RPW Exclusive: Stewart Friesen Was THAT Close! .017 Away From Another NASCAR Truck Triumph
Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – HAMPTON, GA – He was THAT close!
Only .017 seconds stood between Stewart Friesen, a NASCAR Truck Series victory at Atlanta and making thousands of Northeast Dirt Modified racing fans extremely happy.
Well that, and the Series’ all-time winningest driver, Kyle Busch.
No matter the outcome, the Northeast fans were happy to see Friesen and the Halmar Friesen Racing 52 team run as well as he did at the Georgia speedplant, and HFR has a lot to be proud of.
Coming back from a 23rd place finish in the season-opening event at Daytona last Friday night, Friesen made a late-race charge Saturday afternoon to put himself in prime position for his first career win at Atlanta, taking the lead as the field of trucks crossed the start / finish line to get the white flag.
Unfortunately, when the field came back around the 1.5-mile track, Busch played the draft perfectly and surged ahead of the 52 to cross the line first.
However, Stewart could taste it.
“We had a shot,” Friesen said. “This is my favorite truck and we will keep digging with it. We had a shot.”
Now that it’s over, does Friesen think he could have changed the final circuit?
“I got too far off my help coming down the back on the last lap,” he said. “I thought I could pack some more air on him (Busch) getting into (turn) three and we surged ahead but didn’t have the surge at the right time and he came back.”
Friesen was able to hook up with his Toyota teammates for most of the day Saturday to put him in position to contend for the victory. Then, as the laps wound down, he did everything he could to get to the front, no matter the manufacturer.
“I have to give thanks to Toyota teammates,” he said. “We worked well with Corey (Heim) there and he helped us to the front. We tried to shove Chandler (Smith, Ford driver) way up by Kyle and I was like just stick with me…I’ll keep shoving you by him. We will keep that bottom lane rolling, and then he moved up, so it kind of broke that plan apart.”
At the end, though, Friesen was in position for his fourth career NASCAR Truck Series win. Could the Sprakers, NY driver really taste victory?
“Yeah, I mean, we had a good shot at it,” he said. “I knew anything and everything could happen there…just the way the air worked on the last lap. I got him pinned down there in turn three and that might have been the kiss of death. I didn’t have too much help pushing behind me at that point. I’ll have to re-watch what happened.”
Though he wasn’t holding the trophy and the checkered flag, you can see the relief on Friesen’s face as he looked back on Saturday’s finish.
“I’m just really proud of our race team,” he said. “It has been a grind these last couple of years and we’ve got stuff going in the right direction. Jimmy (Villeneuve, Friesen’s crew chief) did a good job calling the race and Chris Lambert’s the best spotter in the business. I’m lucky to have him on my side.”
What does this do for Friesen’s outlook the 2025 NASCAR Truck Series season?
“We left Atlanta last year with a torn up piece,” he said. “Then we played catch up all year so it feels good to have momentum leaving here.”
Friesen is quick to give credit for Saturday’s run to his HFR team.
“I have to give a big thanks to the whole Halmar team,” he said. “Thank you to Chris Larsen (co-owner) for giving us everything to get the job done. We had a strong Toyota Tundra today and overcame some adversity to qualify well and race really, really well. I’m just proud of the whole race team.”
