HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Kaden Honeycutt and Layne Riggs agree on two fundamental things.
First, it’s entirely appropriate for the two drivers to settle the championship between them in Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Second, to win the championship, Honeycutt and Riggs both believe they will have to win the race.
“I think we’ve had a great season for both of us,” said Honeycutt, who leads Riggs by 20 points entering Friday’s finale.
Honeycutt drives the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota that carried Corey Heim to last year’s series title under the elimination format.
“I think, for, me, I was just trying to adapt early on in the season with this group and to have the trucks handling where I needed to be at. I think our mile-and-a-half program has been extremely well throughout this year.
“So, looking forward to Friday night and see if we can cap this thing off.”
Riggs thinks the change in format to a seven-race Chase has been largely responsible for putting the best two drivers in the series this season in a head-to-head battle in the final race.
“It’s a lot clearer picture for us,” said the driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford. “It’s a lot more straightforward. (In the previous elimination format) we still had the potential that the fourth-place guy could in one race outrun us and get the championship.
“I feel like that’s a lot more fluky. I enjoy the format that we’re in. It definitely rewards consistency, which I feel like we haven’t had the best of, which is why we’re not in the points lead. And I think we’ve had more raw speed, but the consistency hasn’t gone with it.”
Friday’s race won’t end the rivalry between the drivers, who will race for the same teams next year. But Honeycutt thinks the pool of potential winners might expand.
“I don’t expect to two-man race next year again,” he said. “I think we’ll have quite a few competitors.” — Reid Spencer
