Stewart Friesen is focused on logging laps and finding a comfort zone in his ARCA Menards Series debut Friday at Lime Rock

Throughout his long career, Stewart Friesen has driven numerous types of cars in dirt modifieds, big block modifieds, sprint cars and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He even has a NASCAR Cup Series start on his impressive resumé.

On Friday at Lime Rock Park (4 p.m. ET on FS2), Friesen will tackle a new discipline: the ARCA Menards Series. Through a collaborative effort with his own team Halmar Friesen Racing, Friesen is set to drive the No. 17 Halmar/Mohawk Toyota operated by Bruce Cook.

The decision to finally make his ARCA Menards Series debut at a road course like Lime Rock was an easy one for Friesen. Any kind of experience he can acquire in the Lime Rock Park ARCA 100 can only be beneficial toward finishing strong in the Truck Series and building the momentum he needs to make a push for the Chase.

“I want to try and brush up on my road-course skills a little bit,” Friesen said. “This is a good opportunity with the way the schedule lays out to get some laps in Friday before we get started with the Truck [Series] stuff Saturday. A lot of players came together to put this together, so I appreciate all of them, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

For all the success he has enjoyed in dirt racing and the Truck Series over the years, Friesen described his record on road courses as “hit or miss.”

In 16 combined Truck Series starts between road courses and street circuits, Friesen has two top fives, both of which were fourth-place finishes at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The other ventures have seen Friesen either encounter misfortune or not have the pace to run with the leaders.

Friesen knows the mixed results on road courses is not due to a lack of trying. He enjoys the challenge each road course on the Truck Series schedule brings but admits he is still trying to find a solid medium between his driving style and the precision needed to be successful at those tracks.

That’s a big reason why Friday’s ARCA Menards Series race at Lime Rock is so important; he wants to log laps and refine his road-course craft.

“[It’s comes down] to carrying corner speed,” Friesen said. “[Road courses] are very technical, obviously, and I’m kind of a searcher. I move around and really don’t do the same thing twice a lot. Trying to build that muscle memory and retention is what makes this ARCA race so intriguing. Hopefully I can keep honing my skills and get a little better at it.”

Friesen is not going into his ARCA Menards Series debut completely blind, as he ran the Truck Series event at Lime Rock last year. Although the afternoon was far from perfect, Friesen felt he should have come home with a better finish, as a flat tire with two laps remaining relegated him to 20^th, the last truck on the lead lap.

Friesen believes Lime Rock is a smaller version of Watkins Glen International. The complex offers high speeds and minimal braking zones, which puts more emphasis on staying consistent through each unique corner to either gain or maintain track position.

“[Lime Rock] is an elbows up, short track of a road course,” Friesen said. “It’s narrow and technical, but also has a lot of speed to it, as well. It’s a lot of fun, but passing is challenging and at a premium. There are no real shutdowns or hairpins, and the turn one through four section is very technical and slow, so you have to hit that perfect; it makes or breaks your lap.

“That uphill between [turns] five, six and seven is pretty wild. You go uphill, hit the jump and then you drop down between six and seven again, so it’s a lot of fun around the track.”

The car Friesen will drive Friday could not be more adept for the task at hand. Kaden Honeycutt drove Cook’s No. 17 Toyota to a dominant victory at Watkins Glen in May, leading 29 of the 41 laps after starting 15th.

Honeycutt’s triumph was not the first time that chassis had visited Watkins Glen’s Victory Lane, as Max McLaughlin won ARCA Menards Series East event with it in 2019 under Shigeaki Hattori’s banner. Hattori enjoyed another ARCA Menards Series platform victory with the car at Mid-Ohio in 2023, that time with Tyler Ankrum.

Mohawk Northeast president Allan Hainke purchased the chassis, which led to it sitting in Friesen’s shop for a year with no specific purpose until Honeycutt worked out a deal with Hainke to use the car at Watkins Glen in a partnership with Cook’s team.

Now it’s Friesen’s turn to pilot the chassis in ARCA Menards Series competition with a simple goal in mind: Continue its efficient legacy.

Friesen hopes to put together a performance like Honeycutt’s at Watkins Glen, but winning is only one part of his mission Friday. The ARCA Menards Series cars closely resemble the Truck Series chassis in many regards, so the Lime Rock Park ARCA 100 will serve as a test session for Friesen, giving hime a head start on the LiUNA 150.

“The ARCA cars have the same Ilmor motor,” Friesen said. “They’re restricted a little bit more; I think they’re [at] about 50 horsepower less, but the shift points are pretty similar. [This is about] learning the track and building that muscle memory. Getting the reps I think will help me once we get into the truck Saturday.”

Friesen understands how fortunate he is simply to have a chance at making his ARCA Menards Series debut. He suffered a fractured pelvis and leg almost a year ago in a dirt modified crash at Autodrome Drummond in Quebec, Canada, which kept him out of the Truck Series for the final nine races.

A setback like that was never going to keep Friesen down; he was going to do whatever necessary to return to the driver’s seat. Not only has Friesen settled back into his blue No. 52 Toyota Tundra in the Truck Series, but he has found Victory Lane on dirt tracks four times already this year.

The faith Friesen’s family, friends and team have in him have been a key motivator through every step of his comeback. Friesen would love to reward that support with a clean sweep of the weekend at Lime Rock Park.

“[A win] would be special,” Friesen said. “The goal is to try to win and run up front. It would be a big shot in the arm for all my supporters, Chris Larsen, Al Hainke, Bruce Cook and all his guys. I think it would [mean] more to get that win for all the people that have supported me and put this deal together than for me personally.”

Friesen has won on nearly every type of track, dirt and paved, across a career that spans more than two decades. There are plenty of challenges standing in the way of Friesen’s first road-course victory, but he has the experience, resolve and resources behind him to pull it off Friday at Lime Rock.