FORT WORTH – NASCAR XFINITY Series driver Ryan Sieg will tell you he’s been itching for a top-10 finish since Daytona.
But, this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, he’ll tell you he’s itching for a different reason.
“I caught poison ivy,” said Sieg. “It’s not really painful, just irritating.”
Sieg believes he became infected last weekend while visiting his lake house in Georgia over the two-week XFINITY Series break.
“It’s been a hectic couple of weeks, so I went to our lake house for a little rest and relaxation and I think I caught it while I was in the woods by the house,” he added.
Under treatment, Sieg said his rash was improving on his left arm and didn’t affect him in the racecar.
“I really don’t have time to think about it when I’m in the racecar,” said Sieg. “It’s not until I get out of the car and change my clothes that it’s really noticeable. It should be gone soon though.”
The Tucker, Georiga native enters Friday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 16th in XFINITY Series championship standings with a best finish of 17th last month at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway. The family-owned RSS Racing team gained attention last year for Sieg’s solid and steady results in what has been classified as an underfunded team.
Thus far in 2015, Sieg hasn’t delivered the results he’s been accustomed too, but the 28-year old made it abundantly clear that his second full season of XFINTIY racing is just starting to gain traction.
“We’ve been fast, but we’ve had different things happen that have kept us from producing better finishes than we have,” Sieg added. “I feel pretty confident that we have a good car this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway and have a shot at our first top-10 of the year.”
Long-time crew chief Kevin “Cowboy” Starland is bringing a new Chevrolet Camaro for his driver and new sponsor FLASR. In final XFINITY practice at Texas Motor Speedway Thursday night, Sieg was 11th quickest overall.
Also during the break, Sieg became a father. Girlfriend Amanda gave birth to daughter Olivia Stella Sieg on March 26 at 4:13 a.m., weighing in at 7 pounds, 4 ounces. Sieg noted both mother and daughter are doing great.
“It’s the coolest thing ever (being a dad),” concluded Sieg.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
