Stewart Friesen locked himself into the NASCAR Truck Series playoffs with a victory at Michigan International Speedway on June 7 but it appears increasingly unlikely that he will be able to participate in the 10-driver chase for the championship.
This is a result of a Friesen crash in the Super DIRTcar Series race at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada on Monday when his No. 44 Halmar Friesen Big Block Modified drilled the wall and rolled over, catching fire, and then being ran into upon returning to the track.
Jessica Friesen said her husband suffered fractures to his pelvis and right leg that will require surgery. As of Thursday morning, Friesen has been transferred to a level one trauma center in New York.
All signs point towards Friesen not racing for the remainder of this season so what about his playoff spot?
On his official NASCAR sanctioned Hauler Talk podcast, series communications official Mike Forde first offered well wishes.
“I couldn’t be happier that Stewart is somewhat okay,” Forde said. “That was a very scary wreck and lots of injuries there as he announced on social media on Tuesday morning. So wish him absolutely the best.”
Kurt Busch had won his way into the Cup Series playoffs in 2022 but missed the remainder of that season due to a crash and concussion suffered at Pocono later that summer. It ultimately ended his career.
Busch withdrew his name from playoff consideration, opening a spot for those still racing throughout the summer.
“That is kind of the baseline we’re working with here in the Stewart Friesen discussion,” Forde said. “Obviously, very early in the process. This just happened on Monday evening. …Unfortunately, I don’t have much information on how we are going to play this one.”