HAMPTON, Ga. – Stewart Friesen, a Canadian driver who has come up shy of a race win since 2022 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, came within milliseconds of outdueling one of the series’ most dominant drivers in Saturday’s (Feb. 22) Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Busch, however, would overtake Friesen, winning by 0.017 seconds in yet another razor-thin Atlanta finish.
“It was pretty dicey toward the end and a good show for the fans,” Busch said.
Friesen led coming to the white flag before Busch briefly led going into turn 1, and the two swapped the lead side-by-side before a surge coming off of 4 by Busch was barely enough for the win.
“I knew when we surged ahead in (turn) 3, I knew he’d be able to come back on me,” Friesen said.
It was Busch’s eighth win in 15 races at Atlanta. For Friesen, the result sent a loud and clear message on a chilly Georgia afternoon not just from Friesen, but the single-truck Halmar Friesen Racing operation.
“It was cool to be back in front, again,” Friesen said. “It’s a huge shot in the arm for our race team. That’s just how it goes here, it’s never over until it’s over.”
But was Saturday’s run that ended within an eyelash of capturing the checkered flag a shock? Not to the driver of the No. 52 truck. In fact, Friesen started the day on a strong note by qualifying eighth.
“It’s just a product of a lot of hard work,” he said. “We’re a single-truck team, we build our own chassis and bodies not because want to, but because its’ a necessity in the series right now. It’s cool to see our guys take it from the tubing rack, to the racetrack and see the results.”
In the end, Friesen was thankful for both the chance to outrace one of the sport’s best and also for everyone from Halmar Friesen Racing to show what they could do under a bright spotlight.
“It’s just good hard racing. If you’re not first you’re last, right? It was cool to have a shot,” Friesen said. “I’m just proud of all the effort that’s been put in by our race team the last few years. The guys are just grinding at the shop and it’s a small group.”
Brad joined Frontstretch.com in 2020 and contributes to the site's 5 Points To Ponder column and other roles as needed. A graduate of the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communication, he has covered sports in some capacity for more than 20 years with coverage including local high school sports, college athletics and minor league hockey. Brad has received multiple awards for his work from the Georgia Press Association.