Roulette Recap follows a randomly selected driver throughout a race to break down their efforts. There is no telling ahead of time how the race will go. The driver could face calamity on the opening lap or start from the rear and win the race. With that, may the odds be ever in the driver’s favor.
How ’24 Went for the 42 & Leland Honeyman, Jr.
The 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Season was a doozy for both Leland Honeyman, Jr. and the Young’s Motorsports organization. Both driver and company competed in their first full-time NXS season and they certainly turned heads.
Honeyman scored a P4 finish at Talladega Superspeedway early in the season. Later in the summer, he pulled off a P9 at Daytona International Speedway.
Additionally, throughout the season, he averaged a starting spot of 27.3 and a finishing position of 23.2.
Despite some strong finishes, the No. 42 team hit a string of bad luck as the season came to a close. In the last four races leading up to Phoenix Raceway, Honeyman was forced to exit three of the races early.
As the sun was setting on his rookie campaign, Honeyman and the No. 42 Young’s team looked to finish strong.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship
The teams had one last practice session for the season on Friday. Then, they qualified just a few hours before the green flag for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship.
With Andrew Abbott atop the pit box and Frankie Kimmel as his eyes in the sky, Honeyman took to the track to see how his Chevrolet Camaro handled. He finished the session P26, and one day later, he qualified the same. However, due to the Kaulig Racing team changing the brakes, he was afforded one more spot when AJ Allmendinger was forced to the rear.
Coming to the green, Leland tightened the belts and said, “Thank you all for a good season.”
Stage 1
Every inch of the front stretch was used as the green flag waved and Honeyman moved up a spot. However, as Allmendinger made a charge from the rear, he fell back to P25.
Behind him, Allgaier was charging hard as well.
By Lap 6, he had settled in at P30. Kimmel noted, “That’s the last of the really good guys. Settle in here.”
On Lap 8, Honeyman noted he was still experiencing brake shake, just as he had in practice. With that, he fell two more spots.
Over the radio, Honeyman heard, “Killer lap,” from Kimmel on Lap 14. He continued, “Nothing wrong with your exit right there.”
Kimmel encouraged Honeyman to not waste time and work on putting more distance between his car and the rapidly approaching leader, Riley Herbst.
Still running P32, Honeyman radioed in that he was trending tight and could not get his car turning in the center.
With 17 to go, Herbst was three cars back and ticking off lapped cars fairly quickly. Five laps later, Honeyman found himself a lap down. Kimmel was quick to say, “You’re really not that bad. You’re going to see your speed here down the straight.”
The stage ended with Honeyman still sitting P32. He said, “My brake shake is still pretty bad…a six-and-a-half to a seven.” He also gave more updates on the handling of his car and Abbott prepared for adjustments to the car.
Stage 2
Following the pit stop, Honeyman returned to the track in P33. While he was still a lap down, his team discussed how to not lose another lap before the final stage.
After going three-wide on the restart, Honeyman worked to P31.
On Lap 17 of the stage, the No. 45 of Stefan Parsons crashed after contact with Anthony Alfredo. At the same time, Greg Van Alst went spinning and slammed the inside wall.
During the caution, the No. 42 team discussed whether or not to pit. Abbott ultimately made the call for four tires and fuel, and to race for the Lucky Dog. He instructed Honeyman to save under caution but be ready to “go hard” once back green.
The green came with 16 to go, Honeyman in P32, and the team worried about another quick caution that would allow teams to flip the stage.
Sitting bottom of three, Honeyman worked his way to P29. That unfortunate caution came when Chandler Smith went for a spin. The No. 91 of Josh Bilicki was assessed the Lucky Dog and Honeyman was reminded to save fuel.
Kimmel said, “It was the perfect plan! Till it wasn’t.”
With the green in the air, eight laps were left in the stage. Honeyman sat P28 and after cars fanned out, he was scored P29 and was racing Kyle Sieg for the Lucky Dog.
After not gaining the needed spot, Honeyman radioed in, “Sorry guys, I tried so hard.” Abbott encouraged his driver and they discussed the changes Honeyman wanted to see.
Stage 3
Following two stops during the caution, Honeyman returned to the track in P35 for the final stage in Phoenix. Over the next two laps, he gained three spots. As Championship contender, Allgaier took to the pits with a restart violation, Honeyman gained another position.
With 91 to go, Honeyman moved into P29 and was working to get around Jeremy Clements to secure the Lucky Dog spot. Joey Gase got around Honeyman, followed by Allgaier after serving another penalty for speeding on pit road.
He found himself sitting P31 with 79 to go. Four laps later, Honeyman noted his car was getting tighter and the brake shake was getting worse.
Over the next twenty laps, it was a “slipping and sliding” battle. Honeyman was hanging onto P30 but was saying he was ‘completely sideways’ as he exited turns.
With 55 to go, race leader, Herbst took to the pits, which forced the hand of many of the leaders.
On Lap 155, Alfredo slammed the wall and brought out the caution. This happened right before the No. 42 team took to the pits, which brought a round of celebration to the radio.
Once the racing resumed with 39 to go, Honeyman was sitting P31 with scuffed tires and a swing at the adjustments. Additionally, there were only 14 cars on the lead lap. Seven laps later, it was noted he was running a tenth faster than the next six cars.
With 20 to go, Honeyman noted his brake pedal was going to the floor. Three laps later he said, “I literally have no brakes.” Kimmel encouraged his driver to bring home, the best he could.
With three to go, Honeyman brought out the caution when he spun and backed into the wall after repeatedly saying the vibration was getting worse.
After a quick trip down pit road, his crew returned him to the track in P32. However, everyone agreed they would drop to the rear and not cause another issue for the championship contenders.
The green waved for NASCAR Overtime, but the caution was quickly in the air as Parker Retzlaff wrecked.
Awaiting the opportunity to line up and try again, Kimmel joked, “Look what we started…”
The plan for the second overtime restart was the same – back off and stay out of the way.
Leland Honeyman, Jr. crossed the stripe in P31, as Herbst won the race and Allgaier claimed the championship.
A round of thank yous were dished out from Honeyman, Abbott, and Kimmel and that was all she wrote for the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.
Click here for a full recap of the NASCAR Xfinity Championship Race.
Sponsor Shoutout + Driver & Team Socials
NASCAR fans know sponsors make the sport go ’round. We want to give a shoutout to Distributor Wire & Cable who played a huge part of the weekend for Leland and the No. 42 team.
Be sure to give Leland Honeyman, Jr. (Facebook, Instagram, X) and Young’s Motorsports (Facebook, Instagram, X) a follow to keep up with the latest news from the driver and team.
