Honeycutt Holds Off Heim For Richmond Truck Series Win

Kaden Honeycutt was perfect early, and late, as he was able to hold off all challengers for the win in the Black's Tire 250 at Richmond Raceway.

Kaden Honeycutt pulled through for his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win of the season at Richmond Raceway. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

What was supposed to be a season filled with elation for Kaden Honeycutt has been moreso filled with confusion and frustration that he and the No. 11 TRICON Garage team have been unable to find victory lane as frequently as they were expected to.

"Man, we never give up. We've had a rough last couple of weeks," Honeycutt said of his subpar performances of late. "You know, we just wondered what the heck was going on. We're not a seventh-to-10th-place team."

Saturday, in the rain-delayed NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Black's Tire 250 at Richmond Raceway, Honeycutt was able to finally put together a full race, which resulted in a truly dominant performance.

Honeycutt, who started from the runner-up spot, took the lead from Shane van Gisbergen on Lap 3, and was essentially the class of the field for the duration of the afternoon, as he led a race-high 225 laps in the 250-lap contest.

While Honeycutt was head-and-shoulders above the competition for the majority of the day, he did have to buckle down in the closing laps, as Corey Heim, his TRICON Garage teammate, came to life. However, Honeycutt was able to stave off the challenge from Heim, while he expertly navigated lapped traffic in the closing laps.

Honeycutt would cross the finish line first by a margin of 1.313 seconds over Heim, which allowed him to capture the second win of the season, and the second win of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career.

With the incredible performance comes boosted levels of confidence for the 23-year-old racer, who hails from Willow Park, TX.

"What a dominating day. I've never been able to do something like that before," Honeycutt explained. "So, really good confidence for me. Hopefully, we'll go to Loudon and do the same thing next week."

Heim, who was competing in just his eighth NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race of the season, came up just shy of his fourth win of the season. But it was another solid effort as the part-time NASCAR Truck and Cup Series competitor trends toward his first full-time Cup season next year.

Christian Eckes nabbed a third-place result on a hard-fought afternoon, and he continued to bolster his hopes of making an impact in The Chase in a few weeks.

Shane van Gisbergen, a road racing ace who surprised everyone by capturing his first career Truck Series pole on the 0.75-mile short track, suffered a pit road penalty late in the event, but was able to rally back to finish fourth. The New Zealander continues to show improved race craft on oval track layouts this season.

Grant Enfinger, who is zeroing in on a Chase berth, capped off the top-five finishers in the race.

Jake Garcia, Chandler Smith, Tristan McKee, Gio Ruggiero, and Daniel Hemric rounded out the top-10 finishers in the Black's Tire 250 at Richmond.

For McKee, the driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, this was his debut race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The 16-year-old can check off the success box for his first NASCAR National Series start.

Layne Riggs, the series point leader, was a top-five truck for the majority of the race, but problems on pit road, and a caution in the middle of pit strategies late in the race, led him to a subpar 15th-place result.

Still, Riggs holds a 61-point advantage over Honeycutt for the series point lead with one race until The Chase begins.

Tyler Ankrum, the 11th-place finisher, holds a 20-point advantage over Stewart Friesen for the final Chase berth after Saturday's race. With one race remaining until The Chase, all eyes will be on both drivers next weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.