NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Ryan Sieg. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

'Just sucks': Late crash ends Ryan Sieg's underdog bid at Daytona

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 11:39 PM ET

In the closing laps of Friday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway, everything seemed to be coming together for Ryan Sieg.

Sieg, a veteran driver still looking for his first career win, led a total of 19 laps — the most of any driver on the night — and clearly had a fast No. 39 Ford underneath him.

With four laps to go, however, Sieg was turned while running in the top five, ruining his bid for both his first career victory and a spot in the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs.

Sieg was credited with a 31st-place finish — hardly a result indicative of how fast he was on Friday evening.

"Super frustrating; just sucks," Sieg told CW Sports. "Tried to stay up there in the front, I don't know what exactly happened in the tri-oval. I moved up, and all of a sudden, I caught myself sideways. Just sucks. It's going to be pretty tough to get into the playoffs. This was our shot."

The No. 39 gets turned in front of the field!

Multiple cars are involved in this incident on Lap 97. pic.twitter.com/6IyZ5NPT4H
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) August 23, 2025

With two races remaining in the Xfinity Series regular season, Sieg is trending towards being in a must-win situation. Pending post-race inspection, Sieg is 57 points below the playoff cut line going into the Aug. 30 race at Portland.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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