A NASCAR championship can take years to earn, but simply getting a chance to compete can be harder. The climb from local short tracks demands more than talent. It takes money, connections, opportunity, and a willingness to keep working when doors refuse to open. For one young Texan, that climb involved spending time in the shop as much as behind the wheel.
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At the 2026 NASCAR Awards in Miami, the newly crowned Craftsman Truck Series champion had more than a trophy to celebrate. Standing before the room, he looked back at the people who helped him reach a position that once seemed almost impossible. What followed was a reminder that his route to the top had been anything but straightforward.
“I remember, Dad, we had an agent sit on the phone with us a while back, and we were told that one in a million kids like me make it to NASCAR,” Kaden Honeycutt said at the ceremony. “And when you hung the phone up, I put my phone down when I was watching a race, and I looked at you and said, ‘Well, I guess we’re going to just have to be that one.’ And this is where we end up, whatever it took.
“To all the kids out there who want to follow their dream, never, ever, ever give up. And if someone tells you otherwise, do something different, you tell them that I would rather [say] go s***w yourself, and I’m going to make it without you.”
Kaden Honeycutt began racing Bandoleros in 2012 before moving through Legend Cars, Pro Late Models, and Super Late Models. He tried ARCA as a teenager and kept competing everywhere, taking whatever seat was available. Funding remained a constant concern.
He made his mark in the short-track ranks. In 2021, he finished second in the CARS Tour Late Model Stock standings and earned Rookie of the Year honors. He later won the CARS Tour Pro Late Model championship and the 2024 Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway. He also worked in the Niece Motorsports shop while making Truck starts.
Those starts became a full-time ride in Niece’s No. 45 Chevrolet for 2025. After signing a Toyota development deal, he parted ways with Niece following the first 16 races. Young’s Motorsports gave him a Watkins Glen start before he joined Halmar Friesen Racing’s No. 52 Toyota for the final eight events, filling in for Stewart Friesen. Honeycutt finished third in the standings.
That run earned him a place at TRICON Garage for 2026, taking over the No. 11 Toyota Corey Heim had driven to the previous year’s title. Honeycutt made an immediate impression. At Watkins Glen, he won his first Truck and ARCA Menards Series races. He then traveled to Ace Speedway and won twice in the CARS Tour, taking four victories across four series in one weekend.
His Truck form held. Honeycutt finished second at Rockingham, third at Texas, and second at both Charlotte and Michigan. His second series victory came at Richmond, where he led 225 of 250 laps. He carried that speed into the Chase, winning at Kansas and Phoenix while stringing together top-five finishes.
The title run had rough patches. Finishes of 31st at Bristol, 27th at Nashville and 23rd at Naval Base Coronado interrupted his momentum. During the Chase, he brushed the wall battling Layne Riggs at Charlotte, allowing his rival to close the gap. Late contact at Martinsville dropped Honeycutt to 14th and cut his lead to 20 points before Homestead.
At the finale, Riggs’ title hopes unraveled after early contact with Nick Sanchez led to two right-rear tire failures and a pit-road penalty. Honeycutt still had to make the right call. With 27 laps remaining, he chose fresh tires under caution rather than protect track position. He took the lead after a restart on Lap 120 and held off Christian Eckes by 1.038 seconds.
The victory was Honeycutt’s fifth of the season and secured the championship by 83 points over Riggs. In 25 races, he recorded 16 top-fives, 19 top-10s and three poles, leading the series in top-fives and top-10s. He became only the second Texas-born Truck champion, joining 2012 winner James Buescher.
Honeycutt’s title was not built on one improbable night. It came from years of taking imperfect opportunities, working in the shop and racing wherever he could. The agent’s estimate was one in a million. At Homestead, Honeycutt made that number look less like a warning and more like a challenge.