Friesen won the first victory in a series of trucks since 2019 in Texas

It was Stuart Friesen’s hard-earned and highly acclaimed victory in the SpeedyCash.com 220 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway – the popular Canadian racer’s first victory since November 2019.

His 60 laps ahead in Toyota’s 52nd Halmar Friesen Racing number more than doubled his total number of laps in a year, and that was enough to get his first win in the last 53 races and secure a place in the 2022 playoffs.

The 38-year-old Friesen lined up with Toyota driver Christian Ekes for the final restart, and after a close fight side by side after the first two turns, Friesen pulled his Toyota Tundra forward to clear Ekes, who came out on the stretch. He was able to hold the lead and get a close victory with a score of 0.122 seconds at the famous 1.5-mile Texas High Bank.

🏁 RETVIT to congratulate @StewartFriesen on it @TXMotorSpeedway win! 🏁 pic.twitter.com/YUIti2vCKL

– NASCAR Camping World Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 21, 2022

“I made all the mistakes I had to make in the first two segments,” said Friesen, who is just another top five this season, third in Las Vegas in March. “We had an amazing truck.”

“You have no idea what work this racing team has done over the last three years to improve it,” he continued. “It’s a great band and we’re in the playoffs.

“Wow,” he shouted with a smile.

As the result shows, Ekes, who took second place, spent a bright night, leading the season in 40 laps – second only to the work of Friesen.

“There just wasn’t a strip,” Ekes said. “This is what there is.

“It’s been difficult here for a while,” he said. “I’m excited to show that we can really be here and win the race. We are as hungry as ever. “

Ryan Price, who won both Stage 1 and Stage 2, finished third in the DGR Ford team at number 17, making a pretty great comeback given that his truck was damaged earlier in the race and he had to go for repairs. Hard work gives Priscilla four finishes in the top 10 for the same number of truck starts this year, and working for third place is his best spot of the season.

Carson Hochevar, driver no. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet, finished fourth, and Tai Mazeski of ThorSport Racing finished in the top five in the race, which had 34 passes with a green flag for the lead and 18 transitions among seven riders.

John Hunter Nemecek, who won the pole position but had to start from the rear after a penalty for unauthorized fitting, finished sixth – twice he had to drive across the field. Although he didn’t compare his qualifying work to Friday night’s victory, his sixth place was good enough to take the lead in Camping World’s World Series of Truck Drivers for the first time this season. The German is the fourth leader in the various points truck series.

Ben Rhodes, who topped the points in four races, finished 27th after his Toyota No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota crashed, leading to a recent precautionary period and forcing overtime.

Corey Heim, Chandler Smith, Matt Crafton and former NASCAR Series driver Matt DiBennedetta finished in the top 10 – the second in a row and fourth finish in the top 10 of the season for DiBannedet.

The next race of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, North Carolina Education Lottery 200, will take place on Friday on the Charlotte Motor Speedway (20:30 ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The German is the defensive winner of the race.

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