ANOTHER RUNG HIGHER: Stewart Friesen Wins SummerFAST Opener at Weedsport, Ties Alan Johnson For Fifth on All-Time Wins List
In a battle between two of the best in Big Block Modified racing, Stewart Friesen came out on top in Sunday’s SummerFAST opener.
The Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON, driver outdueled 10-time Super DIRTcar Series champion Matt Sheppard and held on for the final 10 laps to win the Hall of Fame 100 at Weedsport Speedway.
Friesen also added another milestone to his storied career, tying Alan Johnson for fifth on the Series all-time wins list with his 57th Series triumph.
“What a great track here at Weedsport tonight,” Friesen said. “I can’t thank the track crew enough. The Hall of Fame 100 with Chris Larsen, our car owner going in the [Hall of Fame] this year, is really, really cool.
“Shoutout to the whole Halmar team. They were cool, calm, and collected all night long, and gave me a great 100-lap car tonight.”
Jack Lehner, the SRI Performance and Stock Car Steel Pole Award winner, led the opening two laps of the Feature before Alex Payne roared past him for the lead on Lap 3. The Hopewell, NY driver pulled away from the field early, using the outside lane to open a four-second lead over the rest of the field in the first 50 laps.
However, on a lap 54 restart, Payne’s chances to win the race dwindled. Lehner nosed ahead of Payne as they raced to the green flag. But as they entered Turn 1, they both fought for the bottom of the racetrack, forcing Payne to hit the brakes hard through the corner, sending him sliding into the outside wall. That incident would end Payne’s night with front-end damage.
When the race resumed, Lehner led the field over the next 10 laps, using the middle lane. But behind him, Sheppard was on the move from his 11th starting spot. After restarting fourth on Lap 55, the Savannah, NY driver dove to the bottom, passing Alex Yankowski for third, and Mat Williamson for second.
“Super Matt” wasn’t stopping there either. While Lehner tried keeping him at bay for three laps, Sheppard’s momentum was too much for the “Ginja Ninja,” as he took the lead away on Lap 63.
However, just as Sheppard seemed destined for his first Series win of the season, a caution on Lap 65 for Darren Smith added another contender for the checkered flag.
Friesen restarted sixth on Lap 68 and needed three laps to drive to second. Then, the battle was on as the NASCAR Trucks Series star used the outside line to cut the deficit between him and the No. 9S.
As Sheppard continued inching forward on the inside, Friesen was building momentum on the top but couldn’t gain enough speed on the exit of Turn 4 to get the lead. However, Friesen was better in Turn 2, being able to use the cushion to power off the corner and down the backstretch. That’s where he nosed ahead for the first time in the battle with Sheppard, holding the advantage as they completed Lap 79.
But Sheppard wasn’t going away yet. As Friesen continued to work the outside, Sheppard found momentum again and inched forward to wrestle the lead back. The two waged war again side-by-side until there were 11 laps to go when they caught the back of the field.
Tanner Van Doren and Logan Watt were fighting for position in front of Friesen and Sheppard, which ultimately played a role in the race’s outcome. When the two drivers approached the traffic, they impeded Sheppard’s lane on the bottom, allowing Friesen a clear path on the top.
The two drivers still stayed even until Lap 89, when Sheppard caught Watt’s back bumper. As they battled off Turn 2, Sheppard tried sliding in front of Friesen as they exited the corner, but couldn’t clear him, allowing the No. 44 to take a lead he wouldn’t relinquish.
From there, Friesen held on to earn the $10,000 prize and his fifth win of 2026.
“I was just way too tight at the beginning,” Friesen said. “It’s usually about tire management, but then I got a run on the top, and I was like, now that’s out the window. We had to take these Hoosiers for all they could take, and that one took a lot of abuse.
“I thought if we could get to the top five, it was going to be a good night for us. A lot of guys were better than us early. The restarts kind of played into our favor. There were some mix-ups on the restarts we were able to steer clear of and be there when it counted.”
Sheppard settled for second, earning his second consecutive Series podium finish. The two-time SummerFAST champion said he thought it would be enough to win if he cleared Friesen on Lap 89.
“I kind of cleared Stewie on the front stretch, and I thought if I could clear him off of (Turn) 2 on the outside and pin him behind the lap cars, that would’ve been the difference in the race,” Sheppard said. “He got just a good enough run that I couldn’t get to the top without wrecking him, so we had to kind of settle in there for second.
“We’ve been knocking on the door; we just have to get to Victory Lane.”
Defending SummerFAST champion Mat Williamson crossed the line third but was light on the scales after the race was over, relegating him to a 27th-place finish.
That moved up Lehner to the final spot on the podium.
Yankowski, the Series points leader, crossed the line fourth, and Anthony Perrego finished fifth.
With Williamson’s last-place finish, Sheppard moved into second in the Series points standings, 65 points behind Yankowski.
UP NEXT: The Super DIRTcar Series heads to Brewerton Speedway on Monday, Aug. 17 for night two of the fifth annual SummerFAST. Joining the Beasts of the Northeast will be the DIRTcar Pro Stock Series, and Mod Lites.
How can you watch the Super DIRTcar Series? Live on DIRTVision.
RACE NOTES:
JAM Performance Fastest Hot Lap Award: Jimmy Phelps
Billy Whittaker Cars and Trux Quick Time Award: Peter Britten
Bicknell Racing Products Heat Race 1 Winner: Jack Lehner
DIG Race Products Heat Race 2 Winner: Matt Sheppard
Wix Filters Heat Race 3 Winner: Alex Yankowski
The Greatest Store on Dirt Heat Race 4 Winner: Jimmy Phelps
SRI Performance/Stock Car Steel Pole Award Winner: Jack Lehner
Behrent’s Performance Warehouse One Lap to Go: Stewart Friesen
SummerFAST Hall of Fame 100: 1. 44-Stewart Friesen[10]; 2. 9S-Matt Sheppard[11]; 3. 2-Jack Lehner[1]; 4. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[6]; 5. 4-Anthony Perrego[13]; 6. 91-Felix Roy[8]; 7. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[7]; 8. 21A-Peter Britten[12]; 9. 25-Erick Rudolph[16]; 10. 35-Mike Mahaney[15]; 11. 28-Michael Trautschold[26]; 12. 3M-Chris Mackey[19]; 13. 7Z-Zachary Payne[23]; 14. 27-Tanner Van Doren[17]; 15. 15X-Justin Stone[25]; 16. 4M-Logan Watt[21]; 17. 6-Matt Stangle[3]; 18. 12-Darren Smith[4]; 19. 21C-Brian Calabrese[18]; 20. 70A-Alex Payne[2]; 21. 19-Tim Fuller[20]; 22. 11-Matt Caprara[27]; 23. 9-Tim McCreadie[14]; 24. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[9]; 25. 14B-Brendan Darrah[24]; 26. 15-Todd Root[22]; 27. 88-Mat Williamson[5]
