Fans are awaiting the final battle. On Friday, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will head to Phoenix Raceway for an ultimate showdown between the Final Four drivers. Corey Heim dominates with his jaw-dropping 11-win season, while Ty Majeski is hoping to defend his title, and first-timer Tyler Ankrum feels good about his chances. However, for Kaden Honeycutt, the battle had started almost three months ago.

In August, the Toyota driver suddenly found himself out of a ride. It presented a serious challenge amidst a solid season, wherein he captured 3 top fives and 13 top tens. Despite the impossible situation, Kaden Honeycutt pulled through – and now hopes to taste the fruit of the Championship 4 race.

The stars aligned for Kaden Honeycutt 

The 22-year-old Texan had no idea he would crack the playoffs. Kaden Honeycutt also had no idea that Niece Motorsports would release him mid-season after learning about his 2026 plans. At the time, Honeycutt was 73 points above the cutline and managed to retain this advantage. He raced the Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet at Watkins Glen. Then he joined Halmar-Friesen Racing as a substitute for injured Stewart Friesen in the No. 52. Honeycutt’s friends and family joked that his career trajectory has been a “train wreck.”

However, Kaden Honeycutt not only survived that train wreck, but he also built a train to success. Honeycutt put the HFR team into the Championship 4 last weekend at Martinsville, outsmarting Layne Riggs by a single point for the spot – despite a spot of controversy. “This has just been an amazing season,” Honeycutt said recently. He thanked Halmar-Friesen: “Very easily could have just been watching the rest of the year after July happened. That’s thanks to them that I was able to finish a year out and, in the position we are in right now, to go have some fun this weekend, see if we can go mix it up.”

Stewart Friesen sustained season-ending injuries while driving a dirt modified race car in Canada in late July. So Kaden Honeycutt is dedicating his championship efforts to Friesen and his hardworking team. “They’ve worked extremely hard throughout the playoffs and heck, all season too, even when Stewart was driving. So for me, you know, this championship is really for him, for this HFR team…everyone that pours a lot of heart and soul and money into this race team. Really, just for them, you know, hoisting that trophy. Yeah, I probably am the one holding it, but those guys definitely deserve it.”

Kaden Honeycutt also reflected on his ambition throughout the year, which stayed intact unlike his unstable truck rides. “When I signed up to do this year, my whole goal was definitely to make it to Phoenix and try to mix it up for the title, for sure. You know, if I didn’t win it, it would have been a good learning season on how to approach maybe the playoffs different, maybe to make it easier for myself. And I can definitely tell you for next year, I’m going to do some things different to make it easier.”

Meanwhile, however, his rivals are hardly going to make it easy for Friday. Yet Kaden Honeycutt is prepared for that as well.

Looking to avoid chaos

Like Kaden Honeycutt, every other Championship 4 driver is banking their hopes on Phoenix. What is more, every one of them has dangerously good chances. Corey Heim is on top – he has 10 more wins than every other Championship 4 driver combined. He also has double the top five finishes and 8 times the laps led than the next closest driver, Ty Majeski. Speaking of Majeski, the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series champion is already a proven threat in Phoenix. Then there is Tyler Ankrum, the young speedster who picked up a trophy at Rockingham Speedway this year.

So, Kaden Honeycutt has his work cut out for him. However, the Toyota driver will carefully navigate the title race. “I’ll definitely be aggressive enough to not do anything dumb and win it the right way,” he said. “If it comes down to a green-white-checkered (overtime restart), and we’re all together, I’m going to do whatever I have to do it, but also going to make sure I don’t wreck anyone in the process and do it the right way, like anybody else would want to see that. We’re just going to do what we got to do to make sure that Toyota brings it back, whether it’s me or Corey.”

Clearly, Kaden Honeycutt is rolling up his sleeves for the final leg of his 2025 battle. Let’s wait and see how he fares against his worthy competitors!