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STEWART FRIESEN
Birth Date: August 12, 1993 Hometown: Bakersfield, CA
Birth Date: July 25, 1983 Hometown: Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Team: No. 16 Toyota Tundra/Roush Fenway Racing
Team: No. 52 Chevrolet Silverado / Halmar Friesen Racing
Stewart Friesen had more than 230 dirt-racing victories “We did a bit of racing [in 2016] to get our feet wet
when he decided to try his luck in NASCAR at the 2016 on asphalt, and we were pleased with our success,”
NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS Truck Series race on Friesen said.
the dirt at Eldora Speedway.
Now a full-time regular in the truck series, Friesen has
From that moment, the Canadian driver developed a made the successful adjustment from open-wheeled
fondness for trucks … and asphalt. modified and Sprint cars to a 700-horsepower pickup by
finishing seventh in the NASCAR Playoffs a year ago.
While his first victory remains allusive, Friesen showed
remarkable improvement with nine top-five finishes,
including three second-place efforts (at Texas, Kentucky
and Bristol), and 16 top-10s.
“We bought a couple trucks, we bought a couple
motors,” Friesen said of his decision four years ago to
join NASCAR. “Learned and learned. Had guys like Tom
Hess and Billy Baldwin kind of just show us the ropes.”
As he proved on the dirt circuits, the 35-year old
driver has been quick to make all of the necessary
adjustments.
He grew up at the dirt tracks. His family owned
the half-mile Ransomville Speedway (NY).
Like many from the Northeast, Friesen
settled on racing open-wheeled modifieds.
But the allure of NASCAR was too strong.
He made six starts in 2016 and 19 in 2017.
“We He came close to at Eldora – on the dirt, of
242 THE OFFICIAL NASCAR 2019 PREVIEW & PRESS GUIDE
