Here is the thing about Honeycutt: he arrives at the postseason opener with every reason to feel confident. The 23-year-old Texan sits second in points heading into Thursday's Chase presented by Mobil 1, carrying the kind of momentum that makes racers dangerous. He likes the seven-race schedule that will determine the series championship, stating plainly that he and his squad have no weak spots across that stretch.
It has undeniably been a career year for him. He previously led the championship for five weeks for the first time in his career, and he enters the Chase 25 points behind Riggs after a season where the two drivers have completely dominated the top two spots in the standings. More importantly, his form spiked right when it mattered most, securing his first two career series wins at the Watkins Glen International road course and the Richmond Raceway short oval just two weeks before the pre-championship break. On top of that, his 11 top-five finishes this year are nearly triple his previous best tally for an entire season.
Scott has helped me tremendously on my race craft, and he’s done a lot of things for me outside of truck racing that’s led to winning races.
Now, the challenge shifts to surviving a postseason where chaos is practically guaranteed. Looking at how things have unfolded lately, Honeycutt pointed out the drama elsewhere in the national divisions. "We've obviously seen the last couple races for Cup have completely turned upside down for most of the guys," he noted. His strategy to counter that madness is simple execution. "I feel like if we just execute, do our own deal, race our race and not try to do anything else other than that and not focus on points so much, just focus on winning, and everything kind of takes care of itself after that."
Crucially, that machine is backed by serious muscle. His No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota team is guided by Scott Zipadelli, one of the winningest crew chiefs in series history, who famously led Corey Heim to 12 victories and the championship last year.
"Having a crew chief like Scott and the whole team that's a championship-caliber team is definitely very easy to get used to," Honeycutt said. "Scott has helped me tremendously on my race craft, and he’s done a lot of things for me outside of truck racing that’s led to winning races."
Now comes the test at Bristol to see if that combination can deliver when the pressure hits its absolute peak.
