ROCKINGHAM, N.C. – Ryan Sieg was one of only three drivers in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race that had made a start at Rockingham Speedway before Saturday’s (April 19) race. Sieg started the race in the 12th position.
Sieg lost a lap early in the race when he thought he had a loose right rear wheel. Under the caution for the conclusion of stage two, Sieg earned the free pass.
To get to the front of the field, Sieg stayed out under the caution for Justin Bonsignore wrecking on the backstretch. With tires not wearing that much, Sieg decided to stay out on older tires.
“We had to do that because we got behind on track position,” Sieg said. “It was tough to pass.”
Sieg was able to hold onto the lead and led 77 laps, which was a career-high in laps led in a race. His next highest laps led in a race before today? It was the first Homestead-Miami Speedway race in 2020, with 27 laps led.
Jesse Love charged through the field on his newer tires to catch the No. 39 car. Sieg and Love battled for several laps, but Love could not get past. Under the caution for a three-car wreck in turn three, the car sputtered and Sieg lost six positions. Christian Eckes and Sieg both did not get going on the restart and were involved in the wreck.
Even with the car being very low on fuel, Sieg felt compelled to stay out.
“That was the call we did, so we had to stick with it,” Sieg said. “If it works out, it works out. If not, that’s what it is.”
The No. 39 car went a lap down under the caution to make repairs.
Sieg got another free pass under the 14th and final caution of the day. After the checkered flag flew, Sieg ended up with a 19th-place finish (18th after Love’s disqualification). Even though it wasn’t the result that Sieg was looking for, there was still optimism in the RSS Racing camp.
“Everybody gelling and we made gains,” Sieg said. “We thought we were gonna come out with guns blazing, but we had issues almost every one of the races. We still ended up with three top 10s and one top 5, so nothing to hang our heads too low about.”
Jared Haas joined the Frontstretch staff in May 2020. During his time at Frontstretch, Jared has grown the Frontstretch YouTube channel from less than 200 subscribers to well over 23,000 subscribers.