Tempers run wild in NASCAR, both on and off the racetrack. Sometimes, they can lead to ill-timed decisions, as what may have happened in the Craftsman Truck Series recently. Kaden Honeycutt jumped ship to another team, Tricon Garage, for the 2026 season onwards. Yet his present team, Niece Motorsports, responded in kind – depriving him of his full-time seat with immediate effect. What seems to be a personal slugfest may hurt both parties, as Dale Jr. believes.
The 26-time Cup Series race winner has been both a driver and an owner, so Dale Jr. can empathize with both sides. Having left a team himself (DEI in 2007) and handled tough and talented drivers at JR Motorsports, Dale Jr. carefully dissected the dilemma.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. laments about giving up too soon
Well, Kaden Honeycutt was in a strong position. With just two races left in the regular season, the 22-year-old driver ranks sixth in the points and holds ninth place in the provisional playoff picture. Having clinched two top-five finishes and nine top-10 results this season, Honeycutt was in prime position to secure one of the series’ 10 postseason berths. Despite this advantage, Niece executives cut ties with him suddenly. In an official statement, they stated that “making this change allows our team the opportunity to begin building for next year.” According to Dale Jr., this decision may have been a little too brash.
In a recent Dale Jr Download episode, Dale Jr. shed light on the positive side that Niece is throwing away for 2025. “I just wonder like why the relationship wasn’t strong enough to finish the year…because they’ve done some good things together Kaden and Niece.” He also threw his weight behind Honeycutt. Despite recruiting Connor Zilisch and Blayley Curry for the No. 45 Truck, Niece’s brash action may scare away other potential drivers. Dale Jr. continued, “I think Kaden did the right thing…I understand why they’re mad, but I still think I would have tried for the good of my reputation, for the good of the team, for Kaden, for everything to finish the year.”
After all, Kaden Honeycutt had a solid reputation in stats. In 50 Craftsman Truck Series starts, he had four top fives and nine top tens. What is more, Honeycutt is a multiple-time winner in the CARS Tour, claiming the 2024 Pro Late Model championship. So Dale Jr. urged Honeycutt to stay focused despite the current storm: “The best thing Kaden can do going forward is to just spin the positive, man. Hey, look forward to next year. Going to do everything I can. Stay out of the, you know, stay out of the negative. Stay out of the social media back and forth, even if Niece says something, which I don’t think they will.”
Dale Jr. clearly saw this broken bond as unnecessary. But according to Niece, the reason was far deeper than it appears.
Tracing the personal ties
After all, holding together a team for a driver demands heavy investment. Niece Motorsports, despite its successes, has only ever won with two drivers – Carson Hocevar and Ross Chastain. After witnessing Kaden Honeycutt‘s talent since mid-2023, the team invested its resources in his ride. Most of the No. 45 truck’s sponsors, like DQS and Precision Vehicle and Logistics, joined the team specifically to sponsor Honeycutt. According to Niece General Manager Cody Efaw, the team and the sponsors pieced together a program to get Honeycutt to the NASCAR Cup Series one day. That is why Honeycutt’s sudden 180-degree flip felt like a slap in the face of everybody who worked hard for him.
In an interview with Sirius XM NASCAR, Cody Efaw highlighted the principle of loyalty that the team follows. From team owner Al Niece to crew chief Phil Gould, everybody is aware of that, and that is why Honeycutt’s move seemed personal. Efaw said, “I just think there’s a sense of loyal morals and values. There’s a standard that I think Al holds us to, [our sponsors] hold us to, myself, Phil Gould… I have people out here [at the shop] that work their tail off. They spend a lot of time away from their family, they travel. … They’re invested in our drivers and what we do. They take it as a gut punch of ‘We’re not good enough.’”
Clearly, there are points to argue on both sides of the coin. Dale Jr. looks at it as a brash exchange – we can only wait and see if this was for the greater good.
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