NASCAR driver Stewart Friesen hospitalized in dirt track crash
A NASCAR driver was involved in a terrifying dirt track accident in Quebec, Canada, on Monday night and sustained injuries when the dirt-modified car he was driving struck a barrier and flew into the air.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Stewart Friesen was taking part in the first night of a Super DIRTcar Series event at Autodrome Drummond when the accident occurred, which left him with an unstable open-book pelvic fracture and a fractured right leg, according to a statement by the driver’s wife, Jessica Friesen.
Both injuries will require surgery, and Friesen was transferred to a larger hospital on Tuesday morning for the procedures.
CT scans cleared Friesen of any head, neck or spine injuries, though “he is still in a tremendous amount of pain,” according to the statement.
The race was on lap 17 when Friesen’s car started to go over the berm on the back straightaway and collided with the outside retaining wall, with the impact sending the car flipping into the air and erupting into flames as it rolled back onto the track.
The cockpit came to a rest in the middle of the track as pieces of the car lay around it.
The racing series reported on social media that Friesen was alert and communicating with race officials and EMT on site before he was able to be extracted from the car.
He was then taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.
The racing circuit told CNY Central that race officials and first responders were given the same medical emergency training as NASCAR and IndyCar safety staffers go through.
“Thank you to the manufacturers who have made dirt modifieds as safe as possible, and to the track crew for their patience and hard work getting Stew out of the car,” Jessica said in Tuesday’s statement.
Friesen drives for Halmar-Friesen Racing in the NASCAR Truck Series and is sitting in seventh in the playoff picture thanks to a dramatic win at Michigan International Speedway in June.
The 42-year-old had just come off a Super DIRTCar win over the weekend at Weedsport Speedway in upstate New York.
Credit to Nypost AND Peoples
