Christopher Bell will substitute for Stewart Friesen in Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Watkins Glen International, Halmar Friesen Racing announced Saturday.
Friesen, driver of the team’s No. 52 Toyota, was seriously injured during a Super DIRTcar Series modified race Monday at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, sustaining a fractured right leg in addition to an open-book pelvis fracture. The 42-year-old underwent successful surgery in a New York hospital Thursday night to address both injuries, his wife Jessica shared in a social media post, as Friesen recovers from the incident.
MORE: Friesen injured in crash | Truck standings
“I want to thank everyone for their outreach and support as I continue to recover,” Friesen said in a team press release. “I know Christopher will give our truck a great run. We will be watching and cheering the team on this Friday.”
Friesen is tentatively locked into the 2025 Truck Series Playoffs thanks to his June win at Michigan International Speedway. The team intends to compete each week moving forward so that it will remain eligible for the Truck Series owners’ championship this season, HFR said in the release. Driver announcements for future races will come at a later time, the team said.
Bell, the 2017 Truck Series champion, is a seven-time winner in truck competition but has made just four combined starts since his title campaign. His most recent appearance in the Truck Series came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2024, when he drove the No. 1 Tricon Garage Toyota to a fifth-place finish.
“I was honored to receive the call to run this truck for Stewart, a fellow dirt racer and Toyota teammate, in Watkins Glen,” Bell said in a statement. “I’ve spent time with the team these past few days and we are working hard to continue the great season Stewart has had and deliver a great finish for him and his partners.”
The Truck Series returns to action at 5 p.m. ET on Friday at Watkins Glen with live coverage on FS1, NRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.