Kaden Honeycutt Secures Tuesday Modifieds of Mayhem Victory at Five Flags

For the first time since 2020, the Modifieds of Mayhem have a brand-new champion at the Snowball Derby, and it's the driver who got to hold up the Tom Dawson Trophy last December at Five Flags Speedway, Kaden Honeycutt.

Now, thanks to Mother Nature, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver remained in Pensacola, Florida, a little longer than bargained for; running the Snowball Derby on Monday and the previously signed up for Local Divisions on Tuesday.

Once the invert draw was finished on Tuesday evening, Honeycutt was starting from the outside of the third row (sixth) in his blue, black, and orange No. 30 Modified, but on the restart, his clearly fast racecar quickly drove through a couple of the race leaders.

By the time Lap 20 rolled around, Honeycutt had closed a significant gap on the race-leader, Cody Sticker, the winner of the last four Modified of Mayhem events at the Snowball Derby, and with the aid of lapped traffic was able to sneak inside of the driver of the No. 46.

There were several cautions throughout the course of the 75-lap event on Tuesday, but there was one thing that remained constant throughout: Kaden Honeycutt had a bullet underneath him.

Nobody could come close to stopping the former winner of the Snowball Derby, not even Stickler, who for so many years at Five Flags Speedway has been dominant in the Modifieds of Mayhem when it comes to the prestigious December weekend in Pensacola.

The race-winning move was definitely a show-stopper, too, as Honeycutt drove around the outside of Sticker to take the lead on a double-file restart, getting his No. 30 out in front of the pack and pulling away from everybody behind him.

"This racecar was just amazing. I just want to thank BMF, Hollen Designs, TRD," Honeycutt said post-race. "It was just a rocketship tonight, man. I can't thank these guys enough. John just lets me drive this thing, and hopefully, we get to do it some more throughout the year, but this racecar was unbelievable, and it's all that guy.

Granted, it wouldn't end up mattering for Sticker, after the No. 46 Modified fell out of the race in the final laps with a mechanical issue, relegating the four-time Modified of Mayhem winner at the Snowball to a finish outside the top-15, several laps down.

When the checkered flag waved at the end of the 75-lap feature, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series star found himself with an enormous 6.217-second lead over runner-up finisher Kyle Purvis.

Matt Dimit finished in the third position, with Richie Smith in fourth and Ryan Price rounding out the top five. Matthew Laparade, Brad Bowman, Ander Jackson, Kevin Peel, and Jared Maupin rounded out the top-10.

One of the biggest stories of the event, though, was polesitter Derrick Griffin, who knocked down a 12-year-old track record in qualifying for the Modifieds of Mayhem event. However, that speed didn't last very long, as the engine shut off in the first corner on the first lap.

Griffin, after dropping to dead-last on the first lap, dealt with the issue all throughout the event, but after making his way as high as fifth-place, the issue continued to rear its ugly head and eventually turned unmanageable, forcing the No. 95 to the garage.

Modifieds of Mayhem - Snowball Derby Results:

Photo: Daniel Vining, Courtesy of Modifieds of Mayhem on Facebook