Kaden Honeycutt Wins 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship

Kaden Honeycutt won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship on Friday, defeating Layne Riggs in a lopsided season finale. Entering with a 20-point lead, Honeycutt already needed to have a disastrous race to fall short of the 2026 championship. When it became Riggs whose race fell apart, Honeycutt’s title was all but won before the end of Stage 1 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He didn’t need to win the race to win the championship, but he did both all the same.

“I was not a champion driver to start the season. I was very out of my comfort zone. I was caving into the pressure so much just from the team that had the success last year,” Honeycutt said. “I finally found my comfort zone halfway through the year. We racked up some amazing numbers. It not because of me, under the circumstances because of this race team, the trucks they build that I’m so lucky to drive.”

Entering 2026, Honeycutt inherited the championship-winning No. 11 Tricon Garage truck from Corey Heim. The team was fresh off one of the most dominant seasons in NASCAR history: a 12-win rout of the 2025 Truck Series field. Honeycutt began the year winless, looking to prove his worthiness of a top ride. With Friday’s result, all doubt has been removed.

Honeycutt padded his points lead by picking up eight points in Stage 1 and five more in Stage 2. Corey Heim swept the race’s two stages, echoing his dominant 2025 finale. In the last weekend before he begins his Cup Series career, Heim demonstrated once more that despite running part-time he’s among the sport’s most potent Truck drivers.

Final Standings

1. Kaden Honeycutt -/-
2. Layne Riggs -83
3. Chandler Smith -131
4. Ty Majeski -152
5. Christian Eckes -163
6. Gio Ruggiero -219
7. Daniel Hemric -222
8. Ben Rhodes -230
9. Grant Enfinger -261
10. Tyler Ankrum -275

Through the first seven races of the season Kaden Honeycutt scored four top-10s, but failed to capture his first career victory. At Watkins Glen International he finally broke through, then followed it up with wins at Richmond, Kansas, and Phoenix. Though Honeycutt didn’t win at Homestead Friday, he didn’t need to. After Layne Riggs’ early tire issues, Honeycutt needed only to keep his truck clean and prevent an uncontrolled slide.

After qualifying on the pole and showing top-five speed all night, Nick Sanchez’s race came to an early end on Lap 104. His No. 77 truck appeared to have an engine failure, sparking a fire underneath the bed. Sanchez exited safely, relegated to a last-place finish despite earning the race’s fastest-lap point.

Layne Riggs Comes Up Short

Things began to go wrong for Layne Riggs on Lap 2. His No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford made contact with Nick Sanchez’s No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. The ensuing damage caused Riggs’ tire to go down on Lap 18. He pitted once again just a few laps later, and then a third time on a penalty for too many crew members over the wall. Despite winning seven races in 2026, Layne Riggs’ season appears forever tied to what could’ve been.

“I had plenty of time to think about it when I was about 10 laps down out there. Kind of just thinking about the year we had, the success that we had,” Riggs reflected. “I’m just proud of the entire team that we were even in the mix, we even had a chance to become champion. It was disappointing to know I didn’t even know what my truck was going to be.”

Race Results