Here is the thing about racing at Talladega Superspeedway: a split-second is all it takes to ruin an afternoon, and Kaden Honeycutt found that out the hard way during Friday’s Love’s RV Stop 225. Wrestling with a dozen other drivers for the win, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point leader dropped from the front in the mad rush to the finish, sliding to a fifth-place result while Sammy Smith galloped to the victory. Honeycutt admitted straight away that he misjudged his timing.
“I should have stayed around and made my move a little bit later,” Honeycutt said. He explained that he misjudged the bottom line, thinking it was better formed than it actually was, only to watch it separate and pull him back hard. Calling it a repeat of his Daytona strategy—where he finished eighth despite leading the next-to-last lap—the driver took full blame. “I just didn’t execute the way I needed to finish the race off. I was in the perfect position to do so. I’m so disappointed in myself.”
Yet, the standings offer a decent silver lining. Honeycutt leaves Talladega still at the top of The Chase presented by Mobil 1 standings, actually extending his cushion by adding four markers to his lead over second-place Layne Riggs. He now holds a 43-point buffer heading into next Friday at Martinsville Speedway, before the season wraps up on Nov. 6 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “I never say over until it’s over, for sure,” Honeycutt noted, eyeing that famous grandfather clock trophy. “I’ve seen people make up 90 points in two races. So anything’s possible.”
Ty Majeski was right there in the mix with him, leading the next-to-last lap before coming home in fourth place. It was a frustrating missed opportunity to make a serious gain in the point standings, though he did climb two spots to third, where he now trails Honeycutt by 141 markers. Majeski knew exactly what was on the line, noting that he wanted to capitalize on bad days from the guys around him.
“We knew the points situation,” Majeski said. “We knew the guys that were around us had bad days. We really wanted to finish today to take advantage of it. Could have been a little bit more aggressive on my blocks there with the 7 coming to the line, but probably executed everything pretty well up until that point.” A heavy hit from Smith in the tri-oval knocked him free, forcing him into a desperate choice between saving the machine and trying to block. “So yeah, decided to take the finish.”
It stings all the more because it follows a nearly identical heartbreak just a week prior at Phoenix, where Majeski also finished fourth after having the best truck for over half the race. “Two weeks in a row, right?” Majeski said. “I mean, I could have easily won Phoenix, had the best truck for over half the race, and here was leading with the white flag. If we win these two races, we’re way in it. So, unfortunately, didn’t go that way, so just have to keep executing, do the best of our ability these next two races, and yeah, try and get the best points finish we can.”
