Every NASCAR race team puts in a lot of effort before a race. So when an unforeseen wreck comes hurtling its way, emotions get riled up. While Truck star Layne Riggs stormed to a personal victory, heartbreak unfolded in the background for a strong rival. Kaden Honeycutt tried to recover from a streak of miserable finishes with his No. 45 truck, but unfortunately, bad luck struck.

Playoff driver and title hopeful Daniel Dye received a hit in his run at the Unoh 200 race. He strung Honeycutt along with him in his misery as well, and both drivers crashed out. Yet the Niece Motorsports driver does not hold a grudge.

Kaden Honeycutt has no hard feelings

After all, a driver focuses on all the hard work put in by his team in the end. Kaden Honeycutt started this NASCAR Truck Series season on a strong note – achieving four top-ten finishes in his first five starts. Niece Motorsports thus drummed up a heap of confidence in him – but the ecstasy soon fell through. In the four starts since Charlotte, Honeycutt has finishes of P33, P14, P12, and P35. And Daniel Dye foiled desperate attempts to reverse this bleak trend at Bristol Motor Speedway.

With under 50 laps to go at the Unoh 200, Daniel Dye cut a tire. This led to a spin that collected Kaden Honeycutt and delivered heavy damage to his No. 45 machine. Despite this unexpected mishap wrought by Dye, Honeycutt steered clear of blaming him. In a post-race interview, he detailed his calm attitude. “I talked to Daniel about it. You know it really s–ks – we were at Bristol and just always something happening here. He came up on me so fast, and I knew he was trying to get out of the way. I hated that it was us.”

Kaden Honeycutt owns a 16.7 average finish at Bristol – so Niece Motorsports had big hopes for him. But their plans went awry not just due to Dye’s flat tire but also NASCAR parking them for spilling oil on the track. Despite their vehement protests, the sanctioning body did not yield. So Honeycutt knows that he needs to ameliorate things for his team. “I mean, these guys had a really good truck. I hate that I spent it on the first pit stop, really that was my fault.” He added, “Unfortunately, I have to go to Kansas, and we are in a must-win spot. So we’ll try to do that and get ourselves in the owners’ playoffs for round 2.”

This situation contrasts Honeycutt’s finish at Bristol two years ago, where he finished better despite the track’s worse conditions.

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The track acted differently

Well, in 2022, NASCAR drivers did not have to face the PJ1-injected Bristol track. This year, Goodyear has been on an experimental spree after the spring Cup race at Bristol. Tonight’s Truck race was also its testing ground – Layne Riggs claimed he loved Goodyear’s efforts. But the same cannot be said about Kaden Honeycutt, who fell prey to his rival’s antics. Two years ago, when tires did not fall off at such a rapid pace, Honeycutt finished 13th in the same race. Even then, he did not shy away from expressing gratitude for his team, which was On Point Motorsports back then.

Following the 2022 race, Honeycutt complained about the track conditions. “I was able to pass quite a few trucks with it; I just needed a little more right-front turn coming off the corner. Either way, though, it was really hard to pass all night. The tires just were not falling off, so the whole night came down to make-or-break strategy (calls), and it happened that we stuck with the strategy we planned from the get-go. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as well as it could have, but I’m so proud of all my guys for all their hard work and effort. We busted off (pit) stops that were faster than some of the A- and B-teams … and that’s something that we can really build on for the future.”

Evidently, a stroke of bad luck ruined Kaden Honeycutt’s chances to shine tonight. Hopefully, Kansas will have a better outcome for the 21-year-old.