Monday At Weedsport Was A Classic Between Stewart Friesen & Max McLaughlin

Column By: DYLAN FRIEBEL / RPW – WEEDSPORT, NY – When you think of someone leading from the drop of the green flag to the checkered, it doesn’t seem thrilling. However, Monday night at Weedsport, that was the contrary.

The 100-lap Super DIRTcar Series event went green with the driver from Sussex, NJ, Brett Hearn and Sprakers, NY’s Stewart Friesen on the front row. Friesen jumped out to the lead as the field entered the first corner. By lap 10, he had caught the back of the field and looked to deal with heavy lap traffic which he sliced and diced his way through until lap 26. That was when the caution flew for a cut tire on the Buzz Chew No. 88 of Mike Mahaney.

The ensuing restart saw Billy Dunn nipping at Friesen’s heels, but he retained the lead before another quick caution which bunched the field back up.

The final restart of the race was on lap 33 and HBR teammates Jimmy Phelps and Max McLaughlin started exchanging jabs for the third position. After quite a few laps, McLaughin and then was able to get under Billy Dunn on lap 44, setting his sights on the leader.

Less than 20 laps later, the youngster from Mooresville, NC was right on the back bumper of the five-time Super DIRT Week Champion, looking to kick the door down and take the lead. The two battled for the next 15 circuits in heavy lap traffic with Friesen holding a slight advantage, being able to maneuver his No. 44 better amongst the slower automobiles. However, battling with McLaughlin left Phelps catch right up and by lap 74 you could throw a blanket over the top 3.

In the end, though, the driver of the Halmar International DKM Chassis machine was able to hold on to take the win, and the $7,500 payday.

“It’s so hard to lead from the drop of the green flag and win,” Friesen said. “It’s such a long race with the car and the track changing so much. When you’re out front, you don’t want cautions and we had two in fairly quick succession. I had Billy [Dunn] on my inside and we could just get going.”

In regards to running in lap traffic for over half the event, Friesen seemed to okay with it.

“Running in lap traffic kind of let me put my mind off for a little bit and just get laps in while racing those guys,” he said. “I saw Max’s nose a couple times on the bottom and what I was doing on the top earlier in the race in turns 3 and 4 was kinda giving up and I had to adjust. I don’t know if we were the fastest car on the track at the end, but we had the preferred lane and that was it.”

As always it’s not just the driver behind the wheel.

“Our Halmar teamed worked hard all night and all year with these cars and the guys at DKM give us awesome support from the factory,” he said. “Weedsport is one of the most challenging places on the tour and it’s not my favorite track, but we come in with the mindset of putting our head down and getting the work done to succeed. I can’t thank Chris Larsen of Halmar enough and Chevrolet. It’s awesome to have them on board for the NASCAR truck and now on the Big Blocks. It’s pretty cool to fly their colors. Thank you to all my sponsors as well.”

For second place finisher Max McLaughlin, he’s struggled at Weedsport in the past, but not on this night.

“I just can’t figure this place out,” Max said early in the night. “I’ve run so many laps here but just can get a hold of it. Weedsport is so different because it’s just one of those tracks you learn at but I don’t know if you can apply it to the other places on the tour because of how different it is.”

However, the young driver was able to change that feeling, as now he’s hungrier than ever for that first Series win.

“We had a great car tonight,” he said. “This is the been the best this car has been by far. We’ve been struggling with new cars, playing a lot and experimenting. Tonight, we found something for sure. We were so close, but another second place. I was all over Friesen. I got a little to loose at the end and he got it done but we are going to get on here soon.”

His teammate Jimmy Phelps was happy with his night, finishing third.

“Our car didn’t fire the greatest, but through the middle portion it seemed to just go.” he said. “Once we started moving all over the track, we starting getting a little better. With about 20 to go, I got into a lap car and bent the front end up. It would have been nice to get up and play with Stew and Max. Both of them were really good. Another podium finish, I’m happy and we’ll just keep rolling.”

In the companion Sportsman Feature, Kevin Root lead the field to green and had a commanding lead when the caution flew around midway of the 25-lap feature event.

That put Dave Marcuccilli on his outside and from then on it was a game of cat and mouse as the Dave stalked the leader. On lap 21, the M1 of Marcuccilli took the lead and never looked back to win the Spano Container Sportsman Shootout Series event.

“We were okay tonight,” Marcuccilli said. “Finishing second in our heat isn’t always a bad thing. It makes our team work on the car and get it better. We put three different shocks on along with wedge and other things and it worked. I was able to roll through the black and get up in the bite and not get too tight. Kevin (Root) was tight on the top and had to switch lanes back to bottom but we raced good and clean. I can’t thank Page Trucking along with all my sponsors, my family and everyone who works on the car. It takes a lot to do this.”