Column: Stewart Friesen Ready For Super DIRTcar Series Return at DIRTcar Nationals
Column By: MIKE WARREN / SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES – BARBERVILLE, FL – Stewart Friesen has had one goal for the last seven months: get behind the wheel of a race car again.
He’ll officially accomplish that goal in February. Along with returning to the NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series, he’ll be back behind the wheel of a Big Block Modified during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, Feb. 11-14.
Earlier this month, Friesen drove a Big Block during a test session at Friendship Motor Speedway in North Carolina. It was the first time he’d driven the car since his horrific crash at Autodrome Drummond in July.
“It was a little bit emotional for me and Tommy (Conroy, his Crew Chief),” Friesen said. “But it was good to get out there to knock the rust off, knock those feelings off, and get back to work. We had a good test.
“There were a lot of questions going in, obviously. And it’s been a long recovery process. I knew I wanted to get back in as soon as I possibly could to see if it’d work. With the weather in North Carolina and having our stuff ready to go early, we were able to get down and do that test at Friendship.”
Friesen’s test at Friendship marked the tail-end of a long recovery process to return to racing in 2026. That included physical therapy and added exercise on his own time.
“It was simple things like riding a bike, and doing calf raises, and leg lifts, and just trying to rebuild muscles,” Friesen said. “I probably spent more time in the gym over the past two months than I have in the last five years. Just trying to rebuild that muscle. We still have a little way to go, but once we get back to competitively racing, I think we’ll be good.”
Those exercises were only one part of the process. It also included work inside the driver’s seat. Over the past few months, Friesen and his team have worked to fit him into a new seat and make it more comfortable for him to drive.
That offseason work paid off, as Friesen said there were no issues in his ankle, foot, or leg.
“During the test, it felt really, really good,” Friesen said. “We were able to run through some things, and it felt good. I didn’t feel like I was trying to teach myself how to drive again. After a couple of laps, it was like riding a bike. I just got back on the horse, and away we go.”
The next step: make his goal from the last seven months come true. He’ll return to competitive action in Florida behind the wheel of a Big Block and a Truck.
But once he’s back into the swing of competing for a Truck Series title, his dirt schedule might look a little different this year with Halmar-Friesen Racing expanding to a two-truck team.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Friesen said. “We always just fill in the blanks around the Truck schedule with the Modified stuff, and we’ll continue to do so. It won’t be like we only run 10 races. I think it’ll still be like 40. Maybe not the 60 we had planned in 2025. But we’ll see how it goes and go week to week like we always have.”
Before Volusia, Friesen plans on racing at All-Tech Raceway during Dirt Track Digest’s Showdown in the Sunshine State, Feb. 4-7.
Then, he’ll make his Super DIRTcar Series return at Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, FL., Feb. 11-14, where he’s won 10 times.
