What Happened in NASCAR Truck Championship? Late Crashes Shake Up Finish

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What happened in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship? Late-race crashes disrupt the finish and intensify the battle for the 2026 title.

Kaden Honeycutt won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship Friday as tire failures sent rival Layne Riggs laps down at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Riggs, who led the series with seven wins to Honeycutt’s four, needed to erase a 20-point deficit, and before Lap 20 his truck was already failing him.

“We’re going to go win,” Riggs said ahead of the finale, according to Jayski. He had trimmed a larger deficit at Martinsville, finishing third after leading 156 laps.

Honeycutt, in the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota, entered with a 20-point lead over Riggs, who drove the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford. That cushion left Honeycutt largely in control of his own fate, provided he turned in a solid run.

The two were the only drivers still eligible for the title, and each was chasing a first Truck Series championship. The 201-mile finale ran in stages of 30, 60 and 134 laps. Nick Sanchez started from the pole, with Chandler Smith second and Corey Heim third. Riggs lined up fourth and Honeycutt fifth.

Layne Riggs’ Tire Failures Alter the Title Race

The trouble started on Lap 2, when Riggs got sideways exiting Turn 2 and managed to save the truck. Around Lap 18, the problem returned in far more serious form. Stage 1 was only 30 laps long, so the failure arrived more than halfway through the opening segment.

“Right rear down. Right rear down,” Riggs radioed, according to Racing News. The call signaled a tire failure, and the failure left significant right-rear fender damage on the No. 34. Riggs described feeling the right-rear going down and the truck getting loose. NASCAR’s YouTube channel posted a short showing the tire and bodywork failure.

The repairs required a lengthy stop, and Riggs exited pit road two laps down. A second right-rear flat later sent him back to pit road, costing more time. Then came a penalty, with NASCAR assessing a pass-through penalty for too many crew members over the wall. Each stop pushed Riggs further from the lead lap.

Meanwhile, Heim won Stage 1 and Stage 2. Honeycutt finished third in Stage 1 and sixth in Stage 2 while staying on the lead lap, and Riggs, many laps behind, collected no stage points. The gap quickly grew past 28 points, and reporters and observers declared the title effectively over well before the finish. Riggs ultimately ended the race six laps down. Trailing by that margin, he had no realistic path to scoring enough points or winning the race.

No injuries were reported. The incident was a tire failure that led to damage and lost time, not a multi-car wreck.

Kaden Honeycutt Wins Race and Title After Late Cautions

Honeycutt, by contrast, stayed clean. Later cautions came for a Tanner Gray spin and for fluid and fire under Nick Sanchez’s truck, with roughly 30 laps to go. Neither changed the championship picture.

Live updates through roughly Lap 110 showed the lead changing hands among several drivers, including Heim, Christian Eckes and Honeycutt. Honeycutt’s spot on the lead lap had the title secured no matter who won the race.

In the end, Honeycutt took the lead around Lap 122 of 134 and held on to win. Eckes took second, Daniel Hemric third, Ty Majeski fourth, Stewart Friesen fifth, Heim sixth and Chandler Smith seventh.

Honeycutt’s clean run, which paired stage points with the race win, clinched the championship. The victory gave him his first Truck Series title and handed the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota consecutive championships with different drivers, after Heim won the 2025 title. Riggs, who won a series-high seven races, finished the year without the championship he sought. Official results remain subject to post-race inspection.