That “different animal” is what Friesen believes makes the annual running of the Dirt Derby at Eldora such a spectacle for both drivers and fans.

“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. 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. (Christopher) Bell and (Chase) Briscoe will no doubt be good too.”

Friesen added that the two-race break he and his team took from the Truck circuit was both necessary and influential to them coming back stronger, as evidenced by his 12th-place finish at Kentucky Speedway last time out.

“It was needed,” he said of the time off. “We were just getting burned out and burning up a lot of equipment. We just had to stop, regroup and formulate a different game plan. We came into this looking to be a top-10 team and it just wasn’t working out like we’d hoped.”

“We worked on our trucks and came back at Kentucky with a great run in 12th. I think it gives us great momentum coming in here to Eldora, but also going to Pocono next week as well, knowing that we can build off of it.”

Without unparalleled support from long-time sponsor Halmar International, which supports both his modified and Truck teams, Friesen said it might not be possible to enjoy the amount of racing that he has been able to do this year.

“Halmar’s support is second-to-none. I’ve been very fortunate to have been hooked up with some great car owners and be a professional modified racer for many years, and when we teamed up with Chris Larsen and Halmar for the Truck deal … it just unified everything and let us do all the racing out of one shop, with one team.”

“It’s been awesome. We had a lot of modified wins last year and some good success, and we’ve stayed rolling along with it this year. It’s pretty cool to be part of what they’ve created … and I hope to be able to remain a part of it for a long time to come.”

So, in a nutshell, is it going to be a whirlwind two days for Friesen? Absolutely.

But is it going to be equally as enjoyable? You’d better believe it.

“The hard work’s done,” Friesen turned back to say before heading over to help his crew prepare his big-block modified. “Now it’s just about having some fun.”

About the Writer

Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.

Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.

The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.

Email Jacob at: [email protected]

Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77

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