ALTAMAHAW, N.C. – The weekend Kaden Honeycutt put together between Watkins Glen International and Ace Speedway is one many drivers can only dream about.
After winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series races at Watkins Glen on Friday, Honeycutt made the short flight back to North Carolina for Saturday’s zMAX CARS Tour features at Ace Speedway. The goal was simple for Honeycutt, overcome any fatigue from Friday and take his second sweep of the weekend.
Honeycutt’s performance on Saturday cemented his place in the motorsports record books. He won the 100-lap CARS Pro Late Model Tour feature from the pole before visiting Cook Out Victory Lane again over an hour later in a Late Model Stock, which he accomplished by passing polesitter London McKenzie with 75 laps remaining.
With his two triumphs at Ace, Honeycutt became the first driver in CARS Tour history to pull off a weekend sweep. Tacking on two victories at a road course the day before further highlighted the versatility and resolve that guided Honeycutt from the CARS Tour to NASCAR.
Kaden Honeycutt thrilled, exhausted after flawless weekend
The gravity of what Kaden Honeycutt accomplished was not lost upon him, he understood how improbable it was for a driver to win four races in one weekend between four disciplines.
So much racing in a short amount of time finally began to impact Honeycutt’s stamina as he climbed out of his Tom Usry Racing No. 17 in Cook Out Victory Lane. The herculean effort had yielded Honeycutt one of the greatest moments of his young career so far, but putting it together required unbreakable endurance and the trust of so many great teams around him.
“I’m so wore out,” Honeycutt said. “Thank you to Kenneth Packer and my whole R&S [Race Cars] team. I can’t believe it. I’ve tried so many times to pull off the double and we effin did it. Holy crap, what a race. Thank you to everybody. This was so unbelievable.”
Honeycutt’s first victory of the weekend came with Bruce Cook’s ARCA Menards Series program at Watkins Glen International on Friday. He then back that triumph up by securing his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory, holding off talented road course drivers like Connor Zilisch, Shane van Gisbergen and Brent Crews.
Once he was done celebrating those two wins, Honeycutt had to regroup and focus on Ace Speedway. Being at Watkins Glen the day before meant Honeycutt had no time to practice until Saturday afternoon, though he did obtain a CARS LMSC Tour victory at Ace back in 2022 with Nelson Motorsports.
Even with his past success at Ace, Honeycutt faced an immediate challenge to his potential four-peat in the form of Treyten Lapcevich. Several late cautions provided Lapcevich opportunities to take the top spot, but Honeycutt successfully fended him off to secure his second straight PLM Tour checkered flag with JC Motorsports.
“It was tough,” Honeycutt said. “For some reason, this place is really good around the middle [lane] on heat cycles, but I didn’t want to give up the bottom just in case. That last restart I had was money and I was able to get by [Lapcevich]. It was a great race with Treyten.”
Just like in the PLM Tour feature, Lapcevich once again battled Honeycutt in Late Model Stocks, acting as the last obstacle standing in the way of his perfect weekend. Lapcevich gradually erased Honeycutt’s lead in the closing laps but ran out of time, which forced him to watch Honeycutt make history with his fourth victory in two days.
Overwhelmed by both emotion and fatigue, Honeycutt made sure to credit both JC Motorsports and Tom Usry Racing. Honeycutt admitted he could have very easily called it a weekend after his Watkins Glen sweep, but the actual thought never crossed his mind, he was going to be at Ace Speedway no matter how Watkins Glen turned out.
At the end of the day, Honeycutt just wants to race, regardless of the physical or mental toll.
“I just got so tired,” Honeycutt said. “I’ve been beat to death the last couple days. Staying up to 4 a.m. last night partying didn’t help. This is unbelievable. I can’t do this without [my team]. Kenneth Packer is the reason why I get to race these race cars, without him I wouldn’t be able to do nothing.”
Treyten Lapcevich scores two top threes at Ace
While Treyten Lapcevich’s weekend was not quite as hectic compared to Kaden Honeycutt’s, it was still a successful one.
After placing third in the CARS PLM Tour feature following a spirited battle with Honeycutt, Lapcevich ended up second for the ensuing CARS LMSC Tour race. Lapcevich felt he had cars capable of besting Honeycutt but was still proud of both efforts at Ace Speedway on Saturday, especially with his runner-up in Chad Bryant Racing’s Late Model Stock.
“I don’t think I’ve ever driven harder in my life honestly,” Lapcevich said. “So close. We were kind of trading lap times there at the end, but man, they had a great race car and Kaden did a great job. It’s one that got away, but I’m excited we have some good momentum going into the next race.”
Lapcevich finds himself in a unique position for the 2026 CARS Tour season, as he is chasing championships in both Late Model Stocks and Pro Late Models. Entering Ace, Lapcevich was third in the LMSC Tour points, while a blown engine at Caraway Speedway relegated him to sixth in the PLM Tour standings.
While he did not have any PLM Tour starts at Ace on his resume, Lapcevich contested both LMSC Tour events there in 2024, finishing top 10 in both. That experience proved beneficial to Lapcevich in his first Ace PLM Tour event, which he used to gather valuable data on how to find speed for the ensuing LMSC Tour feature.
The third place run for Lapcevich in the PLM Tour was his second top five of the season, while the runner-up to Honeycutt in the LMSC Tour served as his first top five in that division since 2024. Lapcevich knows how to win in both disciplines and expressed optimism that he is getting closer to returning to Cook Out Victory Lane following his strong weekend at Ace.
Pulling off a CARS Tour championship sweep remains a significant challenge for Lapcevich, but he is determined to build on his strengths in Bryant’s Late Model Stock and with Rette Jones Racing in the PLM Tour.
Despite finishing third in Saturday’s Accelerated Graphics 250 presented by Larry Walker & Sons Body Shop at Ace Speedway, Caden Kvapil still had plenty of reasons to celebrate.
Not only did Kvapil’s comfortable CARS LMSC Tour points lead stay intact, but he also obtained a $10,000 bonus courtesy of the Flodium program. While Kvapil admitted his night at Ace could have unfolded much better, he was still more than happy to take home additional money for his efforts.
“I’ve won both [Flodium bonuses] so far this year,” Kvapil said. “That shows we’ve been really consistent. It was a tough race tonight. We didn’t really have the best car, kind of like Caraway [Speedway]. We had to start mid-pack and kind of made our way up there through restarts, chaos and all that, but it was a good night.”
The finish:
Kaden Honeycutt, Treyten Lapcevich, Caden Kvapil, Landen Lewis, Corey Heim, London McKenzie, Dylan Fetcho, Chase Burrow, Ronnie Bassett Jr., Lee Puliam, Landon Huffman, Doug Barnes Jr., Parker Eatmon, Landon S. Huffman, Conner Jones, Chad McCumbee, Jace Hale, Sam Butler, Blake Stallings, Aiden King, Mason Bailey, Brandon Pierce, Brandon Dean, Brandon Lopez, Mason Diaz, Carson Brown, Ryan Millington, Carson Loftin.
