.
The contact cut Riggs’ right rear tire, forcing him to pit road on Lap 17. At the end of Stage 1, Riggs stayed on the track to take a wave-around, but on Lap 46, he pitted again with a shredded right rear.
A pass-through penalty for too many crew members over the wall on his stop left him seven laps down. Ultimately, Riggs finished 32nd and ended the season second in the series standings, 83 points behind Honeycutt.
“After that initial contact, I don’t know what happened to the 77 (Sanchez),” Riggs said of the run-in that cost him a shot at the title. “I thought I was good. They said we were close together. I got super free up under him. Next thing I knew, we got a tire down.”
Then the second flat tire cost Riggs any hope he might have had.
“Obviously, we weren’t able to put the consistency together to be champions tonight,” Riggs said. “We knew we were going to have to run an almost perfect race. That’s hard to do anytime, any series, any level and division.
“But I’m just proud of the entire team that we were even in the mix, we even had a chance to become champion. It was disappointing to know I didn’t even know what my truck was going to be.”
Daniel Hemric, Eckes’ teammate at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, finished third, followed by Ty Majeski and Stewart Friesen. Heim was sixth in the No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota after winning the first and second stages.
Despite competing in only nine of the 25 Truck Series races, Heim scored three victories this season and finished 17th in the points.
Chandler Smith, Jake Garcia, Grant Enfinger and Corey LaJoie completed the top 10. Smith finished third in the final standings behind Riggs, his teammate.
Zipadelli claimed his second straight championship as a crew chief, having guided Heim to the title last season. Honeycutt gave Zipadelli enormous credit for his steady-handed encouragement.
“Scott Zipadelli is the best damn crew chief on that pit road,” Honeycutt asserted. “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.”
Obviously, the guidance bore fruit on Friday night.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race – NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Florida
Friday, November 6, 2026
1. (5) Kaden Honeycutt (C), Toyota, 134.
2. (17) Christian Eckes (C), Chevrolet, 134.
3. (16) Daniel Hemric (C), Chevrolet, 134.
4. (10) Ty Majeski (C), Ford, 134.
5. (6) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 134.
6. (3) Corey Heim (C), Toyota, 134.
7. (2) Chandler Smith (C), Ford, 134.
8. (24) Jake Garcia, Ford, 134.
9. (13) Grant Enfinger (C), Chevrolet, 134.
10. (26) Corey LaJoie, RAM, 134.
11. (7) Giovanni Ruggiero (C), Toyota, 134.
12. (32) Mason Massey, Chevrolet, 134.
13. (20) Ben Rhodes (C), Ford, 134.
14. (14) Landen Lewis (C), Chevrolet, 134.
15. (23) Parker Kligerman, RAM, 134.
16. (9) Connor Mosack (C), Chevrolet, 134.
17. (27) Timmy Hill, Ford, 134.
18. (12) Connor Hall, Chevrolet, 134.
19. (19) Justin Haley, RAM, 134.
20. (21) Brenden Queen #, RAM, 134.
21. (25) Tyler Reif, Chevrolet, 134.
22. (15) Cole Butcher #, Ford, 134.
23. (31) Mini Tyrrell #, RAM, 134.
24. (29) Kris Wright, Chevrolet, 134.
25. (28) Matt Crafton, Ford, 134.
26. (30) Spencer Davis, Toyota, 134.
27. (8) Tanner Gray, Toyota, 134.
28. (33) Frankie Muniz, Ford, 133.
29. (11) Leland Honeyman Jr., Toyota, 133.
30. (35) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 132.
31. (34) Clayton Green, Ford, 131.
32. (4) Layne Riggs (C), Ford, 128.
33. (22) Andres Perez De Lara, Chevrolet, Accident, 115.
34. (18) Tyler Ankrum (C), Chevrolet, Accident, 115.
35. (1) Nick Sanchez (C), Chevrolet, Driveshaft, 104.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 114.73 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 45 Mins, 7 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.038 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 4 for 25 laps.
Lead Changes: 20 among 9 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Smith (C) 1-2;N. Sanchez (C) 3-10;C. Heim (C) 11-33;N. Sanchez (C) 34;C. Heim (C) 35-37;K. Honeycutt (C) 38;D. Hemric (C) 39-46;C. Heim (C) 47-62;N. Sanchez (C) 63;C. Heim (C) 64-66;C. Smith (C) 67;C. Eckes (C) 68-97;C. Mosack (C) 98-99;G. Ruggiero (C) 100;C. Butcher # 101;C. Eckes (C) 102-109;K. Honeycutt (C) 110;C. Mosack (C) 111-113;C. Eckes (C) 114-121;K. Honeycutt (C) 122-134.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Christian Eckes (C) 3 times for 46 laps; Corey Heim (C) 4 times for 45 laps; Kaden Honeycutt (C) 3 times for 15 laps; Nick Sanchez (C) 3 times for 10 laps; Daniel Hemric (C) 1 time for 8 laps; Connor Mosack (C) 2 times for 5 laps; Chandler Smith (C) 2 times for 3 laps; Cole Butcher # 1 time for 1 lap; Giovanni Ruggiero (C) 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 1,77,11,19,38,88,9,91,52,98
Stage #2 Top Ten: 1,19,77,91,88,11,38,52,17,15
TOYOTA QUOTES
KADEN HONEYCUTT, No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage
“This is team is a freaking hall of fame team. Scott Zipadelli is the best damn crew chief on pit road, and he is the best man out there. He’s just not a hall of fame crew chief; he’s a hall of fame man. He’s done nothing but mentor me and make me better each and every week. This is amazing. I’ve worked so damn hard to be here. Thank you to every owner. Thank you to everyone who has let drive their race car for them, whether it was dirt, asphalt, road course, it didn’t matter. That is because of you guys. I am sitting right here with this group behind me as champions.”
PAUL DOLESHAL, general manager, motorsports and sponsorships, Toyota Motor North America (TMNA)
“Kaden is the epitome of hard work and dedication to your craft paying off in the biggest way. Everyone at Toyota and TRD knew Kaden had the ability to win races and championships when we signed him to his contract just 15 months ago, and he has delivered in every capacity. We could not be more pleased to see Kaden, his wife, Jessica, and his entire family celebrate this well-deserved title. Toyota and TRD are also thrilled for everyone at our partner team, TRICON Garage, who continue to showcase why they are the premier organization in the Truck Series. We are excited to help Kaden celebrate this incredible achievement and know he has everything in place to deliver a repeat performance in 2027.”
Fast Facts About Caden Honeycutt and Toyota
TOYOTA FAST FACTS
- En-route to the 2026 Truck Series championship, Honeycutt accrued five wins, 16 top-five finishes and 19 top-10s across 25 races. His top-five and top-10 numbers ranked the best in the series.
- Honeycutt claimed victories at Watkins Glen International, Richmond Raceway, Kansas Speedway, Phoenix Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
- Honeycutt signed a driver development deal and moved over to Toyota in August 2025. Competing for Toyota-supported Halmar-Friesen Racing, Honeycutt finished third overall in the final championship standings before moving to TRICON Garage beginning with the 2026 season.
- 2025 was the fifth season Honeycutt competed in the Truck Series and his second full-time campaign.
- Honeycutt will return to defend his Truck Series championship in 2027, continuing to pilot the No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra for TRICON Garage.
- The 23-year-old Texas native is the ninth Tundra driver to win a championship. He joins the likes of Corey Heim (2025), Ben Rhodes (2021), Brett Moffitt (2018), Christopher Bell (2017), Erik Jones (2015), Matt Crafton (2013 and 2014), Todd Bodine (2006, 2010) and Johnny Benson (2008), who have also captured Truck Series titles for Toyota.
- Scott Zipadelli is the first crew chief in Truck Series history to win the championship with three different drivers – Brett Moffitt, Corey Heim and now Honeycutt.
- Toyota has scored a total of 257 victories since joining NCTS competition in 2004, and Honeycutt’s win was the 699th win in Toyota’s tenure in NASCAR.
