NASCAR: Stewart Friesen talks milestone Truck Series start

Before making his 100th career NASCAR Truck Series start at Kansas Speedway, Stewart Friesen talked to the Beyond the Flag about his career thus far.

37-year-old Stewart Friesen will hit a career accomplishment when the NASCAR Truck Series visits Kansas Speedway this Saturday, May 1. The Wise Power 200 will mark his 100th career start in the series.

The driver of the #52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota has won twice, with both wins coming in 2019 before he finished in fourth place in the championship standings. This year, Friesen debuted in the Cup Series in the inaugural dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway The Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada native finished in 23rd, one lap down.

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Before he achieves the century mark in career Truck Series starts, Friesen spoke to Beyond the Flag about his career, some personally notable tracks, racing his wife Jessica, and his accomplishments thus far as he becomes the 48th driver to make triple-digit starts in the series.

Mark Kristl, Beyond the Flag (BTF): You’ll make your 100th career NASCAR Truck Series start at Kansas Speedway. How big of an accomplishment is that to you?

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Stewart Friesen: It’s pretty wild to think about. It just seems like yesterday I was going to Eldora [Speedway] in 2016 for our first start. To have 100 of them under my belt is pretty wild. I definitely feel like a veteran in the series now. When we first started, we felt like the new kid not knowing many people.

Now, knowing those people, racing [Matt] Crafton and [Johnny] Sauter year after year, knowing those guys, it’s been pretty cool. I love the Truck Series. It’s been a lot of fun and a dream come true to race in. Hopefully, I’m around for another 100.

BTF: You started your Truck Series career at age 33 whereas several drivers began their careers when they were teenagers, so there’s a vast difference.

Friesen: For sure! I spent my late teens and early 20s at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada getting a Bachelor’s of Science degree and racing part-time. From there, I was lucky to get hooked up with a lot of great car owners and make a career racing dirt modifieds and sprint cars throughout the northeast and New York. That led to meeting Chris Larsen, who started my Truck Series career in 2016. It’s been a snowball from there. I owe this to a lot of great car owners who gave me a shot over the years and then to Chris for picking it up and running with it; starting this awesome Truck Series team for us. It’s been a dream come true.

BTF: You have 51 top 10 finishes in 99 starts, so more than half of your Truck Series career has resulted in top 10s. How proud are you of that statistic?

Friesen: Yeah, that’s good! There were a lot early on where we struggled to get our feet wet. We started in 2016 and 2017. Then, in 2018 we got hooked up with GMS Racing and got into some really good equipment. That’s when the top 10s and good finishes started to really come.

It’s definitely a good stat. I wish we had more top fives and certainly wish we had more wins. We let a bunch slip away with GMS [Racing] on some pit penalties, and some mistakes I made; those are the ones that sting. Kentucky [Speedway], Texas [Motor Speedway], there were a few where we were really fast and should have won. Still fortunate to have won that dirt race at Eldora a few years ago and win at Phoenix [Raceway] — that one was really special.

Starting our own team last year from the ground up with Tripp Bruce and our guys, to see how far that’s come in the past year, that’s probably the thing I’m most proud of.

BTF: You have those two wins as you mentioned, but what’s a fond memory of your Truck Series career?

Friesen: My best memory is probably all the traveling. Being able to travel with my wife [Jessica] and my son Parker at all these different tracks across the country, meeting new people. On the track, there’s no one thing that stands out. The wins obviously are awesome. I love being on the highway and on the road best though.

Both father and son joyously celebrated after Stewart Friesen earned his first Truck Series victory at Eldora Speedway.

BTF: Of all the tracks on the Truck Series schedule this year, which one did you have circled on your calendar where you were looking forward to going to the most?

Friesen: I would say Bristol [the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track]. The weather and the way it played out kind of burst the bubble there. Daytime shows are not a lot of fun yet it ended up being a daytime show. Then, racing there with the modified and having the track right raced the way I envisioned it.

I’m really looking forward to COTA [Circuit of the Americas]. That should be an awesome road course. I’ve been trying to get better at my road course racing. Obviously, Knoxville [Raceway] in July is one I’m looking forward to, being a dirt guy.

BTF: Which track are you most hungry for a win at, whether it is because you let one slip away or you are really good at that course?

Friesen: Kansas. We need a win badly. These guys are working hard. We’ve had speed. We were really fast at Atlanta [Motor Speedway], but had a stupid pit penalty which put us behind the eight-ball late in the race. Any given week, if we check all the boxes and hit all our marks, we can win a race.

BTF: On the flip side then, which track don’t you look forward to racing at on the schedule?

Friesen: Martinsville [Speedway]! It’s very frustrating, especially with the limited horsepower. Martinsville is really tough. We’ve had speed and been good there but it’s been a thorn in my side. I don’t personally look forward to going there. It turns into a game of bumper cars and it’s usually not fun.

BTF: Your wife Jessica planned on attempting the race at the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track before the heat races were canceled due to rain. She is still slated to race at Knoxville Raceway. Where does racing against her rank in your career?

Friesen: Right at the top! Jess is a great racer, very accomplished in the northeast sprint car racing. Her career went on the backburner when we had Parker and started a family. In the last couple of years, she ran a bunch of modified races with many top fives. It was great working with her throughout practice at Bristol; we compared notes after. It was a bummer she didn’t make it, but we’ll look forward to getting her into the show at Knoxville.

BTF: You’ve mentioned this before, but other than the manufacturer change, what was the change to Halmar Friesen Racing beginning last year?

Friesen: We leased equipment from GMS for two years and raced out of their shop. We then went on our own, bought a building, bought trucks from KBM [Kyle Busch Motorsports], and formed a great partnership with Toyota. It literally has been from the ground up, hiring the guys and such.

It was huge and a lot of work. We moved into a 25,000-foot shop in Statesville. It’s a beautiful place. Tripp Bruce has done an awesome job putting it together.

When we left GMS, he was instrumental in putting this whole deal together. I live in upstate New York, Chris is in the city, and Tripp is in North Carolina. He is the one who orchestrated this deal and he does a great job.

BTF: You’ve praised your team owner Chris Larsen. Just how important has he been to your career?

Friesen: I’d given up on NASCAR dreams in my early 20s. I was focused on making a living racing dirt cars. I was hooked up with a lot of great car owners where we raced 80-100 events a year. Chris has been great to me, beyond just a car owner. He has been a tremendous friend in my personal life, too.

I do have a small ownership stake in the team Halmar Friesen Racing. I’m not only the driver, but Chris allows me to make decisions on everything we do. It’s a group effort between me, him, and Tripp on decisions across the board. It’s been a lot of fun working with those guys and this team.

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Stewart Friesen is set to make his 100th career NASCAR Truck Series start when the series visits Kansas Speedway this Saturday, May 1. The Wise Power 200 is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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