0
0
June 7, 2025
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
Photo Getty Wire Service
Stewart Friesen hoisted his first trophy of the season in Saturday afternoon’s triple overtime DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 at Michigan International Speedway – a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race that didn’t want to end, ultimately featuring 24 extra laps.
The victory snapped a 72-race winless streak for the popular Canadian driver Friesen who had not been among the race’s frontrunners all day but was where he needed to be when it counted, collecting his first trophy since winning at Texas Motor Speedway back in 2022. His No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota beat Grant Enfinger’s Chevy by a slight .111-second – both drivers benefiting from a rash of late-race caution flags.
With most drivers opting for the outside row on the final restart, Friesen was able to move up and take that inside position on the front row alongside Enfinger. The two of them dueled it out over the next two overtime laps to settle the trophy. Neither had a win coming into the race.
“I don’t know what to say, thank you to Chris Halmar and all these sponsors and all these race fans, I know there’s a lot of Canadians and a lot of Americans,’’ Friesen said as the crowd began a huge roar of approval for the 41-year-old Ontario native as he celebrated his fourth career win.
While not a victory, the runner-up effort equaled a season-best (also at Las Vegas) for Enfinger and the CR7 Motorsports team.
“I don’t know,’’ he said when asked if there was anything he possibly could have done differently.
“We weren’t as good as we thought we were in practice, but man, Jeff kept swinging stuff at it and got gutsy with both calls, the call to stay out and the call to come in. …Feel like all in all, we executed to the best of our ability, but it just wasn’t meant to be.’’
ThorSport Racing’s Luke Fenhaus, who won his first career pole position for the race, finished third, followed by his teammate, two-time series champion Ben Rhodes and Spire Motorsports’ Corey LaJoie making only his sixth truck series start.
The opening two stages of the event went caution-free except for the stage breaks, but the final stage featured seven caution flags. The overtime periods put a dramatic spin on the win.
A big wreck on a restart with five laps remaining eliminated several of the day’s strongest competitors – Ross Chastain, who was leading at the time and championship leader Corey Heim, who swept both stages and led 29 laps running top five most of the day.
It all created a seemingly dream scenario for another of the race’s best – NASCAR Cup Series regular and Michigan native, Carson Hocevar, who was trying to win his first national series race at his home track. He survived much of the late race melee only to get a penalty following the second overtime green flag for pulling out of line too early on the restart.
He led a race 56 laps but ultimately finished 11th.
Matt Crafton, Jake Garcia, Chandler Smith, rookie Andres Perez De Lara and Layne Riggs rounded out the top-10 in the first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the track since 2020. Actor Frankie Muniz finished 14th – his best finish since a 10th place in the Daytona season-opener.
Despite his 18th place finish, Heim stretched out his championship lead and now holds a 133-point advantage over Chandler Smith.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes a week off while the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series race in Mexico City next weekend. The trucks resume competition on June 20 in the Miller Tech Battery 200 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (5 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Heim is the defending race winner.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race – DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 Powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics
Michigan International Speedway
Brooklyn, Michigan
Saturday, June 7, 2025
- (17) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 139.
- (14) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 139.
- (1) Luke Fenhaus, Ford, 139.
- (9) Ben Rhodes, Ford, 139.
- (24) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 139.
- (3) Matt Crafton, Ford, 139.
- (4) Jake Garcia, Ford, 139.
- (31) Chandler Smith, Ford, 139.
- (12) Andres Perez De Lara #, Chevrolet, 139.
- (18) Layne Riggs, Ford, 139.
- (2) Carson Hocevar(i), Chevrolet, 139.
- (20) Giovanni Ruggiero #, Toyota, 139.
- (15) Dawson Sutton #, Chevrolet, 139.
- (25) Frankie Muniz #, Ford, 139.
- (6) Ty Majeski, Ford, 139.
- (29) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 139.
- (23) Tanner Gray, Toyota, 139.
- (7) Corey Heim, Toyota, 139.
- (8) Connor Mosack #, Chevrolet, 138.
- (5) Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 136.
- (16) Kaden Honeycutt, Chevrolet, 136.
- (27) Toni Breidinger #, Toyota, Accident, 134.
- (22) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, Accident, 132.
- (10) Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 130.
- (21) Josh Reaume, Ford, 129.
- (26) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, DVP, 128.
- (11) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, Accident, 126.
- (19) Lawless Alan, Toyota, Accident, 126.
- (32) Morgen Baird, Ford, Accident, 83.
- (28) Nathan Byrd, Chevrolet, Accident, 83.
- (13) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, Accident, 77.
- (30) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Engine, 3.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 112.792 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 27 Mins, 53 Secs. Margin of Victory: .111 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 47 laps.
Lead Changes: 20 among 11 drivers.
Lap Leaders: L. Fenhaus 1;C. Hocevar(i) 2-5;C. Mosack # 6;C. Hocevar(i) 7-29;C. Heim 30-40;C. Hocevar(i) 41-49;C. Heim 50-67;K. Honeycutt 68;C. Hocevar(i) 69-81;K. Honeycutt 82;C. Hocevar(i) 83-86;G. Enfinger 87-110;R. Chastain(i) 111;G. Enfinger 112-113;R. Chastain(i) 114;C. Hocevar(i) 115-117;G. Ruggiero # 118-119;T. Gray 120;C. LaJoie 121-132;G. Enfinger 133-137;S. Friesen 138-139.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Carson Hocevar(i) 6 times for 56 laps; Grant Enfinger 3 times for 31 laps; Corey Heim 2 times for 29 laps; Corey LaJoie 1 time for 12 laps; Giovanni Ruggiero # 1 time for 2 laps; Ross Chastain(i) 2 times for 2 laps; Kaden Honeycutt 2 times for 2 laps; Stewart Friesen 1 time for 2 laps; Luke Fenhaus 1 time for 1 lap; Tanner Gray 1 time for 1 lap; Connor Mosack # 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,7,81,98,45,18,66,44,34,77
Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,7,98,45,81,44,17,15,38,66
