RPW Column: Stewart Friesen Flies To Victory At Land Of Legends; Late Charge From Fuller Not Enough For Super DIRTcar Series Win

Column By: MARTY CZEKALA / RPW – CANANDAIGUA, NY – The second Super DIRTcar Series race at Land Of Legends Raceway pitted Mike Mahaney and Stewart Friesen against each other on the front row for another 60 lap clash.

The two drivers’ battle in the Bristol Throwdown would convert into a trilogy at the Land of Legends.

Friesen would lead lap one, but the start would get called back for a significant crash as Larry Wight spun off turn four. Stuck in the middle of the road, drivers were trying to dodge the stopped 99L, but Daniel Johnson couldn’t, sending both of them flipping. In a collateral stack effect, Jordan McCreadie would rear-end Justin Wright and sending Wright on top of the right side up Wight. All drivers walked away uninjured.

On the restart, Mahaney would select the top and hold over Friesen. Just like in the first race, it was a mess for third as Ronnie Davis would play a lot of great defense over “Super Matt.” Lap 11, Friesen would stalk Mahaney for the lead. Mahaney slipped up to a higher groove two laps later, giving Friesen the bottom in three and four to lead lap 13. Mahaney tried to fight back with the bite on the outside, but Friesen would clear on lap 14. By lap 25, the bottom would open for Sheppard and take the third position away. Sheppard would start to reel in Mahaney for runner-up while the drivers were in lapped traffic. Dave Marcuccilli would stop in the pit entry just past the halfway point to bring a yellow out, erasing Friesen’s lead.

Friesen had a good restart, but Mahaney would fight back big time as he sent it in on the outside of three and four to challenge but failed to pass, and Friesen would pull away. This would open up the door for Sheppard to try and take runner-up. For the runner-up, a four-car jam session would break out between Mahaney, Sheppard, Erick Rudolph, and Tim Fuller. Fuller grabbed a run top shelf to pass Rudolph and Sheppard for third and immediately challenged Mahaney for the second spot. Side-by-side for two laps, Fuller would clear Mahaney with 18 to go. But Friesen had checked out of that battle and had no idea what he was missing. It was well worth it, and Friesen took home his fifth SDS win of 2021 to extend his points lead even more.

Friesen didn’t make a lot of adjustments between races.

“It was tough,” Friesen said. “Being the leader and as slick as the track was, they did a little prep on the top. I just tried to keep hitting my marks and keep the tires underneath me,”

The win for Friesen was his first at LOL since 2005.

“This has been a tough track for me,” Friesen said. “We haven’t had a good package for here. Not sure why. Made a bunch of adjustments, and after Hot Laps, it was good,”

The question remains, will Friesen consider a run for the championship?

“I don’t know. This team’s really rolling, whether it be Super DIRT Series or Short Track Super Series. We’ll keep hitting all the big ones we can and keep it rolling,” Friesen replied.

It is a big week for Friesen, as he makes his first NASCAR start in New York this weekend with the Truck Series returning to Watkins Glen for the first time in over 20 years. On it being circled on the calendar, Friesen said, “Absolutely,”

The Super DIRTCar Series returns on August 12th for the Centennial 102 at the historic Orange County Fair Speedway. This week, Land of Legends has a Saturday Spectacular, including the Empire Super Sprints and Patriot Sprint Tour, double-action of 360 Sprint Car competition.

For more quotes from Friesen, check out the RSN Trackside Facebook page.

Twin 60 Race 2 (60 Laps)
44 Stewart Friesen, 2. 19 Tim Fuller (4.903s), 3. 35 Mike Mahaney (6.878s), 4. 25 Erick Rudolph (9.384s), 5. 9s Matt Sheppard (11.945s), 6. 3h Justin Haers (12.865s), 7. 88 Mat Williamson (15.241s), 8. 14j Alan Johnson (16.051s), 9. 91 Billy Decker (17.004s), 10. 2L Jack Lehner (17.722s), 11. 21a Peter Britten (18.463s), 12. 98H Jimmy Phelps (19.126s), 13. 42p Pat Ward (19.732s), 14. 111 Demetrios Drellos (-1L), 15. 32R Ronnie Davis (-1L), 16. 5H Chris Hile (-1L), 17. 32c Max McLaughlin (-1L), 18. 83x Tim Sears Jr. (-1L), 19. 34 Kevin Root (-1L), 20. 23c Kyle Coffey (-25L), 21. M1 Dave Marcuccilli (-28L), 22. 121T Gary Tomkins (-50L), 23. 27JR Daniel Johnson (-60L), 24. 99L Larry Wight (-60L), 25. 19W Justin Wright (-60L), 26. 28M Jordan McCreadie (-60L)
Heat Winners: 19 Fuller, 88 Williamson, 21a Britten, 44 Friesen
Fastest Lap: 35 Mike Mahaney (20.085s)