Stewart Friesen overcomes early penalty to win in Phoenix
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Stewart Friesen held off Brandon Jones in the last two laps at ISM Raceway on Friday night to earn a spot in the four-man fight for the season title next week in the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series playoffs finale.
Brett Moffitt , Ross Chastain and Matt Crafton qualified for the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Austin Hill and Tyler Ankrum missed the cut.
Friesen was penalized at the start of the race for crossing the line ahead of pole-sitter Hill. Friesen had to go to the back of the line, but reached the ninth position by the end of the first stage. He led 44 laps.
"It was a great race car," Friesen said. "We were able to pass 'em all, pass 'em all clean. Great race car, great race team. We'll all celebrate tomorrow, and then it's game on."
Chandler Smith, Ben Rhodes and Grant Enfinger rounded out the top five. Rhodes won Stage 1 and Jones took Stage 2.
