Kaden Honeycutt is getting a major opportunity in the next Truck Series race at Pocono, driving the 44 truck for Niece Motorsports. It is not his first truck Series start, but he called it his “Biggest Truck Opportunity” on his Twitter page. This raises the question, who is Kaden Honeycutt, and how did he get here?
Kaden Honeycutt was born on June 23, 2003 in Aledo, Texas. According to his website, he started racing in 2012 racing in the Bandolero Division in Alabama and Texas up until 2016. From there, he moved his way up to legends cars and Pro Trucks.
His first taste of professional racing came in the ARCA Menards Series. In 2018, at the age of 15, he made his first two ARCA starts for John Corr at Salem and Indianapolis Raceway Park. Honeycutt qualified inside the top-10 for both events, but he failed to get top-10 finishes in both.
He finished in 19th at Salem after a faulty oil line ended his race after 134 laps. At IRP, Honeycutt finished in 18th eight laps down following a tangle with current Cup Series driver Harrison Burton.
In 2019, Honeycutt made three starts for a family-owned team at Five Flags Speedway, the Nashville Fairgrounds, and Iowa Speedway. Once again, he qualified in the top-10 for all three races, leading his first laps at Pensacola, and finishing ninth after leading 10 laps. His best finish came at the Nashville Fairgrounds, where he finished in seventh, but, his career was about to take a strange turn.
According to The Pit Lane, Honeycutt was supposed to run in four ARCA races and one Truck Series race that season. The Gateway ARCA race and his Truck Series debut were both scrapped, and he would not make an ARCA or Truck start in the pandemic-stricken 2020 season. He would, however, make a name for himself in late models.
According to his website, Honeycutt spent 2020 running in dirt modifieds and late models where he would win 19 races. His breakout race came on the asphalt scene, where he ran in the prestigious Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida. Honeycutt qualified on the front row in second, beating out a star-studded field including Ty Majeski, Chase Elliott, Chandler Smith, Kyle Busch, Grant Enfinger, and Corey Heim.
He led 25 laps on the day on the way home to a fifth place finish. His impressive season was enough to garner the attention of Justin Johnson and the CARS Tour.
He ran full-time in the CARS Tour in 2021. He finished 12th in his debut, and he would never finish outside of the top-10 for the rest of the season. He won his first pole at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia, and won the race as well leading 125 laps. He would win a second race at Florence Motor Speedway after passing Carson Kvapil with nine laps to go.
He would run more late models on both dirt and asphalt for 2022 and 2023, continuing to win races. However, NASCAR also came calling in 2022.
In 2022, Honeycutt finally worked his way into a NASCAR National Touring Series on a part-time basis, running in nine races in the Craftsman Truck Series. He qualified 34th in his debut, and tangled with Austin Wayne Self on lap 109, finishing the race behind the wall in 34th. Honeycutt would team up with owner Steven Lane for seven races towards the end of the season, and the results would gradually improve.
In his final four starts for the team, Honeycutt recorded three top-15 finishes at Bristol, Talladega, and Phoenix. Phoenix was by far his best race, finishing in ninth. This season, he has continued to impress.
After a forgetful debut in Daytona, Honeycutt ran in each of the next five races for Roper Racing. He led his first lap at Atlanta, and he recorded his best finish in the series at Bristol Dirt with a ninth place finish after qualifying in third. Randy Young would pick up Honeycutt for two more races at Darlington and North Wilkesboro.
Another top-10 followed for Honeycutt finishing 10th at Darlington. He also made his Xfinity Series debut at Martinsville, finishing 38th after an engine failure driving for Mike Harmon. Now he is running in the Truck Series at Pocono for one of the top teams in the series, and this may not be his last start either.
“We’re hopeful that we can get some more partners to come on board and make some more starts this season. I’ve been working at the shop the last few months, so I know how hard this organization is working to field fast trucks. I’m looking forward to Pocono.”
Kaden Honeycutt on niecemotorsports.com
A young driver who has impressed in sometimes less than stellar equipment. How much farther can Kaden Honeycutt go? Time will only tell, but this is far from his last big opportunity.
Joe Gibbs Racing has added to its lawsuit filed against former Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart, filing to add Spire as a co-defendant, and to prevent Gabehart from continuing his work at Spire.
JGR initiated this lawsuit on February 19, alleging Gabehart, a long-time Crew Chief, most recently for Denny Hamlin, and the team’s now former Competition Director, “embarked on a brazen scheme to steal JGR’s most sensitive information and use it for the benefit of a direct competitor in NASCAR.”
That direct competitor, Spire Motorsports, which currently employs Gabehart as their Chief Motorsports Officer, is now a co-defendant in this lawsuit, via an amended complaint filed Tuesday.
Per the latest filing from JGR, which employed Gabehart as Competition Director last season, is asking the court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction with seven key requests.
Key to these requests is that Gabehardt cease providing Spire with “services for Spire similar to those he provided to JGR” for 18 months following his February 9 formal termination from JGR.
JGR also requested that Spire stop accepting Gabehart’s work as per the noncompete obligation of his termination.
The filing also has several requests regarding the team information Gabehart allegedly retained from JGR.
These include Gabehart returning this information alongside the devices that store this information and “cease and desist from retaining, transferring, using or copying any Confidential Information and Trade Secrets.”
From JGR’s filing:
c. Gabehart immediately cease and desist from retaining, transferring, using or copying any Confidential Information and Trade Secrets
d. Gabehart return any Confidential Information and Trade Secrets in his possession to JGR;
e. Gabehart transfer to the custody of JGR’s counsel any device used to store the Confidential Information and Trade Secrets and, through an agreed upon Court ordered process, allow the forensic preservation and review of these devices for identification of Confidential Information and Trade Secrets, the return of any identified Confidential Information and Trade Secrets to JGR, and the removal of any identified Confidential Information and Trade Secrets from the devices;
f. Gabehart cease and desist from using or disclosing JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets to third parties;
As of press time, Gabehart has commented on the lawsuit in a post to X on February 20, where he claimed a third-party investigator “examined my laptop, cell phone and personal Google Drive and found no evidence to support the baseless allegations in JGR’s lawsuit.”
What’s Happening? Joe Gibbs Racing has filed a lawsuit against former competition director Chris Gabehart, alleging he took confidential team information…
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The NASCAR rumor mill is heating up as a new rumor suggests that a former series champion and an active NASCAR Cup Series driver could be in line to drive for Legacy Motor Club in 2027.
What’s Happening? NASCAR drivers, much like any athletes, have a period of free agency and multi-million dollar contracts. Based on information…
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season is well underway, while teams and drivers are still settling into their new lineups and seats, others are already prepping for next season.
Most expect the 2027 NASCAR Silly Season to be one of the wildest in years, with many major names on contract seasons, and top seats looking for new drivers.
One story that will likely carry through the 2026 season, and into the offseason, is Legacy Motor Club, which is expanding to three full-time cars in 2027 via the acquisition of a charter from Rick Ware Racing, which is currently leased to RFK Racing for their No. 60 entry.
While many storylines could stem from this transaction, one that is already playing out is LMC’s driver search, as the team looks to add a new face to their roster alongside drivers John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones.
Though we are nearly a year away from what would be the first race for this third car, per recent rumors, a few names are already emerging as top candidates.
What’s Happening? NASCAR Hall of Famer and Seven-Time Champion Jimmie Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club is suing Rick Ware Racing over a…
Monday afternoon, a post from a well-known NASCAR rumor account made the rounds on social media, naming two drivers as possible options for LMC.
In their post, the user claimed that 23XI Racing’s Riley Herbst and Richard Childress Racing prospect Jesse Love were “early contenders” for the ride.
Of course, this is just a rumor, and even if they are possible candidates, things can change. However, both of these options come with their own storylines and questions.
The first thing that likely comes to mind when hearing this rumor is that both of these drivers would have to depart their current spots, something that most have suspected will happen by next season.
For Herbst, he is facing the impending promotion of top NASCAR prospect Corey Heim to full-time competition.
This year, Heim, the reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, is racing part-time with 23XI Racing, with almost every rumor and blurb suggesting next year will be his first full-time season in NASCAR’s highest level.
While 2026 Daytona 500 Champion Tyler Reddick is reportedly on a contract season, most see Herbst as the clear weak link at 23XI, though, in the somewhat unlikely event Reddick were to jump ship, there could be a world where a spot opens for Heim without affecting Herbst.
Regarding Love, the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion is in his third full-time year with RCR in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and, for some time now, has been rumored to be looking for a promotion, beyond his part-time Cup Series schedule.
This is not the first time Love and LMC have been tied together in the rumor mill, as in June 2025, when LMC was in the midst of a lawsuit to get their third charter by this season (something that never came to be), a report from Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports suggested there could be interest in Love as that third driver at LMC.
As of right now, Love has yet to score a full-time Cup Series ride. But there is a chance a slot opens in-house as RCR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch is on a contract year, a situation that could leave Love with a difficult decision between staying in a familiar spot or returning ot the Toyota camp.
But the biggest decision could come down to RCR, which, in the event Busch excels this year, could face deciding between a NASCAR legend and keeping their best prospect in some time.
Nonetheless, all of this is hypothetical, as the gears are just now turning on what could be a NASCAR Cup Series Silly Season for the ages.
What’s Happening? Some recent developments in NASCAR Silly Season rumors and reports have some NASCAR fans wondering if Spire Motorsports could…
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Denny Hamlin fires off on Carson Hocevar, Sheldon Creed finally gets his long-awaited breakthrough, and 13-year-old Keelan Harvick makes a massive career move. From sharp words on a podcast to a feel-good victory and a headline-grabbing development deal, this episode covers three very different stories that could all have long-term ripple effects.
There’s controversy, redemption, and a glimpse at the next generation all wrapped into one packed show. Some reputations are being tested, others are being rebuilt, and one young driver may have just taken the first major step toward the Cup Series.
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