What Happened To Stewart Frieson?

Stewart Frieson has become one of the most frustrating drivers to judge in the Nascar Craftsman Truck Series over the last few years as this Canadian born driver hasn't reached the heights of his breakout campaign in 2019 and his fall from grace has left many people wondering what happened to this team. Today, I'm gonna revisit Stewart Frieson's Nascar Craftsman Truck Series career to how his career changed for the worst and try to come up with a solution to turn his career around so anyways without further ado let's get started with today's special post!

The Early Years Of Stewart Frieson

Stewart Frieson made his Nascar Craftsman Truck Series debut on July 20th, 2016, at Eldora Speedway while driving the 16 Halmar Racing Chevrolet and he managed to start the race from 12th place, but unfortunately his first career Nascar start was ended abruptly due to a crash that left him with P28 finish. Eldora Speedway was just the beginning of Stewart Frieson's Nascar Craftsman Truck Series career as he made 5 more starts during the 2016 NCTS season, which saw the 16 Halmar Racing Chevy score 3 top 20 finishes and claimed best finish of P13 in Loudon, NH. The part-time stint in 2016 would ultimately convince Stewart Frieson to run the entire 2017 Nascar Craftsman Truck Series season as a full-time competitor, but the team was experiencing a lot of changes that ultimately left Stewart Frieson with 0 wins, 2 top 5's, 5 top 10's, 1 pole, average finish of 17.2, and finished 14th in the championship standings. The preparation that Halmar Frieson Racing made in 2017 paid off the following year as Stewart Frieson became extremely consistent, which helped the 52 Halmar Frieson Racing Chevrolet qualify for the postseason before getting eliminated in the Round of 8 while scoring 0 wins, 9 top 5's, 16 top 10's, 1 pole, average finish of 9.1, and finished 7th in points.

Stewart Frieson's Breakout Campaign

The foundation of Halmar Frieson Racing was fully ready for charge at the championship during the 2019 Nascar Craftsman Truck Series season as Stewart Frieson started the new year on a very strong note with 3 top 5's, 4 top 10's, 1 pole, and 39 laps led during the first 5 races that helped him take an early advantage. Stewart Frieson was still running at a high level during the 2019 Nascar Craftsman Truck Series season as the 52 Halmar Frieson Racing Chevrolet scored 5 top 5's, 5 top 10's, and 107 laps led but untimely DNF at Pocono would drop him down to fourth in the point standings. The 52 Halmar Frieson Racing team circled Eldora Speedway for the longest period of time as Stewart Frieson was well-known for his dirt racing skills, and this attribute would help Stewart Frieson massively as the 52 Halmar Frieson Racing Chevrolet scored the victory during the final NCTS race at Eldora Speedway. Stewart Frieson would come into the 2019 Nascar Craftsman Truck Series playoffs as the 3rd seed and the 52 Halmar Frieson Racing Chevrolet would have an impressive playoff run that was highlighted by 1 win, 3 top 5's, 5 top 10's, 1 pole, 53 laps led, qualified for the championship 4, and finished 4th in the final points.

The Disastrous First Year With Toyota

The successful 2019 Nascar Craftsman Truck Series season would garner the attention of Toyota that was looking to add another team to their lineup, which ultimately convinced Halmar Frieson Racing to leave the Chevy camp heading into the 2020 NCTS season. Stewart Frieson began the 2020 Nascar Craftsman Truck Series season on a solid note during the opening 2 races of the year with finishes of 21st place at Daytona and 9th place at Las Vegas that ultimately placed him 10th in the point standings before the series went on hiatus due to worldwide pandemic. The long hiatus would kill any chemistry that Stewart Frieson and Toyota were trying to build during the 2020 NCTS season, which ultimately resulted in the 52 Halmar Frieson Racing Toyota scoring 2 top 5's, 8 top 10's and 3 laps led while suffering 4 finishes of 27th or worse that left him excluded from the 2020 playoffs. Stewart Frieson would end the 2020 Nascar Craftsman Truck Series season on a below average note during the final few races of the year, which saw the 52 Halmar Frieson Racing Toyota score 1 top 5, 3 top 10's, and 15 laps led while finishing 15th in the final points.

The Potential Resurgence

Stewart Frieson had many people wondering if 2019 was nothing more than a fluke, but the 52 Halmar Frieson Racing Toyota would slightly improve during the 2021 Nascar Craftsman Truck Series regular season as Stewart Frieson scored 3 top 5's, 4 top 10's, and 14 laps led that helped him qualify for the playoffs. The Stewart Frieson of previous years would finally return during the 2021 Nascar Craftsman Truck Series playoffs as the 52 Halmar Frieson Racing Toyota would score 4 top 5's, 5 top 10's, 1 lap led, advanced into the Round of 8, and finished 6th in the final points. The 52 Halmar Frieson Racing Toyota would perform much better during the 2022 Nascar Craftsman Truck Series regular season as Stewart Frieson returned to victory lane at Texas while scoring 6 top 5's, 9 top 10's, 124 laps led, and finished 4th in the RS championship. Stewart Frieson put up another valiant effort during the 2022 Nascar Craftsman Truck Series playoffs as the 52 Halmar Frieson Racing Toyota would score 3 top 5's, 4 top 10's, 6 laps led, eliminated in the Round of 8 once again, and finished 6th in the point standings.

Current Day Struggles

The Stewart Frieson/Toyota pairing was finally hitting their stride after having a disappointing first year together, and the 2023 Nascar Craftsman Truck Series season was expected to be the year that the 52 HFR Toyota would return back into the championship race. Unfortunately, those hopes and dreams quickly faded away during the 2023 NCTS regular season as Stewart massively fell off from the last 2 seasons, which saw the 52 Halmar Frieson Racing Toyota score 5 top 5's, 5 top 10's, and 13 laps led while suffering 2 crew chief changes and finished outside the top 20 on 7 occasions that left him excluded from the playoffs. Stewart Frieson didn't show any signs of progression during the final 7 races of the year, which saw the 52 Halmar Frieson Racing Toyota score 2 top 10 finishes that ultimately left him with 11th place finish in points. The 2024 Nascar Craftsman Truck Series season has completed 6 races so far, and Stewart Frieson hasn't scored a single top 10 finish since Homestead Miami in 2023 while having best finish of 14th place at Daytona and currently sits 15th in the point standings.

What Happened To Stewart Frieson?

The progression that Stewart Frieson and the entire Halmar Frieson Racing team made during their first few years together really built the foundation of what this organization could've achieved if they hadn't made the manufacturer change after the 2019 NCTS season. The move to Toyota has taken Stewart Frieson and Halmar Frieson Racing as a whole several steps back from what they built with Chevrolet, and the lingering issues with performance have taken 52 truck from potential championship threat to average NCTS entry. Most of the issues can't fully be put on the move to Toyota as the overall culture of the Nascar Craftsman Truck Series has changed drastically, which has affected Stewart Frieson's mindset when driving.

How Can Stewart Frieson Turn Things Around?

Stewart Frieson and HFR still have the chance to turn things around heading into the future, and the first order of business will need to be departure from the Toyota camp as this partnership has run its course over the last few years with minimal success that leaves both parties disappointed with each other. A return to Chevy or more to Ford wouldn't be so bad as Halmar Frieson Racing could potentially receive better resources/ from either manufacturer that could really get the old Stewart Frieson back if he can regain his strong form during the early years of his career.

Alright, we have made it to the end of today's blog that looked back the highs and lows of Stewart Frieson's Nascar Craftsman Truck Series career while providing my thoughts on his downfall and how to fix the issues. What do y'all think about his Nascar Craftsman Truck Series career, and do you agree with the things I said? Let me know in the comments below and if you wish to keep up with any of my latest blogs on Nascar Amino then please consider ing my public blogging chatroom to stay up-to-date with all my posts on NA! Anyways, that is all from me today, and I hope y'all enjoyed my blog for this week, and I hope to see y'all next time with some more Nascar content on NA! 🙂

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