TOYOTA RACING – NCTS Phoenix Post-Race Report – 10.16.26

HONEYCUTT EXTENDS CHASE LEAD WITH PHOENIX WIN
The Driver of the No. 11 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro Extended his Lead to 39 Points with Three Races to Go

AVONDALE, Ariz. (October 16, 2026) – Kaden Honeycutt took advantage of a strong pit stop by his TRICON Garage team after Stage 2 to restart on the front row for the final stage. He took the lead from there and led the final 53 laps to earn his fourth win of the season in the NASCAR Truck Series race Friday night at Phoenix Raceway.

The Toyota development driver extended his lead in the point standings to 39 points over Layne Riggs with three races remaining.

Honeycutt led four Toyota Tundra TRD Pros inside the top 10. William Sawalich finished sixth, Gio Ruggiero seventh and Brent Crews 10th.

TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS)
Phoenix Raceway
Race 22 of 25 – 150 Miles, 150 Laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, KADEN HONEYCUTT

2nd, Christian Eckes*

3rd, Layne Riggs*

4th, Ty Majeski*

5th, Jake Garcia*

6th, WILLIAM SAWALICH

7th, GIO RUGGIERO

10th, BRENT CREWS

19th, STEWART FRIESEN

28th, TANNER GRAY

34th, LELAND HONEYMAN

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

KADEN HONEYCUTT, No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage

Finishing Position: 1st

How did you control the final laps of this race?

“My pit crew, they did a great job. I give so much credit to them because they are so damn good. Thank you Safelite, thank you Scott Zipadelli (crew chief), thank you Mobil 1, TRICON Garage, Toyota Racing. This is so amazing. Phoenix, we finally got one. I can’t say enough about Scott (Zipadelli), my crew, David, Tim, Chuck, Adam, Cube, everyone that works so dang hard on these race trucks and I’m just fortunate to be able to drive these things. They spend all of their hours in a day just for me to drive them. I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity at Toyota Racing and TRICON. Kevin Ray and everyone at TRICON Garage, just so awesome.”

When you execute flawless like you did today, what does that tell you about being able to truly contend for this championship?

“The Stage 1, I just struggled. I don’t know, I just didn’t have good rear grip when we started that first stage and Scott went to work for me. He was never concerned and he just kept me locked in the whole time. I just can’t thank him enough. Had such great adjustments, pit crew did their job and I can’t thank them enough. I’m going to do something new, I’m going to have a actual Safelite wrapped helmet and every time I win in NASCAR I’m going to go up and give it to one of those kids because their parents drove from God knows where to come watch us race and they deserve something like this. Thank you to everyone in Phoenix for coming to support us.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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