Steady Honeycutt Notches Another Truck Series Podium

Kaden Honeycutt in action Friday at Pocono Raceway. (Wyatt Tinsley/Race Face Digital photo)

LONG POND, Pa. – Kaden Honeycutt and Niece Motorsports continued their steady NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series campaign Saturday afternoon with a podium finish at Pocono Raceway.

Honeycutt qualified second for the MillerTech Battery 200 at the 2.5-mile ‘Tricky Triangle’, piloting the No. 45 DQS Solutions & Staffing Chevrolet Silverado RST and ultimately ended his day third.

After a clean start from the outside of the front row and quick gains in the opening stage, Honeycutt finished stage one in second and stage two in sixth, keeping his playoff position secure and gaining 14 valuable stage points in the process.

While he never quite had the leverage to contend with eventual winner Layne Riggs, Honeycutt did race among the top five for virtually the entire second half and averaged a running position of fifth for the full 80-lap distance.

His third-place finish matched his career-best Truck Series mark from earlier this season at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

“We had a good truck today, but unfortunately did not have winning speed like the No. 11 [Corey Heim] and the No. 34 [Riggs],” Honeycutt reflected. “We just lacked a little front turn, really. I just think we were too stiff in the front end and the ride quality wasn't great. But it’s good to be frustrated with a top five because it shows we’re capable of even better.

“This team just wants to win, and I want to win just as badly as they do, if not more,” he added. “I just want to thank everyone for supporting us. This was also in remembrance of [rival team owner] Charlie Henderson [who passed away on June 14]. He was riding with us today, and he's really going to be missed for sure in this garage.”

Though Honeycutt further solidified his points placing in the current playoff grid, improving to 45 points above the cut line, he also knows that with a new winner in Riggs that he must work even harder with another playoff spot claimed.

Honeycutt is one of just three drivers left in on points with four regular season races remaining, along with veteran Grant Enfinger and defending series champion Ty Majeski.

“I think we’ve got a playoff-caliber team,” he said. “It’s about execution now. We’ve had some horrible luck this year, but we’re starting to clean that up. If we can string together a few more like this – or better – we’ll be in a good spot and hopefully be locked in by the next two races.

“We build our own trucks, and this is another good one they built. Just have to work on it a little bit more now.”

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes on a new venue next weekend in Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park road course, and while Honeycutt doesn’t have a lot of road-racing experience, he’s confident in his Phil Gould-led team’s speed.

“We’ll move onto Lime Rock now and see if we can win one in the next couple of weeks to lock us into the playoffs,” he noted. “[A victory] will solve any worries we have at this point in the year.”

Coverage of the LiUNA 150 at Lime Rock Park is scheduled for Saturday, June 28 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.