Kaden Honeycutt Owns Up After Spinning Tyler Ankrum at Bristol: “I Just Drove Through Him”

Kaden Honeycutt and Tyler Ankrum

The first race of the weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway did not disappoint. The Craftsman Truck Series field took over the surface for the second race of the Round of 10, and Layne Riggs emerged as the winner after a dramatic rollercoaster. One of the key talking points of the race is the Stage 2 incident that went down between Kaden Honeycutt and Tyler Ankrum while they were battling for second place.

Honeycutt had a big run around the top and bumped the back of Ankrum’s truck. The contact sent the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver spinning out of line. Realizing his mistake, Honeycutt immediately issued an apology on the team radio and spoke things over with Ankrum once the race was over. He finished the day in 12th place, well above Ankrum, who finished 20th.

Honeycutt told the press, “I thought I saw him twitch going into [Turn] 1. That’s why I went to the top. But I think I drove in too hard, and I was too close to his bumper.

“I just drove through him. So, yeah, I apologized to him and his team for that. I know I can’t fix the finish and the stage points they lost. So, I hate that.”

Fortunately, Ankrum and his crew did not find any reason to hold a grudge with him.

After Bristol’s results, Ankrum sits 29 points above the elimination line going to the final race of the Round of 10 at New Hampshire. Honeycutt, meanwhile, sits 18 points above the cutoff.

The spin hurt Ankrum’s chances of making significant progress in his run to become champion, but it wasn’t something title-ending. The driver sure can recover from the mishap in the coming weeks.

Layne Riggs secures a Round of 8 spot

Thursday’s win was Riggs’ fifth career victory and the third of the ongoing season. Interestingly, he triggered the first caution of the day when he spun out on Lap 1. The stumble did not hurt him or his truck, and he was able to continue his race. He was only too glad at the luck and expressed his glee to the press.

He said, “You don’t get two mulligans in the playoffs, and I’ve had two. I’m not sure what happened at the start with the 7 [Corey Day]. I felt like I was there pretty good, and just the first lap of the race, to spin out, it’s a blow to your confidence for sure, but I have faith in this team.” 

The Front Row Motorsports driver is second in the playoff standings with his Round of 8 spot secure. It remains to be seen how far he will progress from here.

Post Edited By: Abhishek Ramesh
Kaden Honeycutt NASCAR Truck Series Tyler Ankrum

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Gowtham Ramalingam

Gowtham is a NASCAR journalist at The SportsRush. Though his affinity for racing stems from Formula 1, he found himself drawn to NASCAR's unparalleled excitement over the years. As a result he has shared his insights and observations by authoring over 3000 articles on the sport. An avid fiction writer, you can find him lost in imaginary worlds when he is not immersed in racing. He hopes to continue savoring the thrill of every lap and race together with his readers for as long as he can.

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