Kaden Honeycutt wins Black's Tire 250 presented by BTS Rewards at Richmond

Carol D'Agostino for Skirts and Scuffs

Every NASCAR race begins with lots of pre-race pageantry, but the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Black's Tire 250 pulled out all the stops and added in a few hiccups... like a couple of lightning holds, a power outage, and a full-fledged rain delay that pushed a Friday night race into a Saturday matinee.

But nothing could stop the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota, piloted by Kaden Honeycutt, from getting his second career Craftsman Truck Series win in dominating fashion. Honeycutt led 225 laps, more than doubling his total laps led all season. He also won both Stage 1 and Stage 2.

Like many Richmond races, the Black's Tire 250 unfolded with mostly green flag laps. In fact, there was only one caution for cause. For Honeycutt, the win came down to restarts, strategy calls, and team prep.

“Going into the race, we were worried about our short track stuff. The team made a few adjustments related to this new tire compound. The total credit goes to the team for making changes that made the difference,” said Honeycutt. “I never felt more prepared during the weeks going into a race,” he added.

It was a one-two finish for Tricon Garage teammate Corey Heim. Rounding out the top 10 finishers were Christian Eckes, Shane van Gisbergen, Grant Enfinger, Jake Garcia, Chandler Smith, Tristan McKee, Gio Ruggiero, and Daniel Hemric.

While all eyes were on the winner, 16-year-old Tristan McKee, who made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut driving the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST, provided a glimpse of what the future may hold for the young driver. McKee started 13th on the grid and battled within the top 15 all day. He finished 9th in Stage 1 and 12th in Stage 2.

As we roll into New Hampshire Motor Speedway next Saturday, the last race of the regular NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, Layne Riggs remains first in the driver’s standings with Kaden Honeycutt 61 points behind, but he can almost taste the lobster. 

 

“I am thinking about that lobster,” Honeycutt said in the Media Center after the win. “We are going into Loudon now with much more confidence,” he added.

Carol D'Agostino for Skirts and Scuffs