Kaden Honeycutt pitches career-best third-place result in Charlotte Truck race

CONCORD, N.C. -- An abnormally crisp late May evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway delivered a familiar result in the Craftsman Truck Series race as Corey Heim swept the stages en route to his fourth win of 2025. However, Heim's victory didn't come without a contest as the Niece Motorsports pair of Ross Chastain and Kaden Honeycutt tested the No. 11 Tricon Garage driver all night long, with Honeycutt nabbing a career-best third-place finish in the No. 45 Chevrolet. RELATED: Race results | At-track photos "Great night tonight for our company, second, third and seventh," Honeycutt said. "I hate that we didn't win the race. This team has been so dang good here. We were good here last year and I put a lot of pressure on myself winning, but that's how bad I want to do it." Throughout the 134-lap showdown, Honeycutt had the speed and the pit crew to challenge for the lead. The No. 45 team opted for no tires at the end of Stage 2 to move into the lead ahead of Heim and was able to hold serve within the top five, collecting 16 stage points to complement a career-best evening. Battling a murderer's row of drivers in Heim and Cup veterans Kyle Busch and Chastain was going to be an uphill battle for the 21-year-old driver in his first full-time season. However, it was a valuable learning experience for the rising prospect as he continues to blossom at the national level. "I definitely learned a lot," Honeycutt said. "I hate that I didn't keep the lead there when my pit crew did an amazing job. God, they were so dang good all night. They were awesome. I appreciate them. I just hit the splitter just trying to hold off Corey there to try to keep the lead in clean air. [Crew chief] Phil [Gould] had a great call pitting there to get us in front of some of these guys. The 7 [Busch] was one of them and I feel like we had a top-three truck ... just needed a little bit more to fight with that 11. They've been really freaking good." [caption id="attachment_471726" align="alignnone" width="1300"]David Jensen | Getty Images[/caption] Adding to his Charlotte schedule competing Friday evening, Chastain continues to serve in a mentor role for Niece Motorsports as the organization continues to develop up-and-coming drivers. The Alva, Florida native still wants to chase trophies at the Truck level whenever he climbs into the No. 44 Chevy, and since team owner Al Niece told Chastain he was bringing on Honeycutt, he's been impressed ever since. MORE: Coca-Cola 600 weekend schedule | Charlotte info hub "I've seen first to trust Al Niece's gut when he says 'this is the guy,'" Chastain said. "He first told me about him. Texas kid, I'm thinking, 'OK, just because he's from Texas, he's gonna be in the truck.' Once I knew he was gonna be in one and I watched him in the other vehicles he was in, I'm like 'OK yeah, he can drive.' He's with Phil Gould, so they're coaching him. Got a good group around him, in the team and out, and he's doing the little things right." Racing hard against Chastain inside the top five, Honeycutt credited Chastain with the contributions he's made to Niece Motorsports. "He's been awesome," Honeycutt said. "He's what made this place what it is today and that's amazing. So I'm very thankful to have a mentor like him and someone that I can lean on. I was really happy I even got to race with him and race side-by-side with him and do things tonight that I didn't know I was capable of." Honeycutt leaves Charlotte seventh in the Truck Series standings, and while Heim owns a whopping 176-point lead over Honeycutt, the No. 45 driver sits just 76 points behind Chandler Smith for second. Without any 1.5-mile circuits remaining on the Truck schedule this season, Honeycutt will be put to the test to deliver on tracks he's never competed on, but with his strong start to the year, look for the young driver to continue to perform up to par. "I put a lot of pressure on myself, but I expect to win," Honeycutt said. "When we don't win, we try to scratch our heads and figure out what we need to do to be better and we were really good today as a company, I'm really happy for everyone. Just gonna move on next week and keep that momentum rolling." The Truck Series returns next Friday at Nashville Superspeedway for the Rackley Roofing 200 (8 p.m. ET, FS1, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).