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OHSWEKEN, Ontario — If you traded slide jobs with Donny Schatz and Logan Schuchart to earn your first World of Outlaws win, you’d probably never forget it. Stewart Friesen hasn’t, and he’s ready to do it again.
Ten years after scoring his first World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win at Ohsweken Speedway, Friesen, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver and Big Block Modified star from Niagara-on-the-lake, Ontario, will be back in a sprint car for the series’ return to Ohsweken May 14-15.
He’ll pilot the No. 52 car for Glenn Styres, who owns Ohsweken. But when he won against the World of Outlaws in 2015, Friesen was driving for his wife, Jessica. She was pregnant with their son Parker at the time, so Friesen jumped behind the wheel for a few races. He still remembers their night at Ohsweken “like it was yesterday.”
“Definitely caught us by surprise a little bit,” he said about winning the race in only his fourth World of Outlaws start. “It was kind of a perfect storm for us. We had a smaller 410 motor that Jess ran a little bit at that time.
“We timed good. Made the invert. We were able to win the Heat Race. I think we beat Pittman in the heat race, which was really really cool. Got in the dash – I can remember it like it was yesterday, it was an awesome night for us. Got in the dash, [Jessica, who was his crew chief] let me make some calls on the setup, and it didn’t work. I think we ran sixth or eighth in the dash. And she goes, ‘OK, you got to try what you wanted to try, now we’re going back to my way.’ She turned some bolts for the feature and turned some stuff around, and it was a really balanced car. It got really slick, which played into our hands, and we were able to come away with one. It was really really neat.”
He started seventh in the feature and then found himself battling Schuchart and Schatz – who had three wins there already – for the win at the end. Coming to the checkered flag, Schatz was breathing down Friesen’s neck and almost pulled even with him in the final corner, but Friesen got a good enough drive off Turn 4 to score his first win.
“It was really really cool,” he said about the moment. “Such a great experience getting to race with those guys. It’s a fact and part of my resume that I’ll never forget. If we get a chance to do it again sometime, that would be awesome. You never know.”
He took some time away from sprint car racing after that year as his focus turned to his newborn son and NASCAR career. But recently, the fire has reignited.
Last year, he teamed with Styres, a lifelong friend, to run some sprint car races at Ohsweken and elsewhere. They won at Utica-Rome Speedway and finished fourth against the World of Outlaws at Weedsport Speedway. When the season ended, Styres told him to just let him know when and where he wanted to run the car in 2025. Another chance to win against the World of Outlaws at Ohsweken and to be a part of their return to Canada was one opportunity he wasn’t going to miss.
“It’s huge. It’s the biggest race of the year in the Southern Ontario region,” he said. “It’s big for the area, big for the race fans there. The whole sprint car division has grown so much at Ohsweken during my career. Glenn started the track from scratch and wanted to run sprint cars and run Friday nights, and their weekly 360 field is one of the toughest, if not in the United States, but in Canada, obviously. It’s a tough field and a lot of good runners. It’s cool to see how that division has grown over the last 10-15 years. Having the best in the business come back with the Outlaws, like I said, we’re excited. It’s something we’re excited for and everyone at Ohsweken is excited too.”
While he’ll be one of few drivers entering the race with recent laps at the track, Friesen still tempered his expectations.
“When it’s faster earlier in the night, it’s not something I’m really used to,” he said. “Time-trialing at Weedsport last year when the track still had some grip was an eye-opening experience. Once it slicks off and slows down, it plays into our wheelhouse. Ohsweken has kind of been both. I’ve been there a couple times with the sprint car in the last couple years and it has been hammer down fast. Glenn has the equipment to get the job done. He has a really good motor. I’m excited for all of it.”
