Sweet as honey: Kaden Honeycutt wins first Snowball Derby in thrilling fashion

PENSACOLA, Fla. — At 21, Kaden Honeycutt is already well-versed in the motorsports industry.

The Willow Park, Texas native has found success across numerous racing disciplines, his accomplishments ranging from dirt late model wins in his home state to finding Victory Lane twice with the ARCA Menards Series West.

Up until Sunday‘s Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway, Honeycutt had yet to prevail in a Super Late Model. Competing in the southeast over the past several years got Honeycutt acclimated to nearly every driver in the 30-car field.

On Sunday, he had to figure how to beat them all in the discipline‘s most cherished race.

Experience helped Honeycutt remain strong against two Super Late Model standouts in Stephen Nasse and defending Snowball Derby champion Ty Majeski during the closing laps. Nasse‘s valiant charge was not enough to usurp Honeycutt, who claimed the most significant victory of his young career to date.

The moment carried tremendous weight for Honeycutt, overwhelmed physically from adrenaline and emotionally from having years of tireless work pay off with a Tom Dawson Trophy.

“It‘s definitely unbelievable,” Honeycutt said. “I grew up walking [at Five Flags]. This is literally where I took my first steps. There‘s a lot of history here for my family here. I knew I could do it, and I knew [my team] could do it.

“This was a matter of putting the pieces together. We worked our asses off, and it paid off.”

Honeycutt brought plenty of knowledge about Five Flags to Sunday‘s Snowball Derby, but it had been three years since his last appearance in the crown jewel event.

Four previous Snowball Derby attempts yielded mixed results for Honeycutt. The best of these appearances took place in 2020, when Honeycutt qualified on the outside pole and led 26 laps before settling for a fifth-place performance.

When Honeycutt elected to pursue a Snowball Derby ride for 2024, he wanted to proceed the correct way. He ended up forming a partnership with Jett Motorsports operated by Larry Blount, who was one year removed from a third place run in the Snowball Derby with 2019 winner Travis Braden.

Having another Snowball Derby champion in Derek Thorn as a teammate in a Jett Motorsports Pro Late Model only bolstered Honeycutt‘s confidence ahead of Sunday afternoon. With everything on his side, it came down to Honeycutt to execute his job perfectly.

The arduous week at Five Flags almost started off perfectly for Honeycutt. After setting a stellar time of 16.203 seconds early in Friday‘s qualifying session, Honeycutt waited patiently to see if the lap would hold until the final car.

Majeski denied Honeycutt his first pole with a 16.175, but no one else topped Honeycutt the rest of the evening. Just like in 2020, Honeycutt started the Snowball Derby from the outside pole with clean track in front of him.

The presence of a two-time Snowball Derby winner like Majeski never intimidated Honeycutt throughout the 300-lap race. Although Majeski did most of the leading, Honeycutt made sure to keep the veteran racer in his sight all day by exchanging the top spot on several occasions.

Honeycutt‘s primary challenge during a 20-lap sprint to the finish did not come in the form of Majeski, but rather Nasse. Fresh off his maiden Snowflake 100 victory the previous evening, Nasse needed precious time to work his way around Majeski before attempting to overtake Honeycutt for his first Snowball Derby triumph in 14 years.

One last dive bomb from Nasse in Turn 3 on the final lap was not enough to move Honeycutt out of the groove. Nasse had to settle for heartbreak, while Honeycutt was filled with jubilation as he crossed the start-finish line.

“I was trying not to look in the mirror,” Honeycutt said. “Once [my spotter] told me [Nasse] was two back on the backstretch on the white, he said to drive it in hard, so I drove it in hard. He was tight to me, so I throttled up to make sure he couldn‘t get to me. It was crazy.”

Defeating many of the Super Late Model mainstays like Nasse, Majeski, Bubba Pollard and Chandler Smith validated the sacrifices and strain Honeycutt has endured to reach this point in his career.

Since making the decision to venture away from Texas into other regions of the United States, Honeycutt wanted to bet on himself and prove he could make it to NASCAR. The gamble has paid off with multiple Late Model Stock wins, ARCA Menards Series West victories and a Pro Late Model championship.

Now that gamble has translated into a Snowball Derby victory.

There were times throughout the week when Honeycutt was unsure of his chances about procuring a Snowball Derby victory. Honeycutt understood the pedigree of the competition he was dealing with, but he was determined to work closely with Jett Motorsports so his No. 21 had race-winning speed Sunday.

“On Sunday during pre-testing, all we worked on was mock runs,” Honeycutt said. “That‘s the same thing we did Thursday and Friday. We did no race runs until [Saturday], and I was honestly kind of concerned about it. I knew [Majeski] was going to be tough to beat, and I didn‘t think we‘d be that good. Once the race came around, we were good.

“That‘s what all these races are about, making it there, staying up front all day and giving yourself a chance.”

Now with a Snowball Derby victory on his resume, Honeycutt is turning his attention toward a busy 2025. He will chase a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship in 2025 with Niece Motorsports, an organization with which he already has two top fives.

Until Daytona International Speedway comes around in February, Honeycutt plans to cherish his marquee accomplishment. Only a handful of names have had the privilege of prevailing in the Snowball Derby, a list that includes Majeski, Darrell Waltrip, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Rich Bickle, Jeff Purvis and more.

Honeycutt now joins that prestigious group in his early 20s, which leaves him plenty of time to tally more victories not only in the Snowball Derby, but any form of racing in which he chooses to compete.