Ryan Sieg (28) battling AJ Allmendinger for the win in the Ambetter Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, October 19, 2024. (Photo: Justin Sheldon | The Podium Finish)
LAS VEGAS — Ryan Sieg has been just feet away from scoring his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win many times this year and he had yet another close loss at Las Vegas.
With nine laps to go, Sieg ran down AJ Allmendinger and got to his inside before getting loose in Turns 1 and 2, losing about five car lengths. Two laps later, a caution came out after Sammy Smith stalled on the back straightaway, giving Sieg one final shot at the win.
“I overdrove just a little bit just to try and get by him,” Sieg told Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass after the race. “I was going to try and clear him (Allmendinger) right then and I overdrove it and got loose.”
On the ensuing restart, Sieg spun the tires, letting Allmendinger get away clean. On the final lap in Turns 3 and 4, Sieg pushed for one more run, but it was not enough as he crossed the start/finish line in second place with the checkered flag waving.
Ryan Sieg (28) trying to chase down AJ Allmendinger at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Justin Sheldon | The Podium Finish)
This is the third runner-up finish for Sieg this season, with the other two in the closet finish in NASCAR Xfinity Series history at Texas and just two weeks ago at Talladega. It was Sieg’s 364th career start at Las Vegas, and in total, this was the fourth career runner-up finish for the veteran.
“We had the best car on the longer run and I needed a long run and we were getting there (at the end of the race),” said Sieg. “I just overdrove (turn) one and lost some of our track position, but I was able to gain it back. Just sucks to finish second again with a great car. One of these days it’s going to go our way.”
Sieg was up front all night long, finishing inside the top 10 in both stages and leading five laps before finishing in second place. Although another second-place finish was disappointing, Sieg still looks at the result as a positive.
“I didn’t have the long run, caution came out,” Sieg told Pockrass. “It just sucks to finish second, still great, but one of these days it will work out, it’s just tough.”
