Kaden Honeycutt Wins the NASCAR Truck Series Race at Kansas
This is the Happy Hour Racing race recap, where we break down what actually decided the race and what it does to the championship. This one is the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Kansas, not the Cup race.
The Short Version
Kaden Honeycutt won the Race to Stop Suicide 200 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, September 26, and it was not close. He swept both stages, led 111 of the 134 laps, and beat Christian Eckes to the line by 1.358 seconds. It is his third NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, and all three have come this season. The bigger story is what it did to the championship. Layne Riggs came in with the points lead, scrubbed the wall with three laps to go, and fell to 19th. Honeycutt leaves Kansas up 37 points with five races left.
How Honeycutt Controlled the Race
Honeycutt rolled off fourth and had the lead by the first lap. From there the No. 11 Safelite Toyota was the best truck on the property. He led laps 1 through 47, took Stage 1, gave it up briefly, then led again through both of the next long green runs. Add it up and he was out front for 111 of 134 laps. He won Stage 1 and Stage 2, which is 20 stage points on top of the win.
The official scoring backs up how total it was. Honeycutt scored 75 points on the day, every point available except the single point for fastest lap, which went to Tyler Ankrum. Ankrum turned a 31.148 second lap at 173.366 mph on lap 103, and still only finished 25th.
Kaden Honeycutt sweeps the stages and claims the win at Kansas Speedway.
- NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) September 26, 2026
Honeycutt gave the credit to the crew after he climbed out. "Great job by this Safelite crew. This No. 11 for TRICON Garage, Scott Zipadelli, the freaking goat," he said. He also ran the whole race with a cold.
The Rain Delay Split the Day in Two
This was not a clean afternoon. The race went green in the afternoon and then stopped. A four-truck incident on the backstretch brought out the caution around lap 66, and weather turned that into a red flag that lasted four hours and 47 minutes. The trucks came back out and finished the job under the lights.
Long delays usually scramble a race. This one did not. Honeycutt was in front before the rain and he was in front after it. There were seven cautions for 47 laps, which is 35 percent of the race run under yellow, and nine lead changes among five drivers. Connor Hall brought out a caution spinning on the backstretch, Caleb Costner got into it on the frontstretch, and Landen Lewis crashed in Turn 2 with 18 to go.
Layne Riggs Gave Away the Points Lead
Riggs had the worst kind of day. His jackman dropped the truck during the Stage 2 break before the left front lugnut was tight, he had to come back down pit road, and he restarted deep in the field. He drove all the way back. On a two-tire call he cycled to the lead on lap 122, which is 12 to go.
Honeycutt, who had taken four tires, took it right back the next lap. Then Riggs scrubbed the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4 with three laps left, cut the right front tire, brushed the wall again in Turns 1 and 2, and dropped to 19th. He was honest about it afterward. "Just went for it way too hard and went for it when I shouldn't have," he said.
He came into the weekend three points up on Honeycutt. He leaves 37 points down. Across the first two Chase races the swing between those two is 62 points.
The Numbers
Who Is Hot and Who Is Not
Christian Eckes had the quiet drive of the day. He started 25th in the No. 91 NAPA AutoCare Chevrolet and finished second. Daniel Hemric backed him up with a fourth from 12th, so McAnally Hilgemann put two trucks in the top four. Brent Crews ran third in the second TRICON Toyota, though he is not eligible for Truck Series points this season, so it does not move the standings.
Going the other way, Nicholas Sanchez started on the pole and finished 28th. Ty Majeski rolled off eighth and came home 29th. Grant Enfinger led 14 laps, then stopped in Turn 3 with 10 to go and ended up 31st. None of those three can afford a repeat.
The Chase With Five Races Left
Honeycutt sits on 2,197 points. Riggs is second on 2,160. Chandler Smith is third on 2,126, Gio Ruggiero fourth on 2,125, and Eckes fifth on 2,115. Hemric, Ty Majeski and Ben Rhodes are all inside 100 points of the lead, so this is still a tight fight even with a 37 point gap at the top.
Next up is the Ecosave 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, October 9. After that it is Phoenix, Talladega, Martinsville and the championship race at Homestead-Miami on November 6. You can see the rest of the season and the current points in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule and standings.
The Bottom Line
Honeycutt did not steal this one on strategy or a late restart. He had the fastest truck for five hours of elapsed time and he never let anybody else lead for long. Riggs handed him the points lead at the end, but Honeycutt had already earned the win.
Your turn. Was Riggs wrong to push that hard for second with three to go, or is that exactly what you want from a guy chasing a championship? Tell us in the comments.
Shop the Story
We do not have Kaden Honeycutt gear in stock yet. Here is the Truck Series and Kansas gear we do have on the shelf right now:
- Chase Elliott #7 NASCAR 2026 Truck Series North Wilkesboro T-Shirt
- Ty Majeski #98 NASCAR 2024 Truck Series Championship Shirt
- Corey Lajoie #7 NASCAR 2024 Chili's Racing Draft 2 Sided Black T-Shirt
- 2023 Corey Lajoie Vintage Patch NASCAR Mesh Baseball Cap, Black
- Ross Chastain #1 NASCAR 2024 Kansas Speedway Winner T-Shirt
New gear lands all week. See the newest arrivals, or get the win shirt sent to you automatically through the fan club.
