ROSSBURG, Ohio – Stewart Friesen has been excruciatingly close to winning in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ever since last year’s near-miss during Eldora Speedway’s Dirt Derby.
Friesen started on the pole at Eldora and led 93 of 150 laps, but was passed late by eventual winner Matt Crafton and came home heartbroken as a bridesmaid in NASCAR’s only national series race on dirt.
“I thought we had it; I really did,” said the Super DIRTcar Series big block modified star and five-time Super DIRT Week champion after the 2017 race. “That one burned. Second really sucked that night.”
The close calls haven’t been any easier to swallow in recent weeks, either. Friesen has finished second at both Texas Motor Speedway and Kentucky Speedway this season, losing out in a near-photo finish to Johnny Sauter in June at Texas and then getting beat on a fuel-only pit call by Ben Rhodes at Kentucky.
However, despite the growing frustration of not winning yet, there’s been no lack of effort from Friesen and his team in pursuit of the goal of finally breaking through into victory lane.
“My guys have been working their butts off lately, particularly the effort we had at Kentucky and coming so close comes to mind,” noted Friesen. “We had an engine problem during time trials at Kentucky and the whole team … everyone from the (Nos.) 2, 21, 24 and 25 teams stepped in and it was awesome.
“We had a good finish that night; we led some laps, but I just didn’t get off pit road and get back up to speed like I needed to be right with (Ben). I probably didn’t get on to pit road as strong as I could have, either … it was just a difference of a hundred yards and a bunch of clean air. It was just a little mistake that cost us at the end.”
Despite returning to the dirt – Friesen’s comfort zone and where he’s made his name over the years – the Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario native said running in the Truck Series at Eldora is nothing like racing a modified at the Tony Stewart-owned half-mile.
“These things were built to run 160 miles an hour on mile-and-a-half paved tracks … not slide around on a half-mile dirt track,” Friesen pointed out. “You’re making it do something it doesn’t want to do. It’s exciting, and that’s where a lot of the intrigue and thrill comes in.”
“It basically puts everyone at a weird, odd disadvantage. Having a little bit of dirt experience on my side helps and gives me a little bit of a leg up, but I’m not the only one,” Friesen added. “(Chase) Briscoe was good last year and will no doubt be good again too, and then you’ve got guys like (Logan) Seavey who are coming into the Trucks but have a lot of outside dirt experience. It’s a fun mix (of drivers) and I’m glad to be in it.”
Three runner-up efforts in the last year have only fueled Friesen’s competitive fire to get to victory lane even further, and the Canadian hopes that Wednesday night is the night that thirst to win on the national stage is finally quenched for the first time.
“To come as close as we have … it’s definitely motivating,” said Friesen, who turns 34 on July 25. “We know what we’re capable of now and we know that we have trucks that can win races; it’s just a matter of catching the right breaks and putting everything together on one night. We’re close, and all of us are really hungry. Hopefully Eldora is the place where it finally happens for us.”
Through all the ups and downs, however, Friesen remains grateful for the place he has within the sport.
“Having the opportunities I’ve had the last few years is a dream come true,” Friesen said. “To race at this level is such a blessing … and I’ve definitely been racing for all the (grassroots) guys in the top pit that work just as hard as we do in the Truck Series garage to have success in racing.
“I really wanted to get (the win) last year for everyone in the Northeast and the guys that might never get the opportunities that I’ve had, but it didn’t quite work out,” he continued. “We’ve got another shot at it this year, though, and hopefully we can make the best of it and close the deal this time.”
