That is how you strike back. Kaden Honeycutt took control during the third stage at Phoenix Raceway and drove the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota to a stunning victory in the Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150 Powered by POET, pushing his Chase lead to 39 points over second-place Layne Riggs.
It was a masterclass in the desert. Honeycutt led a race-high 53 laps—every single one of them during the final green-flag run—and beat Christian Eckes to the finish line by 1.556 seconds. This is his first win at Phoenix and the fourth of his career, all of them secured this season in the exact same ride that Corey Heim used to secure the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title last year.
The 23-year-old from Willow Park, Texas, didn't have it easy from the jump. Honeycutt admitted he struggled with rear grip in Stage 1, but crew chief Scott Zipadelli went to work and kept him locked in. A brilliant second-place exit from pit road at the second stage break put Honeycutt first among the Chase contenders. He quickly dispatched Stewart Friesen—who had taken two tires and jumped 12 positions into a short-lived lead—before seizing the top spot on the Lap 99 restart and staying out front for good. For Zipadelli, this marked his 39th series win, putting him just five shy of Eric Phillips' all-time record.
Behind the winner, the battle was fierce. Layne Riggs had started on the pole and led the first 43 laps before Ty Majeski fought through to claim the Stage 1 victory. Majeski ultimately swept the stages and led 49 laps before coming home fourth, while Riggs fought his way past Majeski for third on Lap 104 of 150 but could climb no higher. Christian Eckes brought his No. 91 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet home second for the third consecutive race, finishing 1.556 seconds back and admitting his team is just missing one or two things compared to the frontrunners, though the result lifts him to third in the standings, 112 points behind Honeycutt.
Further down the order, Jake Garcia rounded out the top five in fifth, followed by William Sawalich, Daniel Hemric, Gio Ruggiero, Grant Enfinger, and Brent Crews. Chandler Smith, running alongside Riggs for Front Row Motorsports, suffered a pit road penalty for too many men over the wall and tumbled to 15th, dropping one spot to fourth in the Chase standings, 117 points off the lead.
The race itself ran remarkably clean, featuring just two cautions for 16 laps, with the second yellow for debris in Turn 1 aligning with the Stage 2 break. Across the 150 laps, there were six lead changes among five drivers. Post-race inspection in the Craftsman Truck Series garage was completed with no issues, cementing the result.
Now, the series heads next Friday to Talladega Superspeedway with just three races remaining in the 2026 season.
