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Stewart Friesen Beats Rain, Takes 14th Career Short Track Super Series Victory at Outlaw Speedway Worth $5,425

Written by Chris Moore

DUNDEE, NY – With rain falling from the sky in Dundee, N.Y., the all-time winningest driver in Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By Sunoco Modified history celebrated on Wednesday night.

Recovering from a miserable outing in the season’s
most recent event at Big Diamond Speedway in Minersville, Pa., Stewart Friesen
won the ‘Outlaw Showdown’ at Outlaw Speedway for the second consecutive year. Friesen
prevailed in Race No. 4 of the Halmar International North Region nine-race
schedule.

The win for Friesen was his 14th in 71 Short
Track Super Series events and second of the season with the series, having won
at Georgetown (Del.) Speedway in March.

Precipitation moved over the facility on the 33rd
lap, curtailing the night’s scheduled 50-lap feature 17 laps shy of the finish.
Since the event was past halfway, scoring reverted to lap 33 and the results
were deemed official.

Friesen celebrated in Victory Lane as the showers grew
heavier.

At the pre-race drivers’ meeting, Sprakers, N.Y.’s Friesen
drew ‘72’ of a possible 75, relegating him to an eighth-place starting berth in
his heat race, which he won.

A redraw of the top heat-race qualifiers put Friesen’s
Halmar International No. 44 on the pole for the main event alongside Mike
Mahaney.

Friesen darted into the lead early while Billy
Decker shot from fourth to second. Decker was pressuring Friesen for the lead
when a flat left-rear tire caused his Jeremy Smith Racing No. 91 to spin in
turn one, collecting Mike Gular and Pat Ward on lap eight.

Following the melee, ninth-starter Sheppard sat fourth
in his Hurlock Auto & Speed No. 9s. He bolted into second, with eighth-starter
Mat Williamson climbing to third.

Williamson found the high line to his liking in the
Behrent’s Performance Warehouse No. 3 and began making moves. Williamson followed Friesen and pulled
up alongside Sheppard for second. The two would battle side-by-side, trading
paint on three separate occasions.

Sheppard
finally inched ahead and began reeling in Stewart Friesen as the two approached
lap traffic. However, under a caution for Kyle Coffey on lap 24, Sheppard
headed to the pit area with a soft right-rear tire.

Meanwhile,
Erick Rudolph emerged as a contender. After starting 13th, Rudolph’s
big-block-powered car ducked beneath Williamson for second on lap 30.

A
light sprinkle, however, intensified on lap 33 causing the cars to be sent to
the pits. The rain ultimately ended the event.

Friesen
picked up a victory worth $5,425: $5,000 from the posted payout, $200 as the
Superior Remodeling Halfway Leader, $125 as the MJK Home Maintenance Heat-Race
Hard Charger and $100 from Rob Sherlock Roofing as a heat winner.

Rudolph,
of Ransomville, N.Y., made his return to STSS competition a successful one, earning
a $3,000 runner-up finish.

St.
Catharine’s, Ont.’s Mat Williamson recorded his third straight podium finish on
the STSS Halmar International North Region in third, followed by Triangle, N.Y.’s
Jeremy Smith and Danny Johnson of Phelps, N.Y., who started 27th via
a track provisional and finished fifth.

Placing
sixth through 10th, respectively, were Andy Bachetti of Sheffield,
Mass., up from 20th on the grid; Alan Johnson of Middlesex, N.Y.,
who started 11th; Billy Van Pelt of Westfield, Pa., recovering from
a flat tire on lap 12; Decker of Sidney, N.Y., rebounding from his lap-eight
melee; and Johnstown, N.Y.’s Craig Hanson, who started 26th.

A
field of 40 STSS Modifieds signed in for competition.

Rob
Sherlock Roofing $100 heat winners were Justin Wright, Decker, Williamson,
Friesen and Smith.

Consolation
victors were J.R. Hurlburt and Colton Wilson.

All
remaining Outlaw Speedway divisions fell to rain. Speedway management will announce
make-up dates in the coming days.

OUTLAW
OUTLETS: With numerous
showers in the area, Outlaw Speedway went on with Wednesday night’s program.
Despite the threatening weather, a healthy, but late-arriving crowd filed into
the speedway’s historic grandstand….

Series
traveler Anthony Perrego was an early retiree in the event with a broken radius
rod mount on the Superior Remodeling No. 44….

Ryan
Jordan made his debut in a brand-new No. R21 Modified but was the first car out
of the feature with a stuck throttle….

Fourteen
drivers have attended every STSS Halmar International North Region event as the
season reaches the halfway mark….

Next
up for the Short Track Super Series is the Fuccillo Automotive Group ‘Firecracker
50’ presented by Teo-Pro Car at Fonda (N.Y.) Speedway, Race No. 5 of the Halmar
International North Region paying $10,000-plus to win for 50 laps. The STSS
Crate 602 Sportsman North Region race 25 laps for a massive $2,000 to win.  

To learn more about the 2019
Short Track Super Series Fueled By Sunoco, visit   e-mail www.shorttracksuperseries.com, by e-mail at bdmotorsportsmedia@gmail.com, check out ‘Short Track Super Series’ on
Facebook or @ShortTrackSS on Twitter or Instagram.

The Short Track Super Series is
presented by American Racer/Lias Tire, Sunoco Race Fuel, Insinger Performance,
Bob Hilbert Sportswear, Halmar International, Velocita-USA, Design for
Vision/Sunglass Central, Rob Sherlock Roofing, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, Behrent’s
Performance Warehouse, Beyea Custom Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, Dirt
Track Digest, EIBACH Springs, Escape RV, Fast Axle, Fox Racing Shocks, Henry’s
Exhaust, Hig Fab, HyperCo, Kirkey Racing Fabrication, Land Hoe Maintenance,
K&N, MJK Home Maintenance, Precision Hydraulic & Oil, QA1, Racing
Optics, Superior Remodeling, Teo-Pro Car, VAHLCO, Velocita, WELD Racing &
Wilwood.

‘OUTLAW
SHOWDOWN’ RACE SUMMARY – OUTLAW SPEEDWAY JUNE 19, 2019

Bob
Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled By Sunoco Halmar
International North Region Event No. 4 Feature Finish (50 laps): STEWART FRIESEN, Erick Rudolph, Mat
Williamson, Jeremy Smith, Danny Johnson, Andy Bachetti, Alan Johnson, Billy Van
Pelt, Billy Decker, Craig Hanson, Mike Gular, Danny Creeden, Steve Paine,
Justin Wright, Jim LaRock II, Matt Sheppard, Allison Ricci, Mike Mahaney, Pat
Ward, Dillon Groover, Anthony Perrego, Kyle Coffey, Mike Bowman, J.R. Hurlburt,
Colton Wilson, Tyler Siri, Brady Fultz, Ryan Jordan.

Did Not Qualify: Ray Bliss, Greg Birosh, Nick Nye, Timmy Hartman Jr, Derrick Podsiadlo, Daniel Johnson, Brett Tonkin, Eric Williams, Billy Paine, Cory Costa, Donnie Lawson, Tommy Collins.American Racer/Lias Tire Bonuses (FREE Tire): Billy Van Pelt (eighth) & Justin Wright (14th)ATL Fuel Cells Bonus ($200 Certificate): Danny Johnson (fifth)Behrent’s Performance Warehouse Bonuses ($50 Gift Card): Jeremy Smith (fourth) & Billy Decker (ninth)EIBACH Springs Bonus ($100 Certificate): Andy Bachetti (sixth)Henry’s Exhaust System Power Position ($50 Certificate): Mike Gular (11th)MJK Home Maintenance Heat-Race Hard Charger ($125): Stewart Friesen (eighth to first)Racing Optics Bonus (Sleeve of Tear-Offs): Mat Williamson (third)Rob Sherlock Roofing Heat Winners ($100 each): Justin Wright, Billy Decker, Mat Williamson, Stewart Friesen & Jeremy SmithSunoco Race Fuels/Insinger Performance Bonuses ($50 Certificates): Erick Rudolph (second), Danny Creeden (12th) & Kyle Coffey (22nd)Superior Remodeling Halfway Leader Award ($200): Stewart FriesenWELD Wheels Hard Luck Award (FREE 5XL Wheel): Ryan JordanWilwood ‘Lucky 7’ Bonus ($50 Certificate): Alan Johnson (seventh) ffffffff

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