This Fall, Kaden Honeycutt will be making his maiden appearance in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs. However, after a chaotic last month, the 22-year-old driver will be doing it in a very unique situation.
Honeycutt is set to serve as the interim driver of the No. 52 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Halmar Friesen Racing, after team co-owner and formerly playoff-bound driver Stewart Friesen was injured in a dirt racing accident in Quebec.
While no doubt an amazing opportunity, the call from Halmar Friesen Racing came at a time of need for Honeycutt, who was scrambling just to keep his post-season eligibility after being released from Niece Motorsports.
The Willow Park, Texas-native’s release came as a bit of a shock, but according to Cody Efaw, General Manager of Niece Motorsports, happened after Honeycutt informed the team that he had taken an opportunity with another team (and manufacturer) for 2026.
Now, heading into the post-season, Honeycutt has ONE race of experience under his belt with Halmar Friesen Racing — that being a top-10 result at Richmond Raceway, the regular-season finale.
“I’m a pretty passive person when it comes to situations and stuff happening to me. I’m pretty much able to put that behind me as much as possible, and you know, everything ended on a good note, so there’s definitely no issues on any side of mine, personally,” Honeycutt said about his release from Niece Motorsports. “I think that makes it a lot easier for myself. It was definitely hard at first, but now that we’ve moved on, everyone’s doing what they need to do and we’re just looking forward to the rest of these Playoffs with the No. 52 crew.”
With just a seven-race playoff remaining this season, Honeycutt has now fully directed his attention towards trying to win a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship for himself, Stewart Friesen, and Halmar Friesen Racing.
“[Halmar Friesen Racing] gave me the chance to move on and try to finish this deal out. Definitely did not want to quit, definitely wanted to find a way to finish the job for the rest of the year for myself and for Stewart, as well,” Honeycutt added. “Not in the circumstances of where I want it, but right now, we’re just focused on trying to win as many races as possible and try to win the championship for this team, Toyota, and TRD.”
Honeycutt will enter the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs, which kick off on Saturday at Darlington, as the ninth overall seed, sitting two points below the cutline. Thus, the driver knows it will be important to collect Playoff Points.
“I feel like we need to rack up as many Playoff Points as possible because of how different the Round of 8 is to get to the Championship 4, with having the Charlotte ROVAL, Talladega, and Martinsville,” Honeycutt said.
“Three completely different races and three chaotic races. If we can focus on winning stages and trying to get Playoff Points and try to advance and win the next couple of weeks, I think that would be helpful, for sure, so that way, we can go into Talladega and [the] ROVAL and would have something to lean on if we have to.”
The Sober or Slammer 200, the first of seven races in the NASCAR Truck Series Playoffs, will take place on Saturday, August 30 at Noon ET. Coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
