Lucky 13 rides along with the driver who qualifies 13th, keeping an eye on how their race unfolds. This driver could be sent to the back of the pack and still pull off a victory, or their luck could take a nosedive early in the race. With luck on their side – or against them – anything can happen! So, grab your four-leaf clovers, your lucky horseshoes, and maybe even a rabbit’s foot for the latest Lucky 13! Will it be fortune or misfortune? Let’s find out!
Marine Corps 250
Driver: Ryan Sieg
Organization & Number: RSS Racing, #39
Crew Chief: Matt Noyce
Spotter: Tim Fedewa
Stage 1
The green flag waved on the first short track of the season for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and Ryan Sieg lost three spots in the opening laps.
Ten laps in, he gained a spot back as he worked his way around Nick Sanchez. Five laps later, he was battling with Daniel Dye for P14. Once he worked around Dye, Dye was displeased and was all over Sieg’s bumper.
With that, Sieg set his eyes on the No. 26 of Dean Thompson. Spotter Tim Fedewa noted, “Remember who you’re racing.”
Lap 28 saw Sieg work around Thompson and begin to battle with Sam Mayer. Now that he was certain on how to pass cars, the race was on.
Two laps later, he claimed P12 and went to work on rookie Corey Day.
Crew chief Matt Noyce noted that Sieg was matching lap times with the leader, Connor Zilisch. He had lost a spot, but was still charging hard.
Sieg fell back to his starting spot and hung on until 10 to go. At that time, Thompson got back around Sieg.
Some shuffling with a slow car on track saw Sieg return to P13.
With six to go, the caution waved when Harrison Burton and Day got into each other and went spinning.
This afforded Sieg the chance to move up to P11 and give an update on the handling of this Ford Mustang. “Started off good, little snug middle. Middle kinda went away. You can’t run in the middle. I need some turn in the middle.”
The caution would end the stage.
Stage 2
After pitting for adjustments, tires, and fuel, Sieg returned to the track in P11. A few rows ahead, drivers were taking it three wide, but the race stayed clean. After Sieg cleared a three-wide turn, he broke into the top 10. After slightly getting into Dye, the two battled it out for P9 with Sieg winning out.
Lap 82 saw the next caution as Garrett Smithley went for a spin on the front stretch. Sieg was still running P9, and Fedewa groaned, “The top was just coming in.”
Noyce told Sieg about the minor damage the No. 39 had sustained while battling Dye, but Sieg noted he wasn’t feeling anything wrong behind the wheel.
Leader Brandon Jones took to the pits, allowing Sieg to move up to P8.
The restart came on Lap 89, and Sieg lost two positions before settling back in at P9. The next few laps brought a good deal of shuffling and door-banging, and Sieg fell to P11. Fedewa said, “Don’t worry about the 10. We’ll get him back later.”
Before any ‘getting back’ could happen, Thompson went for a spin, bringing out the caution again.
He came to his crew for a lengthy stop after the team realized they were fighting fuel pump issues. Following the stop, the team was assessed with a penalty, and Sieg restarted P29 on Lap 102.
With 10 to go, Sieg was racing his brother in 27th, and when the stage ended, Sieg sat P24.
Stage 3
Under caution, the No. 39 team talked strategy given the fuel issues and opted to go ahead and pit to top off on fuel. This stop saw Sieg restart P30 to start the final stage with 119 to go. Noyce noted, “We are full of fuel and don’t need to worry about that the rest of the race. Let’s go race!”
Within nine laps, there was carnage everywhere as Harrison Burton and Thomas Annunziata got into each other, leading to bumpers and fenders hanging off their cars.
Noyce and Sieg talked a bit about potential changes and opted to come to the pits under this caution. This led to Sieg lining up P26 for the restart with 103 to go, hoping for better handling.
The next caution came less than 10 laps later. This time, it was following contact between Mayer and Carson Kvapil.
Sieg returned to the pits for more adjustments and, once again, he restarted P26 with 90 to go. After some bumping and banging, Sieg found himself three-wide and was being told, “No smoke. Everything looks good.”
He had gained three spots in six laps and was told by Fedewa, “One at a time.”
The Hits Keep Coming
With 79 to go, Sieg broke into the top 20. Within four more laps, he claimed P15. Suddenly, Zilisch was spinning, and the caution was out again.
Noyce noted, “We’re P15, but we’re P9 on our tires.” This received a resounding “Aight!” from Sieg.
Once the leaders pitted, Sieg was sitting P12 with 67 to go. Drivers saw a wild restart but kept it green.
Three laps into the run, Sieg was stuck three wide as he ran P16. On TV, he could be seen bumping Dye with his nose before another caution waved.
After some discussion, Sieg opted to try the top line, from P14, on this restart. This was another short run as H. Burton brought out another caution. Before drivers could take the green, Greg Van Alst stalled on the frontstretch.
The action finally resumed with 42 to go and Sieg in P16. But, Thompson immediately brought out the next caution. In an attempt to avoid the wreck, Sieg ran onto the curb, but Noyce said everything looked fine.
The next restart came with 35 to go and Sieg in P17. Noyce noted, “This is the last restart where we can afford to give up a row.”
The No. 39 team wouldn’t have to wait long to put action to those words. The caution immediately came out as the Nos. 1 and 2 went spinning and then attempted to play bumper cars in Turn 2. Sieg was scored P14.
With 22 to go, Sieg sat P14, and Fedewa told his driver, “Be smart. Do what you gotta do.”
Red Flag
If a “Big One” could happen at Martinsville, it did with 18 to go. This incident brought out the red flag and gave the No. 39 team a chance to strategize and plan for the closing laps.
You are not going to enjoy this if you are a fan of Kaulig Racing. pic.twitter.com/XHdAjcDICP
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) March 29, 2025
After the red flag was lifted, Sieg was sitting P11, and 12 laps remained.
The real question was, “How many more cautions?”
Coming down the backstretch, smoke could be seen coming off of Sieg’s car. With 10 to go, Fedewa noted, “Still rubbing bad. Not sure we’ll make it.”
One lap later, the caution waved as Zilisch and Jeremy Clements got into each other. Sieg was running P12 and Noyce noted the tire was up, but the fender was bent in. “If we get hit again, it’ll go down.”
One more restart came with two to go and reminders to be mindful of the left rear tire. But Matt DiBenedetto immediately brought out the caution as he spun in Turn 2.
Sieg chose his lane from P13 to line up and try again in Overtime.
There was smoke coming up from all turns of the track, but drivers finally took the white flag.
After a ridiculous pile-up coming to the checkered flag, Ryan Sieg brought his car across the stripe in P8!
A replay of the #NASCAROvertime finish at @MartinsvilleSwy. pic.twitter.com/fGJecynkQT
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) March 29, 2025
A day that had many unlucky moments turned lucky and into a good points day for the RSS Racing team.
Following the race, R. Sieg was ninth in the driver standings, just one point behind Aric Almirola. The team also sits ninth in the owner’s standings.
Sponsor Shout-out + Social Round-up
NASCAR fans know sponsors make the sport go ’round. We want to give a shoutout to Sci Aps. They played a huge part of the weekend for Ryan and the No. 39 team.
Be sure to give Ryan Sieg and this team, RSS Racing (Facebook, Instagram, X), a follow to keep up with the latest news from the driver and team.
