CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Stewart Friesen is one of the busiest men in racing and he has a busy week ahead of him.
Friesen will compete in Thursday night’s World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series event at New York’s Orange County Fair Speedway and on Friday will be in action at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series begins its playoffs.
One of 10 drivers eligible for the Truck Series playoffs, Friesen has run more than 70 races already this season, including the full Truck Series schedule and 53 modified races. Of those 53 events, he’s won 23, including six in the Super DIRTcar Series.
“This year it seems like we started the last week in January with some modified stuff in Florida that got added to the schedule to led into some late model races into March and we’ve kind of been on the gas ever since,” Friesen said Tuesday. “It’s been awesome. Big thanks to Halmar. We have a lot of product sponsors, and it’s important behind the scenes to support the people that let us do that. It’s been a little bit much the last few weeks with the mid-week modified stuff.
“We are coming off a run where we ran five modified races in seven days since Watkins Glen, so it’s been busy, but what a problem to have right? To be able to make a living a go racing like that, so I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Friesen’s Halmar team will field the No. 52 late model for Friesen on Thursday at the five-eighths-mile Orange County dirt track. With a victory, he could become the first driver to win a World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series, World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and Super DIRTcar Series feature.
It will be his first late model race since March.
“We tested at [Utica-Rome Speedway], and I’m just trying to wrap my head back around it,” Friesen said. “It’s been a couple of months since we did it in the wintertime and didn’t even have it close to figured out then,” Friesen said. “I think I have a little bit more of an idea of where to go and stuff, and I’ve been getting a lot of help from the guys at [Longhorn Chassis].”
On Friday, he begins pursuit of the Truck Series championship.
“I think anything can happen. If we check all the of boxes and really execute as a team, good pit stops all of that kind of stuff, and dial our trucks in as much as we can with sim,” he said. “The setup stuff hasn’t been really all that too far off except for Pocono. That was one kind of uncharacteristic on the season, where we didn’t have a lot of speed. And as long as I don’t make mistakes behind the wheel when we have fast trucks, so hopefully, all of that is behind us and our best days are ahead of us.”