TALLADEGA, Ala. — In the split-second that drivers often are given to make a big decision near the end of races at Talladega Superspeedway, Kaden Honeycutt made the wrong one.
Wrestling with a dozen other drivers for the win in Friday’s Love’s RV Stop 225, Honeycutt, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point leader, dropped a spot at the front to a fifth-place finish in the mad rush at the end as Sammy Smith galloped to the victory. Honeycutt said he didn’t time his move correctly.
“I should have stayed around and made my move a little bit later,” Honeycutt said. “I thought the bottom was formed up better than what it was, and then once I looked back, the line was separating. It pulled me back pretty hard. I made the move too quick. I did the same thing at Daytona (where he finished eighth despite leading the next-to-last lap).
“I just didn’t execute the way I needed to finish the race off. I was in the perfect position to do so. I’m so disappointed in myself.”
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The good news for Honeycutt is that he leaves Talladega still atop the standings of The Chase presented by Mobil 1 — and with a bit bigger cushion. He added four markers to his lead over second-place Layne Riggs and owns a 43-point buffer entering next Friday at Martinsville Speedway (6 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The season ends a week later on Nov. 6 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“I never say over until it’s over, for sure,” Honeycutt said. “I’ve seen people make up 90 points in two races. So anything’s possible. We’ll just look forward to Martinsville and bring the same speed that we have been. I want to get a clock (Martinsville’s famous grandfather clock trophy) to make Homestead easier.”
Ty Majeski, like Honeycutt, had a shot at Friday’s race win. He led the next-to-last lap but came home fourth, missing a chance to make a serious gain in the point standings, moving up two spots to third but now trailing Honeycutt by 141 markers.
“We knew the points situation,” Majeski said. “We knew the guys that were around us had bad days. We really wanted to finish today to take advantage of it. Could have been a little bit more aggressive on my blocks there with the 7 (Smith) coming to the line, but probably executed everything pretty well up until that point.
“He gave me a pretty good hit in the tri-oval, and I was knocked free, and I was trying to save it and block him at the same time, and I realized I probably wasn’t going to be able to save it and block him. So yeah, decided to take the finish.”
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Majeski also finished fourth last week at Phoenix after challenging for the victory.
“Two weeks in a row, right?” Majeski said. “I mean, I could have easily won Phoenix, had the best truck for over half the race, and here (Talladega) was leading with the white flag. If we win these two races, we’re way in it. So, unfortunately, didn’t go that way, so just have to keep executing, do the best of our ability these next two races, and yeah, try and get the best points finish we can.”