By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – Brake issues, changing teammates, and a wreck could not keep Ryan Sieg out of the top-10 at Daytona International Speedway.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series driver was swept up in ‘the big one’ with seven laps to go in the NASCAR Racing Experience 300. Sieg’s No. 39 CMR Roofing Chevrolet Camaro SS was clipped by the spinning No. 22 Ford Mustang of Austin Cindric. The No. 39 spun into the outside wall.
The damage was minimal as Sieg jumped back into the action with three laps to go. Having restarted in the back, the Tucker, GA native found himself in the middle of the race-ending multi-car accident. Sieg kept his car moving and with the field frozen under caution, drove to a ninth-place finish.
“It seemed like we kept getting in most of the wrecks there at the end,” joked Sieg. “But we salvaged and not tear anything up too bad and came out ninth, which was surprising. I was shocked. It was a pretty hard hit over there and three and four and to come back.”
Prior to being involved in several accidents, Sieg dealt with mechanical issues. On an early pit stop, a brake bleeder failed. A quick repair sent the family-owned RSS Racing team to the back.
Sieg climbed through the field, in part on strategy, to be in fourth as the only lead lap driver that had not yet pitted. That race altering caution on lap 107 put Sieg in position to contend, and ultimately in the two race-ending accidents.
“We had an issue earlier the brake bleeder busted on one of the pit stops,” explained Sieg. “We had to fix that and got in the back and then we came up to fourth. Then ended up in that last wreck there. It worked out. ‘Cowboy’ (crew chief Kevin Starland) stayed with it all day. We were able to run fuel as long as we could and we pit under that caution, which helps us out.”
After qualifying, Sieg opted to help a fellow competitor. Ross Chastain had failed to qualify the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro SS due to a hub issue. With Chastain competing full-time, Sieg replaced the driver of his No. 38 Chevrolet Camaro SS, Jeff Green, with the Kaulig driver.
Green had been scheduled to only compete on the superspeedways. The decision not only helped Kaulig Racing but could bring some added help to the independent NASCAR Xfinity team. It also added much extra work as the two teams re-wrapped the No. 38 in the Nutrien Ag Solutions colors.
“He’s running all year and we decided to help Ross and Kaulig out,” admitted Sieg. “Jeff’s just running the Speedways, so he’ll be back at Talladega. That was kind of a no brainer to help them out and it’ll benefit us a little bit because we can probably, maybe help each other through the year. It’s always good to try to help out another team.”
Overall, the top-10 finish is huge for the small organization. Sieg made the Playoffs last season but failed to transfer out of the first round. The stage points he earned leaves him tied for fifth in the points standings with both Michael Annett and Brandon Brown.
Sieg stated just how big a top-10 finish and the stage points that accompanied it is for the small team:
“It’s huge. Just to get some stage points and to come out of here and be ahead of some of the competitors that we race against, the big teams, and still come out with the top ten. It’s huge for our team. It’s always a good first day too, so that always helps.”