Honeycutt Wins Homestead Finale and First Truck Series Championship

Kaden Honeycutt won the race and the championship on the same night. The 23-year-old from Willow Park, Texas drove the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota to victory in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 6, beating Christian Eckes by 1.038 seconds. It was his fifth win of the season, and it gave him his first series championship in his second full-time season, 83 points ahead of Layne Riggs. Post-race inspection concluded without issue, NASCAR said, confirming Honeycutt as the winner.

The call that won it

Under caution with 27 laps left, Honeycutt debated whether to pit for his last set of fresh tires. He radioed crew chief Scott Zipadelli and said he wanted to pit, put them on and go for it. The team did that. Honeycutt took the lead after a restart on Lap 120 of 134 and pulled away from Eckes.

"Man, this is amazing," Honeycutt said. "I have worked so damn hard to be here." He called Zipadelli the best crew chief on pit road and a mentor who made him better every week. Zipadelli has now won two straight titles as a crew chief, after guiding Corey Heim last season.

Riggs loses his shot early

The fight was billed as a shootout with Riggs, but that battle never happened. Contact with the No. 77 Chevrolet of pole winner Nick Sanchez on Lap 2 cut the right rear tire on Riggs' No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford. He pitted on Lap 17, stayed out at the end of the first stage for a wave-around, then pitted again on Lap 46 with a shredded right rear. A pass-through penalty for too many crew members over the wall left him seven laps down. Riggs finished 32nd, second in the standings.

"Obviously, we were not able to put the consistency together to be champions tonight," Riggs said. He said his team had needed an almost perfect race, and he was proud it reached the final with a real chance.

A second straight title for the No. 11

Daniel Hemric finished third, followed by Ty Majeski and Stewart Friesen. Heim was sixth after winning the first two stages. Chandler Smith, Jake Garcia, Grant Enfinger and Corey LaJoie completed the top 10, and Smith was third in the final standings. The title was the 11th in the series for Toyota, won in the same No. 11 truck Heim drove to a record 12 victories and the championship last year. Tricon has now won two straight titles with two different drivers. Honeycutt raced part-time in the series from 2022, pieced together a full-time slate last year with three teams, then joined Tricon for all of 2026. His five wins came at Watkins Glen, Richmond, Kansas, Phoenix and Homestead.

Key numbers

• Final margin: Honeycutt beat Eckes by 1.038 seconds
• Race distance: 134 laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway
• Honeycutt: 5 wins in 2026, first series title, age 23
• Final standings: Honeycutt first, Riggs second at 83 points back, Chandler Smith third
• Toyota: 11th drivers championship in the series

What happens next

The 2027 season begins on Friday, February 19, 2027 at Daytona International Speedway, with both drivers returning full time. Tricon extended Honeycutt's contract into 2027 last month, so he will defend the title in the same truck.