Every team faces setbacks at some point during the season. Between mechanical failures, inspection issues, incidents on track and so on, it's hard to avoid it. However, NASCAR Xfinity Series driver/owner Ryan Sieg went through something particularly unique on Saturday.
Sieg, who has competed with his family-operated team since the 2013 season, has run nearly 400 Xfinity races over the past 12 years. But this weekend had something entirely new in store for him: in the garage area, Sieg’s car hit the lip of one of the garage stalls, causing significant damage to the nose of the No. 39 Ford Mustang.
Not ideal. Heard a loud hit in the garage during qualifying. Walked over to find Ryan Sieg had severly damaged the nose after hitting a slightly raised curb inside the final stall in the XFINITY garage. No bueno. @bobpockrass#NASCARXFINITY pic.twitter.com/zzLA3yMk4S
— ericjr.racing (@ericjrracing) March 8, 2025
As a result, Sieg was forced into a backup car for the race, starting at the very rear of the field. With his determination on full display during the 208 lap race, the veteran racer was able to charge up through the field, scoring a fourth-place finish (the 21st of his career and first of the 2025 season).
"Wild day in Phoenix for team #39," Sieg said on social media. "We were forced to a back up car after an unfortunate situation in the garage area after qualifying. The RSS guys led by (crew chief) Matt Noyce worked so hard to get the back up car prepared in just a short period of time. We made big gains throughout the race and went from starting last to 4th place finish. We finally got the result to show how much speed we have had this year. The pit crew was spectacular on pit road as well.
“A big thanks to Haas Factory Team for being such a great technical partner. Also a shout out to the AM Racing team for jumping in and helping as well. Heading to Vegas with momentum on our side."
