Stewart Friesen came into the 2025 season riding a wave of momentum, with his first win of the year coming at Michigan International Speedway on June 7, when he edged out Grant Enfinger in a dramatic triple-overtime finish, ending a 72-race winless streak. He had been a consistent presence in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, with six top-10 finishes across 16 starts by early August, keeping hopes high for both him and his Halmar Friesen Racing team. But everything shifted on July 28.

During a Super DIRTcar Series race at Autodrome Drummond in Quebec, Canada, when Friesen’s No. 44 car jumped the cushion at the end of the backstretch, hit the retaining wall, and flipped multiple times, barrel-rolled over the barrier, and caught fire. He suffered an unstable open-book pelvic fracture, a fractured right leg, and a large hematoma, injuries that required multistage surgery and prompted his release from the hospital after successful operations. But as his future remains blurry, he’s eyeing a Daytona comeback, despite his wife’s reluctance.

Stewart Friesen’s determined push toward a Daytona comeback

In a candid interview, Friesen has been brutally honest about where he stands and what he hopes for in racing. When asked whether the goal is to be back by Daytona next year, he didn’t skip a beat, saying, “That’s the goal we set right away. If I can get a little bit more mobility and range of motion back in this right foot, I’d like to be back in at least a dirt car, maybe for World Finals. But I think that’s super wishful thinking. If my wife was here, she’d be punching me, but I can say that without her being here. So that’s the goal. Just we’re going to work as hard as we can,” he said.

The injuries were severe, sidelining him immediately from both dirt and NASCAR Truck competition. Even amid the uncertainty, he has leaned heavily on his support system, crediting his family and team for keeping him motivated. “Just we’re going to work as hard as we can. And just so fortunate to have such a great group of people around me. My wife, Chris Larsen from Halmar, Al Heinke from Mohawk. My guys on this HFR team. It’s been something we couldn’t do by ourselves. My wife’s been awesome. Jess has been a superhero through all this,” he explained.

His wife, Jessica, a fellow racer, has been spotted managing responsibilities at Halmar-Friesen Racing while he continues his rehabilitation. As questions about timing mounted, Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports pressed whether the World Finals in Charlotte could be realistic.

Friesen responded candidly, “Yeah, so it’s been seven or eight [weeks], I guess, since the accident. So I’m thinking, well, as good as I feel right now, maybe for World Finals. But we’re going to prepare like we’re going anyways, just to give you something to do in the shop. But, I’m not sure.” The Super DIRTcar World Finals, set for early November, would indeed fall about 10 weeks after his crash, making a comeback tight but not impossible.

But when asked if he has considered hanging up his helmet for good, the veteran didn’t avoid the tough reality. “That’s something that’s crossed my mind. But, I don’t know yet. We’ll see how I feel in a month or two months or whatever. Try not to think about that too much,” he said.

For a driver with more than 91 career Truck Series top-10s and countless dirt wins, the thought of retirement may be unsettling, but it reflects just how severe the injuries were. Experts have pointed out that recovery from pelvic fractures in athletes can take six months to a year, and drivers like Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch have both previously faced career-defining injuries before returning to racing.

Every day of therapy, every bit of mobility regained, and every moment spent in the shop with his team keep his hope alive. What lies ahead, whether a World Finals return, Daytona 2026, or a longer recovery timeline, remains uncertain.

Stewart Friesen opens up about his post-surgery struggles

Weeks after his tragic crash, Stewart Friesen was at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, lifting fans’ spirits with a reassuring update: “I’m doing okay! It’s better to be back in my garage amongst friends and peers.” Friesen, however, didn’t sugarcoat the aftermath of the surgery.

Sharing the raw details, he revealed, “I got a lot of numbness on my foot and some weird shooting nerve, which we’re not really sure what exactly was the cause of that right now. The surgeon did an awesome job…putting my leg and pelvis back together. But this is just something we’re dealing with, which is minor. So it could have been obviously a lot worse.” His words reflected both his gratitude and the grueling realities of recovery.

Even in a wheelchair, Friesen’s grit remained unshaken as he joked about pride and mobility struggles. “I definitely need a wheelchair. But there’s no way in heck that I’m letting all these people in this garage see me wheel through this garage here. Still don’t have much feeling in my right foot and not that much mobility. Um…I just got cleared two days ago to be weight-bearing on it. If I tried, I’d probably fall right up to my a–,” he said.

Despite the uncertainty, he admitted, “Not really having a timeline on when I’m going to feel better is kind of frustrating. But we are trying as hard as we can to get there.” It’s the mix of stubborn determination and raw honesty that makes Friesen’s road to recovery one that fans will follow closely.