Kaden Honeycutt Claims Emotional First Victory at Watkins Glen

Kaden Honeycutt celebrating his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory on the front stretch of Watkins Glen International. (Photo Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - Kaden Honeycutt’s stellar Friday in the Finger Lakes Region of New York allowed for the 22-year-old from Willow Park, Texas, to make a remarkable late rally in Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at Watkins Glen International, earning his first career victory in the series.

Piloting his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Honeycutt made the winning move entering Turn 1 on the opening lap of overtime, slipping underneath NASCAR Cup Series rookie product Connor Zilisch before pulling away to secure his first career Truck Series victory in his 67th start. Honeycutt crossed the finish line 0.902 seconds ahead of Zilisch after multiple late-race cautions reset the field.

The victory capped off a historic day for the 21-year-old driver, who also won the ARCA Menards Series race earlier in the day, which was his first national series platform win. Honeycutt became just the second driver ever to sweep both the ARCA and Truck Series races at the same track on the same day, joining Sam Mayer, who accomplished the feat at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2020.

“It’s just amazing,” Honeycutt said after the race. “I can’t believe I just won on a road course.”

Honeycutt received a penalty near the end of the second stage for pitting while pit road was closed, which forced him to restart the final 32-lap stage at the back of the field. The second-year full-time driver flexed his muscles for the remainder of the event, with the help of a series of cautions that brought Honeycutt back to the front of the field.

“We scrapped and clawed through that last run for sure,” Honeycutt added. ”I knew when I was running second to (Connor) Zilisch, we had something to win with at the end. The last stage started, it is what it is, I had a penalty. Just drove my ass off to get through there, and it paid off.”

Zilisch appeared to have the race under control for much of the afternoon after leading a race-high 28 laps and winning Stage 2, but the overtime restart proved costly. Starting on the outside lane, Zilisch was shuffled back entering Turn 1 as Honeycutt took advantage of the preferred inside line.

Five-time NASCAR Cup Series road-course winner Shane van Gisbergen finished third after charging through the field on the final restarts, while Daniel Hemric and Chandler Smith completed the top five.

AJ Allmendinger, Brent Crews, Mini Tyrrell, Brenden Queen, and Connor Mosack completed the top 10 after 74 laps around the 2.454-mile, seven-turn road course.

The Truck Series is back in action as its five-week stretch of races rolls on in a return to Dover Motor Speedway next Friday, May 15.

Coverage from "The Monster Mile," will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 at 5:00 pm ET. The event can be found as well on the NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.