Kaden Honeycutt moved closer to the NASCAR Truck Series championship Friday to extend his points lead with just three races remaining in The Chase.
A windy day with a mist of rain mad for an unusual day in the desert. Honeycutt led a race-high 53 of 150 laps during the final green-flag run, defeating Christian Eckes by 1.556 seconds to secure his fourth career victory, all of which have come this season.
The victory extended his advantage over Layne Riggs, who finished third and now trails by 39 points. Ty Majeski finished fourth after leading 49 laps and sweeping both stages, while Eckes claimed his third consecutive runner-up finish.
Despite another strong performance, Eckes remains winless this season but advanced to a distance third-place position in the standings, 112 points behind Honeycutt.
The race marked another milestone for crew chief Scott Zipadelli, who earned his 39th career Truck Series victory, just five wins from the all-time record held by Eric Phillips.
Chandler Smith, Riggs’ teammate at Front Row Motorsports, endured a difficult night after receiving a pit-road penalty for having too many crew members over the wall. He finished 15th and slipped to fourth in the championship standings, 117 points behind Honeycutt.
Jake Garcia rounded out the top five, followed by William Sawalich, Daniel Hemric, Gio Ruggiero, Grant Enfinger and Brent Crews.
The Truck Series now makes its way to Alabama for a date with the most treacherous track on the NASCAR schedule, Talladega Superspeedway, next Friday.
The party at Phoenix Raceway continues tomorrow with the NASCAR O’Reilly Series Chase race and the penultimate race of the ARCA West championship. The weekend is capped off on Sunday by the NASCAR Cup Series in a vital race in their hunt for the championship. Get your tickets now to see all the action as NASCAR returns to Arizona.
Devon Henry
