There isn’t much left to accomplish on Stewart Friesen’s Big Block Modified resume. But he added a first Saturday night at New Egypt Speedway.
After passing two-time defending Super DIRTcar Series champion Mat Williamson on Lap 24, he dominated the final 52 laps to win the second annual Power in the Pines, earning his first Series win at the 7/16-mile oval.
“It’s awesome,” Friesen said. “Fred Vahlsing with Valco Wheels, who owns the track is a supporter of us and it’s cool. It feels good to get another win in Jersey.
“We have a pretty thick notebook here. There’s stuff that works track to track to track, and you just have to make some small changes from there. We had a really good time trial, and it kind of set the tone for the night.”
Friesen lined up beside Williamson, the SRI Performance and Stock Car Steel Pole Award winner, as the field took the green in the 75-lap Feature. Williamson gained the early advantage, pulling away from Friesen and Tanner Van Doren, who snuck by the No. 44 as they completed Lap 1.
The St. Catharines, ON driver led the first nine laps before the race’s first caution for Daniel Johnson, who stopped in Turns 3 and 4.
When the race resumed, Friesen snuck underneath Van Doren for second and set his sights on Williamson. The NASCAR Trucks Series star closed in on the Buzz Chew Chevrolet No. 88 and made his move once “Money Mat” clicked off Lap 23.
Williamson picked the middle lane as they drove into Turns 1 and 2, allowing Friesen room on the bottom. That’s when Friesen thundered down the backstretch, gaining momentum through the track’s dog leg, and passed Williamson as they entered Turns 3 and 4.
Despite several cautions in the race’s second half, Friesen went unchallenged to score the $7,500 victory, his 48th career Series win.
With two track prep sessions throughout the night, Friesen said it became a guessing game of which tires were the best to use.
“I think he was on a softer tire, and we went a little harder,” Friesen said. “We tried some stuff in the Heat Race, and it paid off. Then they did all the track prep, and we had an idea, but we weren’t sure which way it was going to go. It was a big guess. He guessed one way, and we guessed the other.
“We really didn’t touch it after the Heat Race at all. We waited for the track to come back to us, and it did. We were fortunate.”
DIRTcar Nationals Big Gator champion Alex Yankowski crossed the line second, his third podium finish of the season.
The Covington Township, PA driver fell back to 13th early in the race before driving back through the field and passing Logan Watt for the runner-up position with eight laps go.
“I was just kind of riding,” Yankowski said. “I drew eighth, and not only was it the worst pill, it was bad starting on the outside there on the original start. We just got some bad bounces, settled in, and started driving back up.
“We went to Georgetown last night and got second and came here and got second. It’s those, oh, we were so close kind of deals. I feel like we’re running good, and I’m really proud of that.”
Logan Watt, who made his Super DIRTcar Series debut on Saturday, rounded out the podium. The 16-year-old driver ran consistently in the top five the entire race, narrowly missing out on a runner-up finish.
“I was just trying to stay smooth and save the tire,” Watt said. “The track was slick in the beginning of the night, and I figured it would take rubber toward the end. I just tried to stay smooth and consistent and hit my mark every lap.
“It sucked on that late-race restart. I just slid up, and Alex got by me for second. It was just experience that got me. I have to get more experience, and the more experience I get, the better I’ll be. I’m really happy for our team.”
Williamson fell back to fourth, and Louden Reimert, the race’s hard charger, finished fifth after starting 18th.
UP NEXT: The Super DIRTcar Series returns to action on Saturday, April 12, for Thunder in the Thousand Islands at Can-Am Speedway, along with the DIRTcar Sportsman North Region. The DIRTcar 358 Modified Series will also be in action at the LaFargeville, NY, oval on Friday, April 11, making it a two-day weekend of racing.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the Super DIRTcar Series action on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
Power In the Pines (75 Laps): 1. 44-Stewart Friesen[2]; 2. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[8]; 3. 4M-Logan Watt[4]; 4. 88-Mat Williamson[1]; 5. 58-Louden Reimert[18]; 6. 4-Anthony Perrego[10]; 7. 25-Erick Rudolph[13]; 8. 26-Ryan Godown[16]; 9. 91-Felix Roy[5]; 10. 70A-Alex Payne[12]; 11. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[9]; 12. 12-Darren Smith[11]; 13. 9S-Matt Sheppard[25]; 14. 35-Mike Mahaney[6]; 15. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[22]; 16. 27-Tanner Van Doren[3]; 17. 21A-Peter Britten[24]; 18. 15X-Justin Stone[20]; 19. 28-Michael Trautschold[15]; 20. 2-Jack Lehner[14]; 21. 99L-Larry Wight[26]; 22. (DNF) 26R-Corey Cormier[23]; 23. (DNF) 16X-Danny Creeden[21]; 24. (DNF) 20-David Schilling[7]; 25. (DNF) 304-Ricky Wegner Jr[19]; 26. (DNF) 14-CG Morey[28]; 27. (DNF) 27JR-Daniel Johnson[27]; 28. (DNF) 29-Garrett Krummert[17]
Post-Race Tech: A durometer was used on each of the top three finisher’s tires. Their frames and nerf bars were also checked for proper thickness. All three passed.
Contingency Awards:
JAM Performance Fastest Hot Lap Award: Danny Creeden ($100)
Billy Whittaker Cars Quick Time Award: Mat Williamson ($100)
VP Racing Fuels Award: Ryan Godown ($50)
ARP Bolts Award: Anthony Perrego ($50)
ASI Racewear Award: Tim Sears Jr. ($50)
Behrent’s Performance Warehouse Award: Stewart Friesen ($50)
Cometic Gasket Award: Darren Smith ($50)
Comp Cams Award: Felix Roy ($50)
DIG Racing Products: Felix Roy ($50)
Fox Factory Award: Logan Watt ($50)
MSD Award: Anthony Perrego ($50)
Swift Springs Award: Anthony Perrego ($50)
Weld Racing Wheels Award: Anthony Perrego ($50)
SRI Performance/Stock Car Steel Pole Award: Mat Williamson ($100)
Hoosier Tire Award: Alex Yankowski (Free Tire)
