'Wind in our sails': Stewart Friesen reaping benefits of unlikely Michigan win

After a crash on April 18 at Rockingham Speedway, Stewart Friesen was wondering if racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was still worth the trouble. 

As a small, single-truck operation, Halmar Friesen Racing and Friesen's No. 52 team were struggling to keep their heads above water in the Truck Series playoff picture after missing the playoffs in both 2023 and 2024. Even when Friesen had speed, bad luck was always one corner ahead. 

On Saturday at Michigan International Speedway, Friesen carried a 72-race winless streak into the 13th race of the 2025 season. He was below the playoff cut line, encroaching on must-win territory and staring down the barrel at the possibility of missing the playoffs for the third time in as many seasons. 

But Friesen and the No. 52 team watched as much of the Truck Series field imploded in the closing laps at Michigan. Crash after crash forced the race into triple-overtime and allowed Friesen to score a much-needed top-10 finish. 

When Corey LaJoie and others refused the opportunity to take the front row for the race's final restart, Friesen gave the inside lane of the front row a shot. His decision proved to be the winning move, as he maneuvered around Grant Enfinger to score the fourth win of his career, lock up a playoff berth and end a winless drought of 72 races. 

It's safe to say the victory lifted the spirits of Friesen and the No. 52 team after a rough first half of the season.

"We've had some really fast trucks through the beginning of the part of the year, but had misfortune one way or another," Friesen told Yardbarker. "To be able to get a race win at a place like Michigan is just so big for our team. It's good for all the guys' spirits. Everybody was getting beat down really bad. (We were) working really hard, bringing fast stuff, and then not being able to put it all together." 

In modern NASCAR, opportunism is an invaluable trait. It's one you have to have in order to win even on days where winning looks impossible, just as it did during certain moments for Friesen at Michigan. 

"To have something go our way and capitalize on an opportunity is something we're all proud of," Friesen said. "It puts some wind in our sails as we go throughout the season." 

The victory assures Friesen a spot in the Truck Series playoffs, but the path to his first championship will have to go through the heavyweights of the series — Corey Heim, Chandler Smith, Layne Riggs and Tyler Ankrum, among others. 

"On any given day, we can run with those guys," Friesen said. "We showed that at the beginning of the year. We're a small, single-truck team. We're going to run a second truck at Lime Rock and in some of the other races, so that will help us build our notebook."