On Monday, Niece Motorsports dropped a bombshell on the entire NASCAR industry when it was announced that Kaden Honeycutt, a driver all but locked into the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs, would be immediately released from his driving duties of the No. 45 Chevrolet Silverado.
According to a statement from the organization, the move came as a result of Honeycutt inking a deal with another organization and automaker (expected to be Toyota and TRICON Garage) for the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series campaign.
Connor Zilisch will take over the No. 45 for Friday’s Mission 176 at Watkins Glen International, before Bayley Currey gets behind the wheel of the entry for the remainder of the season, starting at Richmond Raceway.
The move has left several within the industry confused, as Niece and Honeycutt looked poised to compete for the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship, and now, the Willow Park, Texas-native is left to scramble for a ride with two races left in the regular season.
Cody Efaw, General Manager of Niece Motorsports, spoke to Dave Moody on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 on Monday about the decision to release Honeycutt from his contract with nine races left in the 2025 season, a call that he referred to as “just business” happening.
According to Efaw, Niece Motorsports had approached Kaden Honeycutt about signing a contract extension with the NASCAR Truck Series organization, which would have seen him remain part of the team for several years into the future. However, it was at that time that the 22-year-old driver revealed to the team’s leadership that he had signed elsewhere for 2026.
“It’s tough, my job is to make sure all of our partners are taken care of, and one of our larger partners is Chevrolet and Team Chevy, and what they do for us on the engineering side, and they have been great partners for 10 years with us, and we have partners that help make these trucks go around the racetrack that are tied to General Motors and Chevrolet,” Efaw said.
“With Kaden [Honeycutt] deciding to go to a different OEM, I respect that he came to us and told us, you know, it was hard,” he added. “It was hard for him. He’s a young man; he’s got his racing career ahead of him. He’s been racing since he was eight years old. This is everything he has ever wanted to do.”
Honeycutt joined Niece Motorsports in 2023 as a part-time competitor, and since then, Efaw and Niece Motorsports have invested time, resources, and money into further developing his career. That’s one aspect of this decision that Efaw says was difficult for him personally.
“We take a lot of pride in bringing guys in and shaping their careers and path forward, we want to get them to Sundays, right? That’s our goal. Obviously, Ross Chastain has done that, and Carson Hocevar has done that. I think Kaden Honeycutt will do that. That’s everyone’s goal, and I enjoy turning on the TV on Sunday and seeing them guys on there; it means a lot to me.”
“We were hoping that Kaden was going to be the next guy to do that, out of this group and with Team Chevy, and it’s just tough,” Efaw added. “[…] we felt we had a path for him, and I don’t think it’s nothing personal. He’s just making the best decision for himself and his career, and I can’t argue that, I can’t put him down on that.”
However, what ultimately led to the decision to release Honeycutt from his driving duties wasn’t a personal vendetta, or emotions about him moving on from the organization at the end of the year, but rather the feeling that without the full support of Chevrolet and their partners (who knew Honeycutt would be leaving at season’s end), that the team wouldn’t be able to put their best foot forward.
“I commend him for being honest and upfront with us. I would love to finish the season but also look at it like it’s a situation where now, it’s a lame duck term,” Efaw stated. “Chevrolet’s not going to let him walk into their tech center and get on the simulators, and I’m not going to let him come into our meetings or comp meetings, and you know, Phil Gould, who I think is a great name in this industry, he has certain things that he wants to live up to, and there’s certain information that he needs out of a driver that I don’t feel that we can continue moving forward and do it at a championship level in the No. 45 truck.”
?? “There’s certain information that [Phil Gould] needs out of a driver […] I don’t think we can continue moving forward and do it at a championship level.”@NieceMotorsport‘s Cody Efaw gives his take on parting ways with @KadenWHoneycutt.
More ?? https://t.co/WGRTG5gnEd pic.twitter.com/UR0NUXmJF0
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) August 5, 2025
Efaw also alluded to the fact that the sponsors who have covered the season for Kaden Honeycutt in the No. 45 Chevrolet this season – DQS Staffing & Solutions, Precision Vehicle Logistics, etc. – were looking to have somebody in their trucks that they knew was going to be loyal to Niece Motorsports moving forward.
As far as the news that broke on Monday, that move didn’t come from spite, and Efaw adds that there are no hard feelings between Honeycutt and Niece Motorsports: “There’s no bad blood here, ill will. I was lucky enough to have a good talk with Kaden [on Monday morning], and we walked out, we gave each other a hug, and I wish him the best. I think he’s going to be on Sundays, and I think he’s gonna be on a good path.”
