Kaden Honeycutt just needed a clean race and a finish ahead of Layne Riggs to seal the 2026 championship at Homestead. He did the first part well, but the Tricon Garage driver went on to clinch the race win as well, making his first NASCAR championship win a special one.
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Honeycutt was in tears as he greeted his team and family on the start-finish line. Although the occasion was about his championship triumph, Honeycutt credited his crew chief and his past team owners. “Scott Zipadelli is the best damn crew chief on that pit road, the best man out there. He’s not just a Hall of Fame crew chief; he’s a Hall of Fame man, and he has done nothing but mentor me and make me better every week.
“Thank you to every owner that’s helped me drive their race car for them, whether it was dirt, asphalt, road course, it didn’t matter. That is because of you guys and I’m sitting right here with this group behind me as champions, and I’m so out of breath. I wish I could talk harder, but thank you, fans for showing up, we just won at Homestead, and the damn championship,” Honeycutt said after clinching the Truck Series title.
The championship battle ended early in the race when Layne Riggs had a right-tire failure during the first two stages, including an unscheduled pit stop in Lap 10. This allowed Honeycutt to play his cards right and get comfortable as the race went on. It was a bitter end to a dominating season as the No. 34 team bagged seven race wins, but didn’t have luck by their side in Miami.
Layne Riggs finished 32nd, six laps down. It wasn’t the most thrilling championship race, but FOX broadcast still found themselves on the receiving end of the fan backlash. The title was most likely decided at the end of Stage 2 when Corey Heim won the stage, and Honeycutt was +33 while Riggs was seven laps down. FOX’s broadcast booth did not immediately convey the mathematical implications of Honeycutt’s Stage 2 position, leaving viewers without clarity on the championship’s likely outcome.
But this context wasn’t provided by FOX booth, instead, it was Matt Reaver.
“Corey Heim wins Stage 2 of Trucks Homestead. Kaden Honeycutt finishes sixth as Layne Riggs is seven laps down. +33
It’s not mathematically done but there is no statistically reasonable way this is an open question. Kaden Honeycutt is going to be the 2026 Truck Series champion,” Weaver wrote on X. Even Joseph Srigley didn’t like how FOX covered the race.
“They didn’t call the end of Stage 2 until the battle for third crossed the end of the line, and said, just like that Stage 2 is over, corey heim wins, its the 14th time he’s swept the stages”…. commercial,” Srigley replied to his thread on X.
Layne Riggs, on the flip side was gutted about the loss, but he was proud of the season his team put together in 2026. “Kind of been thinking about the year we had, the success we had. We weren’t able to put the consistency to be the championship tonight. We knew we had to have a perfect race, and that’s hard in any series and division. But I’m just proud of the entire team; we were in the mix.”
As the 2026 Truck Series season comes to an end, the No. 11 Truck is still in the victory lane as champions, but Layne Riggs and his team came close to keeping the Toyota domination in check.