Kaden Honeycutt looked on track for a breakthrough win at Darlington Raceway on March 20, 2026. Instead, late contact with two NASCAR Cup Series drivers changed everything.
Driving the No. 45 Toyota for Tricon Racing, Honeycutt started from the pole and controlled much of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. He led 60 laps and held track position deep into the final runs before a pair of aggressive restarts reshaped the outcome.
Contact involving Carson Hocevar and Ross Chastain forced Honeycutt into the wall, damaged the right side of his truck, and flattened his tires. After leading much of the night, he finished fourth.
NASCAR Cup Series Driver Contact Shifts Race for Honeycutt
Kaden Honeycutt showed race-winning speed from the start. He led the field to green and maintained control through multiple restarts, managing Darlington’s narrow groove and long green-flag runs.
The race turned in the closing laps as restarts intensified. Drivers pushed harder for position, and Honeycutt lost momentum after getting forced high in Turns 1 and 2.
The contact damaged his truck and reduced grip at a critical stage. Despite the setback, he stayed on track and held on for a fourth-place finish, a strong result that did not match his early dominance.
Honeycutt Points to Cup Drivers after Late-Race Contact
After the race, Honeycutt addressed the challenges of racing against Cup Series drivers in the Truck field, focusing on their approach during restarts.
“When you line up against Cup guys, they really don’t care about restarts or anything. They just plug you into the fence or do what they have to do to win it. That’s what happened to me. The 91 went to the bottom and shoved me in Turns 1 and 2, and then Ross did it again off Turn 2, just flattening the right side out. It is what it is.”
His comments reflect an ongoing tension in the series, in which Truck regulars often compete against drivers from higher divisions who enter select races.
Ross Chastain and Carson Hocevar Explain their Side of the Incident
Ross Chastain said his focus during the closing restarts was helping a fellow Chevrolet driver gain position.
“Yeah, I mean, when I pushed Carson through, I was pushing another Chevy for sure on the restart. When he got inside of him, Kaden missed the bottom in Turn 1 and gave Carson the lane. I pushed Carson through on a couple of those restarts near the end.”
Chastain said any contact was not intentional.
“I might have gotten into him off Turn 2, but I’m not sure. I’ll have to go back and look. If I did, I definitely didn’t mean to. That guy’s a great racer.”
Carson Hocevar said he did not see an issue from his position.
“I don’t know, I just turned left to go around him. I heard ‘clear.’ Maybe he felt like we crowded him a little bit, but I didn’t really see anything.”
He added that the situation may have come from the intensity of the moment.
“Maybe he was frustrated, I don’t know. But from my side, I didn’t see anything wrong.”
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