Bell To Sub For Friesen In No. 52 Truck At Watkins Glen

Christopher Bell will fill in for Stewart Friesen at Watkins Glen Int'l next week. (Rusty Jones/NKP for Toyota Racing photo)

STATESVILLE, N.C. – Christopher Bell has been tabbed as the substitute driver of Halmar Friesen Racing’s No. 52 entry for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series stop at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l on Friday, Aug. 8.

Bell won the Truck Series title in 2017 with Kyle Busch Motorsports, and takes the reins of the No. 52 from team co-owner and regular driver Stewart Friesen, who was injured while competing in a Super DIRTcar Series big-block modified event at Canada’s Autodrome Drummond Monday night.

Friesen sustained an open-book pelvic fracture and broken right leg in the vicious incident, which led to a multi-hour surgery Thursday night to address the injuries, according to a Friday update from his wife Jessica.

The family “feels like we are moving forward,” according to the statement, and Stewart Friesen plans to keep his attention on and support Bell while continuing to recover in a New York hospital.

“I want to thank everyone for their outreach and support as I continue to recover,” said Friesen in Saturday’s press release from HFR announcing the news. “I know Christopher will give our truck a great run. We will be watching and cheering the team on this Friday.”

A seven-time Truck Series race winner, Bell is returning to the series for the first time since March of 2024, when he finished fifth at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway while driving for TRICON Garage.

Though he hasn’t won in a truck since his championship season eight years ago, Bell is a multi-time road course winner in NASCAR Cup Series competition, including earlier this year when he triumphed at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, as part of a three-race win streak at the sport’s top level.

Christopher Bell (Nigel Kinrade/NKP for Toyota Racing photo)

Bell’s Cup Series best at WGI is third in 2023, but he was the runner-up in the 2019 Xfinity Series race at the 2.45-mile, seven-turn permanent road course and feels optimistic he can perform despite the tough circumstances for his manufacturer colleague.

“I was honored to receive the call to run this truck for Stewart, who’s a fellow dirt racer and Toyota teammate, in Watkins Glen,” said Bell, who will have road-course specialist Wesley Slimp to lean on as HFR fields two trucks next weekend.

“I’ve spent time with the team over the past few days and we are working hard to continue the great season Stewart has had and hope to deliver a great finish for him and his partners.”

Friesen’s No. 52 team locked into the Truck Series playoffs after their stirring victory at Michigan Int’l Speedway in June and will continue in pursuit of the owner’s championship this season.

Additional driver announcements regarding the Halmar Friesen Racing No. 52 will come later.

Broadcast coverage of the Mission 176 at the Glen for the Truck Series is slated for Aug. 8 at 5 p.m. ET, live on FS1, the NASCAR Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.