AVONDALE, Ariz. — At the track where Corey Heim secured the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title in the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota last year, Kaden Honeycutt took a giant step toward this season’s championship in the same ride.
Taking control of the race in the third stage at Phoenix Raceway, thanks in no small part to a flawless effort from his pit crew, Honeycutt cruised to victory in Friday’s Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150 Powered by POET and expanded his Chase lead to 39 points over second-place Layne Riggs, who finished third.
Honeycutt led a race-high 53 laps — all during the final green-flag run — and beat a frustrated Christian Eckes to the finish line by 1.556 seconds to record his first win at Phoenix and the fourth of his career, all accomplished this season.
Second out of the pits on the final stop at the second stage break — and first among the Chase contenders — Honeycutt quickly dispatched Stewart Friesen, who had taken two tires on the stop and jumped 12 positions into a short-lived lead.
After seizing the top spot on the Lap 99 restart, the 23-year-old from Willow Park, Texas, remained out front the rest of the way. His victory was also the 39th in the series for crew chief Scott Zipadelli, who is now five wins shy of Eric Phillips’ all-time lead.
“My pit crew, they did a great job,” Honeycutt asserted. “I give them so much credit because they’re so damn good. I’m so fortunate to be able to drive these things. They spend all their hours in the day just for me to drive ’em, and I can’t be more grateful for them.
“In Stage 1, I just struggled. I just didn’t have good rear grip at the start of that first stage. Scott went to work for me. He was never concerned. He kept me locked in the whole time.”
The Truck Series returns next Friday at Talladega Superspeedway (4 p.m. ET, FS1, FOX One, NASCAR Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Three races remain in the 2026 season.
