Stewart Friesen Returning to Trucks in 2026 After July Injury

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Stewart Friesen, after being sidelined for the final nine NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events of 2025, is coming back to the series in February for the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Friesen spoke with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 on Thursday, confirming that he'll be back behind the wheel of the Halmar Friesen Racing No. 52 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro when the season begins in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The 42-year-old driver was seriously injured last July while competing in a Super DIRTcar Series event at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Quebec, where a vicious accident left him with an open-book pelvis fracture and a fractured right leg.

“It’s going very well,” Friesen said when asked about the recovery process after the incident. “The last month I’ve been making some leaps and bounds; no more crutches, no more canes, I’m walking pretty normal and trying to work out as much as I can, still doing a lot of physical therapy and anticipating a return at Daytona in just over a month.”

The accident forced Friesen to take a step back from his full-time seat in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and focus on his recovery, which also meant bowing out of the post-season -- a berth he'd earned courtesy of a victory at Michigan International Speedway just a month prior.

In the meantime, Kaden Honeycutt jumped behind the wheel of the No. 52 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro and brought the organization to the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway. Now, Friesen will look to build on the momentum those strong performances have created for Halmar Friesen Racing (HFR).

“I feel great,” Friesen continued. “I’ve done some sim over at [Toyota Racing Development] in Salisbury a few times, had another session yesterday morning that went really well, and I’m really looking forward to getting back into action and getting back to normal and getting rolling here to start the season.”

Don't expect Friesen to slow down much, if at all. The Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario-native says that he'll still be maintaining a heft Dirt Modified schedule in addition to his full-time duties in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Granted, the addition of a second full-time entry for Halmar Friesen Racing, the No. 62 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, will bring some additional duties for Friesen, including working with the drivers and sponsors to get the entry up and running. So, Friesen says that might impact his dirt schedule just a bit.

“First and foremost is the Truck [Series] schedule,” said Friesen. “Our Halmar Friesen Racing team has expanded with Toyota into a two full-time truck team. Running the No. 62 full-time is something that we’re excited about, and that’s going to take a little bit more of my time, working with the drivers and sponsors to get that deal going, and that might affect the dirt modified schedule a little bit. We’ve been pretty aggressive the last couple of years, and had 50-to-60 dirt racing on the schedule, in addition to the Truck Series, so we might scale a little bit back.”

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series campaign will begin at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, February 13. Coverage of the event will be on FS1, NASCAR Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 at 7:30 PM ET.