Honeycutt Controls Nashville, Kundman Retakes Championship Lead in ARCA Series Thriller

Nashville, TN – James Honeycutt was the class of the field Tuesday night at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, leading a dominant 108 laps to win Round 13 of the TBP ARCA Series Season 9. Starting from the pole, Honeycutt used a late-race tire strategy to hold off Alan Kundman, who finished second and — most importantly — reclaimed the championship points lead. The 150-lap event served as the penultimate race of the season, run under traditional league rules that allow two sets of tires and one fast repair. While the format can create chaos, the field raced with surprising discipline.

The championship storyline overshadowed everything else, with Kundman entering the race just four points ahead of Adam Bosse. Bonus points for pole, leading a lap, and leading the most laps made every moment critical. Honeycutt started P1, Kundman P2, and Bosse buried back in P12, putting pressure on Bosse to charge forward early.

At the green, cold track temperatures helped Kundman surge around the outside to lead Lap 1 — earning a vital bonus point — before Honeycutt quickly reclaimed the top spot. Honeycutt settled into a strong rhythm, describing his preferred style as “arcing it and then flooring it on exit,” which fit Nashville perfectly. Bosse, meanwhile, climbed methodically through the field, reaching fifth by Lap 32. That long opening run ended when Marc Jarrell looped his car, bringing out the first caution.

As the race wore on, pit strategy grew more important. Caleb Brown was among those who pitted near halfway, noting that tire wear wasn’t terrible and his stop was primarily for fuel, though he did take fresh rubber. Honeycutt had led 64 laps when Kundman slipped past around Lap 65. With Honeycutt fading slightly, commentators wondered if he had burned up his equipment dominating the early run.

Then the championship picture exploded. Around Lap 96, Curtis Mitchell got loose and slammed the inside wall, triggering a multi-car incident. Bosse initially threaded the chaos perfectly, restarting second behind Matt Harmon. But moments later, Bosse made hard contact with Harmon taking the lead briefly, then hit the outside wall hard getting significant damage to his right front before disconnecting from the session. The DNF was disastrous — with his lowest drop race being just 26 points, Bosse was locked into a brutal score. Kundman, meanwhile, escaped the carnage and stood poised to regain the points lead.

Honeycutt inherited the lead after Bosse’s exit and soon faced pressure from Chad Winstead and Kundman. A late caution on Lap 117 set up a tense closing run. Honeycutt revealed afterward that he had taken only two tires on his final stop, a move that made the car “turn into the corner so much better.” Winstead struggled to fire off on the last restart, giving Kundman a clear shot at Honeycutt. Winstead later noted that Kundman had four tires while he had just two, making the No. 3 significantly faster.

Kundman closed a 12-car-length gap to just four in the final 10 laps, even slapping the wall as he pushed to catch the leader. But Honeycutt drove flawlessly, holding on to take the win by a slim margin. Kundman, who finished second, said he wished he’d been more aggressive earlier and had hoped for a long green run to take advantage of his tire-saving style. Winstead completed the podium in third.

The race dramatically reshaped the championship outlook: Kundman now leads heading into the season finale at Rockingham. In a race filled with strategy swings, late-race chaos, and title implications, the lesson was clear: speed matters, but survival matters more. Bosse’s championship hopes were shaken not by pace, but by the unpredictable chaos — proof that sometimes, the championship is decided simply by staying out of the wrecks.