Niece Promotes Honeycutt To Full-Time Truck Ride

SALISBURY, N.C. – After a successful part-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series campaign with Niece Motorsports this season, Kaden Honeycutt will get a long-awaited shot to race for a championship next year.

Announced Tuesday morning, Honeycutt will take the reins of team owner Al Niece’s No. 45 Chevrolet Silverado RST full time in 2025, marking the 21-year-old Texan’s first full year in one of NASCAR’s three national series.

It’s a chance the young short-track ace, who cut his teeth predominately racing late models throughout the Southeastern and Gulf Coast regions of the United States, has fought tooth-and-nail for over the past half-decade.

“I can’t even begin to explain how much this opportunity means to me,” said Honeycutt, who helped guide the No. 45 team to a berth in the Truck Series owner’s championship playoffs this season.

“Before I got connected with Al (Niece) and Cody (Efaw, team general manager), last year, I thought my career was over. Both of them took a big chance on me leading into this year, and it has kept me hungry to make them proud,” he continued. “My group of guys on the No. 45 team have become brothers to me, and we’ve been able to share such a good relationship.

“We’ve had some good runs this year, and I know what our team is capable of. Heading into 2025, I really think we'll have a great shot at competing at a high level on a weekly basis. I can’t say thank you enough to Al, Cody, and everyone at Chevrolet for this. It’s going to be a great year together.”

In 10 Truck Series starts this season with Niece’s No. 45 team, Honeycutt has earned five of his nine top-10 finishes, including a career-best mark of fourth in both races at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway.

Honeycutt’s relationship with the organization goes back to a one-off appearance at Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway in July of 2023, and he’s spent as much time as possible in the shop assisting the team on its fleet of trucks when not behind the wheel as a driver.

It’s that kind of work ethic, Niece noted, that stuck out to him when first considering Honeycutt as a driver.

“Kaden has shown so much potential behind the wheel this season and we are thrilled to have him on board full time with us,” said Niece. “With Kaden’s talent and our team’s hard work, we expect to be contenting for wins and championships next year. He’s a true racer, and I think that he has the tools to make a great career in the sport. I’m looking forward to seeing what he’ll be able to accomplish.”

Honeycutt has competed full time in the zMAX CARS Tour pro late model ranks this season, splitting the schedule between Mavrick Page Motorsports and Bryson Lopez Racing, and sits second in points with two races remaining at Tri-County Motor Speedway and North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway, respectively.

He’s also raced virtually full time in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series for JR Motorsports, as well as made select appearances in a late model stock car with the CARS Tour and competed in a family-owned dirt super late model with the Hunt The Front Super Dirt Series.

Perhaps most notably, Honeycutt was a late call-up by DGM Racing earlier in the year to make a NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, thanks in part to the support of NASCAR Cup Series star Ross Chastain – who has a long history with the Mario Gosselin-led operation.

A native of Aledo, Texas, Honeycutt believes his versatility is a skill that will benefit him as he makes his first run at a playoff berth starting at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway in February.

“I think what helps me is not only the fact I’ll have seen some of the racetracks already before, but that I know I can get up to speed quickly even if we’re going somewhere that I personally don’t have a notebook for yet,” Honeycutt noted. “We’ll just plan on taking things one race at a time, but if we perform at the level I feel we’re capable of being at as a team, I have no doubt we’ll be poised to show a lot of people what we’re made of when next season really gets going.”

Honeycutt is the second driver confirmed on Niece Motorsports’ full-time Truck Series roster for next season, joining teammate Matt Mills, who announced an extension with the team on Sept. 24.

Sponsor announcements and crew chief details for Honeycutt’s Truck Series campaign will be made public at a later date.

Honeycutt’s full-time debut with Niece Motorsports comes Feb. 14, 2025, at Daytona during the Fresh From Florida 250 at the World Center of Racing.