The 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series‘ dirt races at Bristol Motor Speedway and Knoxville Raceway will once again have a married couple in the field. On Monday, Halmar Friesen Racing announced Jessica Friesen will return to the #62 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for the two events, joining her husband and full-timer Stewart Friesen who is in the #52.
Married since 2014, the Friesens frequently race against each other on dirt whenever Stewart is not in NASCAR and the two are not overseeing their t-shirt business. While Stewart is primarily a dirt modified racer, Jessica mainly competes in sprint cars and has experience in World of Outlaws and the All Star Circuit of Champions.
Jessica attempted to make her Truck début at the inaugural Bristol Dirt Race in 2021, but never had a chance to qualify as the heat races to set the starting grid were rained out. She finally got her shot at Knoxville, where she finished twenty-sixth. Consequently, Knoxville became the first NASCAR national series race to feature a husband and wife in the same race since former Truck Series competition director Elton Swyer and Patty Moise competed together in the Xfinity Series in the 1990s.
“I’m pumped to get another shot with the truck on the dirt,” said Friesen. “I am beyond grateful to Halmar International and Chris Larsen for believing in Stewart and I, in this team, and in our family. I’ve watched Chris (Larsen, HFR co-owner), Stewart, and Trip (Bruce, crew chief) work very hard the past few years to build Halmar Friesen Racing into a top NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. We have an amazing group at HFR, and the performance in 2022 is showing it. To get the opportunity to compete at this level is a racer’s dream, and I get to do it again with my husband as my team-mate and with our son by our sides.”
The #62 was introduced in 2021 for Jessica’s dirt starts, but is seeing further use for 2022 as two-time Truck Series champion Todd Bodine is driving it for six races in his quest to reach 800 career national series starts. Bodine finished twenty-first at Las Vegas in his first and only start for the team so far, with his next run scheduled for Darlington on 6 May.
The Bristol Dirt Race will take place on 16 April while Knoxville is on 18 June.