By Luis Torres, Staff Writer/Photographer
Stewart Friesen was so close to capturing his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win in nearly three years that he could taste it. In the end, he came up just 0.017 seconds shy of winning Saturday’s Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Coming to the white flag, Friesen had taken the lead for the first time all race. By proxy, the era of superspeedway racing in Atlanta produced drafting groups where any help to get you to the front is a luxury.
Friesen had command of the pack, but Kyle Busch was on his tail and flipped the script. Entering Turn 1, Busch abandoned Friesen and went on the bottom and with some valuable drafting help from Bayley Currey, Busch had the edge.
All Friesen could do is hope that Tyler Ankrum can give him a push but to almost no avail. However, it was Friesen who caught Busch as they left Ankrum and Currey in the dust, leaving it up to them to duke it out at the line.
As both battled hard for the win, Friesen briefly held the lead over Busch entering the final turn. Then the side draft became the deciding factor of the finish as Busch gained momentum from the tactic to best Friesen at the line.
Busch scored his record-extending 67th career win and his eighth in Atlanta. Friesen on the other hand, will have to wait for another race to snap his long winless streak, but his outlook was bright.
AT THE LINE. Kyle Busch WINS the Truck Series race at Atlanta! #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/9nfv83HGhf
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 22, 2025
A year ago, Friesen left the track with a tore up No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota and set the organization behind the 8-ball for the rest of the season. Now, while shy of winning, Friesen said he can take this runner-up result and build some momentum out of the ordeal.
“Just so proud of my race team – our whole Halmar team,” said Friesen. “Chris Larsen (co-owner), everything he gives us to get the job done.”
Friesen continued by saying that the No. 52 Tundra was his personal favorite truck and knew he had a shot of winning but felt that he got way far off on the backstretch.
Again, reiterating how proud he is with his entire team and thanking Corey Heim for putting him in a spot to be in the hunt for a win. Even if it came at the expense of Chandler Smith.
“I thought I could pack some more air on him getting into (turn) three and we surged ahead, but didn’t have the surge at the right time and he came back,” said Friesen.
“Thanks to Toyota teammates there – was working well with Corey there. He helped us to the front. Tried to shove Chandler way up by him, and I was like just stick with me – I’ll keep shoving you by him. We will keep that bottom lane rolling, and then he moved up, so it kind of broke that plan apart.
“Just proud of our race team. It has been a grind these last couple of years, and we’ve got stuff going in the right direction. Jimmy (Villeneuve, crew chief) did a good job calling the race. Chris Lambert is the best spotter in the business. I’m lucky to have him on my side.”
Humility aside, Friesen explained how the air was challenging and will look at the replay later to see what might’ve been done to beat Busch.
“We had a good shot at it. I knew anything and everything could happen there – just the way the air worked on the last lap,” Friesen commented. “Oh man. 18 different things, I’ll have to rewatch what happened.
“I knew when we kind of surged ahead, and I got him pinned down there in turn three – that might have been the kiss of death because I didn’t have too much help pushing behind me at that point, but big thanks to the whole Halmar team. What a strong Tundra.
“We overcame some adversity, but qualified well, raced really, really well. Proud of the whole race team.”
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