Halmar Friesen Racing
Halmar Friesen Racing, also known as Halmar Racing Team, is an American professional stock car racing and dirt track racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, fielding the No. 52 Toyota Tundra full-time for Stewart Friesen and fielding the No. 62 part-time for Todd Bodine and Jessica Friesen. The team also fields modified racing cars for several drivers around the Northeastern United States.
| Owner(s) | Chris Larsen Stewart Friesen |
|---|---|
| Base | Statesville, North Carolina |
| Series | NASCAR Camping World Truck Series |
| Race drivers | 52. Stewart Friesen 62. Todd Bodine, Jessica Friesen (part-time) |
| Sponsors | 52. Halmar International 62. Camping World, Halmar International |
| Manufacturer | Toyota |
| Opened | 2016 |
| Career | |
| Debut | 2016 Aspen Dental Eldora Dirt Derby (Eldora) |
| Latest race | 2022 Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt (Bristol Dirt) |
| Races competed | 104 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 2 |
| Pole positions | 3 |
Camping World Truck Series
Truck No. 16 history
The team ran part-time in 2016, using the No. 16 and entering the short track races with Friesen as driver.[1] For the team's debut race at Eldora, the truck had a body from Kyle Busch Motorsports and an engine from Richard Childress Racing.[2]
Truck No. 52 history
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In 2017, the team announced plans to run the full Truck Series schedule as Halmar Friesen Racing with Friesen driving the renumbered No. 52 truck.[3] HFR hired Cup Series team owner Tommy Baldwin Jr. of Tommy Baldwin Racing (which reduced from a full-time to a part-time Cup Series schedule in 2017) to serve as team manager.[4]
After the June Texas race, the team announced a two-race hiatus and that they would return in Kentucky in July.[5]
Friesen captured the pole for the 2017 Eldora Dirt Derby and finished second to Matt Crafton in the race after leading over half of the laps.[6]
On August 23, 2017, HFR announced the end of its partnership with Baldwin and the start of a new technical alliance with GMS Racing.[7]
On August 16, 2018, Friesen made the truck series playoffs for the first time in the organization's history.
On July 11, 2019, NASCAR confiscated the No. 52 truck before the Kentucky race after discovering an issue with the firewall during pre-race inspection. The team was able to use their backup truck, which finished second in the race.[8] On August 1, 2019, Friesen finally broke through to win his first career NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Eldora.[9]
On December 3, 2019, it was announced that the team would switch from Chevrolet to Toyota in an alliance with Kyle Busch Motorsports starting in 2020, thus ending their previous alliance with GMS Racing.[10] In 2020, after Friesen missed the playoffs, he decided to skip the race at Kansas Speedway In October in order to compete in a dirt race on the same day. Timothy Peters would fill in for Friesen in the No. 52 in the Truck Series race.[11] Friesen would run his fourth full season in the Truck Series in 2021 and would make the playoffs again despite not winning any races that year. Friesen ran his fifth full season in the Truck Series in 2022 in the No. 52 truck.
Truck No. 62 history
On March 11, 2021, Jessica Friesen announced that she would make her Truck Series debut in the Pinty's Dirt Truck Race alongside her husband in the No. 62. However, she failed to qualify after rain washed out the heat races. Instead, she would make her debut in the other dirt race for the Truck Series at Knoxville Raceway, the Corn Belt 150.
After having not driven in NASCAR for five years, Todd Bodine returned to the Truck Series to drive for Halmar Friesen Racing in the No. 62 at Las Vegas. The CEO of series title sponsor Camping World, Marcus Lemonis, wanted to sponsor Bodine for 6 races to get him to 800 overall starts in NASCAR.[12] On March 28, 2022, the team announced that Jessica Friesen would return to drive the No. 62 in the two dirt races again.[13]
References
- "Camping World Truck Statistics: Stewart Friesen - 2016 [DriverAverages.com]". www.driveraverages.com. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
- "Stewart Friesen: The Eyes of the Northeast Were on You – DTD Exclusive". Dirt Track Digest. July 22, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
- "Halmar Friesen Racing Announces NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Debut - NASCAR Camping World Truck Series News - MRN.com". www.mrn.com. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
- McFadin, Daniel (January 9, 2017). "Halmar Friesen Racing enters Truck Series under leadership of Tommy Baldwin". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
- "Halmar Friesen Racing taking two-week hiatus from Truck competition". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. June 13, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
- "Stewart Friesen finishes 2nd in NASCAR Trucks race at Eldora Speedway". syracuse.com. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
- Bonkowski, Jerry (August 23, 2017). "Halmar Friesen Racing Truck team splits with Tommy Baldwin Jr., forms alliance with GMS Racing". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
- "NASCAR confiscates No. 52 truck from Halmar Racing". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
- "Stewart Friesen scores first Gander Trucks victory, wins at Eldora". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 1, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- Rutherford, Kevin (December 3, 2020). "Stewart Friesen Remaining in Truck Series, Moving to Toyota in 2020". Frontstretch. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- Gillispie, Zach (October 9, 2020). "Timothy Peters Replacing Stewart Friesen at Kansas". Frontstretch. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- "Bodine Making Truck Return with Halmar Friesen Racing". December 13, 2021.
- "Jessica Friesen Returning to Truck Racing at Bristol, Knoxville Dirt Races". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. March 29, 2022.