By Luis Torres, Staff Writer/Photographer
Stewart Friesen has suffered multiple injuries and currently held at a larger hospital following a violent crash in Monday’s King of the North feature at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada.
As of Tuesday morning, Stewart’s wife Jessica Friesen issued a statement that while he’s cleared from any head, neck or spine injuries, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series veteran is still dealing with tremendous pain. Most notably, the main injury being a pelvic fracture she described as “unstable/open-book.”
“(Stewart’s) pelvis is broken in two or more places, with a large hematoma on the area,” Jessica stated.
Additionally, Stewart sustained a fractured right leg, requiring surgery for both injuries. However, Jessica added that his vitals remain stable and following pain medications, he’s in “better spirits and currently resting.”
Friesen was competing in Night 1 of the 75-lap Super DIRTcar Series big block modified feature when disaster struck Monday night.
On the 17th lap, Friesen was running fifth when he was riding the high line and attempting to battle Steve Bernard and David Herbert for position.
That all changed when Friesen’s No. 44 machine got out of control and clipped the outside wall at pit entry. The impact resulted in Friesen’s big block modified tumbling which caused the fuel cell to erupt in flames.
Then came the biggest impact of the wreckage when Mario Clair viciously collided into Friesen, scattering debris everywhere and bringing out the red flag. The destroyed car of Friesen landed on its wheels, but it was irrelevant as all attention went to the 42-year-old Canadian racer’s condition.
Fortunately, Friesen was alert and communicating with safety officials and EMTs before being extricated out of the car, over 30 minutes after the accident happened where he was then transported for further evaluation.
“Thank you to Tommy Conroy and Martin Roy, who stayed with Stewart last night,” said Jessica. “Thank you to everyone who has reached out and sent prayers and positive thoughts. Thank you to the manufacturers who have made dirt modifieds as safe as possible, and to the track crew for their patience and hard working getting Stew out of the car.”
The other drivers involved in the accident were okay as the feature resumed with Matt Sheppard scoring the win for his 100th career Super DIRTcar Series victory.
There are two regular season races left in the Truck Series but won’t have a race until Friday, August 8 at Watkins Glen International (5 p.m. ET on FS1). Friesen, who sits 13th in the regular season standings, punched his ticket into the playoffs with a victory at Michigan International Speedway in June.
Following surgery, Jessica once again shared an update later on Tuesday that Stewart is in serious but stable condition. He’ll be transported from Quebec to another hospital in New York Wednesday where more surgical procedures will take place.
There’s no timetable of how Friesen’s injuries and post-surgery procedures will impact his racing season.
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