Colton Friese Sweeps East Coast Double-Header

July 4-5 (Mill Hall/Abbottstown, PA)-An Editorial on East Coast Legend Series Driver/Champion Colton Friese by Series Promoter Mike Donald

 

     In 1968, the New York Jets, a decisive underdog that was guided by Broadway Joe Namath at Quarterback, pulled off the UPSET and defeated the powerhouse Baltimore Colts to win Super Bowl III. The Jets were Super Bowl Champions. They hoisted the Lombardi Trophy and adorned the Super Bowl Rings. Since then, for the last 57 years, the Jets have NEVER made another Super Bowl appearance. As a matter of fact, 40 of those 57 years have produced losing seasons for the Jets, and for the last 10 years the Jets have remarkably been one of the worst teams in the NFL.

 

     In 2024, Spring Run, PA’s Colton Friese won four races and claimed the East Coast Legend Series championship. He claimed the trophy and was celebrated as champion at the East Coast banquet. Colton was the first to win the championship under the East Coast banner after the Series was rebranded to its current name from the Central PA Legend Series name at the end of the 2023 season. Colton also won the INEX National championship in the Semi-Pro Division. Going into this season, Colton is the defending champion. Going into the 1969 season, the Jets were the defending Super Bowl champions.

 

     In 1969 following the team’s Super Bowl championship, the Jets scored 10 wins-a lot- but the Jets did NOT recapture Super Bowl magic. So, why the history lesson on the New York Jets, and how can one draw parallels to the Jets and Colton Friese with Trever Friese Motorsports?

 

      It’s quite simple really. Why? Because at the start of the current East Coast season, namely the season-opener at Lincoln Speedway on March 9, Colton did the unthinkable. He entered the season-opener as champion and FAILED TO QUALIFY for the race. Not only did he fail to qualify, but he was probably forced to use one of his two miss/drop races before the sun set on opening day.

 

       And Colton did not fail to qualify because he got caught up in someone else’s mishap. No, he failed to qualify due to a parts failure in a qualifying heat race. How could one of the best teams in the Series suffer a parts failure just 10 minutes into the season? Colton and crew dusted themselves off, and quickly won two races, March 15 at BAPS and March 29 at Winchester…but then again, remember that 10-win season by the Jets in 1969 after winning the Super Bowl?

 

     Then, on April 26 at Winchester, the unthinkable occurred again. Colton’s machine suffered a parts failure on the first lap of the race and it relegated Colton to a 22nd-place finish. Before the month of May, Colton could have very well gone through his allotment of two drops/misses for the season.

 

    On April 27, the writer of this article wondered if Colton’s roller coaster performance was a replay of the New York Jets. Afterall, two-time Series champion, Jeremy Ott, has had a phenomenal season with multiple wins. Jeremy has led the provisional points standings for the majority of the season. Throw in heavy hitters like Logan Carbaugh, Scott Houdeshell, Seth Kearchner, Devin Friese and many more, these drivers were sharks circling a bleeding Colton Friese on April 28. Afterall, drivers like these are just too good for Colton to have a lapse. And just like those sharks, they will bite you! Remember, the Jets caught lightning in a bottle once with a Super Bowl triumph, only to be absent for the last 57 years. 

 

     Then on May 10, Colton once again did the unthinkable. At BAPS he claimed Victory. Colton then won three weeks in-a-row, and impressively Colton has gone on to currently hold NINE East Coast wins on the season. Just as impressive as his nine wins is the fact that his wins have come at six different tracks…..BAPS, Winchester, Path Valley, Linda’s, Lincoln and Clinton County. That’s very impressive to say the least, and winning at multiple tracks shows the diversity and depth of Colton’s team.

 

      Colton is just one win shy of double-digit Victories in a single season…a feat that hasn’t been seen since drivers like Scott Houdeshell, Travis McClelland and Tanner Jones accomplished this in years gone by. Colton now stands at a crossroads. Will Colton continue to rack up more wins and claim the 2025 East Coast championship? If so, this writer believes Colton will possibly go on to become one of the greatest Series drivers of all time. Quite possibly, Colton could rack up five or six championships just like the New England Patriots (6), Pittsburgh Steelers (6), San Francisco 49ers (5) and the Dallas Cowboys (5). That’s a far cry from the one Super Bowl victory by the Jets.

 

       The preceding paragraph suggests one possibility. The other scenario is that Colton will have flashbacks to March 9 and April 26. If that happens, could we see Colton fold and suffer one of the biggest collapses much like another team suffered in Super Bowl LI. Remember that one? That was the Super Bowl where the Atlanta Falcons held a 28-3 lead halfway through the third quarter ONLY to blow it! Atlanta allowed New England to score 25 unanswered points, force the game into overtime, and the Falcons suffered a humiliating 34-28 defeat at the hands of Tom Brady and the Patriots.

 

     Whichever road Colton goes down, he will do it much like NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano. How so? Off the track with the helmet off, Colton and Joey are two  of the nicest guys you could ever know. Colton is very polite and friendly. He is a hard worker, and he is a huge asset to his Uncle Devin Friese’s Construction Company. He also drives school buses and school vans for the Friese Family.

 

     On the track with the helmet on, just like Joey Logano, Colton sometimes has a knack of irritating people and like Logano, he smiles in your face while doing it. Ask Logan Jones, whose car went into the spin cycle off Colton’s front bumper at Path Valley. Ask Logan Carbaugh who experienced one of Colton’s slide jobs on the last lap of Winchester. That seemed to stir up quite a few folks. Ask Lincoln Kearchner who slid down through the infield while battling Colton for the win on the last lap at Clinton County. And Ryan Walls will be happy to tell you that Colton’s missed shift on a restart resulted in a huge pile-up at Path Valley that caused a lot of damage to several race cars.

 

     Now, the writer didn’t forget Joe Namath. Broadway Joe was one of the first NFL quarterbacks to do National TV commercials. He was flamboyant, and he looked straight into the TV cameras and guaranteed the entire world that his underdog Jets would defeat the heavily-favored Colts in Super Bowl III…..and he and the Jets went out and did it! And it irritated a lot of people.

 

     Colton has a little Joe Namath in him and a lot of Joey Logano in him. Colton and his team have a little New York Jets in them and a lot of Kansas City Chiefs in them. No one at this moment knows which road Colton will go down for the remainder of the season.

 

      Will Colton win another championship and go on to win many more and be branded as one of the best of all time like the Green Bay Packers, or will he have a good follow-up season to a championship, but fall short and never recapture glory much like the New York Jets.

 

      Only time will tell, and the plight of Colton Friese and his team starts this Friday at Big Diamond Speedway. All the writer can say is stay tuned. For those keeping score at home, Colton won both East Coast races this past weekend at Clinton County and Lincoln Speedways. Colton knocked off 21 other drivers to claim Clinton County and he bested 43 other drivers to go to Victory Lane at Lincoln.

 

 Clinton County field rundown: 1. Colton Friese, 2. Lincoln Kearchner, 3. Seth Kearchner, 4. Logan Jones, 5. Dalton Friese, 6. Kelby Friese, 7. Tyler Kaylor, 8. Steven Partin, 9. Hunter McElroy, 10. Ben Morrow, 11. Darren Lucas, 12. Rick Hartwig, 13. Colby Miller, 14. Justin Wagaman, 15. Eric Hurst, 16. Mike Kelley 17. Moses Goetz, 18. Scott Spidle, 19. Dave Benner, 20. Dustin Burnisky, 21. Brad Friese, 22. Ben Burnisky. DNS: Jimmy Eicher and Devin Friese

 

Lincoln field rundown: 1. Colton Friese, 2. Steven Partin, 3. Chris Transeasu, 4. Tanner Jones, 5. Lincoln Kearchner, 6. Seth Kerchner, 7. Jeremy Ott, 8. Tyler Rampmeyer, 9. Stephen Wurtzer, 10. Logan Jones, 11. Ryan Walls, 12. Bill Diehl, 13. Wayner Dutterer, Jr., 14. Travis McClelland, 15. Mike Kelley, 16. Colby Miller, 17. Brian Rampmeyer, 18. Shaun Abney, 19. Kelby Friese, 20. Hunter McElroy, 21. Dustin Wiles, 22. Rick Hartwig, 23. Dan Harrison, 24. Scott Spidle

 

  Did Not Qualify: Scott Musselman, Justin Wagaman, Donald Stoudt, Eric Hurst, Mason Tracy, Bill Funk, Kirk Martin, Andrew Mowen, Mike Stoppard, James Dove, Brad Kelley, Chad Trout, Ryan Walls, Jr., Connor Tracy, Brian Racine, Chris Nicoll, Moses Goetz, Brad Friese, Ben Morrow and Matt Grebe