Stewart Friesen and the No. 52 team of Halmar Racing are still searching for their first win. Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway looked promising until a late pit stop resulted in a penalty.
Friesen started the race in third after a strong qualifying effort and ran in the top 10 for most of the stages, staying out of trouble. Then, with 40 to go, he passed Todd Gilliland for the race lead. Just a few laps later, both went in to pit with 33 to go but misfortune came for Friesen as he was penalized for speeding during that final pit stop.
He could never catch the break he wanted in hopes of a caution but ultimately finished eighth after leading 12 laps.
“Just blew the green flag stop, Friesen told MRN Radio. “Got in there and wheel hopped, I don’t know, there was a little confusion on when we were actually going to pit. They called me into the pits in Turn 3 outside of a guy and I screwed up. I should have just made another lap and came in to take my time. It is what it is, just thanks to Halmar and Chris Larsen, everybody. They work so hard and bust their ass. They deserve to win more than I did.”
This was Friesen’s 14th top 10 of the year.
