The drought was put out by a fired up Stewart Friesen at Texas (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | TPF).
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – It was a battle of who can save their best moves for last during Friday’s SpeedyCash.com 220 at Texas Motor Speedway. On a windy and hot Friday night, Stewart Friesen emerged victorious for the first time since Phoenix in November 2019.
Friesen had to fight off Ryan Preece and Christian Eckes to put himself into prime position to end his long winless streak and finally bring Halmar-Friesen Racing a victory under the Toyota banner. For much of the race, Friesen made mistakes that kept him from beating Preece in the opening two stages.
“At the beginning, I didn’t get into it (resin) quick enough and Preece got around me. That was mistake number one,” said Friesen. “Then mistake number two was when we got with the lapped cars and Preece got by me again.
“Then I was like, this thing is good. It needs to be a little tighter and change the balance a little bit. Jonathan (Leonard, crew chief) just got it where it needed to be and it definitely there at the end.”
In the closing laps, Friesen trailed Eckes until a late-race caution caused by Tanner Gray hooking Ben Rhodes on the backstretch, sending the race into overtime.
Friesen knew he couldn’t afford another mistake when he restarted alongside Eckes in overtime. Once the green flag dropped, Preece pushed Friesen to keep him alongside Eckes, but the latter had an early advantage and led coming to the white flag. Friesen never gave up and prevailed by getting a better run on the bottom of Turn 2.
Ultimately, Friesen cleared Eckes and drove away to take the checkered flag by 0.122 seconds.
After over two years, Friesen finally lifted a winner’s trophy in the Truck Series (Photo: Sean Folsom | TPF).
“I made all the mistakes that I needed to make in the first two segments. We had an awesome truck – thanks so much to Chris Larsen and everyone at Halmar International,” said Friesen, who led a race-high 60 of 149 laps. “The whole group, there’s a huge office there that pulls for us every week. So excited to celebrate with them. Thanks to everyone at Toyota and TRD.
“You have no idea the work that’s gone into this race team over the last three years with Trip Bruce, Jonathan Leonard (crew chief) and all our guys. It’s an awesome group. We’re in the Playoffs, how about that!”
A longtime veteran in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, respect comes a long way. Friesen felt comfortable having Preece behind him in overtime.
“When the 17 lined up with me, I was like, ‘Okay, I’ve got a real racer in my back pocket’ and he shoved the heck out of me,” Friesen said on Preece. “I’m terrible on restarts and that was probably the best one on old tires. Just didn’t spin the tires and got a jump then threw a slider in one and two and it stuck.”
Preece and Friesen battled hard throughout the night at Texas (Photo: Luis Torres | TPF).
Preece was disappointed after the race when he told The Podium Finish what prevented him from capturing his second career series win. He sustained damage on his No. 17 Ford F-150 early in Stage 3.
“We had a fast truck for sure. The damage, I can tell it wasn’t pulling through air quite as good as it was earlier,” said Preece. “That made a lot more challenging to pass, but we did have a fast F-150.”
Preece continued by explaining his mindset on the final restart where he pushed Friesen, hoping that battling Eckes would give him some real estate on the bottom.
“You know, I really thought for all the adversity that we came through throughout that race,” Preece said. “When I pushed (Friesen) and they were side-by-side. I kind of felt the bottom was coming in that it cooled off. The top wasn’t as dominant.
“I felt that I can push Stewart and put them into an awkward position. That it would give me my best chance to try and win the race. I thought that we did it but Stewart was able to clear Christian and had to settle for third. The fact that we finished third was really good with the damage and drag it had.”
With grueling conditions throughout the night, two Niece Motorsports drivers were taken to the care center for further evaluation. Both Dean Thompson and Ross Chastain were treated and later released.
Chastain finished 12th and with him competing in the NASCAR All-Star Race this weekend, there were initial concerns. However, Chastain said he’s ready to go for tomorrow’s Cup practice and qualifying session. Additionally, neither he nor Thompson had any carbon monoxide poisoning.
Instead, Chastain felt his legs and hips cramping up despite not feeling hot inside the No. 41 Chevrolet Silverado.
Chastain finished 12th in Friday’s Truck Series race (Photo: Luis Torres | TPF).
“I feel like a million backs. I had some IVs through the arm, but I didn’t feel hot. Once I got out, it got cramped up,” Chastain said. “I tried to lay down to get it to help and figured I better get some IVs. I did see people say I fainted and that wasn’t true. I laid down and it doesn’t feel good when the bottom half of your body cramped up.”
As far as his race, Chastain explained that taking just fuel during one of his pit stops wasn’t what he needed, but there was a reason behind the team’s decision.
“We were better than most people in the long run,” said Chastain. “But I was too loose to start and it built tight. That ultimately didn’t work out for us.”
The next race for the Truck Series is at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the running of the NC Education Lottery 200 on Saturday, May 27.
Top 10 Results: Friesen, Eckes, Preece, Hocevar, Majeski, Nemechek, Heim, C. Smith, Crafton and DiBenedetto
