When NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Stewart Friesen suffered substantial injuries driving his Dirt Modified last July, it sidelined him from racing anything for the rest of 2025.
Since that time, Friesen has been on a long road of recovery with many doubting he would be able to make a full recovery or ever race again. But, the tough Canadian native not only wheeled, willed, crutched, caned and worked out his way back to recover; he’s also going to race again.
Thursday afternoon, Friesen revealed on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio he will be back behind the wheel of the Dirt Mod and his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rides. Quite the accomplishment from what appeared to be a career-ending injury last summer.
In an exclusive interview with Heavy.com the Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario native talked about the recovery, watching someone else drive his No. 52 Toyota Truck and his mindset heading into this season.
The Toughest Part
Suffering a shattered pelvis and multiple injuries to his right leg in the wreck, Friesen was bedridden after surgical repairs. From there, he needed a wheelchair before graduating to crutches.
It wasn’t until early December when he was able to walk unassisted, but still with a noticeable limp. While some might think watching someone else drive his No. 52 Truck would be a tough task, that was not so for the 42-year-old driver and car builder.
“I would have to say the toughest part was not being able to work on the Dirt cars like I do when I’m not Truck racing,” Friesen said. “The shop is right on my property so not being able to be work with Tommy (Conroy, Crew Chief) and the guys was difficult.
“Also, watching what was happening with the HFR Truck team from a distance took some adjusting to when they raced. I had limited mobility and not being able to move around freely was tough. It gave me a different perspective from being a driver and owner.”
Truck Team Made it to Championship Four
While he was recuperating, the No. 52 Toyota was driven by Kaden Honeycutt. The team made the playoffs by virtue of Friesen’s victory at Michigan International Speedway in June. While he wasn’t able to run for a driver’s championship, the team could still compete for an ownership crown with Honeycutt behind the wheel. When hired, Honeycutt was in the playoffs because of his driver points.
They made it the final four contingents at Phoenix and ended up third.
“Kaden did a great job stepping in like he did for us,” Friesen said. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be watching someone else in my Truck. My wife Jess and I are heavily involved in the day-to-day operation of the team so it’s not like we were totally removed.
“I don’t feel like I let the team down by not being in the seat because we were still in contact with everyone. I made it to the New Hampshire race because that was closest to home and I wanted to be around the team again.
“I felt good enough to make it out to Phoenix for the finale. It was nice to be there for Championship weekend.”
Ready to Race Again
Now, with no crutches and no cane, Friesen is ready to take on the driving tasks again. It will start with a NCTS test at Rockingham Raceway on January 27 and 28. Then, he will follow that up with Dirt Mod races in Florida leading up to starting the NASCAR season at Daytona International Speedway in February.
To prepare for both, Friesen tested his Dirt Mod at Friendship Speedway in Elkin, NC and has done some SIM testing at Toyota for the Truck.
“It was emotional getting back into the Dirt Mod, to say the least,” Friesen shared. “Tommy and the guys were all great getting ready for the test. They sent videos back home to Jess. It was nice to get back to some aspect of normalcy.
“I did 2.5 hours in the SIM and that felt really good, too. I was so comfortable in there and was paying attention to everything so much that at one point our engineer, Dustin Dunn, had to radio in and ask how I doing in there. The SIM test made me forget I got hurt.
“Racing is all we’ve known for all these years, so we’re going to keep doing just that and get back to what’s normal.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Stewart Friesen Talks About Recovery to Race Again appeared first on Heavy Sports.