Ryan Sieg Finally Wins in Daytona Thriller

Ryan Sieg won the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, finally breaking through in his 424th career start. Sieg prevailed on an overtime restart triggered by a spin from Rajah Caruth with three laps to go.

By winning Friday, Sieg set the all-time record for most starts before a first career win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Since RSS Racing began competing in 2013, Sieg has been a perennial bridesmaid with dozens of close calls. Driving the No. 38 Chevrolet at Daytona instead of his usual No. 39, he finally broke through.

“I’ve been coming here since I was a baby,” Sieg reflected. “We’ve come here every summer race, and to do it right now in the way we did it, that’s amazing.”

Austin Hill finished second, rallying from outside the top-five with under 10 laps to go. Next was Carson Kvapil, who nearly won his third straight race after triumphs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Iowa Speedway.

Setting the Chase Field

Friday’s race also set the field for the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase. Two drivers started the race below the cutoff line and ended it above: Rajah Caruth and Taylor Gray. Caruth capitalized on stage points and nearly pulled off a top-three finish, while Gray benefited from the misfortune of two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.

Rajah Caruth was cruising in second place as the laps ticked down, before a push from teammate Justin Allgaier sent his car spinning and up into the wall. Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke to both drivers after the checkered flag waved.

“Glad to have such a solid start to the race, just replaying what I needed to do better at the end of the race,” Caruth said. “Obviously threw away not just a shot for myself to win but for team JRM as a whole. Gotta replay and go back to work, but we ran well the first part of the race but [it’s] just one moment probably that I needed to do better.”

Hardships Strike

Disaster struck for the first time on Lap 29, when Patrick Staropoli spun in front of traffic. Two Chase bubble drivers were affected: Sam Mayer sustained minor damage, and Brent Crews was forced into the garage for extensive repairs. Austin Hill scored the stage win, followed by Carson Kvapil and Rajah Caruth.

Another caution flew on Lap 45, when Sammy Smith was turned into the outside wall exiting Daytona’s trioval. William Sawalich also sustained major damage, taking his Chase outlook out of his hands.

With Crews and Sawalich buried in the running order, there was virtually no way their Chase hopes could be resuscitated. Though Gray finished 26th and Caruth placed 32nd, their nights were enough to propel them into championship contention.

“It’s definitely frustrating,” Brent Crews said. “Ultimately I put us in that position when I cost us 20 points at Iowa. It goes back to all the ifs and buts and whats, but I know it happened for a reason.”

Race Results