A manufacturer switch and a new team could have derailed Kaden Honeycutt’s 2026 season. Instead, it launched him to the Truck Series title. The Tricon Garage driver won three of seven races in the postseason as he inched towards his first junior title, and that, according to him, made all the difference.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“I think we were able to outpoint them by just winning the races. We all (Kaden’s championship rivals) ran into the top five together throughout every single week. It was just that winning bonus meant a lot, as well as stage points. Every point mattered in this chase to be able to go to Homestead and have a 20-point cushion,” said Honeycutt in an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
While Honeycutt was consistent throughout the season, finishing in the Top 5 in most races, a major turning point came at Richmond, where he won his second race of the season, leading 225 of 250 laps and sweeping all stages. He also spoke about how he and his team managed to step up in terms of correlation of the simulator to the actual track and how it helped him proceed with the team.
“We had a really good race at Richmond before heading into the short tracks, and we finally have got some stuff more dialed in where I needed it to be for myself, and also for me and Scott’s correlation got so much better throughout the second half of the year, as far as our communication, our lingo off the racetrack at the shop and at the Sim, and as well at the race track,” explained Honeycutt, talking about crew chief Scott Zipadelli.
The newly crowned Truck champion also got a vote of confidence from Toyota Racing Development (TRD) president Tyler Gibbs in a press conference after the Homestead-Miami finale.
“He certainly has exceeded what our expectations would be. We expect him to win races this year and to run for a championship. He’s won a championship, and so we continue to watch that road play out,” said Gibbs after the race.
After driving for three teams in 2025, Honeycutt’s exit from the Chevrolet-backed Niece Motorsports came after his alliance with Toyota was confirmed. Despite a tumultuous season that saw him switch manufacturers and fill in for an injured Stewart Friesen, Honeycutt made the Final 4 and challenged for the title last year as well.
“If I had not changed what I was doing and changed my mentality, I wouldn’t have been able to do that. I made quite a bit of changes. It got better right before the Chase started and started hitting on the hot points for sure,” added the No. 11 driver.
After winning the finale, Honeycutt called his No. 11 squad a “hall of fame team” and called crew chief Scott Zipadelli a “hall of fame man.”
The 23-year-old’s season was impressive from start to finish, as he bagged five wins, including the season finale, 16 top-5s, three poles, and 592 laps led. With his future at Tricon as secure as it can be, it remains to be seen what the future holds for the young phenom in NASCAR.