Toyota GAZOO Racing – Kaden Honeycutt
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Quotes
CONCORD, N.C. (August 19, 2025) – Halmar Friesen Racing driver Kaden Honeycutt was made available to the media on Tuesday as part of NASCAR Truck Series Playoff Media Day.
KADEN HONEYCUTT, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra TRD PRO, Halmar Friesen Racing
How do you navigate all the recent news around you and focus on the Playoffs?
“Yeah, definitely a lot, for sure, but I’m just a really closed-minded person when it comes to strapping into a race car and knowing when it’s time to do business and win races, no matter what truck I’m in. I’ve been able to put that behind me. I’m really looking forward to running with this HFR (Halmar Friesen Racing) group during these Playoffs. I felt like Richmond was a really good race for us to do ahead of these Playoffs. Really looking forward to going with this group. Working really hard the last two weeks getting comfortable with everything thanks to Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and everyone at Halmar Friesen Racing for the chance to finish the year out and try to win a championship, not only just for myself but for Stewart (Friesen), Chris Larsen (CEO, Halmar International), Halmar and Mohawk Northeast.”
How do you tackle the upcoming races in the first few rounds?
“Yeah, I feel like we need to rack up as many Playoff points as possible because of how different the Round of 8 is to get to the Championship 4 – with having the (Charlotte) ROVAL, Talladega and Martinsville. Three completely different races and three chaotic races. If we can focus on winning stages and trying to get Playoff points and try to advance and win the next couple of weeks, I think that would be helpful for sure. And so that way, we can go into Talladega and (the) ROVAL and would have something to lean on if we have to. Definitely going to be crucial. Really think we can do well at Bristol, Loudon (New Hampshire) and Darlington. Darlington is my favorite mile-and-a-half and Bristol’s my favorite short track. So, looking forward to this to this round for sure and hopefully, be able to have a lot of points going into the last round.”
How long did it take you mentally to move on with the recent team change?
“Pretty much an hour, because I was just looking forward to having the opportunity to go with HFR and finish out the year for Stewart, Chris Larsen and all those guys. They gave me the chance to move on and try to finish this deal out. Definitely did not want to quit, definitely wanted to find a way to finish the job for the rest of the year for myself and for Stewart as well. Not in the circumstances of where I want it but right now, we’re just focused on trying to win as many races as possible and try to win that championship for this team, Toyota and TRD.”
That news did put you in an interesting situation, didn’t it?
“Yeah, for sure it does. Like I said, I’m pretty passive person when it comes to situations and stuff happening to me. I’m pretty much able to put that behind me as much as possible, and you know, everything ended on a good note so there’s definitely no issues on any side of mine, personally. I think that makes it a lot easier for myself. It was definitely hard at first, but now that we’re moved on, everyone’s doing what they need to do and we’re just looking forward to the rest of these Playoffs with this No. 52 crew.”
How aggressive do you think it’ll be at the Martinsville cutoff race?
“Yeah, definitely going be tough, as it is all the time in past Martinsville races to get into the Championship 4. You’ve obviously seen what some people have done to do that. Whatever we have to do to win and whatever we have to do to move on and go fight for this championship at Phoenix with Halmar (Friesen Racing) Toyota and TRD. Whatever we have to do to put these guys in position to do that, we’re going to do what we need to. Hopefully before Martinsville, we have points to lean on. If not have, have that win in the bank to go to Phoenix. Martinsville is one of my favorites, as well. I love it. Sometimes, it is chaotic, mostly because of how many laps we do and in a short amount of time. It’s definitely chaotic in that aspect but looking forward to going to Martinsville at the end of the year hopefully try to lock and going to Phoenix from there. That would be really cool to have that redemption from the spring.”
Do you think the intensity will be a lot different than normal in the Playoffs?
“Well, I think everyone has already been going at their 100%, 110% throughout the whole season to try to win, so I don’t really think there will be much of anything different as far as chaos or restarts or anything like that. I feel like everyone has done everything they have to do to win races this year, especially to lock in the Playoffs. I don’t really think there will be too much of a difference, I think there will just be some difference when we go to Talladega and the ROVAL, but I feel like the ROVAL is going to be so spread out that it really won’t be that big of a deal. I think the only you know races concerning in that aspect is probably Martinsville and Talladega, but I feel like the rest of these races, everyone generally races with respect. We’ve been doing a great job the last couple of years shaping that up, so I don’t think there will be much of any difference this year.”
What will it take to defeat Corey Heim for the championship?
“He’s definitely a really good driver, for sure. Those guys (No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota team) have been doing a great job all season. They’ve just had their stuff together. Corey (Heim) has had his stuff together all year long with that crew. It’s going to be tough, for sure. I feel like, for me, I’m just going to try to focus on ourselves and make sure we have the best finishes possible for our group. If that is not winning the race, we’re just going to focus on us, and hopefully he and I can go to Phoenix and give Toyota a 50% shot of one of us winning that title and bring that home from a manufacturer standpoint. Right now, we’re just going to focus on ourselves. He’s been doing great job, so good luck to those guys, but hopefully we can contend for wins with them throughout the rest of these Playoffs. But he’s definitely going to be hard to beat for this point right now.”
Do you feel any pressure and where does it come from?
“I feel like the pressure is just really from myself. I expect to perform at a high level, no matter where I’m at or what I’m in. The pressure will be really from myself. Those guys (Halmar Friesen Racing) are an unbelievable crew. They’re so awesome. I’m so lucky to be able to work with them. Very laid-back group. They really just want to finish the best we possibly can. If we can’t win the race, then we’ll try to do what we have to do to finish where we’re supposed to. Jimmy (Villeneuve, crew chief) and I had a great conversation after Richmond on some things I needed to work on for myself. A really good group, I feel like the pressure just from me. Stewie (Stewart Friesen) and all those guys just want to run as far as possible. There’s not really an expectation other than we’re trying to get to Phoenix as best as possible, so whatever we have to do to do that, we’ll take measures to do so. We’ll focus on starting off the right foot at Darlington and we’ll go from there.”
Does changing teams going into your first Playoffs create a challenge?
“Yeah, I think first time in the Playoffs would be different for sure, along with a couple other guys that are doing their first Playoffs as well. I think that will all be challenging, but like I said, I think I just don’t psyche myself out on anything, don’t change anything on how I’m driving the truck or completely change my style, my race craft and all that. Obviously, the race craft has to get better, but you do that after the race. It’s good to have the tools I’ve been provided to make this change. That has made it less challenging, to be honest. Just thanks to everyone that’s made that possible and made this an easy transition for me. Right now, I feel like Richmond really showed that speed that we were able to transition quite early and there were no issues regarding that. Looking forward to the rest of the year with these guys and using the tools I’ve been provided for the last couple of weeks to try to win some races and go to Phoenix.”
If you achieve great results in the Playoffs, would that lead to a potential opportunity with a ‘top team’ in the future?
“Yeah, we’ll have that stuff out the next couple of months, maybe. But right now, just focused on running the best we can for this No. 52 group and live out what Stewart (Friesen) wanted to do and that was to try to make it to Phoenix. So, we’re just focused on winning the races that we can and maybe stuff will come up later, but right now we’ll just focus on winning races, and all that stuff eventually falls into place later.”
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