Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – FONDA, NY – Stewart Friesen has always been an outspoken driver when he has something on his mind.
Monday at Fonda Speedway, Friesen didn’t pull any punches after putting on an amazing driving performance, moving up from his 15th starting spot to place second in the Short Track Super Series’ Firecracker 50.
Even though he was able to find his way to the podium when all was said and done, the Sprakers, NY driver was visibly upset with track conditions at the Fonda, NY oval.
“I just couldn’t get through the holes,” Friesen said. “The track is just rough as sh!t in (turns) one and two and I couldn’t get through there.”
Unfortunately for Stewart, he had a bad pill draw for his heat race and had to start last in the third qualifier. With the likes of Matt Sheppard, Tim Fuller, Matt DeLorenzo and Mike Mahaney in the same heat, the driver of the Halmar #44 had his work cut out for him.
Friesen drove with reckless abandon in the non-stop event and was able to get to a qualifying spot, fourth, but that was one spot out of the redraw for the feature.
In turn, that meant he would start 15th for the main event and have a tall hill to climb.
“We had a lot of work to do tonight,” he said. “We drew real bad (early on) and just got behind the eight ball early.”
In the feature, Friesen was able to get to the top 10 early on in the 50-lap affair and then worked his way to the top five before the lap counter clicked 20.
He then settled in for a good portion of the mid-stages of the event, battling back and forth with the #111 of Demetrios Drellos as lap traffic came into play.
He would get by the current Fonda Speedway Modified point leader with 14 laps remaining.
After a restart re-racked the field, Friesen drove around third place runner Alex Yankowski and runner-up Matt DeLorenzo in a two-for-one move through turns three and four.
However, the yellow would come out again just two laps later for David Schilling who slowed. Yankowski would get back by his friend Friesen on the ensuing restart which meant the NASCAR Truck Series regular would have to get back to work.
It only took another circuit around the Track of Champions for Friesen to regain the second position with his sights set on leader Sheppard but there was no catching him on this night. Friesen had to settle for second at the finish.
“Second just really blows,” he said. “I’m just pissed off.”
Friesen wasn’t upset with the finish. He was more upset with track conditions, especially in turns one and two.
“Matt (Sheppard) could get through there pretty good,” he said. “Clean air was really good and once you got it that was a different story.”
In the end, for Friesen, he was proud of the effort his team put forth but may be wondering what might have been at one of his favorite speedways.
“Thanks to the whole Halmar crew and all the fans that came out tonight,” he said. “I love them all and I love this race track. It’s just been a sh!thole the last couple of weeks.”
Third place finisher on the night was Alex Yankowski and he was excited with just how much his performance has improved at Fonda since becoming a track regular at the beginning of the 2022 season.
“We were able to put ourselves in position tonight,” Yankowski said. “I think we’ve done a good job of that all year long. Last year, we had some signs of speed and some flashes but we really weren’t that consistent. This year I think we’re a lot more consistent.”
Unfortunately for Yankowski on Monday night, timing didn’t always play in his favor.
“We were good,” he said. “When (Matt) DeLorenzo was leading, the same thing happened that seems to be happening all year here. The cautions just don’t seem to fall our way to get the lead or win a race. However, that’s the way it goes.”
The Jermyn, PA pilot was very happy with how well his equipment held up through the track conditions in the 50-lap event.
“The car was good and Jeff Murray built us a hell of an engine,” he said. “I also have to thank Integra Shocks for getting us through the whoopdy’s there in turns one and two and holding up for all 50 laps.”
Ultimately, it was the hard work of Yankowski and his team that he feels has the 84Y recording solid runs as of late.
I’m really proud of everybody on this team,” he said. “We’re working our butts off here and to get a solid top three here tonight is good.”