Leaders crash in 12-vehicle pileup at Michigan, Canadian steals win in triple OT

BROOKLYN, MI – It became anybody’s race after the leaders crashed on a restart with five laps to go.

Three overtimes later, Stewart Friesen was the surprise winner of the Michigan International Speedway NASCAR Truck Series race on Saturday, June 7.

Friesen was ninth on the first overtime, but advanced to fourth by the third overtime – which was prompted by multiple crashes. Friesen powered ahead of leader Grant Enfinger with two laps to go to take his first lead of the day and cruise to victory.

“It just got crazy there at the end. We were able to pick off a couple, pick off a couple and then we had a shot at it,” Friesen said.

Friesen’s last win was in 2022. The 41-year-old from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, slammed on his roof and climbed the fence in elation.

“Thank you to … all these bad-ass race fans,” Friesen said. “I know there’s a lot of Canadians, there’s a lot of Americans, everybody’s having a good time together and that’s what it’s all about, baby, yeah!”

Friesen’s hometown is about 300 miles east of MIS. The track is close enough to Canada that the Canadian National Anthem is performed before every race.

Friesen remembers visiting the track as a kid in 1994 – when Rusty Wallace celebrated in the same victory lane he celebrated in Saturday.

“One Friday night, my grandfather was like, ‘Alright, we’re getting in the motorhome and going to Michigan,’” Friesen said. “We camped way out on the back 40.”

An even more local driver nearly won, as Portage native Carson Hocevar was leading before a flat tire forced him to pit with eight laps to go. Hocevar drove back through the field into the top five, but was forced to the back again after a restart violation. He finished 11th.

Only one Michigan-born driver has won a Truck Series race at MIS – Johnny Benson in 2006.

Hocevar and Corey Heim dominated the first half of the race, before fuel strategy mixed up the field. Heim gave his teammate Gio Ruggiero a push on the restart with five laps to go that helped trigger a 12-truck crash.

The crash knocked out Cup Series regular Ross Chastain (No. 44), who would finish 26th.

Chastain and Hocevar will compete in the Sunday, June 8, FireKeepers Casino 400 at MIS. That race begins at 2 p.m. on Prime Video.

The 20 lead changes in Saturday’s race tie a Truck Series record for MIS. This was the first truck race at MIS since 2020.

Here are the top 10 finishers from Saturday’s race.

1. Stewart Friesen, No. 52 Toyota
2. Grant Enfinger, No. 9 Chevrolet
3. Luke Fenhaus, No. 66 Ford
4. Ben Rhodes, No. 99 Ford
5. Corey LaJoie, No. 07 Chevrolet
6. Matt Crafton, No. 88 Ford
7. Jake Garcia, No. 13 Ford
8. Chandler Smith, No. 38 Ford
9. Andres Perez De Lara, No. 77 Chevrolet
10. Layne Riggs, No. 34 Ford