For months, it was rumored that Corey Heim’s future was already written. The NASCAR community was just waiting for the ink to dry. The 2025 Truck Series champion, fresh off a staggering season of 12 wins, 19 top-fives, and absolute domination across 25 starts, had become the hottest young talent in the garage. It was clear that whoever takes his place will have some big shoes to fill. Looks like that time has come.

Tricon Garage, on December 3, confirmed that Heim will no longer drive the No. 11 Toyota for them. With him gone, the team is staring at a massive vacancy. However, they’re already gambling on filling it with a Snowball Derby star ready for his own breakout moment.

TRICON banks on Kaden Honeycutt as the new face of No. 11

“We are pleased to officially welcome Kaden into the Team Toyota family alongside our partners at TRICON Garage,” said Trent Rodriguez, manager, Driver Development, TRD U.S.A.

With that announcement, TRICON Garage made one of the most pivotal moves of its offseason, officially revealing that rising star Kaden Honeycutt has signed a full-time deal to pilot the No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.

The 21-year-old has also inked his place in the 2026 Toyota Driver Development (TD2) program, signaling that Toyota sees him as a long-term investment. Kaden Honeycutt arrives with one of the most impressive résumés of any young driver entering the series. His breakout moment came at the 2024 Snowball Derby, where he seized control of the race with 19 laps remaining and held off Stephen Nasse to win the prestigious 57th running at Five Flags Speedway.

The momentum didn’t stop there. In 2025, despite a part-time Truck Series schedule, Honeycutt impressed again, closing out the season with second and third-place finishes in the final two races. It was evidence that he was ready for a full-time leap. TRICON clearly saw the same spark.

“I’ve waited my entire career for an opportunity like this. I can’t thank Toyota and TRICON enough for trusting me to carry the torch for the No. 11 Safelite Tundra and continue its incredible run of success,” Honeycutt said. “I’m truly honored and fired up to chase a championship with this team in 2026.”

With Heim gone and expectations sky-high, TRICON is betting big. And if Kaden Honeycutt’s trajectory is any indication, it may be the smartest gamble they could’ve made.

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Corey Heim believes Truck Series builds Cup-ready drivers

Coming off Kaden Honeycutt’s rise and TRICON’s bold bet, the conversation naturally shifts to the developmental path that produced stars like Corey Heim – the very talent whose departure created this massive opening. And if you ask Heim, there’s no question about where future Cup contenders should sharpen their craft.

For Heim, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series remains the most authentic, most challenging, and most valuable stepping stone on the path to the sport’s highest level. While the journey to the Cup may no longer follow a single formula, Carson Hocevar is a recent example of someone who accelerated through the ranks. Heim insists that trucks remain the closest thing young drivers will experience to the real deal.

“I think the Trucks are probably the most similar to Cup cars. I’ve driven all three. From a vehicle perspective, I think it definitely resonates the most when you’re trying to develop to be a hopeful Cup driver like myself. Xfinity is great, too,” Heim said.

The Truck Series has always thrived as NASCAR’s proving ground, separating future stars from footnotes. Its combination of raw horsepower, physical racing, and short-track chaos is where talent either rises or cracks under pressure. It’s also where young drivers are directly measured against Cup veterans who drop in for select starts. It proves to be an invaluable test of racecraft, composure, and aggression.

And with NASCAR’s new rule change allowing Cup drivers with more than three years of experience to run up to 10 Xfinity and eight Truck Series races, the competitive bar is only rising. That means a tougher environment and exactly the kind Heim believes young drivers need.

Beyond speed, the Truck Series doubles as a real-world apprenticeship. Through programs like Drive for Diversity, drivers learn media skills, sponsor relations, and brand management, some of the crucial elements of modern NASCAR. Many Truck teams operate under the umbrella of powerhouse Cup organizations, giving drivers access to elite equipment, coaching, and data.

For the 2025 Truck Series champion, the logic is simple: the closer a driver gets to Cup-level preparation early, the more polished they’ll be when opportunity arrives. And that’s why Heim views the series he dominated as the truest launchpad to NASCAR’s future.