Kaden Honeycutt Wins NASCAR Truck Series Title at Homestead
Kaden Honeycutt won the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship on Friday night, taking the chequered flag in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to complete a remarkable rise in only his second full-time season.
The 23-year-old Texan drove the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota to victory in the Craftsman 200, beating Christian Eckes by 1.038 seconds after a bold late call for fresh tyres under caution. The win was his fifth of the season — and the fifth of his career — and it sealed the title by 83 points over Layne Riggs.
A late call that won the title
Honeycutt started fifth and, with 27 laps remaining, the race was under caution and the championship leader faced a choice: stay out on older tyres or pit for a fresh set. He pitted, restarted behind Eckes, and charged past him on the final restart to take a lead he would not give up.
“We just won Homestead and the damn championship,” Honeycutt said in victory lane, thanking the fans who had turned out in South Florida. As NASCAR reported, post-race inspection passed without issue, confirming the result, with the race-winning engine set to be torn down on Saturday.
From winless to champion in one season
Honeycutt began 2026 still searching for his first career Truck Series victory. He found it early in the season and never looked back, ending the year with five wins, 16 top-five finishes and 19 top-10s in 25 starts, along with three pole positions and 648 laps led.
His second win was the most dominant of the set: at Richmond Raceway in August, he led 225 of 250 laps. A year earlier he had finished third in the standings, two places behind Corey Heim in the same No. 11 truck.
The title is the 11th drivers’ championship for Toyota in the series and the second in a row for TRICON Garage and the No. 11 team, which won last year with Heim’s record 12 victories. Honeycutt is the 23rd champion in series history and the fifth different winner of the title in five seasons.
Riggs’ night unravels early
Layne Riggs, Honeycutt’s closest challenger, led the series with seven wins and arrived at Homestead as the man to beat. His night unravelled almost immediately: contact with Nick Sanchez on the second lap damaged his truck, and two blown tyres later in the race left him six laps down in 32nd.
Daniel Hemric finished third, followed by Ty Majeski and Stewart Friesen. Riggs ended the season 83 points behind Honeycutt, with Chandler Smith third in the standings.
What comes next
Honeycutt will be honoured at the NASCAR Awards on Tuesday 10 November at the Adrienne Arsht Center in downtown Miami. The 2027 Truck Series season — renamed the NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series — begins on Friday 19 February at Daytona International Speedway, with Honeycutt returning to defend his title and Riggs also back for a full-time campaign.
Elsewhere in American sport this week, Stephen Curry moved past Oscar Robertson as the Golden State Warriors beat the Miami Heat for a sixth straight win, Victor Wembanyama scored a career-high 52 points as the San Antonio Spurs edged the Dallas Mavericks 112-111, and the Jacksonville Jaguars routed the Baltimore Ravens 33-10 on Thursday night.
