FORT WORTH, Tex. – Ryan Sieg and his RSS Racing team continue to storm into the NASCAR Xfinity Series headlines after earning their sixth top-11 finish following Saturday afternoon’s My Bariatric Solutions 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Sieg, 31, earned a 10th place finish at Texas Motor Speedway, matching his personal best at the 1.5-mile speedway and his third top-10 overall in a stellar start to the year.
While Sieg is still hunting his first checkered flag in the series, the driver of the No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet utilized bold strategy late in the second stage to drive away from the competition on a restart and earn his first career stage victory.
Already through six races in 2019, Sieg has already earned more top-10 finishes than any other prior season. During the offseason, RSS Racing owned by Sieg’s father Rod hired Shane Wilson as crew chief which have many pinpointed as the source of the team’s uptick in performance.
“Today was really great for us getting a stage win,” Sieg said. “It makes a big difference having great cars and engines. We are still a small race team, so a top-10 finish is huge for RSS and I’m looking forward to Bristol next weekend.”
Sieg’s Georgia-based team gets engines from Earnhardt-Childress Racing and has bought some Xfinity cars from Richard Childress Racing after the Welcome, N.C.-based operation downsized its Xfinity Series program.
With equipment and the leadership of Wilson, Sieg put himself in position to take advantage of pit strategy at the end of the second stage. Most lead-lap cars elected to pit, but Sieg and a few others stayed out.
During the stage’s three-lap shootout, Sieg was able to fend off Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch for 10 stage points and 1 Playoff points towards the postseason championship hunt.
After pitting at the end of the stage, Sieg was able to find a balance during the sprint to the finish allowing Sieg to earn another strong finish.
Following Texas, Sieg has finished no worse than 11th and remains ninth in the championship standings heading to Bristol Motor Speedway, site of the series’ first Dash 4 Cash event.
In 2016, Sieg earned a career-high three top-10 finishes across 33 races. After six races this year, he already has four top-10s – including a season-high fourth in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.
No Cup Series driers are allowed to compete in the Dash 4 Cash races – which make up the next four races on the schedule at Bristol, Richmond, Talladega and Dover respectively.
“It’s been really fun coming to the race track this year,” added Sieg. “Having a worst finish of 11th is a huge accomplishment for us and keeps us pumped up for sure.”
Sieg’s relationship with Wilson also continues to grow stronger and the team’s ability to work on race trim in practice has paid dividends in the first two months of competition.
“Shane has been amazing to work with,” sounded Sieg. “He comes to the track with a plan every week. We always work on race trim in practice and it has paid off.”
In 10 previous starts at Bristol, Sieg has a best finish of 11th in his most recent trip to the 0.533-mile oval in August 2018 after starting 21st.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
