STATESVILLE, NC (November 14, 2023) – Halmar Friesen Racing has made three crucial additions as its No. 52 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro team and driver Stewart Friesen prepare for the 2024 season.
Jimmy Villeneuve, a veteran of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series, was selected as the team’s Crew Chief. Joining him is Dustin Dunn as Race Engineer and Tim Packman was hired in September as HFR’s Commercial and Communications Director.
Villeneuve, from Auburn, NH, brings 20 years of experience to HFR coming from Kyle Busch Motorsports as the crew chief for its No. 4 Toyota team. Prior to his tenure at KBM, “Jimmy V” worked at Wood Brothers Racing and Kevin Harvick, Inc.
“I am looking forward to working with Stewart Friesen,” Villeneuve said. “He is a winning driver in Trucks, Dirt Modifieds and pretty much all he has driven. My goal is to work with the incredible team he currently has and return HFR and Stewart back to a championship-contending team.”
Dunn has a Mechanical Engineering degree from UNC Charlotte and comes from KBM, as well. Before that, he was part of McAnally-Hilgermann Racing as a race engineer. The native of Jupiter, FL has been in motorsports more than two decades starting with go-karts at age 5 and then Super Late Models in Florida for 18 years.
Packman, a native of Akron, NY, is a 30-year motorsports veteran who, coincidentally, got his start from Friesen’s uncle, Alex Friesen, at Lancaster (NY) Motorplex and Ransomville Speedway as an announcer and Public Relations for the tracks. From there, he worked his way to the NASCAR ranks as part of NASCAR.com, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., MRN Radio and Richard Childress Racing. He was also a track promoter at Lancaster for three years.
“To say I’m already looking forward to the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season is an understatement,” Stewart Friesen said. “Bringing on these three industry veterans will help us achieve the goals we have been striving for the past few years.
“We talked to a lot of people to fill these positions and we know the best ones were hired for HFR. I like winning and have a lot of confidence that Jimmy V and Dustin will help make that happen with the already-great team we have in place.”
These moves are a continued effort by HFR and Halmar International, LLC owner Chris Larsen to keep improving the team.
“I’m very proud of what this HFR team did in 2023 and adding Jimmy, Dustin and Tim shows the commitment we’re making to turn into a champion for years to come. I can’t wait for Daytona,” Larsen said.
About Halmar Friesen Racing:
Halmar Friesen Racing competes full time in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series with Stewart Friesen as the driver. HFR and the No. 52 Toyota TRD Tundra Pro is a multiple race-winning team making the NCTS Playoffs several seasons. In addition to its NASCAR competition, Halmar Racing and Friesen also compete in Dirt Modified races around the Northeast.
About Toyota:
Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands, and directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America (more than 49,000 in the U.S.).
Over the past 65 years, Toyota has assembled nearly 45 million cars and trucks in North America at the company’s 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, the company’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
Through our more than 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.), Toyota sold more than 2.4 million cars and trucks (more than 2.1 million in the U.S.) in 2022, of which, nearly one quarter were electrified vehicles (full battery, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell).
Source: Halmar Friesen Racing
