Upon crossing the final finish line on Saturday night, Kaden Honeycutt shouted something to the effect of ‘who is the best, I am,’ which elicited the response from spotter Cayden Lapcevich ‘I’ve been trying to tell you!’
It took him longer than he had hoped to win his first Truck Series race, which happened on Friday at Watkins Glen and he was wearing the ‘should have, could have and would haves’ a little too heavily.
Thus, in completing a four-win, across four different divisions, at two tracks weekend between Watkins Glen and a CARS Tour sweep at Ace Speedway, Honeycutt was feeling himself figuratively speaking. However, one of those he defeated took exception to that and how the race was ultimately decided.
Defending champion Landen Lewis.
Objectively, Honeycutt did wash up Turn 2 on the penultimate restart but he also felt like he could take certain liberties with Lewis due to a previous issue between them in the Jerry Moody Memorial at Southern National in March.
So now, they are square, and Honeycutt completed one of the most epic weekends possible for a driver at this stage of his career.
ARCA Watkins Glen ✓ NASCAR Trucks Watkins Glen ✓ CARS Pro Late Model Ace ✓ CARS Late Model Stock Ace ✓
“I’m so appreciative,” Honeycutt told Short Track Scene after the race. “I’m just so thankful for every team owner I’ve raced for this weekend — Tricon Garage for an amazing truck, Cook Racing in ARCA, JC Motorsports and Tom Usry Racing, all these guys.
“I couldn’t do it without them. This is just unbelievable that a guy like me that dirt raced in Texas his whole life moves here at 18-years-old and did everything he could for an opportunity, a weekend like this makes it worth it.
“It’s worth it for my mom and dad who’ve worked and sacrificed homes and vacations. I just can’t believe it.”
Adding this weekend to a career that also already includes the 57th Snowball Derby isn’t too shabby.
But again, the way he won the race and the exuberance he showed in the immediate aftermath did not sit well with Lewis.
“Coming off of (Turn) 2, he just never turned and drove me straight in the fence,” Lewis said. “So, I mean, I know he’s won four races and all these thing s and now, I guess, he got out and said no one can beat him, but I promise you that I’ll be the one to beat him next.
“It’s just frustrating, I guess. He’s upset about Southern National but I mean, at the end of the day, that was a hard race for both of us, and we both took our shots back and forth. I just think his head is getting a little too big for his britches, and that’s just my honest opinion.”
Honeycutt knows he got carried away in his celebration, with his tone and the most beer he’s ever drank in his life (which wasn’t a lot), but wanted to really enjoy these moments on the advice of a legend.
“Mark Martin said it a lot that in his career, he didn’t enjoy this as much as he should have, savoring every moment and have fun with it,” Honeycutt said. “He said that’s one of the things he regrets the most.
“So, I had a lot of fun last night and we’re going to have a lot of fun tonight back at the house.”
And yes, he understands where Lewis is coming from after a conversation, but also said it was fair game after the Jerry Moody Memorial.
“Honestly, I just screwed up a little bit,” Honeycutt said. “I misjudged where I was on the racetrack. I was just honestly trying to get a good run and be straight. I wasn’t really trying to be in front of him off (Turn) 2. I just wanted to be straight.
And when I was sideways, I was trying to chase it but stayed in the gas and I just fenced him pretty hard. I didn’t see how hard I did it. I just know he went backwards whenever that happened and I was like ‘oh crap, I might have done something there.’
“So yeah, we did talk about it. He is pretty frustrated and I understand but there’s a lot of other races he screwed me out of too so I definitely don’t forget that and I’m not usually that guy. I clean it up the next restart and try not to do something dumb, bring it home in one piece, and do it the right way.”
we had talked about it. He is pretty frustrated and I, I understand, but, uh, there’s a lot of other races he screwed me out of too, so I’m, I definitely don’t forget that, but, uh, I’m not usually that guy. I clean it up the next restart and do anything dumb and, uh, try to bring it home in one piece and, uh, do it the right way.”
Honeycutt largely dominated the race, but caught a lucky competition caution right as Treyten Lapcevich caught him in traffic, resetting the race and giving him clean air and first lane choice. For his part, Lapcevich was in a no-win scenario because lane choice meant either taking the front row and being run up the track or simply following Honeycutt to a runner-up.
He took the latter and gained a point on championship leader Caden Kvapil.
“It’s tough because I saw (Honeycutt) and (London McKenzie) side-by-side earlier in the race and they were running each other pretty tight,” Lapcevich said. “I tried the outside on one restart and didn’t like it. I almost had him clear but didn’t want to race that hard that early, I felt.
“At the end, if I take the outside, I would probably lose more than I gained. I feel like I was good on the outside all night long but it was just really difficult to pass out there.”
With a third-place finish, Kvapil gained on most of his pursuers in the points and has also now claimed the first two $10,000 FLODIUM bonuses.
“When I was racing [Lewis], I remembered the Flodium money was on the line,” Kvapil said. “I [didn’t] care if I [got] third, fourth or whatever, I just [wanted] to finish in front of him. That was pretty cool to be able to get that money. I wish we were a little better, but we definitely have something to build on and I’m excited for the next one.”
The only other real notable incident occurred on Lap 40 when Doug Barnes Jr. tagged Conner Jones in Turn 1 running fourth and fifth. Barnes owned it as a mistake and they finished 12th and 15th respectively.
“I was honestly making all of my speed on corner entry,” Barnes said. “And I think in my inexperience here, I think we needed to run a lower chip because I beat people in the same gear into and if we were running the same chip, wouldn’t have been able to do that.
“I don’t know. That was as close as I had been to him and I just ran him over. I wanted to park it. In my head, I felt so bad because he’s really turned his shit around. I told him that just last week. He’s bee running solid races, has been running for the points, and for the Flodium.
“Honestly, just stuff that I’m not right now. I needed a good night and that was going to come 80 laps before the end of the race.”
Jones was mad but when discussing the matter publicly, took a deep breath and gave a measured response.
“He showed a nose a couple of times off (Turn) 4,” Jones said. “He was better through the center earlier in the race. He gave me a shot on entry and I guess it was too much. He came up and apologized so we’ll move on and keep building on these Carroll Speedshop cars.”
He also advocated for the use of the ‘Tap Rule’ used in Wisconsin circles, where Barnes could have took real-time responsibility for the incident and allowed the driver he offended to get his spot back.
CARS Late Model Stock Tour Ace Ace Speedway May 9 2026
Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.
