Honeycutt Inherits Pro Truck Win To Open Derby Week

Kaden Honeycutt poses in victory lane Thursday night at Five Flags Speedway. (Daniel Vining photo)

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Kaden Honeycutt never led a lap in Thursday night’s Pro Truck headliner at Five Flags Speedway, but he still left the half-mile oval with his first trophy of Snowball Derby week.

Honeycutt inherited the victory after the No. 79 of Steven Davis, who crossed the finish line first in the 50-lap main event, failed post-race technical inspection.

It gave the 21-year-old Texan his first Pro Truck win with Bryson Lopez Racing and marked the first step toward his goal of sweeping four races in four days at the historic Pensacola short track.

“This isn’t ever the way you want to win a race, but we had a solid truck all night long,” noted Honeycutt.

In a race that featured nine cautions for incident, two red flags, and a myriad of retirees due to crash damage, Honeycutt kept his nose clean and never ran lower than sixth all night.

“I hated we had all those yellows, man,” he lamented. “This race has gone green the past three years, but I think with the (afternoon) rain delay, everyone was antsy and unfortunately that led to a lot of chaos. I needed a little bit more on fire-off to stay with Steven on track, but we’ll never pass up a victory as a team no matter how it happens.

“I hadn’t run a truck here since 2017 before tonight, so I had a lot of fun and glad it ended well.”

Weather nearly scuttled the opening night of Derby week, but the Pro Trucks kicked off feature racing just before 9:30 p.m. Central Time.

Despite the stop-and-start nature of the Pro Truck race, Davis led all 50 laps from the pole, looking like he’d won for the third time in his career and second time in a row during pavement short track racing’s biggest festival. He just didn’t make it out of the tech shed with the trophy this time.

That elevated Derby rookie Jared Maupin to a runner-up finish, with Alabama teenager Grant Thompson filling out the updated podium.

“This is my first Derby, and I’ve only had a handful of asphalt races,” Maupin said. “It’s a different animal. It’s awesome to compete with these guys. We’ve got nothing to hang our heads about.”

Thompson’s teammate Seth Christensen finished fourth, just ahead of Maddox Langham, who rallied from a lap-six spin to close the top five in a 25-truck field that only saw 14 drivers reach the checkered flag.

In supporting action Thursday night, Chad Robinson soothed the wounds of losing his 2009 Sportsman win at the Snowball Derby to a technical disqualification with a wire-to-wire victory in that division’s 50-lap main event.

Robinson set a track record in qualifying, led every lap, and celebrated in victory lane after delivering that 2009 checkered flag to Billy Hoover, its rightful owner.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “I’ve been trying to win this race for 10 years. Something always bites me. This race has been my nemesis. I’d have spectacular years and, then, I’d come here and something happens.

“But I got the monkey off my back now. It feels good to get one in the bank.”

Langham finished second in his second race of the night, followed by two-time Sportsman winner James Patrick, Brannon Fowler, and Daryl McDonald III.

Mason Johnston won the 35-lap Pure Stock feature and joined his grandfather, Okie Mason, as a Derby week winner 11 years after Mason stood in victory lane at 5 Flags Speedway.

Adam Salter, Butch Harvell, Cameron Laythem, and Sean Barnes finished second through fifth, respectively.

Snowball Derby week continues Friday night, headlined by qualifying for the 300-lap super late model classic and a 75-lap feature for the Modifieds of Mayhem Tour. Every lap can be streamed on FloRacing.

The results:

Pro Truck A-Main (50 laps): 1. Kaden Honeycutt, 2. Jared Maupin, 3. Grant Thompson, 4. Seth Christensen, 5. Maddox Langham, 6. Treyce Capers, 7. Toro Rodriguez, 8. Okie Mason, 9. Jake Moore, 10. Carson Green, 11. Larry Deal, 12. Mason Love, 13. Jason Welch, 14. Carter Whalen, 15. Don Duval, 16. Kyler Bean, 17. Sean Barnes, 18. Allen Alexander, 19. Michael Gamache, 20. Zach Lopez, 21. Presley Johnson, 22. Darryl Rudd, 23. Howard Langham, 24. Ray Herndon, 25. Steven Davis (DQ).

Sportsman A-Main (50 laps): 1. Chad Robinson, 2. Maddox Langham, 3. James Patrick, 4. Brannon Fowler, 5. Daryl McDonald III, 6. Corey Bodie, 7. Jonathan Langham, 8. Chopper Stagner, 9. Parker McDonald, 10. B.J. Leytham, 11. Jim Pokrant.

Pure Stock A-Main (35 laps): 1. Mason Johnston, 2. Adam Salter, 3. Butch Harvell, 4. Cameron Leytham, 5. Sean Barnes, 6. Connor Odom, 7. Payton Guy, 8. Ira Roberts, 9. Caleb Burkett, 10. Ely Loper, 11. Colby McDonald, 12. Mike Goraum, 13. Zack Jordan, 14. Thomas Norman, 15. Rocky Boyd, 16. Dayton Sidner, 17. Ben Cranford, 18. Bobby Saurez, 19. Thumper Grice, 20. Tony Boyd.