Stewart Friesen has been cleared for the 2026 NASCAR Truck Series season. The 42-year-old shared that he feels ‘great’ after a long recovery process that sidelined him for nearly half the 2025 season.
Back in July 2025, Friesen suffered a freak accident during a Super DIRTcar Series event in Quebec, Canada. He sustained a fractured pelvis and right leg after his No.44 car flipped and caught fire.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell drove his No.52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota at Watkins Glen International before Kaden Honeycutt took over and secured a championship four berth.
With a reconstructed pelvis, right tibia and fibula, in addition to a fractured C7 vertebra and fractured left hip, Friesen has come a long way since. In an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR radio, the Canadian shared a positive update on his recovery.
“It’s going very well,” Stewart Friesen said via NASCAR’s official website, “The last month, I’ve been making some leaps and bounds. No more crutches, no more cane, walking pretty normal and just trying to work out as much as I can. Still doing a lot of physical therapy and anticipating a return at Daytona here in just over a month.”
Stewart Friesen further shared that he has already done some sim work in preparation for his comeback. He also expects to run a big-block dirt modified in February at All-Tech Raceway.
Stewart Friesen lauds Kaden Honeycutt’s 2025 title bid
Stewart Friesen was all praise for Kaden Honeycutt’s third-place finish in the 2025 Truck Series standings. The 22-year-old was ousted from Niece Motorsports midway through the season after learning about his future plans with a different OEM.
He found a one-off ride with Young’s Motorsports before continuing his title bid with Halmar Friesen Racing, racking up two top-5 and five top-10s in the process.
“What a great race car driver and great person, first off,” Stewart Friesen said, “It was cool for him to jump in my seat and work with him. I was logged into every sim session that he did, and all the races, obviously listening on the radio, and just a great race-car driver. And it really helped our team to develop and make a championship push. That was awesome. That was all we could ask for. He did a great job and got us another, maybe, rung up the ladder with the building of this race team.”
Kaden Honeycutt found a new home with TRICON Garage, replacing Corey Heim in the No.11 Toyota. The move makes him a part of Toyota’s Driver Development Program as well.
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