Honeycutt Bumps Zilisch Out of the Lead in Overtime and Wins at Watkins Glen
Friday, May 8, 2026
Kaden Honeycutt won the Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at The Glen by leading two laps — both in overtime — after bumping Connor Zilisch out of the lead in turn one on the final restart.
The Short Version
Honeycutt wins from the seventh starting spot, leading only the laps that counted. Zilisch dominated (28 laps, Stage 2 win) and lost it in overtime contact. SVG third, as expected on a road course. Brent Crews started from the pole, led 20 laps, and finished seventh after a contact incident reshuffled him early. Daniel Hemric wins Stage 1 — his first career NTS stage win.
What Happened
Crews led the field to green from the pole and held the front through much of Stage 1 before the caution at lap 18 sent most of the field to pit road. Hemric stayed out and won Stage 1 at lap 20 — his first career stage win in the Trucks Series. On the lap 24 restart, Zilisch and Crews made contact in the esses, Crews got shuffled to fourth, and Zilisch moved to the front.
Zilisch ran Stage 2 from the lead. Chastain — who started 33rd after a qualifying mechanical issue — had worked his way to the front group by lap 25 and led 17 laps through the middle portion of the race, demonstrating the same road course pace that makes Cup cameos at tracks like this feel unfair to the full-time field. Zilisch won Stage 2 at lap 40.
The race’s critical sequence came at the lap 62 restart. Chastain led from outside, Hocevar was on the move from fifth — Allmendinger made contact with Hocevar on the frontstretch, spun him into the inside wall, and brought out the caution. Chastain was penalized for jumping the restart. Ruggiero inherited the lead.
On the lap 65 restart, Zilisch cleared Ruggiero for the lead but Ruggiero alongside exiting turn one triggered another incident — Riggs and Wright crashed in turn one, caution back out. Ruggiero was penalized for a restart violation. Zilisch is declared the leader.
Overtime. Lap 73. Zilisch from outside, Honeycutt from the inside. Zilisch clears through turn one — then Honeycutt bumps him, takes the lead, and holds it through lap 74. Zilisch finishes 0.902 seconds behind. SVG third. Hemric fourth.
The Defining Moment
Turn one, lap 73. Zilisch had the lead out of the final restart and was the better truck for most of the afternoon. Honeycutt was alongside on the inside, bumped him through the corner, and cleared for the lead. Watkins Glen overtime at the Trucks level comes down to who’s willing to use the bumper. Honeycutt was. The result followed.
The One That Got Away
Connor Zilisch. Led 28 laps. Won Stage 2. Had the pace to win on a road course — his fastest lap was second only to Crews’ qualifying-speed opener, and he ran the front group all afternoon. He finishes 0.902 seconds back because Honeycutt bumped him in overtime. The dominant truck at a road course doesn’t get rewarded automatically here any more than it does at Talladega.
Numbers That Matter
- Winner: Kaden Honeycutt — No. 11 · Toyota
- Margin of Victory: 0.902 seconds
- Cautions: 6 for 15 laps (includes overtime)
- Lead Changes: 10 among 6 leaders
- Stage 1: Daniel Hemric | Stage 2: Connor Zilisch(i)
- Laps Led: Zilisch — 28 | Crews — 20 | Chastain — 17 | Ruggiero — 3 | Hemric — 5 | Honeycutt — 2
- Fastest Lap: Brent Crews(i) — 123.157 mph (Lap 2)
Take
Honeycutt has two wins in eight races. He won Texas in overtime when Ruggiero got loose. He won Watkins Glen in overtime by bumping Zilisch. The pattern is starting to look less like circumstance and more like a driver who knows how to close in tight situations. Late-race, high-stakes, doesn’t blink.
Zilisch led the most laps and finished second for the third time this season in an intrastate run. The pace is consistently there. The results aren’t consistently matching it. At some point the team has to look at what’s happening in the final restarts — not just at Watkins Glen, but across the season.
SVG third at a road course is the least surprising result of the week. His Cup setup skills at technical circuits translate directly. The interesting note is Hemric running fourth — a consistent Trucks Series regular who gets overshadowed by the Cup cameos but keeps putting together results.
Hocevar’s DNF on lap 60 is worth noting. He won at Texas nine days ago. Watkins Glen ends in the wall courtesy of Allmendinger contact. The week before, he was the story. This week he’s a DNF footnote. Road courses and intermediates ask different questions.
Notes
- Hemric’s Stage 1 win is his first career NTS stage win. Specific, earned, worth flagging.
- Chastain started 33rd after a qualifying mechanical issue and led 17 laps. He finished 28th — the gap between his mid-race pace and his final result is entirely explained by the caution sequence at lap 62.
- Ruggiero has now been involved in a final-lap or overtime decision in consecutive Trucks races (lost Texas in overtime, penalized for restart violation at Watkins Glen). He’s consistently near the front late. He just hasn’t been clean at the end.
- Crews posted the fastest lap of the race at 123.157 mph on lap 2. He led 20 laps from the pole. He finished seventh. The road course didn’t deliver on what the qualifying lap and early pace suggested.
- Hocevar and Rhodes both finished 31st and 32nd — two drivers who ran in the top five at Texas last week. Watkins Glen redistributes the field differently.