Why it was so important for Stewart Friesen to win with Christopher Bell

That day was really bad.

Now, the company he co-owns with Chris Larsen won a race at Bristol Motor Speedway with his favorite race car driver behind the wheel. The excitement was clear.

"This is unbelievable" Friesen told Motorsport.com as he packed up on Friday night. "I mean he's been my favorite driver for a long time. Years ago I went to Ventura (Speedway) in California to see him win the Turkey Night Grand Prix (USAC Midget Race). I sat in the stands and thought, "Wow, he's so good."It's amazing that he won in one of our trucks now that we have the relationship we do with him and Toyota.

Bell was very emotional in victory lane which led to questions in the media center afterward. It was his first win in the Truck Series since 2017 but that wasn't all.

It's all about how people get along with each other. Bell said This isn't about me to be honest. It's all about this team. Running a Truck Series race is my hobby. It's not my job. The mechanics, crew chiefs and truck drivers at Halmar Friesen Racing do this for a living. That makes it special to me because I can see how much it means to them and it makes me want to run races for this team.

Bell says he remembers when he raced in the Truck Series and HFR was just starting out. He said he respects what Friesen and Larsen have built, especially since they are both dirt racers. Friesen is also one of the best Big Block Modified drivers in New England and the Maritimes.

Bell got the first call to fill in at Watkins Glen when Friesen hurt himself badly in one of those cars last year in Quebec and missed the rest of the NASCAR season."That really opened my eyes to how much this group loves and cares about the sport," Bell said. "When I first joined the Truck Series, I remember Stewart coming with this team. I've literally seen them build it from the ground up into what it is now."I could see the potential in Watkins Glen, and it means a lot that we finally got some of the work they put in with a win.

But about a year ago Friesen couldn't have been more unhappy with the Truck Series. He crashed out of a race at Rockingham and complained about how bad the race cars around him were.

A win in Michigan made things a little better later that summer. Then, while he was recovering from his injuries, he remembered why they made this team in the first place.

Winning on Friday was like putting icing on the cake.Friesen said, "I love this series, and Chris Larsen loves this series." "We can bring two trucks to the race track because Mohawk Northeast loves this series.And check out the talent in the field tonight. Wow, this level of competition is really good for you. We believe in what we do, which is why we have old-school steel bodies and a lot of fabrication.

We have people back in the fab shop and guys working on the front and rear ends. This is racing at the grassroots level, man.It might not be the right word, but it's down-to-earth racing, and that's why we love the Truck Series. People always ask me if I want to go Xfinity racing, and I always say, "No, I love the Truck Series." This is because I can also play with our Modified on the schedule.This is great for getting our truck to victory lane.