Injured Stewart Friesen inspired by NASCAR return

For the first time since a debilitating crash in a Big Block Dirt Modified at Autodrome Drummond in July, Stewart Friesen returned to a NASCAR Truck Series race on Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Friesen has been sidelined for the past two months with a shattered pelvis, a fractured right leg (tibia and fibula), a fractured C7 vertebra and a fractured left hip that required plates, screws, rods, and pins.

He was still on crutches this past weekend, not remotely cleared to compete, but actually wants to get back into his Modified by the World Finals at Charlotte Motor Speedway in November.

With that said, it’s going to require a really intense rehabilitation and recovery timeline.

“We’re getting there,” Friesen told Motorsport.com on Saturday. “It's been a slow road. I have lost a lot of weight this last month and a half laying in bed so it feels good to start crutching around a little bit these last couple of days and to get back to the race track.”

Friesen was able to attend a race on Saturday that saw Kaden Honeycutt advance in the Truck Series Playoffs in the No. 52 he has co-owned with Chris Larsen and driven since the 2017 season.

Honeycutt, a playoff driver needed a playoff truck since he was forced to leave Niece Motorsports last month due to an impending deal with Tricon Garage. The No. 52 needed a playoff driver to steer the truck through the owners’ playoffs and it was just a perfect match.

This also required Friesen to forfeit his own playoff spot and a 10th-place championship finish. It wasn’t his first choice as he really wanted the record books to reflect that he won a race and was a top 10 driver -- even after missing the final nine races of the season.

NASCAR, however, would have been forced to fine him for missing numerous playoff responsibilities, offsetting whatever the team makes in chasing an owner’s championship with Honeycutt.

"That was our first idea but we just decided it wouldn't have been the best look for us to do that," Friesen said. "Sometimes, you just have to accept your lumps and move on. This was one of those times."

Thus, the team hired Honeycutt and has even fielded a second part-time truck through an alliance with Bruce Cook Performance for drivers like Cole Butcher and Wesley Slimp.

“This is a small group of guys to field two trucks so I want to thank Bruce and a couple of guys from his team that came over to work on our No. 62 because they’ve done a great job,” Friesen said. “The goal was to get Kaden into the next round, which we barely did by the skin of our teeth with the bad luck we had at Darlington, so we just need to keep getting better so it’s not so close next time.

“We’re always building a notebook, and expect to keep building better trucks, and keep moving forward.”

This doesn’t sound like a 42-year-old plotting a NASCAR retirement, does it?

“I thought all sorts of things when I was in bed, being away from the race track all this time, but being back here reminded me of how much I still do love this,” he said. “It makes me want to be back out there racing all the other guys and working directly with our team.

“And another thing, I’m really proud of (wife) Jess too because she has stepped up on the administration side. She’s had to take care of some of the work I haven’t been able to get to while taking care of me too.

“It’s a lot of work and it’s been a lot but we’re here and looking forward to what’s next.”

That includes taking the green flag at the Daytona Truck Series opener in 2026.

“I hope so,” Friesen said. “That is our ultimate goal but it just depends on how my nerves react and if I can get some feeling back in the lower part of my leg and foot.”