HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Kaden Honeycutt has checked off a massive milestone. He has won the Truck Series championship in his first year with Tricon Garage.
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"We did it, mom and dad!" Honeycutt screamed after performing a massive burnout. He then showed the emotions while talking about his journey to this point in his career, which included driving for three teams last season.
"I worked so damn hard to be here," Honeycutt said while choking back tears. "Thank you to every owner, thank you everybody that's let me drive the race car for them, whether it was dirt, asphalt, road cars, it didn't matter."
Won the race AND the title 🏆@KadenWHoneycutt is your 2026 Craftsman Truck Series Champion. What a season. pic.twitter.com/mA0IrHiy2S
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) November 7, 2026
The Texas native entered Friday night's race expecting to have a hard-fought battle with Front Row Motorsports driver Layne Riggs, the only other person mathematically in contention. The night did not progress as he expected.
Riggs' night went awry early in stage 1. An early move from Nick Sanchez led to contact between his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet and Riggs' No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford.
This resulted in a flat tire with 14 laps remaining in the opening stage. Riggs ended stage 1 in the 34th position while falling two laps behind the leaders. Honeycutt scored eight stage points and added to his cushion.
The second stage featured more issues for Riggs. He had another flat tire and another unscheduled pit stop. He fell to 35th in the running order and seven laps behind the leaders. Honecutt then added five more stage points.
A look at the contact between @LayneRiggs99 and @Nicksanchez080 which led to the problems for the No. 34 truck. pic.twitter.com/oHbLklXWzN
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) November 7, 2026
Once the third stage began, Honeycutt had a clear path ahead of him. He just needed to finish better than 34th place to win his first championship. Riggs needed to win and score the Xfinity Fastest Lap.
"I was riding around about 10 laps down out there, just kind of just thinking about the year we had, the success that we had," Riggs said after ending the season 83 points behind Honeycutt.
"Obviously, we weren't able to put the consistency together to be champions tonight, and we knew we were gonna have to come out here, we're gonna have to run an almost perfect race, and that's hard to do any time in any series, in any level, any division."
Riggs did not get the help he needed. Honeycutt went out and took the lead on the final restart of the race. He led the final 13 laps and scored his fifth win of the season. He clinched his championship as every driver dreams of doing.
"I was saving the first half of that race, I didn't want to push it too hard, and then it fell in our hands, and I put my nuts on the dash and won the race," Honeycutt said. "So thanks to the whole team. I love them so much."
Tricon Garage has now won back-to-back championships. Corey Heim won last season's title after winning a record 12 races. Honeycutt then added five more wins while taking on the Chase format for the first time.
Honeycutt is the ninth Toyota driver to win the Truck Series championship. He follows Heim (2025), Ben Rhodes (2021), Brett Moffitt (2018), Christopher Bell (2017), Erik Jones (2015), Matt Crafton (2013 and 2014), Todd Bodine (2006, 2010), and Johnny Benson (2008).
The battle may be over, but the war has just begun for these friendly rivals. Both Honeycutt and Riggs will return to the Truck Series full-time in 2027, and they will be among the championship favorites yet again.
