LEXINGTON, OH: With a rough start to the weekend and an urgency to make it to the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoffs, Stewart Friesen had a mission in mind.
Get to the front of the pack in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 150.
After wrecking in practice, the No. 52 Halmar International Toyota driver would find himself starting in the last row in the 35th position. He would have to work his way up into at least the top-10 to manage to salvage a way into the playoffs.
Entering Mid-Ohio, Friesen sat 12th in points, just six points out of the top-10 and a playoff position at the beginning of the race.
Lightning delayed the initial start of the race but a determined Friesen would make up seven positions on the first lap in and by the time the caution came out on Lap 16, the Niagara on Ontario, Canada native would go back to green on Lap 18 in the ninth position.
“It started raining and I was like, ‘Awe man. We just struggled in the wet,” Friesen said. “But I think we figured something out. It actually raced pretty good in the wet.”
Finishing out Stage 1, Friesen communicated to his team that he was “starting to see some dry spots now.” The team communicated back that he was to come to pit road for a set of Goodyear slicks and fuel going into Stage 2.
Heading into Stage 2 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Friesen would start in ninth place. Battling the field, he would move up an additional three spots before finishing the stage in the sixth position.
“Tight center off and brakes are fading between turns four and five,” Friesen radioed the team, before he comes in for a set of new tires, a packer adjustment, tape removal and fuel.
Stage 3 would start with the first double filed restart of the race. Friesen would choose the outside lane in the sixth position. Staying clean through this stage and finishing well was not a want but a need to make sure that he would move into the playoffs.
With only two races left in the regular season for Truck Series, Friesen knew that he needed to win or be multiple positions ahead of Matt Crafton but two positions would not be enough to ensure that he would jump ahead of the cutoff position of 10th in the Truck Series championship standings.
Finishing fourth, Friesen would move closer to the top-10 but still sits below the cut line.
Heading to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in two weeks, Friesen is now just one point behind Crafton who occupies the 10th and final Playoff spot.
“Starting in the back (of the field) kind of helped, I think. I could just take my time and ease on through to find some good lanes,” Friesen said.
“Just proud of our team, Chris Larson and all my guys. I made a mistake in practice and we got this thing cleaned up and fixed up and these guys stuck with me.
“Proud of our effort and top-five.”
After a week off, the series returns for the penultimate regular season race of the season at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway for the CRC Brakleen 150 on Saturday, July 22 at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Follow Grace Krenrich on Twitter @grace3140 or email [email protected]
