KANSAS CITY, Kan. – On a near-perfect day, with the weather a notable exception, Kaden Honeycutt leaves Kansas Speedway with a victory in the Race to Stop Suicide.com 200 and control of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase.
Honeycutt led 111 of 134 laps on Saturday, won the first two stages and asserted the superiority of his No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota late in the race to claim the series lead by 37 points over star-crossed Layne Riggs, who clipped the outside wall in the closing laps and finished 19th.
Riggs overcame a bungled stop on pit road to run second until contact with the wall dropped him through the field on the final two laps.
“We just executed,” said Honeycutt, who won for the first time at 1.5-mile Kansas, the third time this season and the third time in his career. “We executed all night. I can’t thank my pit crew enough.
“Sorry I didn’t do any burnouts. We’ve got to save this thing for Homestead (the final Chase race). The motors cost a lot, too.”
Intermittent rainstorms halted the race after 70 laps, with drivers and their crews waiting through a red-flag period of 4 hours, 47 minutes for the resumption.
“Thanks to NASCAR and everyone for letting us finish the race,” said Honeycutt, who was third when rain interrupted the proceedings. “It started raining again in Victory Lane.”
When the second Chase event of the postseason restarted on Lap 78, Honeycutt resumed his dominance, passing Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes, who had taken the top two spots by staying out on older tires.
All told, Honeycutt scored 75 points, scoring every possible marker except for one point for posting the fastest lap, a distinction that went to Ankrum. Honeycutt has a 71-point lead over Smith, who is third in the standings.
The Craftsman Truck Series will return to action Friday, Oct. 9 for race No. 3 of The Chase at Charlotte Motor Speedway (5 p.m. ET, FOX, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
