Stewart Friesen wins thrilling triple-OT Truck Series race in Michigan
June 7 - Stewart Friesen hoisted his first trophy of the season in Saturday afternoon's triple overtime DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 at Michigan International Speedway - a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race that didn't want to end, ultimately featuring 24 extra laps.
The victory snapped a 72-race winless streak for the popular Canadian driver Friesen who had not been among the race's frontrunners all day but was where he needed to be when it counted, collecting his first trophy since winning at Texas Motor Speedway back in 2022. His No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota beat Grant Enfinger's Chevy by a slight .111-second - both drivers benefitting from a rash of late-race caution flags.
With most drivers opting for the outside row on the final restart, Friesen was able to move up and take that inside position on the front row alongside Enfinger. The two of them dueled it out over the next two overtime laps to settle the trophy. Neither had a win coming into the race.
"I don't know what to say, thank you to Chris Halmer and all these sponsors and all these race fans, I know there's a lot of Canadians and a lot of Americans,'' Friesen said as the crowd began a huge roar of approval for the 41-year-old Ontario native as he celebrated his fourth career win.
While not a victory, the runner-up effort equaled a season-best (also at Las Vegas) for Enfinger and the CR7 Motorsports team.
"I don't know,'' he said when asked if there was anything he possibly could have done differently.
"We weren't as good as we thought we were in practice, but man, Jeff kept swinging stuff at it and got gutsy with both calls, the call to stay out and the call to come in. ... Feel like all in all, we executed to the best of our ability, but it just wasn't meant to be.''
ThorSport Racing's Luke Fenhaus, who won his first career pole position for the race, finished third, followed by his teammate, two-time series champion Ben Rhodes and Spire Motorsports' Corey LaJoie making only his sixth truck series start.
The opening two stages of the event went caution-free except for the stage breaks, but the final stage featured seven caution flags. The overtime periods put a dramatic spin on the win.
A big wreck on a restart with five laps remaining eliminated several of the day's strongest competitors - Ross Chastain, who was leading at the time and championship leader Corey Heim, who swept both stages and led 29 laps running top five most of the day.
It all created a seemingly dream scenario for another of the race's best - NASCAR Cup Series regular and Michigan native, Carson Hocevar, who was trying to win his first national series race at his home track. He survived much of the late race melee only to get a penalty following the second overtime green flag for pulling out of line too early on the restart.
He led a race-high 56 laps but ultimately finished 11th.
Matt Crafton, Jake Garcia, Chandler Smith, rookie Andres Perez De Lara and Layne Riggs rounded out the top-10 in the first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the track since 2020. Actor Frankie Muniz finished 14th - his best finish since a 10th place in the Daytona season-opener.
Despite his 18th place finish, Heim stretched out his championship lead and now holds a 133-point advantage over Chandler Smith.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes a week off while the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series race in Mexico City next weekend. The trucks resume competition on June 20 in the Miller Tech Battery 200 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (5 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Heim is the defending race winner.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race - DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 Powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics
Michigan International Speedway
Brooklyn, Michigan
Saturday, June 7, 2025
1. (17) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 139.
2. (14) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 139.
3. (1) Luke Fenhaus, Ford, 139.
4. (9) Ben Rhodes, Ford, 139.
5. (24) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 139.
6. (3) Matt Crafton, Ford, 139.
7. (4) Jake Garcia, Ford, 139.
8. (31) Chandler Smith, Ford, 139.
9. (12) Andres Perez De Lara #, Chevrolet, 139.
10. (18) Layne Riggs, Ford, 139.
11. (2) Carson Hocevar(i), Chevrolet, 139.
12. (20) Giovanni Ruggiero #, Toyota, 139.
13. (15) Dawson Sutton #, Chevrolet, 139.
14. (25) Frankie Muniz #, Ford, 139.
15. (6) Ty Majeski, Ford, 139.
16. (29) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 139.
17. (23) Tanner Gray, Toyota, 139.
18. (7) Corey Heim, Toyota, 139.
19. (8) Connor Mosack #, Chevrolet, 138.
20. (5) Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 136.
21. (16) Kaden Honeycutt, Chevrolet, 136.
22. (27) Toni Breidinger #, Toyota, Accident, 134.
23. (22) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, Accident, 132.
24. (10) Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 130.
25. (21) Josh Reaume, Ford, 129.
26. (26) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, DVP, 128.
27. (11) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, Accident, 126.
28. (19) Lawless Alan, Toyota, Accident, 126.
29. (32) Morgen Baird, Ford, Accident, 83.
30. (28) Nathan Byrd, Chevrolet, Accident, 83.
31. (13) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, Accident, 77.
32. (30) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Engine, 3.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 112.792 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 27 Mins, 53 Secs. Margin of Victory: .111 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 47 laps.
Lead Changes: 20 among 11 drivers.
Lap Leaders: L. Fenhaus 1;C. Hocevar(i) 2-5;C. Mosack # 6;C. Hocevar(i) 7-29;C. Heim 30-40;C. Hocevar(i) 41-49;C. Heim 50-67;K. Honeycutt 68;C. Hocevar(i) 69-81;K. Honeycutt 82;C. Hocevar(i) 83-86;G. Enfinger 87-110;R. Chastain(i) 111;G. Enfinger 112-113;R. Chastain(i) 114;C. Hocevar(i) 115-117;G. Ruggiero # 118-119;T. Gray 120;C. LaJoie 121-132;G. Enfinger 133-137;S. Friesen 138-139.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Carson Hocevar(i) 6 times for 56 laps; Grant Enfinger 3 times for 31 laps; Corey Heim 2 times for 29 laps; Corey LaJoie 1 time for 12 laps; Giovanni Ruggiero # 1 time for 2 laps; Ross Chastain(i) 2 times for 2 laps; Kaden Honeycutt 2 times for 2 laps; Stewart Friesen 1 time for 2 laps; Luke Fenhaus 1 time for 1 lap; Tanner Gray 1 time for 1 lap; Connor Mosack # 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,7,81,98,45,18,66,44,34,77
Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,7,98,45,81,44,17,15,38,66
--By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Summer McIntosh shatters world record with stunning freestyle swim
Canadian three-times Olympic champion Summer McIntosh set a world record in the women's 400 metres freestyle at the Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria, British Columbia. The 18-year-old clocked 3:54.18 to better Australian Ariarne Titmus ' mark of 3:55.38 set at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. "Going into tonight, I knew that my training has been really good these past few months, and I knew that I could do something special," McIntosh told public broadcaster CBC. "So being able to input my training in doing that - I didn't think my training would be 54.1 but I'm really happy with that." At the Paris Olympics, McIntosh became the first athlete from Canada to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games. At Paris 2024, the four-times World Aquatics champion won gold in the 400 metres individual medley, 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley, as well as taking silver in the 400 freestyle. But things felt different at the Canada trials. "I just felt so strong throughout, and that's never been the case in the 400 freestyle for me. That last 100, I'm always really, really hurting. "But I flipped at the 200 and I was just cruising, so I knew that I was having a strong swim. I could tell by the crowd and knew the way they were cheering that I was probably close to the world record. "So I really tried to push that last part for them." Reuters
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Canadian teen McIntosh shatters 400 metres freestyle record
June 8 (Reuters) - Canadian three-times Olympic champion Summer McIntosh set a world record in the women's 400 metres freestyle at the Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria, British Columbia, on Saturday. The 18-year-old clocked 3:54.18 to better Australian Ariarne Titmus' mark of 3:55.38 set at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. "Going into tonight, I knew that my training has been really good these past few months, and I knew that I could do something special," McIntosh told public broadcaster CBC. "So being able to input my training in doing that - I didn't think my training would be 54.1 but I'm really happy with that." At the Paris Olympics, McIntosh became the first athlete from Canada to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games. In Paris, the four-times World Aquatics champion won gold in the 400 metres individual medley, 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley, as well as taking silver in the 400 freestyle. But things felt different at the Canada trials. "I just felt so strong throughout, and that's never been the case in the 400 freestyle for me. That last 100, I'm always really, really hurting. "But I flipped at the 200 and I was just cruising, so I knew that I was having a strong swim. I could tell by the crowd and knew the way they were cheering that I was probably close to the world record. "So I really tried to push that last part for them."
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
PGA Tour is 'concerned' about Rory McIlroy's behavior since winning the Masters, golf insider claims
Rory McIlroy 's recent insistence on not talking to the media at tournaments has left the PGA Tour concerned, according to one high-profile golf insider. It has been a year to remember for the Northern Irishman already, with his Masters triumph completing his career Grand Slam after a decade of trying. Away from the course, though, McIlroy has butted heads with reporters after repeatedly refusing to speak to them between rounds. Speaking this week at the Canadian Open - which saw him fail to make the cut after a woeful first round - the world No 2 said: 'I've been beating this drum for a long time. 'If they want to make it mandatory, that's fine, but in our rules, it says that it's not, and until the day that that's maybe written into the regulations, you're going to have guys skip from time to time, and that's well within our rights.' McIlroy's decision has created negative headlines around the world and according to The Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard, it has left the PGA Tour concerned - given McIlroy is perhaps its biggest star. 'Until there is something concrete, until there is something mandatory in the PGA Tour regulations, Rory said this is just going to be the way of life on the PGA Tour in the media,' Ryan Lavner began on The Golf Channel podcast. 'Certainly, this is something that Rory has thought about,' Hoggard then replied. 'Certainly, this is something that the PGA Tour has thought about. 'And I can say, in conversations with the tour since this happened, I tend to be in agreement with those in the communications department that have the same concerns as you and I in the media have. When you have a player of Rory McIlroy's stature that skips all four days, it's not great. 'But the bigger issue here is that it sets a standard for every other player on the PGA Tour. The other 155 players at Quail Hollow were looking and saying to themselves… "Well, if that guy isn't going to do it, why in the world would I talk to the media after a round?" 'That is disturbing; that's concerning for all of us in the media. The flip side of that would be what you are alluding to. The idea that maybe, like most sports, maybe the PGA Tour should have a policy that demands players should have media availability after each round.' So far, the PGA Tour has not made any move to force its players to speak to the media, but the door remains open. McIlroy is due to play next week at the US Open, which begins at Quail Hollow on Thursday.
