Kaden Honeycutt

[ron.brown11]

On 1/12/2024 at 10:03 AM, MikePeters95 said:

Just saw this on Facebook on the CARS tour page.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071567284009


 

On page 60 of the Feb issue of Speedway Illustrated, Kaden was mentioned in an article that they did on the CARS Tour. It's in the 2 page picture caption. It doesn't look like Kaden will run all of the CARS Tour races, and that's a bummer. This isn't a R&S house car, at least according to R&S's site team/crew chief listing. I hope that he gets most of the races this season. Mr Usry has had competitive cars in the past, and Jody was a good driver in his day. I have no idea how strong the Wynn financial backing is, but it's probably stronger than what ButlerBuilt was. And they weren't on the car all the time. So I'm very hopeful for Kaden's season in the CARS Tour.

[ron.brown11]

I just read that Kaden will drive the #45 truck for 12 races this year for Niece. That's a fairly well funded operation. He will be sharing that truck with Ross Chastain (5 races), Connor Mosaic (1 race), and Johnny Sauter will run the rest of the schedule, to include Daytona next week. This is the same team, but in the #41 truck that Bayley Curry will drive for. I think the Al Niece is a Texan, and is loading up on Texas drivers.  Nice!!

[ron.brown11]

On 1/12/2024 at 10:03 AM, MikePeters95 said:

Just saw this on Facebook on the CARS tour page.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071567284009


 

Jody Measamer hasn't forgot how to race either. He just won the truck series race at Florence Speedway's Ice Breaker. I will try to give an update for the main event for the late model stocks later.

[ron.brown11]

In his first ride for Niece Motorsports today, Kaden finished 6th. I don't know if this was his first run at Atlanta, but if it was that's a really good start. Great Job!!

[ron.brown11]

Kaden raced the CARS Tour Pro Late Model race today at Southern National in NC. He started 3rd and finished 3rd. On lap 3 Kaden drove it off into turn 3, and got under the then leader Tanner Tyler. I don't know if Tanner's spotter was asleep, or Tanner just decided that he was going to turn down and try and close the door. It really hurt Tanner's car the worst, but Kaden had the toe knocked way out for the remaining 97 laps. But he soldiered on for the third place finish. He also mentioned that the car he ran today is a 2015 Hamke chassis. The he went on to say that they have a new car that he'll be driving at Hickory. I'm not sure just how many of the Pro Late Model shows he's running this season. Next weekend the CARS Tour Late Model Stocks will be running at Southern National.I haven't seen the driver entry list for that yet. I'm hoping the Kaden will be there in the #21 car.

[ron.brown11]

Kaden started 6th, in Sat's 125 lap race at Caraway Speedway in NC. It was the season opener for the Late Model Stock season, and his first start in the Wood Brother's/David Pearson paint scheme #17 Mustang. He ran as high as third at one point, and got shuffled back to 11th, and then climbed back to 5th at the end. Caraway's grove is on the bottom in the corners, and if you get off the bottom (or get moved off the bottom), you can lose a lot of spots. He was running in 3rd and got moved, and finally got back 5th.

Carson Kvapil won the race, but very early it didn't look like he would. He and Deak, McCaskill (spelling?) got together going into turn 1. Kvapil ran over Deak's left rear tire and went airborne with both right side tires. Luckily it didn't really seem to hurt either car. There was only 1 significant crash near the end. It involved 7 cars, but Andrew Grady really got the worst end of it. He got caught up in a lot of crashes, not of his making last year. Unfortunately this season started the same way. Too bad, as he was running really good too. That car will need at least a new front clip.

Katie Hettinger, last year's runner up for the Pro Late Model championship, made the jump to the top series. She got as high as 7th at one point, and managed a top 15 finish. This years she's driving for her family owned team. That's an outstanding start for her, as there were 30 cars that started the race. She too lost several spots after getting moved. I think that she's got a bright future in racing. 

[ron.brown11]

Kaden passed for the lead on lap 1 at Orange County Speedway in NC. He lost the lead on a restart late in the race for a lap. He spanked the field tonight, in the Pro Late Model 100 lapper, leading 99 laps. I hope he can double up later tonight in the Late Model Stock race. What a drive for that young man!!

[ron.brown11]

Kaden will start 6th in the LMSC race.

[ron.brown11]

With 53 laps left, Kaden is running a strong 4th. 

[ron.brown11]

Well after 225 laps of racing, for 2 different teams, Kaden finished 2nd. The fact that he even finished is amazing. He restarted 3rd and got shuffled back to 7th. With about 35 laps to go, Connor Zilich got into the then leader Bobby McCarty's left rear going into turn 3. It sliced his left rear, and that collected 5 cars. Somehow Kaden managed to snake between the cars that crashed both high and low. On the next restart Kaden started 2nd, and he just didn't have quite enough to run down Brent Crews, who was driving a Kevin Harvick #29 Toyota. He held off the 2 time champ Kvapil to keep 3rd. Before the big wreck, Kaden and Mini Tyrell got together, and Kaden said it knocked to tow in way out. He thinks that he could have won if not for that. At OCS, running the second grove in the fast way around. He was shocked that Crews gave him the top lane on that restart. But the car plowed like a truck going into turn 1, and that was his last chance to try for the win.

Layne Riggs drove the #62 Harvick Ford. WOW what a night he had, and he finished 10th. He was spun out, involved in an accident, and cut a tire, all on separate incidents. 

[NickHolt]

I love hearing news about youngsters with Texas connections. 

[ron.brown11]

11 hours ago, NickHolt said:

I love hearing news about youngsters with Texas connections. 

Nick, I truly believe that Kaden would have won the LMSC main, if not for knocking the toe in out. Even with that he came close. He and Mini Tyrell got together a couple laps before the huge crash, and you could tell he was having issues with the nose of the car on corner entry after that. With the Pro Late Model that he drove, they only have 2 employed team members, everybody else are volunteers. I only know that because he said so during his victory lane interview. Nobody had anything for him in that race.

Neither ride is for the full schedule unfortunately. I think if he can win 5-6 races in the Pro series this year, he could get a full time ride in the LMSC series. If he could get 3-4 wins there this year, he'd be looking at an ARCA or truck series ride. That guy has skills! And it doesn't hurt that both Harvick & Jr are fielding cars in that series, and are at the tracks occasionally. They can't help but notice that kind of talent, when he's outrunning their cars, which are probably the best stuff out there. His only shortfall is that he doesn't have a big wallet or sponsor to bring along with all that skill. He doesn't seem to get rattled no matter what the situation is, or if he's running against better equipment. Ah if I only had won the Powerball...

[NickHolt]

Money plays THE major role in nearly all forms of automobile racing today. Gone are the days when a bright kid and a bunch of his buddies from the corner garage figure out how to make a car go fast and win, not because they outspent the competition, but because they outthought the competition. 

I was very fortunate to be involved in the sport before money became such a factor. Yes, there were rich guys fielding cars, but usually they put their money in the drive train.  Smart kids put their money in the chassis/suspension and learned how to drive.

These days the well-financed teams hire smart mechanical engineers as their suspension tech advisors, bring on software consultants to run their tie-down tech and telemetry systems, and pay big money to cheat up their drive trains. May the guy with the most money win. 

I miss the good old days.  

[ron.brown11]

4 hours ago, NickHolt said:

Money plays THE major role in nearly all forms of automobile racing today. Gone are the days when a bright kid and a bunch of his buddies from the corner garage figure out how to make a car go fast and win, not because they outspent the competition, but because they outthought the competition. 

I was very fortunate to be involved in the sport before money became such a factor. Yes, there were rich guys fielding cars, but usually they put their money in the drive train.  Smart kids put their money in the chassis/suspension and learned how to drive.

These days the well-financed teams hire smart mechanical engineers as their suspension tech advisors, bring on software consultants to run their tie-down tech and telemetry systems, and pay big money to cheat up their drive trains. May the guy with the most money win. 

I miss the good old days.  

Yeah Nick, money sure helps a lot. When I went to high school in Cincinnati and going to the races, EVERYBODY ran big blocks with tunnel ram intakes and 2 huge carbs. Then this guy from Beaverton, MI showed up for a high paying 100 lapper. He cleaned everybody's clocks, driving a Camaro with a small block. Back then most tracks calculated the required weight of the car, based on the cubic inches of the engine. All of the tracks that I went to, used the 8lbs per cubic inch rule. So the weight required for those 427 and larger engines was staggering, compared to a small block. But that wasn't the main reason they were beat. This guy's chassis was extraordinary. That guy was Ed Howe, the inventor of the store bought chassis for the local racer. Within about 18 months, nearly all of the late models in the region were running small block engines. Within 3 years, nearly every late model in the region was a Howe or other mass produced chassis. We even had 2 Petty Engineering kit car chassis' running there. For all intents & purposes, that was not only the end of junkyard chassis', but also the end of big blocks in the late models. It's hard to argue against the success that these chassis' has been. It's also easy to see how they have helped drivers get better, quicker too. But yeah, it sure was cool to see really smart people take a junkyard frame, and be able to make it do something incredible. 

[ron.brown11]

Nick, I just read that Brendan Queen has already used his success in the CARS Tour to get an opportunity. He will be running the truck race at N. Wilks in May. He'll be driving for Tricon (Gilliland). That's why I said that Kaden can make that jump if he can win some of those LMSC races. There are a lot of eyes on the drivers in that series  now. And there are several young drivers in that series that could get a shot.